Journal of a Sabbatical

August 22, 2000

more weeds and a short bird list

Today's Bird Sightings:
Plum Island
semipalmated plover (3)
semipalmated sandpiper (17)
great egret (3)
American black duck (10)
gadwall (2)
gray catbird (4)
American goldfinch (2)
tree swallow (300)
willet (2)
eastern kingbird (6)
herring gull (3)
cedar waxwing (3)
house sparrow (2)

Today's Reading: Leap by Terry Tempest Williams

I spent most of yesterday rewriting my first real natural history essay, which I'd promised Paul M. for his e-zine many moons ago. I say this is my first real natural history essay because I don't count the natural history themed journal entries as actual essays. They're too free form and not crafted enough. Of course, now Paul will probably think my essay on piping plovers (what else did you think it would be about?) is overwritten.... but maybe not. I read it aloud to Nancy before I sent it off. She gave me a couple of useful criticisms, which I incorporated, and in general liked it a lot. Readers will get to see it, I hope, when Paul gets the third issue of The Bridge Review: Merrimack Valley Culture on the air.

Today I felt tired and a little bit at loose ends, not knowing what to tackle next. Since I haven't photographed nearly all of the weeds at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, I made another drive-by botanizing pass to add to the virtual specimen collection. Dealing with images rather than words seemed like the right choice - an odd thing for a person who regards herself as graphically challenged, but the right thing.

Birds were around but not in the number I would have expected for the shorebird migration season. So the bird list is short, but the weed list is pretty colorful.