what matters

October 17, 2004

I was oddly unexcited yesterday even before the game. I think the rain out and the outcomes of the first two games sapped my enthusiasm. I did make corn chowder for Nancy last night, so at least the soup-making part of the evening was fun. NaturalIy, I was even less enthusiastic after actually watching the disaster,umm, I mean ballgame.

Today's agenda was Volunteer Appreciation Day at PRNWR, or as I call it the Plover Warden Picnic. It was at the new vistor center/hq, which still isn't fully open yet. Nice building, that. Nice lunch too.

I got another Life's a Beach for the Piping Plover t-shirt, an insulated lunch tote with the USFWS logo on it, a piping plover pin -- which I immediately put on my sweatshirt -- and other cool stuff. As if I do it for the cool stuff! I even said out loud: "The only thing I care about is the freakin' plover numbers!"

What matters? 11 chicks fledged from 7 pairs. That's what matters.

And now to finish off the garlic and white bean soup and psyche myself for what could be the beginning of the long dark cold baseball-less winter.

Today's Reading
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein, Doctor Zay by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

This Year's Reading
2004 Booklist

Today's Starting Pitcher
Derek Lowe vs. El Duque