the day in nature

Walking from the parking garage to work this morning, I enjoyed watching three small birds gang up on a larger one in midflight. I couldn't tell their species because of how high up they were, but it was fascinating to see the small birds take turns to swoop in and peck the larger one. Although each of them was roughly one-fifth its size, the tactic obviously worked to drive the predator away. Each time they attacked him, he changed direction sharply, flapping out of his preferred glide.

I took my usual afternoon walk, not keeping a sharp eye out for snakes like I usually do. The bark dust trail along the far edge of the lake was strangely devoid of geese, but near the end I heard-- and saw the aftermath of-- a huge splash. It looked almost like a turtle from the corner of my eye, but I was pretty sure that only frogs (or toads) take such flying leaps into the lake, so I waited for a head to appear. A mallard duck flew in for a landing to investigate, which is always fun to see up close. After a few minutes, we were both rewarded with a huge frog (toad?) head floating with its eyes just above the water. Cool.

Yesterday I had acupuncture, went for a 13 mile bike ride, helped Erik make dinner, and then worked in the yard til about 9pm. I marked out sections for Square-Foot-Garden-izing my three raised beds, so tonight I hope to drill holes, twist in eye screws, and run line to delineate the grid. I can't believe how far behind I am in the garden, but I sure do love this time of year in Oregon.