August 11, 2026
Where: Ranger Road Park
When: 5:40 pm
Bird Species: American robin, downy woodpecker, northern cardinal, gray catbird. Heard but not seen: American goldfinch, Carolina wren, acadian flycatcher, house finch, high school marching band.
Things I Thought About:
- One of my favorite movie podcasts is having a theme month of Movies That Scared Me When I Was a Child. So far, it's a delight, but I can't really think of one for myself. What I remember being of scared of as a child is The Phantom of The Muppet Show. That guy was not cool.
- You know, for all the red fur and everything, with the exception of Animal, you can tell that the Electric Mayhem are people. But they have cool colors and accessories and hair and voices, which is comical and fun. I don't know what kind of muppet the Phantom is meant to be. He was either a dragon, or a puppet of a scary fucking guy! With a beard, the scariest facial hair!
- Did not care for him one bit. Later he came around more often and they started calling him "Uncle Deadly," which did not serve to humanize him for me.
- A pine was pretty much the only tree I knew the name of at the beginning of the year, and that's fine because birds look great in them. The summer foliage can be inconsistent; in strong sunlight the green can be almost yellow, and a yellow bird can almost disappear. An evergreen is nice framing for every bird.
- I can hear a marching band playing "Rhapsody in Blue," reminding me that Fairfax City High School is right across the street from this park. I can hear the Annadale Atoms band from my balcony on Friday nights in the fall. It's nice. They are a little hipper than this, I think. I've definitely heard them play "Despacito."
- What the fuck is Scooter supposed to be?
BOTD: Downy woodpecker. I really thought I had better shots, but I was on private property, having chased him behind the townhouses bordering the parking lot, so I guess I was nervous and rushing it. It's shame, too; that white and black and red did look very nice and eye-catching against the dark green.
