May 23, 2026
Where: Lake Accotink Park and my parking lot
When: 2:45 pm
Bird Species: barn swallow, great blue heron, northern cardinal, house sparrow, American crow, northern rough-winged swallow, cedar waxwings
Things I Thought About:
- I am in a vaguely shitty mood today for absolutely no reason. Not just cranky, but resentful of ordinary things like having to pick up a prescription. Someday I will have to examine why I always feel guilty and not just bad when I’m having an off day, but today is not that day.
- I shall do penance by hanging out with the thirteen year-old’s birthday party sleepover. That won‘t test my mood in the slightest.
- We just filled the water balloons. It is lightly raining and 58 degrees.
- I had hopes of seeing some good birds today but the only real action are a bunch of swallows skimming the lake.
- Another disappointingly gray day. This crow looks cool in silhouette though. I did ask his permission to take this photo.
- I see a dark shape against the rocks under the railroad trestle and zoom in to observe a fisherman in waders, peeing against the retaining wall. I beg your pardon, young man, I thought you were a cormorant.
- I guess this female cardinal is bird of the day? I am out of time for birds if I want to get back in time to help carry the girls to the mall.
- It is mildly cheering to me that tween and young teen girls still want to hang out in the mall.
- I also enjoy the mall to be honest. Maybe I just need to shop about it.
- I hate my haircut.
BOTD: cedar waxwings. I know, the cardinal is a better photo, but when I got out of my car at home, there was a flock of about eight waxwings in the tree tops, visible just over the top of my building. I don’t see this bird nearly as often as some of the other backyard birds. I took these standing in my open car door, before I went upstairs to pack a bag for sleepover.
It’s very funny to me that I spent all day feeling moody and awful and didn‘t put it together until I read my own blog. My hair has ruined my whole day. I blame the patriarchy.
