Death Valley. Half a mile wide and 600 feet deep. About 1977.
Becky and Matt asking, “Can we run down it?” That was right before lunch.
No problem. It was a difficult slog to get back up through the loose gravel though. Their sandwiches were waiting for them when they finally made it back exhausted. Life is a learning experience.
Judy stayed home and returned the front office to its former glory.
And beyond.
There’s still more fun to be had! Get out, or stay in, and join the world watching birds!
 Dear Steve, We are about half way through the 4-day Great Backyard Bird Count—and the results are astounding! People from every corner of the world are out, watching, listening, and reporting their birds. What an impressive collective effort. Here is a brief run-down of the results as of 6:15 a.m. ET on Sunday, February 16:694,000 bird enthusiasts 7,305 species identified140,501 eBird checklists267,920 Merlin submissions saved58,000 Macaulay Library photos, videos, and sounds199 countries or subregions reportingThere’s still more time to count, so let’s keep the excitement going and continue to bring the world together for birds! Bird Scenes From GBBC Weekend    Photos left to right and top to bottom: Costa’s Hummingbird in U.S. by John C. Sullivan / Macaulay Library; Black-rumped Flameback in India by Ravi Jesudas / Macaulay Library; Speckled Tanager in Costa Rica by Peter Williams / Macaulay Library; Cooper’s Hawk in Canada by Hervé Daubard / Macaulay Library. Explore Bird Photos from GBBCWhat’s in Store for the Second Half of the Count?With 7,305 species at halftime, there’s still plenty of birds to find. Let’s exceed last year’s total tally of 7,920! As a reminder:Even if you’ve already entered sightings, you can still report birds from the same or different spots. We love seeing photos of birders and the birds they love. Keep sharing your bird and people photos! Share the joy of birds and help us spread the word about #gbbc or #gbbc2025 on social media.  A family in Thailand birding together by Pipope Panitchpakdi. Pipope says, “Birding keeps our family connected to each other and to nature.”A Brief Look at Global ResultsBird lovers in the United States and India are coming out strong submitting thousands of eBird checklist and Merlin sightings.Columbia, India, Brazil and Ecuador have submitted the most diversity of bird species.Many feeders in Canada and the United States are busy as birds seek food rich in protein and fat in cold regions. See More Global Results Common Murre near Farallon Islands NWR in California. Photo by Joseph Morlan / Macaulay Library. So Many Birds!We are seeing incredible abundance and diversity of birds around the world. Here are a few highlights on big flocks.An estimated 350,000 Common Murre seen of the coast of California by Farallon Island.Approximately 25,000 Common Crane were spotted in Spain by Gonzalo Peña Sánchez.A migratory flock of 20,000 Black Kites were spotted in Delhi, India.  A community group in the United States set out from their local library to watch and count birds by Steve Konieczki.Birds and bird enthusiasts never fail to provide good company and inspiration. Thank you for being a part of the GBBC. Have a great day birding! – Your friends at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada People Around the World Participating Keep the photos coming! We love to see your smiling faces enjoying birds.Many thanks to GBBC founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited. They’re ready to help you with all your backyard bird needs via their stores and podcast.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. You received this email because you are subscribed to Lab Project Participation, Discounts, and Promotions from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
But the beat goes on.
Holding up the backsplash to see how it’s going to look.
And. The van in the sunset.
The van isn’t getting much attention right now…
The surface is sanded, dusted, and the surroundings protected, then the primer applied. After the primer dries, the surface is sanded and dusted again, before the paint layer is applied. After that dries, repeat again for the second finish coat. If the adjacent surface will be a different color, it can’t start until the first surface is completed. It seems to be about 8 hours of prep and 2 hours of painting for every 10. Baby steps.
Today however, as some surfaces are finished, some of the plastic barriers are coming down.
Usually nobody works on the weekend, but the painter is going to come back tomorrow to finish up his part here.
