In an Odd Hint of Light

Those sheet strips we wrote about a few weeks ago really helped cut down considerably on the bird window strikes. We haven't had a single strike on any window where the strips are attached. It didn't occur to me to cover the sliding glass door, it's under an overhang, and a place of a lot of activity. So, the other day when the light was just right it really surprised us to see this winged smudge. (Click on pic to see this.)
It took us a while to figure out how to photograph it. Not the easiest ghostly image to coax from a piece of glass. We didn't see any birds on the ground nearby, so we're going to assume that this one took off and survived.
The weather has taken a nosedive right back into early spring. Cloudy and rainy, overnight temperatures in the 40s and daytime highs in the upper 50s. Not particularly good for getting out there and hiking around. It's hard to imagine that in a few days we will be celebrating the summer solstice, and the sun that we have hardly had an opportunity to bask in leisurely, will begin its long slide south. That doesn't seem fair at all. Still we make the best of it, and tease an impressionistic Monet from the rainy window and our wild lupin.

Some of our favorite naturalist bloggers-- Wayne, Bev, Doug, FC --have been showing grand photos of insects and alligators, all out there in the summery sun. I've been leaving comments thanking them for showing me all the critters I've been missing. Okay, I'm not really missing alligators, we don't ever have them here, so maybe there really is something to be said for living where the sun don't shine.
**********
I've compiled a list of folks who have tentatively agreed to host Good Planets over the next few months. So far, there's sbgypsy for July, Liza of Egret's Nest for August, Yankee Transferred for September, and maybe Bev for October. If anyone else would like to sign on, please let me know. Hosting Good Planets means that for second and fourth Saturdays in the month, you will post photos that people send depicting the beauty of our good planet. It's a traveling gallery of appreciation. Susannah of Wanderin' Weeta will be hosting next weekend. Her theme is for photos that depict fragility and durability. Quite a lovely idea. I hope you'll send her something (susannah AT dccnet DOT com). Take a look at the Flickr Gallery to get an idea of what has been sent in over the past year.

Roger and I might host Good Planets in November. It all depends on my health. I finally have a diagnosis from the dermatologist I saw on Wednesday. I have an auto-immune problem that strikes 1% of the population, with no known cause, no known cure. Oh yippee. I swear, I'll smack the next person who asks me if this is stress-related.

Have a great weekend. See y'all on Monday.