Such a saucy fellow

Currently at Toronto Pearson: 23. High today: 30.

Meet Idiot Features the robin!



So, yesterday, I arrive at the cottage, open the curtains on the back sliding doors, and within, I don't know, seconds, Idiot Features has launched himself into the doors and landed on the deck. Oh dear, I think, without the curtains this bird doesn't see that it can't get in here--but I guess it won't do that again. A while later, I am in the kitchen, and I hear, coming from the front room: *thunk*. *thunk*. *thunk*. *thunk*. *thunk*. At first I have no idea what this is, and then I discover: Idiot Features is hurling himself repeatedly into the doors. So I close the curtains and figure that will be the end of it--until I hear *thunk*ing from other parts of the cottage. This morning I go outside and Idiot Features is at the cottage next door, hurling himself into one of their windows, and then it occurs to me: Idiot Features does not want in; Idiot Features wants to kill that other robin. This afternoon I see Idiot Features down at our craptacular little bunkie thing, hurling himself at its craptacular little window. And then finally Idiot Features confirms my theory:



He carefully considered hurling himself into our car window--



--but for some reason thought better of it.

I often wonder how any robins manage to live.

You better believe that's a paddlin'

Currently at Toronto Pearson: 22. High today: 30.

Off to Victoria in the morning ... on to Port Angeles on Sunday, back in Victoria from Monday to Sunday for EPTC and whatnot, but mostly for EPTC.

Something else I've noticed about trilliums this year: some white trilliums turn pink. When I was at the cottage a few weeks ago, I was looking around for a bunch of pink trilliums I took a picture of last year, and couldn't find them--only white trilliums. Now all the trilliums in that area are pink--although not all the white trilliums, or even most of them, everywhere turn pink. Some trilliums seem to start out pink, but very few. (I read somewhere a while ago that white and pink trilliums are the same kind of trilliums--which is evidently the case--and whether they turn out white or pink depends on what they're growing in--which may be the case for all I know.)

I think this trillium looks like a sad cute cartoon character:



Red trilliums--



--are, however, evidently a different kind of trillium. They apparently all disappear before the white/pink ones do; they were more or less entirely gone this week.

This week at the cottage, on one hand, there were lots of bugs! On the other hand, there were lots of bugs! I am full of holes. Fortunately for some reason I don't mind them nearly as much as I used to--I actually find them a bit amusing. A bit. Although they are considerably less amusing when I'm trapped in a canoe with them. (I think I figured out how to paddle a canoe this week. At least, I am suddenly a hell of a lot better at it than I was before. Once again, "down, not across" is pretty good advice.)

What's really having a good time up there now are dragonflies. ( But dragonflies always look like they're having a good time. )