Birds drop by, flicker too, as 2009 begins.

I've never done resolutions well, so my thoughts as to adjustments at the start of a brand new year come more in the form of trial plans.  I'll put them out here and give them a try.  If they work, great;  if they don't, it won't be so bad to go back to the status quo - it isn't perfect but it isn't terrible either.  A trial for the blog is to make entries shorter and confined to no more than two topics, with the subjects shown somewhere in the title.  This one will stick to birds, and the new year.

A flicker again graced our back yard with its presence.  I'm not satisfied yet with the picture.  Through the window is the best I can do, since it flies away the minute I touch the door knob.  Although I know washing the windows would help, realistically, that's not going to happen unless I suddenly become inspired on the weekend.  But, I still get a rush of adrenalin every time the reds flash by.  This one seems to prefer the one block of suet at the top right of the container.  It is melt free.    

What is it about red shades that I find so attractive?  Here is a finch (I think) against a blue sky.
I've seen a few white-breasted birds lately.  They have extremely round bellies.
I found it endearing the way these two starlings sat bum to bum in almost mirror image.
They had only a few seconds alone before the crowd arrived.
Here, two starlings get along fine.  I love the athletic pose of the lower one as he braces his legs for better grip.
And a bit more about my thoughts for 2009.  I've decided to try out the idea of making a plan each evening for the day to follow, allowing at least an hour and a half within it of flex time.  I could not count the last minute telephone calls to Bill, adjusting our original meeting time because of unexpected things that came up, or just because of my inefficient time management.  Just a trial.  We've managed pretty well, but I'd like to count less on the fact that Bill adapts large parts of his day to mine without ever complaining.  I've lived a selfish existence in many ways, and this might be one small way to begin to change that.