Friday's post on Sunday

Friday started off great, had a little blip in the middle, and ended up fine after all.  It began with a few pictures from my neighbor's garden as I left for school, some investigating of my new book "West Coast Birds" (Thank you, dp!) to try to correctly identify between house finches, pine siskins and song sparrows.  In the end, I realized from the book's descriptions that I have to take a bit more time to really listen to each individual song.  That will be a fun project for the future.  I listened a bit today (Sunday), and was absolutely intrigued by the variety of beautiful melodies.

This one could be any of the above mentioned, although it is for sure a female, if a house finch (males always more colorful).

I suspect these two are mates, so would say house finches, with the male on the left.  I think its bum is turned towards the camera.  Strangely, I could almost pick out facial features at first:)
Black-capped Chickadee.  Easy one (I think:)
Walking up to 10th, this crow stared intently, and didn't shift its gaze for my camera.  I loved its confidence.
Waiting for the bus on West Georgia (I have a variety of bus routes to school), I took  a photo of my shadow with this lady.  I used to love her, but have sadly come to find her over exposure in the advertisements at Fifth Avenue Theatre (Bill and I probably go here more often than to any other movie theatre) to be putting me off.  I did watch two children put a small green garland under her left hand, and loved their pleasure in her.
I defy anyone to tell me this pigeon's colors are not beautiful.  It was in the grass behind the bus stop.
Once in North Van, I felt so strong and well, I decided to walk a bit longer way than my normal route up to the school.  Instead of crossing over the Fell Street Bridge, I took a side street, and loved these next two shots of a creek.  One of those pockets of beauty that are easy to miss among some industrial ugliness.

This crow was by the creek.  I hate that I worry sometimes, and those thoughts linger, once established.  Here, I only noticed with the picture enlarged, that there appeared to be something circling the crow's mouth.  Hopefully, it's just a bit of the tree buds, and the crow is just fine.
The Lions seemed closer than I've noticed before.  They will serve as the "beast" portion of this post.
Along the waterfront to school, these cormorants appeared to be having a meeting, infiltrated by one crow spy.
I was happy with this shot of geese, right in front of the school.
The blip?  When I began my first class, the kids noticed a largish bruise on my forehead that had not been there previously.  it scared me, and I paid a visit to the clinic.  The good thing?  The doc felt that it wasn't serious - just a minor surface bleed (rather than subdural), with the excess showing up in my forehead.  I guess it's fairly normal to be a bit nervous right now, but my lowered confidence is not a comfortable shift away from my regularly robust self-image.  Just in case there is a new reader wondering what I'm talking about, my recent cycling accident is explained here.  Another good thing - a lovely lift home, and an interesting conversation.  The discovery that the owner of my school also loves birds and books was a new link of communication that made me happy.

Then, out with Bill for a delicious supper at  Enigma Restaurant near us, some very pleasant live music by a group called Lesismore and then, again, early to bed.  That was Friday.