a couple nieces delivered babies in the past 24 hours. had no idea they were due so close in dates. it was kacey's first and heidi's 4th. hard for me to remember but i think that makes 18 great neices/nephews for me. i have 24 neices/nephews. i'm one of seven kids....it doesn't take long to build up numbers from those. i'm pretty sure my lack of children hasn't impacted the world much, there are plenty of genes to carry on from our family. my only regret of not having kids myself is mostly curiosity. one wonders how they would have done at that great task of child rearing. if my dogs are any indication i suspect i would have fared as well as anyone else. my dogs are sweet and well behaved. when you watch supernanny and the dog whisperer it's amazing the similarities...congrats to both of my neices and all the best in this endeavor to raise children. seems to be a huge challenge at times. with huge challenge comes huge reward...or greater disaster, you just have to wait 15-20 years to see which way that goes. our family seems to have a good history of creating people who bring a good element to the earth we live on though so i feel fairly confident in thier abilities. they come from good stock as they say.
my back has been a bit of a challenge today. always worse when i first wake up. did make it for a walk with tanya and her beasts to potter to mchugh. we didn't go all the way. partly my back and partly for rio's sake. i probably took rio to give me the excuse to turn back. these trails are just much rougher for her now that the soft and forgiving snow and snow banks are gone. roots are very hazardous and she slipped off the trail a few times. she really wanted to go today after being left behind yesterday. i stopped by potters marsh to see what birds were out and then when my back started to feel crappy i headed home again. want to exercise it, but also baby it a bit so that it doesn't worsen, but improves in time to return to work thursday. the gym is getting repaired so i would have to use the family locker room, which bites, so i just took the day off.
it was a beautiful day out there so i'm happy i was able to get out and enjoy it. my feeling is unless i have neurologic symptoms i should try and rest my back but also exercise it. have a good book i'm reading and i have a movie for tonight so i that helps.
was obsessed watching these birds out at potters. believe these are tree swallows. love swallows, mostly because they tend to eat mosquito's which i hate. forget waterboarding for information, just put those people in a room filled with mosquito's and no way to defend themselves, they'll be talking in no time. so i love swallows. watching them fly about is crazy. there seems to be no rythym or reason for thier flight direction. it was windy out there today so they were really going nuts. tried to take pictures for a bit and got lucky only when they landed briefly before flitting off in another direction.
did see the sandhill cranes out there, as i drove to potter trailhead they were pretty close to the boardwalk, but when i stopped by the boardwalk they had moved back quite a ways. only a crappy picture or two of them. 
few pictures of the swallows in flight. 
my day otherwise wasn't too exciting or productive. did get some stuff organized for my july trip and am a step closer to doing a few more things on my to do list tomorrow. my days off are flying fast. have a kayaking trip coming up fairly soon and need to rent a kayak for that one as well. still need to find petsitters for july. hard to find with my menagerie. well, hard to find good ones. i'm always nervous, they are my little fur family so i don't want them to be happy as they can be with me away.
not sure, but suspect these are common wigeons? do have my new bird book so i can check birds better without having all my photos fall out of the pages. i haven't kept lists but have taken pictures. may have to see if a birder friend works next week when i'm in peds and see if we can id a few of the species that i have been unsure of. not a birder, just curious. will have to look for new birds when i'm in southeast. add some more pictures to my book. still..not a birder, haha. 
not much exploration today. did enjoy the sun outside as much as i was able. back feels okay when i'm in one position or another, but moving can be a bit dicey. back issues are so bothersome. comes from years of working hard. worked as an emergency room veterinarian technician for years, volunteered as a zoo keeper for several years at the los angeles zoo and then nursing. you do feel so invincible when you are young and then one day you get older and realize that all those things you do have an impact. people do these big, crazy hikes and i get it, but i also know that coming down steep inclines will bust up your knees. you can plan for surgery, but i'd rather hike more conservatively and enjoy more years of hiking relatively pain free. it's amazing how many people who are less than 30 require joint surgeries...how will they feel when they get my age and older. you only get the one body and it behooves you to care for it well.those swallows sure were pretty little birds. lifes little pleasures, i was enthrawled watching them. one often watches birds and wishes you could float up there as they do or soar to a mountaintop rather than hike it. i'd miss my hands though and it's hard to beat opposable thumbs.
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