Not what I expected from a birthday, but hey...

All set to drop the girls off at school and do some solitary birding, I hopped in the car and drove to school. No one in the parking lot. Wha...?

Did you know that today is a National Day of Mourning? And that schools were closed?

Damn.

So I got to spend the whole day with the girls, which wasn't in my plans, but we had fun anyway.

Pics from Magrish Riverland Preserve:

Burl: An outgrowth on a tree, possibly caused by bacteria, causes the tree to grow these lumps. If they are small, the tree can continue to grow, but if the burl is large, it can cause the tree to die. I first read about burls in Birds & Blooms magazine.

Wood turners will pay big bucks for a large burl. The burls are harder to cut than a regular piece of wood, since the grain is not straight, but curled and fancy, hence the wood turner's desire to use it. It makes beautiful bowls. (Hint for next year's birthday!)

Hey, Mary! I saw a great blue heron today, too!

It was darn cold this morning at Magrish. Even the river scum was frozen. This could be anything...I bet it's animal fats.

Pam has me looking in appreciation at fungus now. Here you go, Pam!

And finally, why I truly love my rats:

Penny, the "mommy" rat, loves my long-sleeved nightgowns, and crawls up to my elbow, turns around, and just hangs out. If I bend my fingers down, she will groom them. She crawled all the way up once, and got hold of THE GIRLS (ahem)...so I don't let her go up that far anymore.

Since I had the girls on a day I wasn't expecting to, Geoff took the girls to our YMCA so I could enjoy some solitude. Thanks, Geoff. Love you.

So ends my 34th birthday. Thanks, all of you, for sending your warm wishes, and also to Mary and Pam, who did special posts just for me today. I love blogging.