Did I contract mono at the NRBNF?

I've been home from the NRBNF for just about four days, and those days have been a fog.

The old bod is still set to West Virginia mountain time, i.e. Get up at 4:30 a.m., breakfast at 6, bus at 7, bird my ass off until mid-afternoon, drink, sleep and shower off the mud, drink, dinner, drink, presentation, drink, laugh and sleep.
Rinse and repeat 6 days in a row.

All birding festivals are tiring. It's not like the birds come to you....they make you work for that flash of butt they give you.
"Really! That's a Swainson's warbler! I know, it's a bird butt. But trust me!"

I will say that even though the big meanies at the NRBNF make you get up at zero:dark thirty, they make up for it with a good hot protein-packed (bacon!) breakfast and killer dinners.

Lunch is alfresco, cold cuts on a rock on the side of the road. And you don't care that you are sitting on a cold rock with cold meat. You'll eat it and you'll like it!


The ride home from each trip is much quieter than the trip out. So many birds, so many plants, so much fun. I was nearly the youngest participant at this particular festival and I frankly don't know how the older folks were able to hang on as long as they did.




I stayed awake long enough to capture the quickly slouching postures of those around me...





Awwww.....Vickie and Debbie. Don't they look like little angels?