New River Birding & Nature Festival: My Intro

A week in the Farmhouse with the Flock was my privilege and pleasure. Nina at Nature Remains, Lynne at Hasty Brook, Laura at Somewhere in NJ, Jane (Wren) at Wrenaissance Reflections, Kathie at Sycamore Canyon, Susan at Susan Gets Native, Kathi at Katdoc’s World, and TR at From the Faraway, Nearby. Dear Tim resided in a cabin nearby – precious part of the Flock, nonetheless.

I have a Blogger Life List now. I loved them via cyberspace but this meeting was real. Being with good friends previously unseen was heaven.

Thank you for the buttons, Jayne! We wished you were with us. Ruthie and Delia sent wine and we missed them, too.

There were other funny and loveable nature bloggers who attended. I’ll try to name them all in upcoming posts. Be patient? I’m still tired.

Homeward bound on Sunday, driving through dark clouds, fog and rain in West Virginia and Virginia, remembering the week that passed too quickly, I crossed the North Carolina border into sunny skies. At home, I found pond flowers, leafed out oaks and Crepe Myrtles, and roses ready to bloom. My black & white girlfriends were too happy to have their playmate home again.

All of that beauty paled in comparison to the buttercups in the side yard at the Farmhouse. Oh… Sigh…

We shared here. Our personalities blended smoothly for a very short seven days and nights. Lots of laughter echoes in that house…

We investigated the property right away. Hot tubbing was appealing but the creek was a highlight for most of us.

Snapping turtles, newts…

The mountain beauty left me speechless many times

as did the rivers…ahhhh.

Group birding cramps my style of bird stalking for good photos. If I need bins to see a bird, I don’t bother the camera. There will be only a few decent bird photos to share here so check out the other blogs for the best bird shots. Jeff Gordon’s Northern Parula here – wow. Jeff took time to link the bloggers on his post so check it out.

For list lovers, I recorded thirty-eight life birds including indescribably gorgeous warblers! More on that later.

Keith and Connie on the Bobolink field.

I spent a few days with leaders Keith and Connie. When the Flock’s frivolity reached a certain level, they were able to calm us down in a good way. I hope we weren’t too challenging for them. We were happy folk.

On Day Three, the rains came and it continued to rain for the next five days. On our last trip of the Festival we sat in the van, packed in it like sardines, and listened to the rain tapping the windshield and roof. Connie and Keith exited the van to listen for us… We were silent – only hearing our own heartbeats, stomach sounds, and breathing.

No Golden-winged Warbler out there, so she talked about Eastern Box Turtles. Connie’s energy and enthusiasm is amazing. Keith is downright cool.

I think after six days of non-stop birding, you lose it.

When you are rain-drenched and feel cold trickles soak the back of your neck, roll down your back and up your sleeves; when your hair resembles a bad 1920’s doo plastered to your skull and applying lipstick doesn’t make you look any better; when you are cold and weary; when you are irritated to dry your eyeglasses, bins, and camera lens every ten minutes for days on end; when you are sick of hearing mud suctioning under your feet, you become delirious enough to laugh at everything and anything. At that point, life is a freaking riot.

It was suggested, on that last day in the van, late in the afternoon, under the rain, to make one last effort to see a Swainson’s Warbler - a bird that many have heard but not seen for years. Ok. An eager man in the back of the van exclaimed, “Yes! It would be great to see a Swainson’s!” Well, honey, didn’t we already wait for that bird for an hour three days ago?

I wanted to stay in the van and dry off as it was time to be back at the Farmhouse for a hot shower but off we went, ISO a Swainson’s Warbler - an elusive bird that makes fools of us. Many hear the bird but do not seen one in years! I leaned over to Lynne’s ear and whispered (stifling side-splitting laughter), F the Swainson’s. Susan and Beth thought it a great motto for a t-shirt. Yeah. F the Swainson’s! :o)

Side yard of the Farmhouse. How I miss that place and those wonderful faces.

Much more to come!

By the way, my good Fuji is perfect. There is nothing wrong. The operator unknowingly switched a setting, is all...