Thursday, March 20, 2008

"We should have named you Spring"

That's what my dad says to me quite often on this day. After all, it is Spring now...and my birthday happens to fall on the vernal equinox more often than not.

However, I can't remember Easter ever being this close to my birthday. I suppose it's one of those once in a lifetime things.

Anyway, I am 41 and life has never been better!

My special bird sighting of the day: sharp tailed grouse. They like brushy habitat, of which we have plenty here, but they are rarely seen. They should be starting to dance on leks about now.

13 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Oh- HAPPY BIRTHDAY Friend!!! I'm glad you're having a good day and that things are going so well for you. I'm envious of the sharp-tailed grouse! That would be a lifer for me.

HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!!

I'm lifting my glass (of Pepsi) to you right now! :)

RuthieJ said...

Happy Birthday Deb! It sure was a nice day to celebrate a birthday.

(I'm glad your parents didn't decide to name you "Vernal" either)

Deb said...

Thank you Lynne! And one of the highlights of this past year has been meeting you (3 times now!) and getting to know you as a friend.

I'll ask the area wildlife manager if they still have blinds at some of the sharptail leks. They used to have volunteers go out early in the morning and monitor activity. I think it would be fun.

This one was quite unexpected, it was just flying across the road as I was driving by, and I somehow instantly knew it was not a ruffed grouse!

But I still can't tell a raven from a crow half the time. There is always room for improvement.

Deb said...

Thank you Ruthie! I too am glad they were set on one of the minor fad names of the time. My sister-in-law is also a Deb, so it must have been popular in the late sixties.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

LOL!!! Vernal!! Maybe I'm tired, but that really cracked me up!!
Are you Deb- not Deborah?

It seems I remember reading that there are a couple of leks west of Cloquet along 210?

Rurality said...

Happy birthday! Ruthie beat me to it, I was going to say "Verna" though. :) I do know someone with that name!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday!

Deb said...

Lynne- I am Deborah, and I go by Deb, but please don't call me Debbie! :)

And there very well might be some leks along 210. I'll try to find out for sure. That would be something for you, to see a lifer so close to your land that you love!

Rurality- Thanks! And I am glad they didn't go with the "vern" thing. :)

Laura- Thank you! And welcome!

Anonymous said...

You have Arrived and with an I-pod too, Happy Birthday Deb.
Nature Knitter's Mom [Betty K]

MojoMan said...

Happy birthday! A friend orders all kinds of CDs from the library and transfers the music to her iPod. Legal? Hey, I ain't no lawyer.

What's a lek?

barefoot gardener said...

Happy, happy birthday to you, my friend!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Deb! What a great day for a b-day.

Deb said...

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone! We had a wonderful dinner of scallops and curried rice and vegetables. I had a few glasses of wine, which had the effect of making me unable to perform basic tasks like installing software. ;)

MojoMan- A lek is basically a place where sharp tailed grouse gather to perform their mating dance. They tend to gather at the same places each year.