A Day Off

On my day off, I went to the library. Well, I just popped into my local branch of Capital City Library, and was very glad that they still had the book I put on hold, way back last Monday. I forgot how busy -- and how small -- RPL's first branch is. At midday, it felt packed with computer users, someone at the jigsaw puzzle, a magazine reader (the white-haired man with a mild mental illness (?) who one often sees roaming the city in a jacket with a crest), and a few book browsers. I chatted for a moment with the staff, then hit the road with my next bookclub book (Freakonomics).

As I ran around town, one thing I noted is that VCU's newest building, across Belvidere from the ugly, ugly engineering building, appears to be Richardsonian Romanesque revival. Promising.

A few other errands later, and I was back at the Mixmaster, ready to start the second batch of cookies for the day. That's right, despite another 70 degree day, it is time to bake Christmas cookies. I'm on spritz, right now; the chocolate shortbread have cooled.

Also, I raked up one bag of leaves from the backyard, fixed the fence and gate, and put new sheets on the bed.

Some day of rest? Well, yesterday was more a day of rest, with a great birding hike on the lagoon side of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area, a visit with FW and GA, and the decorating of the aluminum tree.

And now, just for Spunky Primate, here's our bird list:
double-crested cormorant
canada goose
american black duck
gadwall
mallard
american wigeon
wood duck
american coot
great blue heron
great egret
vulture
belted kingfisher
pileated woodpecker (4 individuals!)
common flicker
red-bellied woodpecker
yellow-bellied sapsucker
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
eastern phoebe
carolina chickadee
tufted titmouse
brown creeper
carolina wren
ruby-crowned kinglet
brown thrasher
mockingbird
eastern bluebird
american robin
yellow-rumped warbler
red-winged blackbird
junco
northern cardinal
white-throated sparrow
song sparrow