Yes... I must apologize for having been gone for too long.

I have plenty of excuses for not having posted before now.


My latest excuse is that I was in the hospital for a week with meningitis and pneumonia

I got to come home this past Thursday.


How did I get meningitis?

I'll spare you all the details and just give you the nuts and bolts.

Remember I had told you about having surgery for a brain tumor? That's been almost five years ago. Well, the incision site has developed a "leak". Yes... I am leaking CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) and it's running out my left nostril.


So...


This opens up an area of the body that is supposed to be a "closed system". Nothing in... and nothing out. However, in my case I have plenty running out which also gives opportunity for much more to run in.


Anyway... I hope that we can come up with a solution to repair the leak and return the open system back to a closed system.


This is something that really needs to happen.



This morning while I was drinking my coffee I had quite a surprise drop by my bird feeder.

I couldn't believe my eyes and was afraid that I was imagining what I was seeing.

I moved very slowly in my chair in preparation to slip back into the house so that I could grab my binoculars and camera, but the visitor saw the movement and flitted away.





Thankfully the shy little bird came back and I was able to make a positive ID on it.


It's a Painted Bunting!!!!!





How I have been hoping to see one of these birds. I have only heard about them and seen them in photographs. Their numbers are in decline and they are listed as a "near threatened" species.

Today I saw one for the very first time!

And I've reported my sightings to the ebird project. This project is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society.





As an added bonus this male Painted Bunting has a mate. While she isn't colored in any way like her mate, her green coloring is quite pretty in and of itself.





I wish that I had better photographs of these birds, but they were at the feeder that is farthest from my vantage point and I do not have a telephoto lens for my camera.



So these closely cropped images will have to suffice for now. Perhaps, they will become more comfortable with my backyard and I'll be able to get a better picture of them both.

later...