Grand Central Station

I graded papers pretty much all day today--a miserable task generally--but today's grading was a lot more fun than usual because we had fauna galore in our back yard. You may recall that we discovered birdseed/squirrel food/suet this summer. We have continued to put food out diligently every day, so apparently our reputation has spread such that we are now in charge of feeding all wildlife in the western U.S.

At one point I peered out my study window to see our adopted squirrel, a northern flicker, a blue jay (I thought they'd all left for South Carolina!) about 12 quail, and at least 35 miscellaneous grey birds crowding around the bird feeders. Starlings were dive-bombing the garden in front of my window, scooping up some type of slimy bug, and periodically the magpies swooped in to scare everyone else away. The photos aren't real crisp because I had to take them through the kitchen window (the birds all flew away the minute I stepped outside), but I'm sure you get the idea.

It was almost as much fun as going to the zoo....until alas, I had to return to grading. Luckily, grades are due on Monday, so the agony can't last much longer.