i’ve mentioned waxbills here on the blog before… but these pictures taken in the early morning light with the vineyard on the background came out so cute, so here they are again!
probably one of my favorite tiny birds!
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glossy ibis
stumbled on a bunch of glossy ibis here in the ria the other day. they’re called the equivalent of “black ibis” in portuguese, and they do look black at a distance… but a closer look reveals a lot of other beautiful colors too, greens and rusty tones.
such a gorgeous bird! i don’t think i had ever seen them so close.
a month that started with the parents here, then us going to the birdwatching festival in sagres, then coming back to normal life, with rain, the new raised bed, mail and trips to the hospital to check on the boy’s never-ending cough.
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zitting cisticola
the zitting cisticola is the kind of bird you recognize mostly by hearing its periodic “zits” — when you look up, you notice a bird flying in waves, with the sound coinciding with the top of the wave. i was riding my bike through the salt ponds last weekend and noticed this one hanging around on a bush by the side of the road.
it gave me enough time to grab the camera and snap a couple of pictures, before flying away. neat! :)
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weeknotes 42-43/2023
– i finally reached inbox zero on my work mailbox! 🎉 this is a rare event, which happens only every few years for me. it feels amazing to see that folder empty, and i’ve been doing my best to keep it that way. the boy has been helping with the most difficult stuff, and iris, our new teammate has been a steady blessing too.
– the lebkuchen dough is ready for its 2-month rest, ahead of advent baking season! our trusty food-processor almost died in the process of making this sticky dough, the poor thing.
– my father reports that the olives from our olive tree that he took north some weeks ago, are eatable! two weeks with running water to lose the acidity, and now they’re ready to be seasoned. amazing!
– the rain is here, and there was so much wind last weekend that lots of trees fell down all over town. it’s kind of heartbreaking, seeing big trees drop like that and be immediately cut down.
– i’ve been playing with dall-e, the image engine. at some point it gave me this lonely santa, who looks like something out of a movie. what’s the story here? who is he waiting for?
– after a month or so of respite, the boy’s non-stop cough is back again… sigh.
– i’ve been a bit restless with my reading, dipping my fingers in lots of different books and not finishing that many, but last week i read through “making comics” by lynda barry, which is a bit like jumping into her art class and given assignments and exercises to do. i wish the library had more of her stuff.
– we watched the one piece live action, and i loved it!