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Here they are,

belated highlights of the big 3-7:

Oh breakfast crepes, oh breakfast crepes

thy taste is so delicious!

Oh breakfast crepes, oh breakfast crepes

I enjoy thee ev'ry year!

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In the afternoon, we went to the Lab of O.
(aka the Lab of Ornithology.)

I had a lovely encounter through the observatory windows
with a pair of geese, the male in particular.

He had a watchful, soulful eye
set on me and my camera.

 Eventually he either tired or relaxed,
closing his watchful eye,
standing on one foot.
Poor fellow's left wing feathers were a bit ragged.

He looked like he was doing qigong,
which I had done earlier in the morning.

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While the geese were on the shore, the ducks were out on the pond,
having their ducky frivolities, i.e. a fabulous time.

Interesting how two very different emotions can be evoked
from practically right next to each other,
from the sublime to the silly.
You would think they'd be a world apart,
but not at all.

Another lesson from our winged friends.

If you've never been to the Lab of O,

I highly recommend it.

I also recommend going into the sound room,

where you can listen and learn about the sounds of so many birds.

They even have some frogs, insects, and a few mammals.

They also have some gorgeous nests in display cases.

I love this one that was probably made with part of an old blue tarp.

 There's a fantastic new mural that was impossible to capture with my camera.

Everything is life-size, painted to scale.
There is nothing like this.

To say that the scope is grand would be an understatement.
It spans hundreds of millions of years to the modern day.
Every family of bird is represented.
 The magnificent frigatebird above is perched on top of a sprinkler.

If you can't visit it in person (and even if you can!)
Check out the interactive version of the mural online here:


https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/features/wallofbirds/

The entire project is beyond spectacular,
and absolutely breath-taking.

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It was a birdy birthday,
but my birthday dessert was most certainly for people,
(though it did have some seed brittle that many a bird may enjoy):

Sasha made an exquisite cheesecake (with goat cheese!)
with seed brittle (sesame seeds and poppy seeds!)
served with a yummmmmmmy blood orange sauce.

Grateful, grateful.

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