What's that bird?

I am grateful for what I am and have.

My thanksgiving is perpetual.

~Henry David Thoreau

Zelda is, perhaps, one of the most relaxed creatures I have ever known. She is along for the ride. She isn't crazy about the dark or traffic, but we were walking in daylight today. And, best part of Thanksgiving (other than the dressing) is the lack of traffic. Folks were home sleeping or cooking. Or Folks were gone -visiting at grandma's - so they were not racing up and down our road.

The park was quiet and still. We surprised a mockingbird. He (she?) perched on a limb as we walked over and debated just what kind of bird he was. Zelda wasn't interested and the bird didn't seem to mind her.

Zelda did alert on a huge tuxedo cat. The cat retreated and we continued home...past the flock of whitewings chowing-down on pecans, crushed by the curbside...past the dead squirrel* crushed in the street...up the hills and home.**

Sunrise

The sliver of moon above us.

We do have a bit of a "fall" here. One has to watch carefully for the leaves to change color. It's quick - easy to miss.

We snagged a few leatherflower seeds and spied this guy as we turned the corner.

Of course, we had no idea what he was, but he waited as I tried to get a good photo. He is a Northern mockingbird. Funny, I think of them as much thinner. And I do recognize them when I hear them or see them fly. He wasn't moving.

NOTES:

*As part of our MN volunteer work, I post plants, animals, insects and such on a website. There was a little debate about whether we should post "road kill." Apparently the answer is "Yes!" There are people who keep track of that sort of thing. I shed no tears for neighborhood squirrels.

**Zelda did try to run home, but I explained that she will have to run with DH.

Final note - no place else to put this and it is too good to lose among the masses of photos in the computer.

The Leon River bridge on Old Waco Road.