Nature in the city,

Even though I have been living in a cement monstrosity for the last six months, I have  appreciated deeply the little corners of green that I can  access  here  at the hospital.   There is a fair amount of green grass around the Hospital buildings and quite a few planted semi-mature trees.  There are three gazebos we take advantage of.   If we're lucky it's sunny, cool and a nice breeze.

A family of House Sparrows took over the biggest gazebo as their territory in the spring, so even though they were just squawking House Sparrows, we were surrounded by birdsong.  We watched the parents nest-building, feeding their, and then dispersing to raise second broods.

Did you know that the young appear bigger than their parents because they still have fluffier feathers and they hold their wings out wider appearing quite fat when begging for food?  We've seen as many as three fat, fluffed out yougsters following a slim hard working adult.  Today two were having a dust bath.

Those aren't the only birds we've seen.  Earlier in the spring the Canada Geese control the morning ramparts, honking to let the world know they're here.  Once the goslings are born, the adult males act as traffic cops while the females lead the young ones across the roads.  Now we don't hear them much, as they've dispersed learning to fend for themselves.   The hospital is located close to the valleys of Medway Creek and the Thame River, so there's lots of natural habitat for them to explore.

At other times our lives have been enriched by the red flash of a cardinal or the long musical song of a House Finch.  We regularly see Turkey Vultures soaring outside the windows.

 After spending several hours over several days trying tp insert pictures for this post directly fjrom my ipad, I have given up.  If I figure it out  I'llshare, them with you. . Cheers!