The use of "cowboy"--4x

Today is the first Sunday of the NFL....'corporate sports'. Though not a corporate america fan I have to 'cowboy-up' and state that two of my most favorite days are the opening day of the NFL as well as the opening day of baseball. One in the fall, the other in spring.  But wow....I just love the feel Something akin to when I buy a new pair of cowboy boots I relish the smell of newly minted leather, while no smell what-so-ever for the opening days of baseball and football, ....the thought of it stirs me.

Just think now....of Spring...cool mornings...leaves turning a soft green...dew on the grass and a smack of the bat....crack...its outta of here kiddo....long gone. 

And fall......crisp nights with the window ajar at night....evening walks soaking up the last of an orange sunset and yes...the grunts and sounds of smacking bodies as the Eagles beat the Cowboys. 

Two huge days......huge. 

Now yesterday...Saturday...(as I write)...Sept 7th was opening day once more. Fall Bird Walk season. Just like spring bird walks, the fall offers hopes of new birds...unique experiences, oddities seen by the group. Whom might that be in that tree yonder? (Palm Warbler) What just flew over us? (Coopers Hawk) Oh, I didn't know that (white tail band on the Coopers)..... Look at the circular tree about 2 o'clock, see it? (not sure) That's a juvenile; but see the curve of the bill as that ID's it (Juvenile Little Blue). I see a juvenile on the tree in front but the adult is in the back tree (Blue Grosbeak). Look in the shadows, see it? (Clapper Rail). The legs are dirty but I see yellow, so...(Least Sandpiper). .......Ok cowboys, lets move on.

Just like....'strike three'....or 'first down'....the world of birding has its own language as exemplified by our first bird walk. 

But you know what....while I don't mind watching baseball alone ...or football ....I miss birding without the camaraderie of others much akin to my birding tastes. It makes no difference how one might be more adept at 'hearing birds' or visually spotting, or understanding habitat or the silhouette of one, or migratory patterns or feeding or having a better field guide or knowing the right spots or, or or.... It makes no difference cowboy. What makes the 'day' ...'a day'...is the camaraderie of existing as a group of birders. 

So there were 20 of us.....trekking around Forsythe. .....I didn't see all 70 birds spotted by the group all-told, but I did a bit of chatting with the group. You see, it has been a few months since our last Spring walk....