Colaptes auratus

As I strolled to the bus stop today, I spied a Northern flicker (of the Western red-shafted variety) bouncing along the sidewalk across the street. I can only assume he was hunting ants. I admired his lovely black bib, noted the shimmer of red along his tail, and after enjoying his company for a while I eventually turned the corner to leave him behind. Low and behold, a block later, here comes another flicker, once again bouncing along the sidewalk. Bounce bounce bounce. Hop hop hop. If that isn't blog-worthy, what is?

I am most familiar with the yellow-shafted form of the flicker, found in the Northern and Eastern U.S. The two varieties used to be considered separate species, but in fact they are simply different color morphs of one. Like other woodpeckers, they forage on trees for insect snacks, but they also spend a great deal of time on the ground in search of tasty ants and other treats. And, again, I must add that they bounce. Boing boing boing. It's hard sometimes not to add sound effects to thoughts such as these. Is this a result of reading comics, or watching cartoons? You tell me.

I write this entry from the Seattle Central Public Library. I'm not usually attracted to architecture, but this place is just plain old nifty. Even the escalators are cool--rimmed in neon green. Check it out: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/library/.

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle. Even the air feels good here, and I love rain. It's the one place I've found so far where two contrasting elements of my temperament are equally at home: the part of me that craves culture, diversity, people--and the part of me that demands access to nature. Here I stroll along streets lined with the typical accoutrements of cities: trash, puddles, people with time, people with money, people with cell phones, women in tiny shoes, kids in Chucks, crumpled men in decaying army jackets, stern men in suits, arguments, kisses, markets, stuff I can't afford, cars, bikes, skater kids, dogs with big brown eyes; but then suddenly while walking along all of this is overpowered by a garden--wild with color and blessed with so much rain, or a view of the Puget Sound--complete with islands and boats, or a snow-capped volcano. An American city packed with people and flowers, ringed with trees, water and volcanoes. Awesome.