January 20

Happy birthday to Budd, happy birthday to Budd, happy birthday dear Budd, happy birthday to Budd. We also celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary today--it's a little problematical exactly how to celebrate with absolutely no entertainment in town. Probably go out to dinner and rush home to watch our Jazz. At least there's a restaurant.

Woke up to two inches of snow on the ground, turning the world white again after the last couple of weeks of thawing. Hope I can get to town, as we learned to our shock last evening watching SLC news that our bank had failed and we will need a new account. The only bank in town is Wells Fargo, not my first choice, but I guess it's any port in a storm.

We never seem to lack for excitement for too long, lol. Wrote the following yesterday to get a head start, so will conclude with some facts about the birds around here and then head to the bank to regain control of our funds.

We've noticed and wondered about a species of large black bird everywhere we've been in and around the Navajo Nation. Finally got around to looking it up, thinking raven and confirmed that's what they are. Wow, no wonder they spooked Edgar Allen Poe. They are massive, and a bit creepy, even more so than the grackles of Texas, that are very aggressive. We spotted about six ravens sitting on someone's pickup in Page, like they had it in for the guy. They are reputed to be among the smartest birds, able to solve more and more complex puzzles that people have set for them. They are certainly bigger than I had ever realized--about a foot tall when standing. I have no idea what the wingspan is.

I was also privileged to spot a pinyon jay in flight one day as we were driving in the park. This little bird is a beautiful blue against the red sand and rock. They are listed as vulnerable, one step below endangered, due to the disappearance of their habitat. Fortunately, there are pockets of pinyon pine throughout the mountain west that haven't been lost to forest fire, so hopefully these little guys will hang around for a long time yet. Even if I had been carrying my camera, I wouldn't have had time to get a picture of the one I saw as it flew across the road we were driving on.