A Nest Empty of Birders

Well, Pica and Numenius are back in their own feline-feathered nest in Davis as of yesterday, and I have to say I am a little forlorn. It was so nice to have the company and the activity, and well, it's awfully quiet here. So I set about having wash day today, under clear bright Carolina blue skies. Though they predict thunderstorms, there isn't a cloud in sight, and the temperature and humidity are climbing. This is the humidity everyone here has been warning me about and everyone in California makes a huge deal of, but so far, it's a mere 70% and it feels okay. I did grow up in the tropics, so I come pre-programmed for it. Funny though, you have to hang your laundry out to dry pretty early if you want it to be dry by day's end, even right in the sun, and that's an odd concept to a Californian. In Davis, it used to be almost instant. By the way, having just run my errands, everyone here complains of the heat just the same, and by their accents, these are the died-in-the-wool locals. It's just all the more excuse to slow down, make conversation with the clerks in the air-conditioned offices, and buy more ice cream.