I got out birding again yesterday, since it was so gorgeous! I went back to Marymoor Park with my camera. As I was heading back towards my car, the birds suddenly lost their shyness! :D Three bald eagles this time! Two adults and one juvy. One of the adults had REALLY beat-up feathers. ( Birdie Report and Photos )

Today was zoo day! ( Zoo stuff! )

Came home and got to work on the latest SGA jacket incarnation - Weir's this time! This one is SO rocking my pants. I found the perfect fabric for the shell and lining, and the pattern I'm modifying is working out really well so far. I'm getting to the part I hate most, though - sewing together all the little pockets and flaps and junk, and the velcro, which is Pure Evil. Ah, well, it's worth it. And I'm keeping track of how much this one costs me and how long it takes me to make it. If it works out well, I may start taking commissions on making them. :)

Oh! And OMG, I finally ordered a tablet! *runs in circles* I ordered a Wacom Graphire 6x8 off Amazon, and it should be here Monday! Yaaaaaaay! I'm so excited to play with that. I'm glad I don't work on Tuesday, so I can just sit around all day and draw on it. :P

I've been cleaning my room today. It's taken all day. :P I should have done before and after pictures, because the mess on the floor was about as bad as it's ever been in my life... and that says a lot. :P I can see the floor again!

We went out tonight and saw "Meet the Robinsons." Really good movie! It started out fairly slowly and it took me awhile to really get into it, but as it got closer to the end, it really picked up. And (without spoiling anything) the last moment of the film is the perfect touch. :) The villain totally stole the show for me - he's an absolute riot! The animation felt rather slapdash, almost sub-par for Disney, but I also have an extreme bias towards traditional hand-drawn animation. Pixar it's not... but I definitely recommend this one! And they have a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon ("The Boatbuilders") beforehand, so it was awesome to see some vintage 1930's Mickey!

I also got my bird photos up! On the way home from Vancouver on Saturday, I stopped at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary west of Ladner, BC. Wow. Just wow. I could have spent HOURS there - there were so many birds! There were at least 6 or 7 individual bald eagles - when I first got there, they were all circling in one area together! They have a bazillion mallards that are really tame, and they'll actually follow you around. I'm sure I only saw just a small fraction of the species there, since I spent so little time. ( The list and the links... )

ETA: Eeeeeee! The Disneyland Secrets, Stories, and Magic DVD that was promised and never came will finally be getting a release!!! *bounces around*

So the man in the Great Brown Truck came today and made life win! XD Spent the afternoon at Marymoor Park, playing with the new lens on bird photos... and OMG!LOVE.

( 400mm f/5.6L pics and review under the cut! )

Bottom line? This lens owns my soul.

ONE WEEK LEFT TIL MY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL...EVER!! OMG, it feels weird. I mean, I really don't think that it's entirely hit home yet. I picked up my cap and gown on Monday, got graduation tickets today, and on Friday night is the senior biology party. But I don't think it's hit me that a week from today may very well be the last time I ever attend a class (barring the future decision to go to grad school).

I was a good girl today and spent the morning doing an assignment... okay, so GW was down and I didn't have anything else to do. Shut up. :P Wrote that paper, then to reward myself for being a good girl, I went out to Lake Murray to go hiking. Oh, man, I love that place. If you like birds of prey, that's the place to go. They have ospreys and turkey vultures regularly. I always at least see one or the other, and today I saw both. They don't have super-strict regulations on where you can and can't walk, and in fact if you wander off the asphalt path there's a TON of nifty little trails through the brush.

( The bird report! )

( Tagged! )

Felt like wandering after class, so I went down to the Mission Bay Flood Channel for birdwatching and such! It's been awhile since I've been there. Dear lord, the tide was way out. Even after all the time I spent there when I did a research project there for Vertebrate Natural History, I never saw it that far out.

Had a blast with my camera! Here's a few of the pics I liked best:
Desert Cottontail - BUNNY!! He was frozen in place, just a few feet away from me. Sat there while I took photos, too! I probably traumatized him or something.
Duck Fight - Duck fiiiiight!
Unknown Ducks - Okay, I can't for the life of me identify the species. They were hanging out next to some ruddy ducks. They look like female buffleheads, but I saw no males. Cyber cookies to anyone who can ID them for me!
Little Blue Heron in Flight - LOVE the color on these guys! Their only known nesting site in the San Diego area is actually at SeaWorld (just behind me)
Little Blue Heron in Flight 2 - Another, 'cause they're so damn pretty
Osprey - HELL. YES. I saw something big in my peripheral vision and turned to see this big beautiful osprey soar RIGHT over my head!
Snowy Egret - They're everywhere, they're brave, I have lots of pics of them.

Lots of pics that came out meh, due to bad lighting (cloudy and dark and icky today) and a cheap 300mm lens. Ah, well, they'll be good reference for drawing, at least. I REALLY need a 400mm+ lens. Anyone want to buy me one? C'mon, you know you want to!! I think once I have a job and bills/rent are covered okay, I'm gonna save up for one. But if I'm spending that much money, I'm gonna do it right and buy an L-series lens. *drools at the thought* Buuuuy meeeee leeeeeeeennnsssss! Pleaaaaaase?!

Anyways, here's the full species list for today ( under the cut... )

Been watching The Outer Limits on SciFi. The episode last hour had Marina Sirtis. Wheee! The characters were trying to get to a place called "Snoqualmie." That made me giggle, every single time they said it. My immediate thought was "Dear god, why would you want to go there? They don't call it the 'best concrete in the Northwest' for nothing. Go to Crystal or Stevens or Baker instead!" Why yes, I am skiing deprived, thank you! And now, Torri's episode of The Outer Limits is on! Hooray! I've seen it before, but I love it. Kind of a predictable ending, but Torri's character is SO nervous and shy and un-Weir, it's fun to watch. And the lead guy is really hot. ;)