As I write this, it is May 22, 2026. It has been hard to get out with the camera this past week, but I have been getting out anyway. Two days ago, and for several days before, it had been getting above ninety degrees. While I prefer the warmth to cold, above ninety degrees in Virginia is a bit too hot. I remember days that were above one-hundred degrees where I lived before moving to Virginia that was a desert environment and I didn’t think it was as bad. Yesterday, the temperature dropped around thirty to forty degrees, and it has rained at some point every day for multiple days. Today and tomorrow, it is supposed to rain all day.
The weather alone in Virginia can make me miss my desert environment that I had to leave just before I turned twelve, but I know while there are things out there that I would enjoy seeing again and while I would enjoy the weather more, there are things I would miss about Virginia. Things like the cardinals, the frogs and toads that I hear every spring, along with all of the trees that thrive here.
To avoid the rain, I have been taking the camera out on the deck rather than walking around the neighborhood as I could easily get inside before the rain started. I have observed several types of birds including cardinals, ruby-throated hummingbirds, doves, and gray catbirds.
A local gray catbird looks as though it survived an attack. The feathers on the back of its head are missing. When you watch wildlife, you really come to understand just how hard of a life they can have. Within this neighborhood, I have also seen a squirrel that is missing part of its tail and a rabbit that has something wrong with one of its eyes.
