The end of the year is a time of summaries and reflection, as well as plans
for the new year ahead. One thinks of what one intended to do when the year
started, and looks at how it turned out.
I am humbled to be the inheritor of 268 pages in two ring binders,
representing all the months since September 1993 (22+ years), of Carol
Karlen's backyard bird observations. Each sheet spent a month on the
kitchen table facing the backyard and collecting checkmarks. Yesterday I
sat down to go through the last 12 months and tally our backyard year
sightings. Carol's entries ended April 3. She got to see 43 species this
year. I only added another 18 in the rest of the year.
Then I turned to changing the calendars around the house. I knew this was
coming. Carol's handwriting was on the first three months, then there were
two months of doctors' appointments, then the last seven months were only in
my handwriting.
Finally, I turned to her "bird bag" on the bedroom floor. I pulled out the
familiar clipboard. I tallied her Yamhill County year list, adding the Tree
Swallow we saw on March 29, her last new year bird. She saw 94 species for
her county year list. Then I turned to her Oregon State year list. She saw
129 species in those three months, including the life bird Black-headed Gull
at McNary Wildlife Area on Jan. 8 and the exciting Gray-crowned Rosy Finches
NW of Enterprise Jan.11. She helped with my two Gilliam County Raptor
Routes for Jan and Feb and completed her two Yamhill County Raptor Routes
for Jan, Feb, and Mar.
In late May we wheeled her out in the yard at LifeCare in McMinnville.
Before the nurses could take the blood pressure reading they wanted, she
made them pause. She'd spotted a Turkey Vulture overhead.
New calendars are up. Who knows what lies ahead of us? What will 2016
bring?
Paul Sullivan
