It was sunny yesterday. Cold, but sunny, and there’s no way I wanted to waste a sunny day doing laundry. Plus I figured the birds would be hungry. So I headed out to my favorite park, dressed in layers, with cleats on my boots, and a long lens on my camera.

I visited the boardwalk first, to see if I could garner another audience with the queen, but though she was in the thicket, she didn’t deem me worthy. It was early, but other small birds were more than happy to jump aboard the hand for breakfast.

Ms. Redbelly, however, would only eat from the railing. Though she seemed very interested in what I was doing out there on such a cold early morning.

I spent entirely too much time out there trying to coax the queen in, and finally my frozen toes and fingers insisted I move on or go home. I moved on.

I specifically wanted to hike the trails at the back of the park, looking for deer. But I think I’ll let the birds tell you the story.

And did I see any deer? Well, these demanding birds have taken up all my time.

You’ll have to wait and see.