BobTarte and Kitties @BobTarte@kitty.town

Please don't celebrate July 4 with fireworks. They scare pets and wild critters. They disturb children, people with PTSD, elderly people, and more. Celebrate, if you like, but do it without the bang and the boom.

My sister Joan died one year ago this month. We share an identical love for animals. Here's an amazing drawing she made in first grade of our parakeet, Kee-kee.

Finally feeling better this afternoon after waking up this morning with terrible anxiety, a migraine, and continuing grief over a special lost pet. Thanks to everyone on the Fediverse who showed me kindness today rather than adding to my pain.

@John How is Tazzy doing?

Very vigilant Eastern Kingbird at Tawas Point State Park, Michigan, last Tuesday.

Wasting bandwidth is a waste of bandwidth.

@jh4c I so much appreciate the boosts. Thanks so much.

I'm getting so excited about tonight's Acme vs. Coyote game!

Speaking of rare birds, I started my morning listening to a very rare Mourning Warbler at a nearby park. It took almost 20 minutes to finally hear it – once a Yellow Warbler and a Song Sparrow quieted down. The Mourning Warbler has been widely reported at that location. I didn't get to see it, but 90% of the birds that I encounter while birding are birds I hear but never see. So it's no big deal. And I was thrilled to hear the Mourning Warbler.

This photo of a distant Red-headed Woodpecker in the nearby town of Saranac, Michigan, doesn't look much worse in this close crop than it does when I show him small. So I went with the larger image. Red-headed Woodpecker is officially a 'rare bird' in my area, though not as rare as, say, an ostrich would be.

@fribbledom Thanks for following!

IMPORTANT NOTICE to all 15 of my kitty.town followers, including the 2 who are me on other instances. Please support our admin Ginny McQueen with a donation so she can continue keeping this instance alive along with eating and all that other stuff.

ginnymcqueen.com/support