We go on a lot of walks these days as we work to socialize the wild puppy. Legacy Park, which has enough winding and intersecting paths that it's easy to take a different route each time, and plenty of kind and understanding dog-friendly people, has become a favorite. Sometimes the baby Labrador interacts, and sometimes she prefers to just walk on by, but the good news is she's gradually growing less fearful.

One of my favorite things has been learning that the same group of red-winged blackbirds gather in the same pair of sycamore saplings each evening, singing and chatting and jostling for position. I wish I spoke blackbird because you just know that every sound and movement and wingbeat they make is laden with meaning, who's in charge, who had a good day, who's misbehaving, who's moving up in the avian world. At the very least, it sounds and looks beautiful.

* Well rats, videos have stopped playing on the site again. If you're interested, click through to flickr and you can watch them there.