Birding... is for the birds!

So TheBoy and I are going up to Sonoma this weekend with OlderBrother and OlderBrother's girlfriend to visit their Mom. Because they are good sons. So, as you can imagine, I'm picturing a weekend of wine tasting (though the no drinking makes that not as appealing as before...) and relaxing* with his family.

But I should have known, as OlderBrother is quite the outdoorsman, that we'd be in for some sort of activity. And in truth I would have really been looking forward to a weekend that involved kayaking... or cycling...

But birding? Yikes. I don't know anything about birds! Except that they are dirty and disease-ridden. I think I'll keep that jewel of information to myself as I suspect somehow it isn't going to score me any points with OlderBrother. Or their Mom.

A quick panic-filled call to TheBoy informs me that birding is really just hiking but with lots of stopping and binoculars. Hmm... So, y'all know how much I HATE being uninformed about stuff. So I did a little Google search and found all sorts of websites**... This birding stuff is pretty darn popular! They have pictures of birds that you can expect to see in various areas and you can even download little MP3s of the various bird calls! Who knew?

So I've committed a few useless facts to memory so that I can at least manage to sound mildly intelligent if the conversation turns obsessively to birds. Thankfully my other skills of nodding and smiling plus a keen ability to change the subject in any conversation should come in handy.

But... (Y'all knew there was going to be a "but" right?) Apparently, while birding, you have to be very, very quiet. (Insert mental image of Elmer Fudd here) Umm... Yeah. Those of you that know me personally please stop laughing! This is SERIOUS y'all!

For those IIF's I've never met let's just say... I am many things. But quiet? That's not even remotely on the list.

*sigh*

Wish me luck.


*Maybe relaxing is a slight exaggeration...

**This one is good: http://www.towhee.net/