the snow flies again

winter has arrived on the prairie. flurries of worries and flakes are swirling outside. i still haven't been birding since my last posting but am reading the observations of others--it's owl season at last! Also waterfowl are plentiful along the lakeshore, with SURF SCOTERS and WHITE WINGED SCOTERS showing up at various harbors in the past 48 hours. I keep scanning the shrubbery and low trees on Northwestern's campus, but all I seem to get are starlings and a bunch of freaked-out robins.
I'll be heading to southeastern Ohio this weekend to celebrate my birthday in style with my friend E. (She's in training to become a massage therapist. Can you say freebies?)
Am gravitating more and more these days toward the world of print, rather than merely virtual, publishing. Advice, tips, crushingly personal criticisms are all welcome. (Actually, strike that last, would you? No CPCs.)