This contemplative nuthatch has had a lot to contemplate of late, while my fine feathered mate is in the field doing research in Costa Rica. Last week her field season was turned upside down thanks to a harrowing tale of breaking-and-entry (aftermath pictured above), assault, and robbery, that she writes about over at her blog Cantos. Though she was uninjured, I followed my first instinct to stretch my wings and get there ASAP, and I spent the last week speaking spanish, scowling at unsavory locals (as nuthatches are wont to do), and dispensing a number of hugs sent along from many of our friends.
The new week finds them lodged in a beautiful small house tucked amid the hillside town of Quebrada Grande. The sense of support from the community is palpable, and the pulperia three houses up keeps a steady stock of ice cold coca-cola (an important tidbit when the thermometer crests 95 degrees in the shade). Despite the setbacks and negativity associated with the robbery, my resilient soterrey has kept her tail cocked and an eye towards the sky as she continues skulking through the underbrush, and I feel better having seen it with my own two eyes.
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