It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (cue music)

Well, this is it.  I'm on SEFI, hunched over my computer at the dining room table that I built with my bare hands.  This is where I wrote the first TPAD.  To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about what to say as I lay TPAD down for her final rest.  I think I'll pour myself another one and say farewell.  

It's been quite a year.  We have been through a lot of stuff together over the last 365 days.  Farallones, Midway, Hawaii, Angels Camp, San Francisco, the Carolinas, various hell-holes around Southern California... TPAD has been my best friend through it all.  We have seen hundreds of birds, maybe even thousands. We met so many amazing people and friends, and we immortalized them all by taking at least 2 photos of them every single day.

If you are reading this, I want you to know how much I appreciate you.  By merely clicking on TPAD and paying attention to me for a few minutes, you have made my life better.  Hopefully yours has been enriched as well.

I have been thinking about my blogging future lately and am still not sure what I want to do with my post-TPAD life.  I think it may heavily involve the GBRS and all that goes with that...

So I was considering either doing a 10 (ten) PAD, or a 20 (chwenny) PAD tonight, as it is a special occasion, but I think I will just stick with the good old 2 (too) Photos A Day.  So without further ado, here are my last 2.  They are just photos of my best parts of today.  Same as always.  Thank you all for looking at them.  It means a lot.

I found this Baird's Sandpiper lurking around Stinky Ponds today.  I was hoping for a White-rumped, but I'll settle.

I spent a good hour with the Northern Gannet today.  This is maybe the rarest bird I've ever seen in California.  He flew within 30 feet of me about a hundred times and I took a million pictures.  I finally settled on this one to finish off TPAD.  Everyone please now go listen to "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" by Boyz 2 Men or whoever.  Thanks for watching.

Lightning Strikes Twice. So Rare.

I was treated to a second Island Record of Ruff today.  Which is actually even rarer than a first island record bird if you think about it, because it's like lightning striking twice in the same spot.  This is a phenomenon describable only using Bradian Statistics.  Also, there are a bunch of E-seals that you all forgot about since last year.

Hope you're ready for the last installment of TPAD.  Hopefully it's a doozy.

Killer Sea Cow.  In Art black and white.

Ruff.  Like lightning.  Hopefully this bird will stick and I'll get better shots of it.  

Gannet: We Meet Again

After tonight there will be only two more TPADs.  I know this will upset some people.  Some will be elated.  Most people won't actually notice.  In any case, I'm currently looking for new blog ideas.  Any thoughts?  I only ask that it's not half as much work as TPAD.

Today on the Island was the same again.  Except that the Glorious Northern Gannet reappeared.  It is so awesome.  It is one of the greatest birds to ever live.  If it were a pop song, it would top the charts for 50 years.

PIGU not carrying stuff.  This goes against my whole idea I had yesterday. 

I finally got to see this bird fly today.  It proved to me that it is not a Cape Gannet.  Or some other ridiculous species that I have never heard of...