Julia Lives in a Van Cozy Mystery Series Books 4 - 6 by Richards L. C

Author:Richards, L. C.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

After taking Toby out, we met Dottie and Penelope at the entrance to the Harbor Town marina. The marina was located next to the restaurant we ate at yesterday and would probably eat at tonight. As soon as he saw Dottie and Penelope, Toby barked and started wagging his tail so hard I thought he was going to fall over. There were hardly any people around, and I hadn’t seen any stray or loose dogs (or crocodiles or pythons), so I let Toby off his leash. He ran to Penelope and jumped into her arms.

“Toby!” Penelope laughed. Her face was scrunched up because she was trying to protect her mouth from Toby’s licks. “I’m so glad to see you! It’s been so long!”

Dottie looked much more relaxed than she had earlier.

“Where’s Vicki?” I asked, not seeing her.

“She had a headache and went to lie down,” Dottie said.

“So, did you guys see anything good?”

“Got a new one for our life list,” Penelope answered proudly.

“A Bahama nuthatch?” I asked.

“Not quite,” Penelope mock-pouted.

“A Bahama yellowthroat,” Dottie said.

“So, where did you see the Yellowthroat?” I asked.

“In some bushes about fifty yards down the beach,” Dottie answered.

“Come on,” Penelope said as she put Toby down on the ground. “We’ll show you. Maybe he’s still there!”

We walked past the restaurant and then down a short path to the beach. A couple minutes later, Dottie stopped short. “There he is!” She was pointing into a break of bushes. At first, I didn’t see anything, but then I saw something flitting back and forth.

“Here, take my glasses,” Penelope said as she handed me her binoculars. “He just flew up to the top of that bush.”

I looked in the direction Penelope pointed, then pulled the binoculars up to my face. When I had started birding, I was horrible at seeing a bird and then finding it again through the binoculars, but I’d gotten the knack of doing this pretty well. “I see him!” I said.

“A lot clearer than last time, right?” Dottie said.

“We’re counting this one!” Penelope said firmly.

The bird was small to medium-sized and looked slightly like an oriole. He had a dusky gray back, a brilliant yellow chest, and a black mask like a bandit would have worn in an old western movie. He chirped (actually, it was more of a very short song) and then flitted away.

“Cool!” I said, handing Penelope her binoculars. “How do you know it’s a Bahama Yellowthroat?”

Dottie started to explain the subtle differences between the Bahama Yellowthroat and the Common Yellowthroat. It all had to do with the bird’s size and the amount of yellow underneath. I was always amazed at these women’s depth of ornithological knowledge.

“That’s a good one for your life list,” Dottie said, smiling. “You are keeping a life list, right?” Dottie asked pointedly.

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. “Williams just texted. He wants to meet for dinner at the restaurant in a few minutes,” I said. “And, yes, Mom, I’m keeping a life list.”

Dottie rolled her eyes.

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