It's a downy woodpecker.

This is the downy woodpecker we caught on our pole in the alley the other day. There were two of them, but I couldn’t get them both in the picture. They were really checking out the pole. We sure enjoy watching birds and we were pleased to have this pair in our view for the first time, here at the house. When we lived in Tennessee there were 29 different birds that came to our house. Besides family and friends there we miss the birds the most. Here we might have a dozen different birds. I should list them; I might be surprised to find there are more than I think. We really enjoy watching birds and thank God for the treat that they provide for us.

We had another treat last night and today, watching Bruce play ball. His coach is really working them hard and he’s suffering with leg and arm problems, so he didn’t play as much as we would have enjoyed. It was fun to get to learn some of his teammates and their families, though. Bruce played 1st base last night and today he pitched and played first base. He does a great job and makes it look so easy, so it was fun for us to watch and a proud time for us. It was a great day to be in the ball park! The wind was pretty gusty, so that was a problem for the players, but it sure made the heat tolerable for the fans! We got a good share of vitamin D today! I thank God for that, too.

There is so much hoopla about getting too much sun, skin cancer, etc. Getting sun BURNED is a bad thing, but getting a good share of good sunshine is the best way to get Vitamin D, and Vitamin D is great for the immune system and a great healer. We’re real believers in Vitamin D. Vitamin D also helps us to use calcium, so it’s important for those of us who have bone density issues. Arimidex, the drug I have to take to block estrogen is hard on bones, so I have to take lots of calcium and the Vitamin D is its partner.