From there, to lunch with a friend at Threadgill's on N. Lamar. My throat was sore (came of burning it with a glob of hot cheese the night before, and then talking too much), so I wanted comfort food, which Threadgill's always delivers. That improved things...so thence to Precision Camera & Video to indulge in a real, purpose-designed backpack for photography stuff, instead of my collection of old daypacks, camera cases, etc., which I'd been having to hang off my belt, in order to carry everything. (And you know, if you're a camera bug, that the piece of equipment you don't lug along is the one you desperately need...)
Then home...and since it had cleared off, against expectations, of course I loaded the new backpack and took off for the far end of the place. MUCH better. Was able to carry everything I needed--more weight than before, but better balance and stability. When the plank bridge over the creek tilted, nothing slipped sideways in the pack...as it has done before with the old, unpadded daypack.
Was rewarded by *both* painted buntings showing up--the female for about five minutes, during which she ate millet as fast as she could, and the male later and for a little longer, foraging out in the grass near the brushpile. Then he went back to singing from the tops of trees and snags.
The female is hulling a millet seed, chosen from the mixed seeds I put out...this is the only seed I've seen painted buntings take from a seed mix. I photograph birds feeding in order to document what they're eating...that way I can change the mix if needed. If a burst of corn-eating migrants comes through, I'll add corn chop; if everything's eating sunflower seeds, I'll increase the sunflower seed ratio.