Another post without a day list...I'm not liking this trend.

An hour ago, as I sat in front of my parents' computer listening to George Michael, reactivating my Twitter account, and greedily jamming handfuls of Slowpokes down my gullet, I decided that maybe it was a good time to actually take advantage of the rare occurrence of a working rural Ontario internet connection and post something on Cerulean Sky.

It's December 28th and we're nearing the end of the year, so I'm going to provide you with some goals I have for the new year. These are by no means concrete and I might still add a few (there are still 3 days left in 2009 remember).

Goal # 1: Be prepared for my Scotland trip. Yessss I'm going to Scotland in September!! My dad's doing a duathlon there so we're taking a 2-week trip to Scotland followed by a few days in England. As much as I hated Russel Brand's biography, My Booky Wook, he did teach me something very important he learned while he was in therapy for drug addiction. If you add "To my shame" before any admission or embarrassing statement, you can get away with it sans judgment. Let's try it, la? To my shame, I am 24 years old and have never left North America. There, it doesn't sound as bad when you've already shamed yourself, does it?
How will I achieve Goal #1? Well, I just ordered Where to Watch Birds in Scotland, a guide that was published in 2002 that includes details of where specific species can be found, the abundance/reliability of each species, and very importantly, a calendar that shows when each species is present by season. Let's hope September is a decent month for variety (if I have another Florida Panhandle-during-the-off-season experience in Scotland, I will not be a happy traveler). I'll give this book a good perusal, plan an itinerary that fits with my parents' idea of the trip, and also buy the Princeton Guide to Birds of Europe when the next edition comes out in February.

Goal # 2: Add 10 species to my life list (in Ontario). At first I thought, let's make it 5 lifers within this province and make it easy...but hell, it might as well be a bit more challenging. Mind you, 10 likely won't even be that difficult for me since I am missing a good chunk of uncommon to common birds of Ontario. A trip to Algonquin during the right time of year, for example, could add at least 5 species to my life list! Throw in a few rarities and a trip to Van Wagner's Beach for Jaegars and 10 lifers will (should) be a breeze.

Goal # 3: Continue to be an active member of the Toronto Ornithological Club and volunteer for or join another natural history group in the GTA. I volunteered for FLAP in Toronto 2 years back, but very briefly and I have heard about a number of other clubs in the area but have never made a larger effort to find out more about these opportunities. I'm keeping this goal wide open.

Goal # 4: BUY CLOTHING THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR BIRDING! Current status: no winter boots, no gloves, no scarf...I sometimes wonder how I survive through Canadian winters.

Hmm, let's just stop there. Various bigger goals are firing through the synapses of my brain at an alarming rate and most of them aren't realistic. Marianne's thinking big...a big year in the Pelee Birding Circle to be exact (I will help you all I can!) Last year, I made a new years resolution to post to Cerulean Sky at least once a month and you can see where that got me. One very good thing I have going for myself in the new year is that I'm no longer a loner-birder in the Toronto area. I have developed a good network of folks that are as excited as I am to get out birding when time permits that will no doubt keep my lists rising, my knowledge expanding, and my horizons broadening (how's THAT for a terrible last sentence!).