There's an app for that

There's an iPhone app for just about anything, but you soon find that many of the freebies are covered with miniature advertisements, or they're just "lite" versions to hook you into buying the full thing.  I've already downloaded quite a few that weren't worth the MB they hogged up on my phone, so I deleted them. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

Others were too hard to figure out or just awful, and like anything else dredged up on the Internet, you have to be careful of the "expert" advice.  For example, "self-hypnosis for relaxation" sounded useful, but the hypnotist guy's voice creeped me out so much I couldn't delete it fast enough-- even though it cost $2.99 (a whopping amount at the App Store.) But then, my mental health was at stake.

So with trial and error, I've finally got it down to an organized screen of about 35 excellent apps:  local news feeds, the all-important Weather channel, free music, some good guided meditations, podcasts, etc. I'm one of the few people left in the world who does not use Facebook.

After John goes to work at 5:20 am I lie in bed for a few minutes waiting for my coffee, usually going crazy because I can't identify some of the birds singing in the garden.  I know the chickadees, most sparrows and especially the insomniac robin who starts up at 3:45 am sharp.  But I can never see those  secretive others, singing out in the dense holly.

Of course! There are bird song identification apps.  On some you can actually record the live bird call, and the app will supposedly tell you what bird it is.  The problem is getting a recording fast and good enough to please the app-- easier said than done.

We've always been Peterson Guide birders, I suppose because that's what we started out with.  The wonderful Roger Tory Peterson passed away years ago, but his loyal fans still prefer the distinctive illustrations (not photographs) for field identification.

And now, of course, there is a Peterson Guide app for us, which reviewers say they like even better than having their field guide book along. Especially because you can instantly listen to songs while viewing identification details, and do all sorts of other clever things like add your pictures, chat with other birders, and keep your life list.

So I downloaded the freebie Peterson app that lists only 160 backyard "feeder birds" but probably covers all the varieties in Seattle.  It's a bit tricky to learn, but fun. Maybe I'll splurge later and buy the full version with all North American birds-- $9.99 and a whopping 670 MB.  That's more storage than all my other apps combined, so it would have to really be worth it.