I was sitting in the garden sketching plants when I became aware of a persistent rat-tat…rat-tat-tat…rat-tat… I finally looked up, and there on the tree trunk a few feet away was a female (no red patch on the head) downy woodpecker pecking for her breakfast. I had been sitting so still that she hadn’t paid attention to me. So I ve-e-e-ry slowly turned the page in my sketchbook and drew her instead.