I should have booked my flights to Maryland earlier this month, but was waiting to hear back from my sister to see about her plans, and whether we might be driving together one direction or the other.  Since she hasn't decided, I figured I'd better just go ahead and get my tickets..  

But when I went to the Southwest site this morning, 

ALL of the non-stop flights have disappeared!

  I even checked other days of the week.  And (as if that wasn't bad enough) all of the stops include a change of plane, not just a landing and a second take-off.  

Naturally that would make the day more stressful, to say nothing of adding considerable time to the trip.  It is absolutely crucial that I arrive with plenty of daylight left to rent a car and then drive to my brother's, and of course any delay or snafu would present major problems.

Maybe I should check a different airline..

The Mallards were still here this morning. 

They didn't seem to like it when I came out trying for a better shot -  

But once I went back into the house they got back into the pool.

They show up most years, and I always hope that they will stay to raise some ducklings, though that's never happened - yet!  Of course with Brownie here now that's even less likely...