My friend Linda Devino in an IM session last night said “old age is killing us.” I thought that humorous, ironic, and deep without it really being so. I searched for that quote on Google figuring somebody famous and funny had to have said that sometime down the line. I got only one hit on it by some unknown dude.
200905 Vacation in Salvo, NC.
Thanks to my sister Kim and her husband Don, I got to spend last week in Salvo, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We ate well: beef tenderloin, Caribbean Jerk chicken, bratwurst and hotdogs, Talapia with mango, habenero, and tequila sauce, Chicken Divan (an old family favorite), shrimp, and pizza. We drank Margaritas, Pina Coladas, Mojitos, and beers, including a very good Bell’s Brewery IPA called Two Hearted Ale.
It was a pleasure to share the house with, at various times, Kim’s ex-husband’s sons, Brian and A.J, and Brian’s wife Sarah as well as AJ’s girlfriend Tina. Kim’s ex-husband’s first wife, Judy, who is a beach fanatic and the mother of Brian and AJ, joined us on Sunday and stayed the night. That was good since she could be with her two sons for Mother’s Day.
I must say I enjoy the company of all these people. The relationships are very comfortable even though not blood kin by any stretch. I’ve known everyone for so long that the are like cousins, nieces, and nephews I never had. I look forward to the time when my blood nephew Henry and niece Ava can hang out with us all.
The house was cool and within easy walking distance of the beach. I must admit, that since it was early in the season, we didn’t spent too much time on the beach. The house had a pool and a hot tub which we made good use of. The water in the pool was a bit chilly but quite refreshing. The ocean in contrast was much colder and rougher. The waves and the undertow were intense. Any time spent in the water would have involved a struggle and a swimsuit packed with sand.
We did bring the Cornhole boards down and get some good action going. Tina was very competitive. She and Julie did their best to dominate the men but AJ and I were able to fairly consistently come out ahead.
I paddled twice in the Pea Island NWR. That was okay, basically on the Pamlico Sound side, but there were times when the water was just too shallow and I had to get out of my boot and wade to deeper water. I had hoped to paddle twice at the Alligator NWR but worries about the weather kept me from going there for a second day. And of course the weather was fine but by the time I saw that, it was too late.
Overall, the weather was nice, and cool, enough that I slept out on the balconies for four nights! That was good training for camping out this holiday weekend at a friend’s house on the Shenandoah River!
Creatures sighted include:
- Great Blue Herons
- Snowy Egrets
- Great (American) Egrets
- White Ibis
- Red-winged Blackbirds
- Scarlet Tanagers
- Goldfinches
- Ducks
- Brown Pelicans
- Laughing Gulls
- Common Terns
- Tri-colored Herons
- Plover, Willets, etc?
- Alligators
I am terrible at identifying shore birds so I can’t be too specific on many of the birds I saw.
Here is an alligator I spotted on Sawyer Lake in the Alligator River NWR.
There were hundreds of these butterfly’s feeding on these plants as I drove on the wildlife routes in the Alligator River NWR.
Here I am at the end of Sawyer Lake starting my return trip…before I saw the alligator.
These are the remnants of a shipwreck on the beach right near our rental home.
These are White Ibis’s…many of which I saw in two paddles in the Pea Island NWR.
Inertial Idiocy: Hummingbird in a Car Crash
This is kind of a “canary in a coal mine” comparison. If a hummingbird is in a hover when a car slows down drastically, might it hit the dashboard? If your head might do so, why wouldn’t the hummingbird?
Some moron in a Washington Post automotive column called “Click and Clack” actually posed the question. Read more here: “Click and Clack: A Real Humdinger.” Basic physics should show that the bird, as well as your head, will keep traveling forward no matter that the car is coming to a sudden stop.
Visit to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA, 22182
I’ve been laid up for months after blowing my knee out skiing at the end of January. I should clarify by noting that I have not really been laid up but have been going twice a week for physical therapy and generally getting around as usual. I have not been back on the slopes and nor have I been kayaking or motorcycling yet. I did have arthroscopic surgery on my knee for what my orthopedist thought was a tear in the medial meniscus but ended up being a tear and strain of my ACL. I am sure an MRI would have revealed this but that is not anything insurance companies are paying for too much these days.
I was actually feeling pretty good right before the surgery and not feeling that much better afterward. I am now back in physical therapy doing strengthening and agility exercises there and at home. We are trying to break up scar tissue with ultrasound and massage and working to regain strength and flexibility.
Being on a restricted exercise regime for so long, even for a sloth like me, has taken its toll. The highlights of the past four months have been going to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum down the road from me and botanical gardens in Norfolk and Vienna, Virginia. All visits gave me ample opportunity to work with my relatively new digital SLR camera. The following pictures and those in the “Meadowlark Botanical Gardens” section of my photo album are from the gardens in Vienna, VA, part of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.
New Twist on the Self Checkout Counter Blues
Not for the first time will I rant on self checkout lines at the grocery store. See this previous entry for a hint of my frustration. Today I got stuck behind some guy who had his kids, barely big enough to reach the scanner, scan his items. Scan this dude! Now get out of my way!
See the Eaglets!
Don’t forget to check on the bald eagle hatchlings at the Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam. Follow the link on my page at the right or click here. There are three of the hatchlings and they are cute as hell!
Balcony Squatters
I have got a pair of Carolina Wrens trying to make a nest on my balcony. I am trying to dissuade the from doing so but not having much luck. I should perhaps get my lazy cat off my bed and out in the sun on the balcony to do the job for me. With my luck he would help them out…
Pictures from Visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center (located at Dulles Airport Close to Home)
A few weekends ago I ventured off to stretch my still ailing knee and play around with my relatively new digital SLR (Nikon D-60). Udvar-Hazy is right down the road for me and though I have passed by it every day for years I have never stopped in.
It is well worth a visit though a bit overwhelming for those of us who are not serious aviators or aviator want-to-be’s. It was a good chance to explore the manual settings on my camera and take advantage of existing light, wide apertures, and slow shutter speeds. See more pictures from the visit here. All pictures were taken with existing light…no flash was employed.
It was amazing how many planes were on the deck and in the air at this place.
Wright on Bros!
A retired SR-71 Blackbird.
Change for the Worse
I had a couple of beers at my local watering hole, which I walk to, this evening. My tab came to $10.50. I gave the waitress $20 and she brought me back $9.00 in change. This has happened to me before in the place…usually with a relatively new waitress…but never at the bar. I called her back and asked her what the deal was. She said it was quicker to not return any "coin" change.
I was so stunned at her statement that I didn’t even ask her about the fact that she was cheating me. I did explain to her that I had planned on tipping her 2 dollars but since she had already cheated me out of 50 cents and since I personally had no change other than ones I was leaving her a dollar. That left her with a $1.50 tip instead of $2.00. In retrospect I probably should have just let her keep the 50 cents for her tip.
In the grand scheme of things that 50 cents is probably not significant to the waitress or to myself but where have people’s principles gone to? Since it was not the first time it happened, I expect they think they can get away with it. I complained to the manager about it on the way out. Perhaps the problem will be addressed… or perhaps the waitress will spit in my beer the next time I go in.
I Didn’t Know Potatoes Were in Potato Chips?
The Washington Post article, “Simplicity Becomes a Selling Point, Foodmakers Emphasize Uncomplicated Ingredients,” dated April 7, 2009, reports on how food makers are either reducing the ingredients in their products or noting how few ingredients make up their existing products. This is apparently done to minimize the quantity of unnecessary or unhealthy ingredients in the food since, according to many healthy food experts, simplicity is next to healthiness.
I won’t delve further into the article to argue or support that supposition, though it does make sense. I will note however that a Frito-Lay representative said, “It’s anecdotal, but we’ve had people tell us that they didn’t know there were potatoes in potato chips." Makes me wonder if there is ham in burger…