Honeymoon Trail, Northeast Minnesota

The colors are fantastic right now! Better get out there and enjoy them while they last!

Iceberg Coast

Boy, am I ever loving this winter so much more than last winter! Last winter was such a non-winter that I would rather just not remember it. This year we have more snow and more ICE! This scene was photographed yesterday morning near Cascade River State Park. Fellow photographer and friend Bryan Hansel (http://www.bryanhansel.com) and I met up to photograph this "Iceberg Coast" together. Huge chunks of ice littered this section of coast, some of them towering as much as 10 to 15 feet high, built up by the waves from Lake Superior. The temperature was below zero on this morning, which meant that there was some nice sea smoke drifting around over the surface of the lake. It also meant that the morning was very quiet, with barely a ripple on the surface of the lake. A sublime morning for sure!

Packing & A Ride

Yesterday, I spent the day sorting a packing for my return trip. Was thinking of riding in the foothills. Looked like some snow might falling up there. I had enough work to do, anyway.
Today, I continued preparations to drive home. Cousin Don and I planned a bike ride this afternoon. We met at the Bosque parking lot on Montano. When we started out from the parking lot, my heart monitor was indicating I was in A-Fib. Stopped to relax, and things stabilized and I was back in normal rhythm.
We headed over the Rio Grande and turned North riding up to Alameda. From there, turned back South, riding to I-40. There, another rider agreed to take our photo on my camera. That photo is here in this posting.
Trunk is packed. Will load the bikes and the rest of the car early in the morning. Planning to be home Thursday afternoon.

Easy Street

Today it was Easy Street - the trail named Easy Street. Its a green trail in the Mahnomen Unit of Cuyuna Country SRA. Easy Street is a "2-way" trail. I rode (walked) the trail from E to W.
The trailhead is near the Pennington Lake parking lot (0.1 mile North of the lot). For nearly 1/2 mile, the trail climbs the "mountain" of overburden. Riders are treated views of Huntington Lake from most of the length of the trail.
After cresting the trail climb, the trail was a nice, flowing trail with short ups and downs. The trail turns away from the lake and the singletrack ended at a gravel road. Its about 1/4 mile down the road to the Boot Camp parking lot.
After the 1.8 miles on the singletrack, I was not ready to re-ride Easy Street on the way back to the car. While i had thought about riding Boot Camp again, I had enough of singletrack for this ride.
The Cuyuna Lakes State Trail - a paved bike trail - runs on the South side of Huntingtom Lake. A relaxing ride back to the car on the paved trail. Round trip - 4 miles.
The photo above is the view from East Street. More photos are on my fb page. Eventually, photos will be posted on my web site.

Lost

We've only twice left belongings on city buses. The first time we did (or rather, I did), it caused hysterical laughter among the staff at the Lothian Buses lost property office. I still don't see what's so funny about leaving a chair on a bus, but apparently it was the best thing they'd heard in years. In my defence, I should mention that it was a small chair, in fact a very small chair from IKEA's children's range that was just the right height for my daughter to sit on when playing her clarsach. And that we were en route to a music festival class and I was preoccupied with getting the clarsach safely off the bus in the morning rush hour. It was only after we were standing on the pavement with the clarsach, and the bus was lumbering up Dundas Street, did we realise that the chair was not with us.
I phoned the lost property office during their customer-unfriendly opening hours (see the notice on the door), endured much ridicule, but a day later was able to collect the chair amid a final burst of laughter from the staff. And here it is - looking larger than it is, I realise now, but you just have to think small.
The second time we weren't so lucky. My son left his score of Carissimi's Jephte on a city bus recently. I phoned the lost property office every day for over a week, and then gave up. We still wonder why a cute little white chair was handed in to lost property, but the choral score of an early Baroque oratorio was snaffled by another passenger. While I can't show you the score, you can listen to the performance by his school chamber choir. My son is singing bass, and my daughter is playing violin in the accompaniment.

Diggin' the Windy Grasses...

"When my neighbor walks the dogs, he performs a ritual act of sacer simplicitas, to use the church Latin: "sacred simplicity." Walking the dog is in truth a ritual of renewal and revival on an intimate scale - a small rebirth of well-being on a daily basis."
- Robert Fulghum, From Beginning to End
IknowsIknows - sounds a bit pious, but hiking in the hills around my pad is a religious experience heheh!
Guess there's a trade-off fer livin' where we has so many places in the hills fer doggehs like moi to hike. We live in pretty close quarters (house-house) in the valleys between 'em! Upper left is one view from my back yard of the ridge loop I just loves. Lower left is the entrance to the Open Space here. And, duh, "Mom, hurray!"
We don't have to climb far before we run into a golden I shouldda met eons ago! It's Maggie! The lady from Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue who put me and my peeps together, put Maggie and her peeps together too! We finally come nose to nose here on this ridge! Pawsome!
That lizard got away... but I promises you, I'll get 'im on the way back - WOOF!
Here we be at the top of the loop and I be scentin' sumpin serious. Mayhap it be a squirrel??!!! It was furry windy and I gots a movie to show you how breezy it was. Love the grasses!

If the movie buffers too much try here and I hopes that will work.
See - tol' ya! So... took a little time to check out the overlook. Mt. Tam on a clear day!
Pawsome!
And... distracted!
Cause there's gophers effurywhere. And I'm a sucker for those lil' teefy ground rodents!
And here we are on the loop back and there's MORE lizards! The nerve of 'em bein' so fassssst!
HEY! Wait up, Ma! Comin'! HEY! I'm taaahrrrd!
Aaaaahhhhhhh sluuurrrrrpppp. Thanks fur remembrin'. That was grrrrrrawsome zzzzzzz. From Ma: Yes... sacred simplicity!

Developing Genius

Taken from Ann Voskamp's blog A Holy Experience:
Geniuses make it look effortless only because they’ve faithfully practiced. Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, posits that “extended deliberate practice” is the ultimate key to successful use of a gift. “Nothing shows that innate factors are a necessary prerequisite for expert-level mastery in most fields,” he says. Ericsson’s interviews with 78 German pianists and violinists discovered that by age 20, the best musicians had spent an estimated 10,000 hours practicing, twice the average 5,000 hours the less accomplished group practiced.

Genius is a long faithfulness.

So fingers stretch across ivories here, shoulders hunch over Latin, brows knit in mathematical quandary. Just two hours a day of concentrated practice over a decade stacks up to 7,000 hours of faithful stewarding.

What would happen if every Christian used the 4 hours daily spent in front of the television a day (more than 126 hours a month!) or the near hour a day the average American surfs the internet and spent two of those hours developing their skill in a particular domain ( woodworking, quantum physics, photography) and one hour more on the spiritual disciplines that lead into a deeper relationship with God, (prayer, memorization, Bible meditation, fasting) – only repurposing three hours a day from the five we spend on passive entertainment — and in one decade, our entire culture – and the world at large – would be entirely revolutionized. How are we being faithful stewards of our 10,000 hours?

Why not tenderly unfurl a gift?

We waste so much time on fruitless pursuits. I've taken Ann's admonishment to heart and hope to practice more to hone my gifts. Here's my quandary; I'm interested in many things. Do I narrow it down to one thing I want to pursue or do I practice each thing a little bit each day? If I do the latter, I'll only get a little bit better. BUT I'll be able to do all the things I like. Any thoughts out there on what the best thing to do would be?

The Contrast

There wasn't a lot of finesse about getting there. Basically it involved pedalling up hill for several kilometres on end. I suppose I could claim that finesse abounds in my pedalling technique if I wanted to be self-indulgent, but it was never going to be a huge part of that equation. It certainly doesn't compare with the finesse required to obtain the picture. Shooting into the sun isn't always easy, nor was picking the position for that shot. It's a matter of combining a series of elements -- finesse, positioning, timing and so on. In short, the skill to end up with this is everything that the effort to pedal up the mountain isn't. Combine the two, however, and the results speak for themselves.
Now if I could just learn to do sunrises too...

Proof

This one is for those readers in the southern states who are currently experiencing a strange phenomenon called "winter". Here in Queensland it's still autumn, and the above picture is the proof in case anybody doubted it. This morning's ride was a chance to blow away some cobwebs through Tallebudgera and Currumbin Valleys. I ended up with about 98km or so, and it was extremely pleasant. The odd thing is that while the autumn leaves are providing displays of colour, so are the "summer" wildflowers that usually bloom in around February or so.



Another astonishing thing happened today. I came up to a group of cyclists on the side of the road fixing a flat tyre. Evidently they didn't need any assistance, but they seemed to think of me as some kind of super athlete for taking a ride of close to 100km down the two valleys. I didn't bother to tell them I was just warming up for tomorrow, or that I'm thinking of making that 400k in July into a 600k. Why is it considered so unusual to undertake anything that might just require a little bit of endurance? As it is, I'll just keep racking up the kilometres and enjoying the scenery as I go.

The Early Morning

I agree with Thomas Merton about early morning time. He says, "It is necessary for me to see the first point of light that begins to be dawn. It is necessary to be present alone at the resurrection of the Day in solemn silence at which the sun appears, for at this moment all the affairs of cities, of governments, of war departments, are seen to be the bickering of mice. I receive from the Eastern woods, the tall oaks, the one word DAY. It is never the same. It is always in a totally new language."
Can you tell I'm a morning person? I try to get up somewhere between 5:15 and 5:45. It's a lot easier now that we're back on EST. I heard Darcie's light click on this morning about 6:15; forty-five delicious minutes of lying in bed to read before she has to get up at 7:00. I guess she's a morning person too.

Mirabelle's first camping trip ..

Jennifer and I had been plotting this trip for a while, but weather and work kept getting in the way. This time I had a span of four days off and a better weather window to work from. The goal was to head to the dryer east side of the Cascades, and spend a night in the van. OK, not tent camping, but a start. We considered tent camping, but since we'd be in the van anyway, why bring a tent?
First thing we learned was that Mirabelle needs breaks from the two hour car trip. She slept a bit on the way over, but perhaps awoke from pressure in her ears as we cleared Steven's Pass. We made a few stops on the way over to comfort her and opted to stop in Leavenworth to walk around and give her a nap.
We did touristy things for a bit and then hung out by the Wenatchee River where she got her feet wet and played in the sand. We had dinner in town before setting out to our destination of Glacier View Campground in Wenatchee National Forest.
The Glacier View Campground is a great car camping destination if you are going to be kayaking on Lake Wenatchee. However, it is not well suited to our purpose of just parking the van and camping in it. Most sites have a walk in, so many do not have good platforms to park and camp. We did a lap before opting on site 18 where we got ready for the night.
Camping went well and we all slept in the pop top through the night. I had pillow issues which left me with a stiff neck/back the next day, but Mirabelle appeared refreshed when we awoke the next morning. We intended to hike up to Hidden Lake, but typical of mid summer in the Cascades, the mosquitoes were biting. Since we didn't wish to bundle her up too much, and we wouldn't dream of putting deet on Mirabelle, we turned back and figured we could find a less biting option near Leavenworth.
Mirabelle fell asleep in the car ride and we drove up Icicle Creek hoping for a place to hike. When she awoke we tried to hike up the Snow Creek Trail a bit, but that proved too sunny, even with her hat and sunglasses. We once again went back into town to Riverfront Park. We hiked a bit there before stopping at the same locale on the river to have her play in the sand and eddy.
Overall I think this trip went well. We'll perhaps try our first tent outing this summer as well. We may also return to Leavenworth in the autumn when the sun is not so strong but it is drier than the west side. When we got home MIrabelle was a little flush and we thought she had gotten a sun burn. It dissipated, and we were relieved that we were not bad parents.

Spring Bittern

Spotted this fellow the other night while driving around the backroads of Grand Portage. I consider myself lucky for spotting this guy as we drove by this meadow, as these birds are NOT easy to see when they are standing in the tall grass like this!

Forbidden East West Traverse ..

EPIC!
Part I
"The Summit"
The original plan was to climb Forbidden Peak as an east to west traverse so that we could climb the west ridge and avoid the late season difficulties associated with it. We got a late start in Washington Pass and packed up slowly and did some sight seeing. We ate lunch in Marblemount and finally got under way. As soon as we were hiking the Boston Basin bushwhack, I mean trail, we knew what we were getting into. It turns out we were both fairly tired from climbing South Early Winter Spire the day before and we were feeling it.
Sorting gear for Forbidden (photo by Steve Machuga)
On the way in we passed Josh and Matt who were coming down from a climb of the Direct East Ridge. We chatted a bit and got beta for the descent of the East Ledges. It was probably there that I made the decision in my head that we would probably only do the east ridge and then descend the ledges although I may not have expressed it to Steve at that time. After chatting a bit we continued on and discussed the option of descending the ledges. After some difficult water crossings in the basin, we were finally in the upper basin and setting up camp three hours after we left the car.
We pumped some water from a nice stream, and made dinner. We prepped for the next day and decided on a wake up time of 5:30am. (Josh and Matt had told us they left camp at 5:30.) We had a bit of difficulty getting to sleep because we kept thinking we were hearing female voices. This may have been true as another tent was there in the morning (About 100m downhill from our location) that wasn't there when we went to bed.
Just before the alarm went off there was some rock/ice fall on the mountain. I jumped up to make sure we were not in danger. My commotion woke Steve up and he promptly went back to sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well and mulled about in my sleeping bag for the next 15 minutes until the alarm went off. Once the alarms went off, Steve and I decided to rest in another 15 minutes or so before actually getting out of the tent. [Can you already count the many signs of an epic?] We ate breakfast, used the toilet and left camp at 6:30am.
We had good information from Josh and Matt about the problem they had on the approach and made quick time up the slabs to the snow and eventually the gully. We arrived at the notch at the base of the route around 8:30 or so. In keeping with the epic theme, we dawdled at the base for some time (including Steve needing another "bathroom break" before starting the route.) During our delay we made the decision not to down climb the west ridge. We knew we were both tired and we weren't moving that fast coming up from camp.
We eventually started climbing at 10am and I took the first lead. The first bits were 3rd class and then it got somewhat harder where I had to negotiate a few small gendarmes. Since good protection was scarce, I looked for a viable anchor location after I had about half the rope out. I wound up slightly off the crest of the ridge on the south side and was probably slightly off route. Steve made his way over to me and then slowly made about leading the next pitch.
Steve had to regain the ridge crest first and then make his way up the first significant gendarme on the ridge. This section is listed at 5.7 in the guides and that would probably be correct. It was slow going as route finding was not obvious, but more so because protection was difficult. Once finding an suitable anchor location, Steve brought me up. Two hours had passed since we started climbing and I knew that we were in for a long day. Being the optimist, I thought our speed would improve now that we got a feel for the climbing and we were back on route. So we continued on.
Following the second pitch (photo by Steve Machuga)
I led a short exposed pitch along the ridge crest with easy climbing before I got to and area that looked like it may be difficult to find an anchor in. So I went with the option I had present. (Which still felt pretty desperate to me.) I brought Steve over and we discussed the next pitch. We were a short distance from the next major gendarme which can be bypassed on the north side of the ridge. Steve led off around some minor obstacles before taking a path of least resistance on the north side of the ridge. After using up all the rope, I began to simul climb behind him as we both wound up north of the ridge proper. We continued to climb on the north side for some distance on loose dirty ledges until Steve hit a spot where he could build a reliable belay. He then belayed me to his location.
I started out on the second leg of this traverse over a rib and onto more slab like terrain heading for the notch between the last two gendarmes. It seemed we were a bit low and as I headed back up, the terrain was better for climbing and protecting. I could see I wouldn't make it to the notch in one rope, so when Steve told me I had used half the rope, I built a suitable anchor. He then led off to the notch on a full rope length and brought me up. Having looked at the rap on top of the last gendarme, I can say I am glad we decided to bypass it. (Scary overhanging rappel off a rock horn.)
Climbing up to the notch (photo by Steve Machuga)
Anchor options weren't great at the notch, and it took Steve a long while to build an anchor using a few pieces and a few natural options. This was the crux overhanging 5.8 step. I had already told him he was leading it, so we switched positions and he headed out. The step looked scary and Steve had a hard time believing it went the way it did. He tried to scope out other alternatives to it, but then faced the fact that it did go up that steeply. Steve confidently led up the steep face and began to look for a suitable belay anchor. (I told him it better be solid before starting the pitch.) He went a bit further before he built an anchor. I climbed the steep section which was pretty wild, but easier than it looked. Although it had a very funky move where you had to stand on a wobbly block in order to make a move. After reaching the belay, I was off again.
Topping out on the 5.8 (photo by Steve Machuga)
I led out a bit on what is supposed to be 5.2 terrain to the summit. It was mostly on the crest and upon approaching a minor step, with a sling on top, I set up a belay. (I mistook that to be the summit, but was unsure.) I brought Steve up to my location and he led out for the summit.
My last lead up the East Ridge (photo by Steve Machuga)
He reached the summit and set up and anchor to belay me up. I joined him at the summit around 7pm. Clouds were blowing up out of Boston Basin and blowing down the north side of the mountain. There was the smell of smoke. (We presumed the clouds were related to forest fires.) The wind was cold and we snapped a few pics before rapidly going about the rappels...
Summit shot (photo by Steve Machuga)
My photos are here.

At Mom's

Somehow we started talking about the dogs we'd had growing up.
The confusion started with my mother calling a Boston Terrier a Boston Bulldog.
Mom: Didn't we have a Boston Bulldog here?
Me: You mean Boston Terrier.
Mom (not sounding convinced): OK.
Me: We had PeeWee, but that was at the old house. He ran away. Supposedly.
Mom: But we had another one here besides Joe Lee.
Sis: Howie.
Me: Yeah, Howie. He supposedly ran away while we were on vacation, but I always suspected that Dad just had him removed while we were gone. (I'd brought Howie home without asking.)
(Mom looks confused. Not sure if Dad really didn't do that, or he just didn't tell her.)
Sis: And there was Pockets of course.
Mom: The shepherd.
Me: No, he was a poodle!
Mom: We had a poodle?
Sis: Yeah, he was mine, we got him from the B-----s, remember?
Me: And he got poisoned.
Sis: What?
Me: He got poisoned twice, that's why we had to give him away.
Sis: No, he bit the mailman, that's why he had to go.
Me: No! Poisoned. I remember clearly. The first time the vet thought he might not live. The second time wasn't so bad.
Sis: But they told me he'd bitten the mailman!
(Nobody else remembers the mailman story. Joe Lee did start nipping at repairmen's heels in her old age though.)
Me: He went to live with Dad's friend who had a place in the country.
Mom: No, we gave him to a lady at church. I remember her telling me when he died.
Me: I might be thinking about the chicks instead. I know we gave them to W---- out in the country.
Niece: You had chicks?!
Hubby: Maybe it was Little Buns.
Me: I think we gave him Little Buns too. (That was a rabbit.)
Niece: Can we get some chicks?!
Me: Later on we realized that it probably wasn't a person poisoning the neighborhood animals deliberately -- it was pesticide runoff from peoples' yards.
Mom: Yes, Mr Y----'s dog died. The shepherd.
Sis: No, it was one of those miniature collies. A Shetland Sheepdog.
(Mom looks confused.)
Brother-in-law: Are you sure you all grew up in the same house?
-----

Current crazy dog, a Great Pyrenees named Jasmine.
Friday Ark

Meet Lefty’s Babies

Gulf State Park — Gulf Shores, Alabama
Temps: Lo 67F / Hi 77F (19C / 25C)

After three days of triking and hiking the trails, today was a rather quiet day. But before I get to today, let me go back to yesterday first.

Monday, 29 April …

Of our three days of fun on the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail (post for the first two days here), today was the best. Why? Not because we took it a little easier and only triked 12.2 miles (19.5 km). And certainly not because we spent more time at the Butterfly Pavilion, which we had to ourselves as we enjoyed our snacks on the swing.

The Butterfly Pavilion and Garden has …

… a couple of swings on the porch … a good rest-spot for weary trail-explorers.

Rather, today was the best day on the trail because Lefty, the resident alligator, introduced some of her babies to us. From what I have read, alligators lay their eggs in late June and early July. The eggs incubate for 65 days before the babies hatch. That being the case, the baby gators we saw today must be from last year’s litter. The hatchings are apparently about 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) when they are born and grow a foot (30 cm) in the first year. The ones we saw today were plus or minus a foot long, which seems just about right for 8 month-old babies.

One of the babies is taking the easy way out with a ride on Momma Lefty’s back.

Most alligators lay 35-50 eggs, though some can lay as many as 90. We counted six in the pond with Lefty, and later learned that two others had been taken and are on display at the Nature Center. There could have been more hidden from our eyes, of course, but eight is about right since only 20% of the young tend to survive.

One baby was hitching a ride on Lefty’s back; another was sunning on the culvert that provides access to the pond on the other side of the road. The rest were in the water, periodically coming up onto the vegetation to rest. I managed to get a picture of all but one of the babies; the sixth one slipped into the water and disappeared from view before I could click the shutter.

We’ve heard a bull bellowing these past few days. I wonder if it is courting Lefty? It is mating season, after all. I don’t know how long after a cow has her hatchlings she is ready to mate again. Need to do some more reading.

By the way, the viewing area has a large-mesh fence that keeps us safe from Lefty … and vice versa, I suppose. She doesn’t have anything to fear from us, of course. The fence, however, would do nothing to keep the hatchlings safe; they could easily slip through and be on the road in seconds, where they would be in danger of being run over by cyclists and maintenance vehicles. Or even be taken as a pet by some thoughtless person. I wonder why a finer mesh wasn’t used?

OK — enough alligators. On to other things? We shaved off a few miles from our ride by returning from the gator pond back to the Catman Road Trail. On our way to the campground, I stopped to take a photo of a patch of wetlands and was rewarded by catching a wood duck pair at home.

I catch the female just as she leaves the nest to bathe in the pond.
As she does so, the male turns in her direction, as though keeping an eye on her.

When we got to Gator Road, the turn off for our loop, we kept going and cycled to the Gulf State Park Nature Center, which is located in the same complex as the swimming pool and gift shop. The center is small, though there is a big outdoor amphitheater where they have programs … none while we’re here. Also outside is a purple martin condo made of gourds … there were a few birds, but they disappeared when a couple of rowdy kids showed up.

The majority of the live animals are snakes and such;
but there is a more varied stuffed-animal collection on display.

Our primary purpose for stopping by was to see the two gator babies that had been removed from the pond to this facility. Not sure how I feel about that. I suppose it is no different from putting them in a zoo, but I am still wrestling with the thought that these babies were removed from Lefty’s care while so young. Then again, that they are at the nature center increases the likelihood of survival, so that’s something positive.

Click the photo for a legible version of gator factoids from this signage at the Nature Center.

Finally returning home, we relaxed for a bit before heading out to run errands. While out, we also stopped for lunch at Lambert’s Café … the only home of Throwed Rolls! What can I say about this place that hasn’t already been said. Yes, we caught a couple of rolls and tried them with both sorghum syrup and apple butter; tasted the fried okra served on a paper towel at our table; accepted offers of the pass-arounds; and enjoyed our meal. Mui ordered the pulled pork sandwich, which he proceeded to eat without the bun. I ordered the fried shrimp, with two side dishes, and immediately asked for a doggie bag to bring half home. Thus, we surprised our waiter by still having room for dessert — banana pudding instead of the strawberry shortcake special of the day.

Where are the photos you ask? There are none. Since we were out to run errands, I didn’t take my camera with me. Bad, bad Erin! But here’s a photo of the mural on the side of the building. Those who have been to Lambert’s will know that I didn’t take the photograph at lunchtime today. It would have been impossible to do so since the parking lot was chock-a-block with cars. No, I spied the mural last Friday when we passed through Foley on our way to the Pitcher Plant Bog.

The mural, painted by Lorenzo Green, tells the story of four generations of Lamberts.

A relaxing afternoon at home was enhanced with bird sightings in the clearing around us. Nothing quite like being able to do birding from our own patio ;-)

A European Starling carrying dinner home … “froggy” on the menu tonight.

A red-bellied woodpecker comes visiting and
shows off the reddish belly-flush for which it is named.

What a way to end an excellent day here in coastal Alabama.

Back to Today …

Today was a day of rest. Yes, after three days of high-energy activities we took it easy. Not that we stayed home all day! After breakfast, we headed over to the beach. While Mui spent the entire time in the water, I walked along the shore, letting the surf wash over my feet.

Anyone know what this jelly-like sea critter is?

Sandwich Terns

Unfortunately, on my walk I came across another dead sea turtle. I hesitate to identify it; but it's likely another Kemp's Ridley. I reported it to the NOAA Fisheries, Protected Resources Office as I did the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles we found dead on the beach while we were at Buccaneer State Park in Mississippi. This time, I think the turtle’s demise came at the hands — or rather, the teeth — of a shark. Not to be too gruesome, but it was missing its head.

To spare everyone’s sensibilities, I processed these photos in B&W!
It doesn’t make the loss any less sad, but I do hope this sea turtle died from a shark attack.

By the way, the year-to-date sea turtle stranding stats are out for AL, LA, MS, and TX. And it’s not looking good. The strandings for Kemp’s Ridleys in Mississippi, for example, is already at 89; that’s compared to 153 for MS for all of . Alabama, for the year, has had 11 strandings; that’s compared to 65 for all of .

Screenshot of YTD stats from the NOAA Fisheries, Protected Resources Office website.

Moving onto something less depressing …

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the screen shelter until the humid afternoon heat forced us inside. Turns out that was a good thing … had we been outside we probably would not have been visited by the flock of cattle egret that came flying into feast on the grass adjacent to our patio.

A flock of cattle egret fly in for an early dinner on the patch of grass next to us.
I managed to open the dining room window without scaring them off.

The buff colored plumes adorning this cattle egret indicate that this is breeding season.

The bird on the left shows a red flush on the legs and beak, present only during the
height of the breeding season. The bird on the right … not so much.

We had plans to go sightseeing this week, but the weather may not cooperate. There’s an 80% chance of rain and gusty winds forecasted for tomorrow. A chore day at home, I think.