Thanksgiving day. Molly and I are in Lewes, Delaware, doing Thanksgiving with my sister Anita and hopefully getting a few more species. So far this trip I got five new species; Red-throated loon, brant, northern gannet, black scoter and northern pintail. I’m now at 320 species, which is 91% of the goal. At the moment I’m beating Old Man Time with 89% of the year now history.
We left Okemos Tuesday after school driving east. Had a pretty uneventful drive. Just lots of time staring blankly down the highway. We got as far as Somerset, Penna., where we stopped at a motel for the night. Lise was sure we wouldn’t find a motel room. Under the assumption we would be shivering in the car trying to sleep at a highway rest stop she packed sleeping bags for us.
The highway rest stop may have been safer for me. I was peacefully sleeping away when I woke up thinking I was being hit. Nobody was pummeling me so I dozed back off. When I got up in the morning there was a pillow laying by my bed. Apparently my darling daughter was trying to silence my snoring and did so by throwing a pillow at me. She says she did it in her sleep.
Wednesday morning we drove to Joss Pool Cues in Towson, Maryland. I’ve been interested in getting a Joss cue but wanted to try one out first. So we went to the shop where they make them and I bought my own Christmas present. Serial number 121625. 18.1 ounces of straight shooting beauty. Dark stained birds-eye maple, a black band with mother of pearl inlays, and a black and white speckled Irish linen wrap. Slicker than black ice. The kids may go shoeless but Daddy has a sharp looking pool cue.
Got into Lewes Wednesday as Anita was getting off work so we headed out to Cape Henlopen to catch the last hour of light. At the fishing pier we got the red-throated loon and brant. Then we bopped on over the Cape to the Atlantic side and got the northern gannet. All during a quite pleasant evening and sunset. Capped off with dinner at the Dogfish Head Brewpub. Don’t get much better than that.
Looking down the pier.
Looking over the bay.
Cape Henlopen dunes.
Trail to the beach, looking from the ocean back over the Cape.
Today Anita and I went down to Indian River Inlet and saw black scoters riding the waves. The water was so rough that you just fix the scope on the general area where they are and then wait for them to pop up on a wave. They’re up for a couple seconds, then the wave goes down. One could almost get seasick watching the waves bounce around through a scope. A few other things that seem to thrive in really rough water were there too. Like long-tailed ducks and crazy fishermen. Tough critters, all of them. On the way back we swung by Gordon’s Pond in Rehobeth and found the northern pin-tails. So now it’s on to other possible but less likely species. Or maybe just some time kicking back with my camera while Molly and Anita do Black Friday. Personally, I’d rather have electric shocks than fight the bargain crazed hordes.
Indian River Inlet jetty. Some birds actually prefer this habitat.
Fisherman on the jetty across the inlet. Getting swept to sea in your waders is more dignified than being trampled in a Walmart Black Friday sale.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 