Musings

Today we relocated from Perry (south of Macon) to the coast, to St. Simons Island. To a golf resort. That’s a first for me. We had a plebian room (for the resort; actually, it was huge, and had a mini-kitchen, social area, and two sinks in the bat-room) overlooking one of the greens, with a pond beyond; friends in a suite had a view of the marsh (no buildings or golfer carts). From our room, I spotted this heron (?) wading…and posing just so, looking like the out-of-bounds marker (I assume) made her/him a red-legged white wading bird….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 2 Comments »

My day was filled with Chores, which may be dreaded but are Very Important.

So, lacking a picture from today, I reach back nearly two weeks to show you a Odocoileus virginianus buddy (actually with friends, or, more likely, family), visiting the side yard Up North (sorry for the phrasing, but it’s common, and commonly understood to boot, so I bow to the popularity factor…).

Now, of course, I’m Here In The City, and enjoying an evening With Relatives, which is a very fine and happy thing.

For tonight, Over and Out.

Please excuse the excess of capitals, but we recently traveled through rural areas, where capitals are Emphatic, or at least…um…trotted out from the signage Bag-O-Tricks, and my Sense-O-Capital-Meter is outta-whack!

Plus, it’s been windy since early this aft and I’m discombobulated!

Posted at 9:39 PM | 1 Comment »

This is actually a yesterday-picture, but it would fit today’s weather, too.

Note: if you’re in an area without milking barns and you see a pasture of half-grown Holsteins, well, you know you’re looking at some not-so-fine hamburger on the hoof. Is this a waste of greenhouse gasses?

Posted at 10:34 AM | Comments Off on Overseers behind the fence

The wasps (?) and other insects also seem to be enamored of the autumnal milkweeds.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Don’t bite!

The friends (?) of the milkweed are relocating downwards, plus the proportion seems to be shifting to more of the larger species.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

Okay, the infestation is spreading. This plant is about 1.5 meters from the one in the picture yesterday.

It’s east. But I don’t think this means anything about the prevailing wind.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Be safe!

’Tis milkweed season, and this infestation is taking advantage of…something. Two kinds of insects, and I’m not sure of their relationship, or their relationship to the milkweed they’re inhabiting. There are many milkweeds flourishing in the orchard, but this is the only one (well, and now its neighbors) that is hosting these insects.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

The view is east. From the bathroom. And this morning fairly early I saw a couple-spike buck still in velvet on the mowed area just a few feet away. He moseyed on, walking funny—couldn’t tell if it was a limp or something wrong with his hips. My eyes lifted to the sky. Clouds obscured to still-low sun, with nice cloud layers portending a fine sunrise, from the right angles. I finished my personal business and grabbed the Big Cam and headed down to the beach, stepping high to try to keep the drops remaining from yesterday’s rain from penetrating to my toes. Didn’t work. Still, the view of the lake from the bluff was terrific.

I descended and walked to the end of the dock (TY, M&D), and soaked in the views. To the southeast were three loons keeping company, and maybe doing a toned down version of the circling we observed earlier this year. Soon I heard loon calls from east around the point in the photograph and to the southwest, as well as from the trio. I even managed to record a bit of it. (Not being as talented and experienced as KW, I offer you the story and not an audio or video clip.)

Anyway, while I was soaking and didn’t have the camera stuck to my face, I saw a very large bird arrive in silhouette fluttering his/her wings to land on one of the dead branches you see poking skyward on the end of the point. Cra-a-ack, I heard, and the wings fluttered and the big feathered shape disappeared back along the shore to the east as a dead limb fell into the center of the very tree you’re looking at above. S/he returned maybe 4-5 minutes later and fluttered, but did not land, perhaps remembering distant times when this was a good spot to fish from, and also remembering the perils of the previous landing attempt.

Posted at 4:28 PM | 2 Comments »

I am fascinated by the interplay of light on webs—is this my Charlotte the Spider connection?

From yesterday’s walk; too lovely to not post, especially since we made today a Chore Day, and eradicated much dust—and not a few cobwebs—from our aged cottage interior.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Aesthetic webs

Today I learned first-hand what chicken poker is.

First, you have to prep the “field.” Establish a grid, lay one playing card for each square. It’s pretty much mandatory that the grid be “fenced.” Sell tickets for what you can get ($1 this day). Each “ticket” is a playing card corresponding to the ones distributed in the squares. Introduce the chicken. Wait for product.

Winner, of course, holds the card corresponding to the one in the square inoculated by the chicken.

This at a wedding, mind you!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Step right up!