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| Saturday's Sunrise |
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| Lumpy in the straits |
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| On final approach |
Friday night was another run up I5 then a lumpy ferry ride. With 20 knots on the beam, the ferry was tossed a bit crossing Rosario straits. Not the lumpiest trip I’ve been on, but up there. Bouncy.
Saturday morning dawned colorfully. It got me thinking. The days are getting longer as the earth orbits round the sun. In mid December we had about 8 hours of sunlight each day and in mid June we’ll have about double that - 16 hours of sunlight. More if you count the extended twilight at that time of year. Pretty soon we’ll be adding 20 minutes of daylight each week and over the course of 3 weeks we’ll add a full hour. Can’t wait.
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| Sunday Morning's sunrise |
The blue line corresponds with the left axis -- hours during the day. The right line is the rate of change each week, measured in minutes on the right side of the graph. In December, the rate of change is slow, one week being nearly the same as the previous week. It starts to accelerate in January, each week being about 10 minutes longer at the beginning of the month but then things start to happen faster. As I write, we're adding 15 minutes each week but at the end of the month it'll be pegged at just over 20 minutes through the first part of May, then, while the days continue to elongate, the rate of change slows till we hit the summer solstice.
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| Taxes |
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| 1945 life insurance |
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| Immature "Bald" eagle |
There were a number of eagles hanging around the house. A few young ones without the white head as well as mature adults. But before I get into the story, why do we call them ‘bald’ eagles? Their feathers have turned white, they’re not bald. They have feathers. I’m bald. No feathers. Or hair. But I digress.
Mom had said there’s a dead deer on the beach and that’s why the abundance of eagles. Despite their noble stature, their eating habits are less than gourmet. They aren’t picky and ask any Osprey, eagles are opportunistic. They only work when they really have to.
I went down to the beach to try to get a good eagle shot. In focus with no branches in front of it. Preferably with wings outstretched. That shot had alluded me of late. I have plenty of out of focus and obscured pictures of eagles.
I found the deer, but the antlers weren’t any that I recognized. They had flat sections, almost like a small moose. But it wasn’t a moose. I ended up taking a picture of it and posting on Facebook. A friend offered the identification and I think she’s right. Later another Island friend, an Audubon expert, pretty much confirmed it. It was a Fallow Deer, native to Eurasia, but exported to different parts of the world for hunting.
It likely, almost certainly, came from Spieden Island, site of the former ‘Safari Island’ back in the 70’s. The ’Safari’ moniker never took and fortunately the ‘hunting’, if you could call it that, stopped years ago, but some of the animals adapted , bred and remained.
My old friend Dean offered that it was one of Santa’s reindeer. Later in the evening, about 2/3rds the way through my Manhattan, a thought occurred to me. I took the cherry out of the drink and posted a photograph of it next to the original deer picture and claimed I had found it near the carcass.
Another friend chimed with with “RIP, Rudolph” but Dean had the last word. He later posted, “At least it wasn’t Olive the other reindeer”. Only Dean.
I did get the shot I wanted — sort of.
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| Rudolphs nose? |
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| The shot I was looking for |
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| Stock shot of a Fallow Deer in better times |
Dinner was good, as usual.
Taxes were mostly done, a few odds and ends attended to, took few pics and have my first Fallow Deer story.
Good weekend.
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