Cormorants

These cormorants were enjoying a sunny day off Aarons Beach recently.

I've been busy busy busy just doing the usual, every day things.  I'm struggling with the fact that summer is over and only three (likely short) months stand between today and Christmas.

Next Wednesday Daughter turns 17.  She's requested dinner at her place of employment (and my favorite local restaurant) Merroir. She's juggling a very full workload at school these days, and we're both eager for the college application process to be behind her.

Otherwise, it's just business as usual around here, nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary.

And that's just fine with me.

Locklies Creek

These were taken on Saturday from Merroir, where I went earlier in the day to pretend like there wasn't going to be a group of teenagers descending on my house that night.

It worked temporarily, the pretending.

But descend they ultimately did.

The teens had fun, I got no sleep, but thankfully it's all behind me. We all survived.

Now we enter my least favorite time of year--the days of waking up in darkness, dragging into the kitchen to make coffee in the darkness, driving to work in darkness, leaving work in darkness, driving home in darkness. Dark, dark, dark. It's not my thing.

Anyway, the week ahead is filled with excitement, including the gubernatorial election, the regional cross country meet and my half marathon--which should be very interesting since I've done next to nothing to prepare for it.

Hope all is well in your world.

Sand Bank

At long last, just when we thought we could take it no more,

the clouds parted and the sun came out yesterday.

Since it was not only a federal holiday but also Still No Work Due to Government Shutdown Day 4,692,

I found myself at home with not much to do, so I forced myself out to take pictures.

It'd been a while since I'd been to this neck of the woods, and it was a beautiful day for a visit.

If you have any sort of fear of cormorants, this wouldn't be the place to go.

I've never heard of a fear of cormorants, but then again,

I'd never heard of a fear of clowns until the past five or six years ago.

So you never know.

Someone out there may have cormorantaphobia.
(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

If so, it's my duty to warn you about Sand Bank.

They're everywhere. Just waiting to pounce.

If you are not a cormorantaphobe, please take a drive 

down Route 602, Sand Bank Road, for a glimpse at the old wharf

and the beautiful bay.

Note:  References to pouncing cormorants and cormorantaphobia are brought to you by 

the giddiness of a sunny day and Week Three of unemployment. 

Perched II

I'm officially in Hunker Down and Focus on the Task at Hand Mode, which is the stage just after Procrastination Mode and the one immediately preceding Panic Mode, at least as it relates to getting ready for Blog Fest 2013. This exact same system, however, got me through life thus far four years of college, plus I don't know how many projects at work--plus two previous Blog Fests. It may not work for everyone, but waiting until the last minute to accomplish anything seems to work for me.

Daughter has a cross country meet this afternoon in Lancaster, which will subtract a minimum of three to four hours from the total number available to work on Blog Fest-related preparations.

Oh well. There's only always tomorrow. 

Hope all is well in your world.


p.s. If you're unfamiliar with Blog Fest, click here for the 2009 Blog Fest Eve post or here for Blog Fest 2010.

Cormorants

These pictures, taken from Aaron's Beach, date back to 2009.

That was back in the days when we actually saw the sun, and it wasn't raining 

and freezing cold even in the month of May.

Although I've been a little busy lately and unable to take many new pictures, 

even if I had the time the weather has just been so uncooperative.  

I think it's time to put Mother Nature in time out for being 

so obstinate about relinquishing winter.

Enough is enough with this weather.

...said the person with Seasonal Affective Disorder and a severe Vitamin D deficiency--even though she takes megadoses of supplements every day.  

(Or whenever she remembers to, whichever is less frequent.)

There really are cormorants in this picture, you just need a telescope to see them.
This particular shot wasn't really about cormorants anyway.  It actually had
more to do with my fascination  with the "V" those poles are making in this and the first two shots.
(Have I mentioned how easily entertained I am?)

This was taken last week on yet another gloomy, dreary, overcast day.

Click here for more info  on cormorants, including the fun fact that they sometimes make deep, pig-like grunts and are often confused with the common loon.


Hmmm.


It's quite possible the Chesapeake Bay Family may also have a cormorant clinging firmly to a branch of the family tree, right next to Lucille Ball and Wayne Newton.

Wordless Wednesday: The Bird Edition

There are gulls perched in this very dark, slightly slanted picture.
I promise. Oops!  There are words in this so-called wordless post.

Happy Wednesday.

Deep in Thought

About a week ago after work, I drove down to
Aarons Beach to clear my head.

Much to my surprise, I stumbled upon a festival of feathered friends which included cormorants and gulls.

This particular cormorant was really showing off.  
He was all talk and no action.
The girls gulls were very unimpressed.

Everyone stood dutifully gazing off
into the grand expanse that is the bay.

Evidently they needed to clear their heads some too.

I wonder what a gull or a cormorant is thinking,
perched for so long like this.

I'm guessing it has to do with what's for supper.

Except for this guy, who looks like he's trying to start something.

Yep, we all just stared off into the distance.

What are they thinking about?

Mobjack Birds

Flock of Seagulls on Mobjack Dock.
I had a Flock of Seagulls album back in the 1980s.
That was around the same time the woolly mammoth roamed the Earth.

An Assortment of Water Birds, Mostly Gulls
Whenever I see "assortment" I always think of Whitman's Chocolates.
Which of course makes me think of Forrest Gump and, "You never know what you're gonna get."

Cormorants
I'm not sure what it is about these birds, but they refuse to acknowledge your presence.
They act as if you're not even there.  
This can be aggravating to those who are patiently waiting to snap a photograph.
Also, there's something about the name cormorants that bugs me, not sure what.
Maybe it's that the word "ants" is embedded in their name, and ants and I do not get along well. 
At all.

This concludes today's glimpse into Chesapeake Bay Woman's troubled mind Mobjack Bay wildlife as well as the lesson in free association and stream of consciousness.

Feel free to leave a free association comment of your own.

Or feel free to use the word free way too many times in a sentence.  Whatever you want. 

Most of all, have a great weekend.

*******************

p.s. Click here for Chesapeake Bay Mother's account of the singing group she belonged to back in the days of bobby socks and WDDY radio in neighboring Gloucester County.