The Rail

At Aaron's Beach a week or so ago, I noticed several of these birds hanging out in the marsh.

Now, as you may know, Chesapeake Bay Woman is not good with details, specifics, facts, data, fine print, technicalities, anything requiring patience and housework. In spite of all that, she is going to take a stab at assigning a label for this bird, and what she's come up with is a rail.

Before both any of you rush to correct me, let me also say that even if this is not a rail, we do have rails in Mathews. And today we're talking about them.

Naturally when required to provide facts and details, I turn to the internet, because as we all know everything one reads on the internet is whatever you want it to be, just keep looking until you find the answer you like accurate and factual.

Here's what my BFF Wikipedia says about the aquatic birds known as rails:

"...any of 127 species of slender, somewhat chicken-shaped marsh birds, with short rounded wings, short tail, large feet, and long toes, of the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes). The name is sometimes used to include coots and gallinules, which belong to the same family, but coots and gallinules are far more ostentatious. Coots and gallinules flock like ducks, swim in open water, and waddle conspicuously on shore. By contrast, rails are secretive birds, hiding among reeds at the water’s edge by day and uttering their calls mostly at night."

Coots and gallinules?
Ostentatious coots to boot?

Oh, the field day I could have with these words, but before I say something my children might read I might regret, let's bring this brief discussion about rails, coots and gallinules to a close.

If you hear somebody cackling and howling, it's just me laughing at my own off-color remarks about coots and gallinules and rails. Oh my.

Happy Friday.

Three Things

This relaxing scene is from last weekend's camping trip over on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay. I contemplated wading out to that little boat and taking it for a spin, but only for a second.

Anyway.

Today is Thursday, which means it's Three Thing Thursday, where I share three things and you share three things.

1. When did June arrive? Have we skipped some years months? Wasn't it just Christmas? Easter?

2. In any case, if it's June that means it's time for me to focus on Blog Fest 2010, July 15-18, when bloggers from all over the map will descend on little old Mathews County. Over the weekend I'll try to concoct a Blog Fest-related post, but the bottom line is--if you're interested in coming, just e-mail me at ChesapeakeBayWoman@gmail.com so I can get your information and keep you up to date on what is happening and the schedule of events, which of course we haven't figured out yet.

3. I am thrilled to announce that the very kind people at Terro, who make all sorts of ant annihilating products, have offered to send me some free samples of various ant-killing products since my liquid bait traps no longer seem to be enough to stop the influx. Oh, how eagerly I await this package. Hopefully it will arrive before the ants stage their coup, which they're slowly building up to every hour of every day that passes.

Now it's your turn to share three things, whatever you want; anything at all.

As long as it's not covered in ants.