January 15, 2013, Just Another Day in Paradise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 15, 2013.  After a morning of clouds - during which we did the laundry, yes, I did say we - I pulled out our big, fluffy chairs and we sat on the shore of the lagoon reading and enjoying nature.  An enormous egret of some kind or other sat in a tree beside our campsite.  Annie suggested that it might be a Blue-footed Booby bird.  I don't think so, but Granddaughter Emory would know for sure.  I would think a Blue-footed Booby bird would have blue feet.  This one didn't, I don't think.  I can't be sure.  I only saw one foot because it had the other leg tucked under his body.  Maybe the other foot was blue. 

In any event, the bird eyed me fearlessly as I circled under his perch and snapped photos.  Actually, it was as though he was posing for me.  When I finished and returned to my seat, he flew away.  It was as if to say, "If you're through, I'll go somewhere else where I can be the focus of attention."

There's also a photo of the Loch Ness Duck.  I have never seen a duck do what this duck was doing.  It was a diver.  After one of his dives, he emerged with a fish in his mouth.  He then played with the fish for about fifteen minutes.  He would dive under the water with it in his mouth, surface, release the fish, then stab at it with his beak.  He would catch the fish in his mouth, then release it again.  At times, it appeared that he was pushing the fish through the water with his beak.  It reminded me of a trained seal at the zoo pushing a ball through the water with his snout. 

I didn't tell you this:  Yesterday, Annie steered her bike off the road and into the sand again.  The last time she did that, she scraped up her leg.  This time, it was less eventful.  Now, understand this, the road is twenty-feet wide.  How can you miss a road that's that wide?  I asked her how that happened.  She said that she got close to the edge, leaned toward the shoulder and had to steer in that direction to avoid falling off the bike.  Okay, but the road is TWENTY-FEET WIDE!  What was she doing so close to the edge?  She had no answer for that question.  I am going to enroll her in a basic course of bike riding.  That, or equip her bike with duel air bags, one on either side of the seat.

After relaxing until late afternoon, we mounted the bikes and road to the beach.  I instructed Annie to ride in the middle of the road.  Not surprisingly, she didn't drive off the road on this trip.  The surfers were out again, 18 of them by my count.  There is a new technique in surfing.  It is called paddle surfing.  The surfer propels himself through the water by standing on the board and using a long-handled paddle.  That would require balance and skill far beyond my understanding.  It looks pretty cool though.  We walked the beach for about thirty minutes as the sun set.  Beautiful.

The good weather has run its course.  The weather dudes are calling for a cold front tomorrow night with temperatures into the forties and rain.  I'll study the weather maps to see if there is a way to avoid the inclement weather.  Our plan was to move west tomorrow.  Now, all I can say is that we will do that only if remaining here or moving in a different direction will get us out of the nasty weather.  I didn't come here for nasty weather.