Sunday, November 5, 2023

Time for a change!

 I've moved here. https://mike17042.com/

It's very much a work in progress but we'll have to see how it progresses.


Saturday, October 28, 2023

Fall Colour

 As I should have been on the New Jersey and  Delaware coast on Friday but wasn't (see previous post) I decided to take some fall color snapshots on and around 2nd Mountain instead. I stopped at Memorial Lake on the way home and had a little stroll along to Middle Road.

Just before you hit the dirt road.
They've graded the dirt road
the Bend
Typical Woodland
To the 2nd Mountain Hawkwatch
I can see my house through the Gap (not really, but its there)

One of the low Bald Eagles

Leaving the Mountain
Memorial Lake
Memorial Lake
Memorial Lake

Friday, October 27, 2023

My two day trip to the Coast

didn't go as expected. I had planned a two day trip to the East Coast starting at Brigantine (now Edwin B Forsythe NWR, why do they rename places after fucking politicians?)  then heading down to Cape May where I would spend the night. Early next morning I had planned on catching the 7am ferry from Cape May to Lewes in Delaware to do a bit of seawatching on the hour and a half crossing over Delaware Bay. From Lewes I was going to drive up to Bombay Hook and then home by mid to late afternoon missing the Friday afternoon traffic. It definitely didn't go as planned. As 18th Century Scottish Poet Robert Burns once wrote "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men /Gang aft agley.". Written in 1785 but still holds true today. A modern version would read "Shit happens" or "Your plans can turn to shit in a heartbeat".

I was driving around the 8 mile loop at Brigantine not seeing much to photograph in the very harsh light. When the car gave a ding. Out on the raised embankment without shade it was a bit difficult to see the console and warning lights that appeared. The car was driving fine, no noises (other than the occasional ding) no vibrations other than the gravel roadway of the embankment. I carried on round to the car park and parked under the shade and got the manual out looking for the meaning of the amber symbols on the console. The operators manual (the driver) is about 20mm thick and full of safety crap like how to fasten your seatbelt, warnings on driving with the door open, useful stuff for the morons out there. Could I find the meaning of these symbol/icons? Could I hell! Fuck it. The car starts and runs just fine so do I carry on with my planned trip or do I cut my losses, play safe and head home. Yeah, I chickened out and headed home. The car ran just fine, no issues at all. Damnit, I could have carried on with my trip.

I didn't take many shots in the harsh light but here's a couple.

Pied-billed Grebe
Snowy Egret