Category: Critters

Stalked by ducks.

We enjoyed a fun raftup last night with Lori, Dave, Kurt & Kevin.  The wind was slack and light overnight, and we ended up getting our anchor lines twisted.  We knew that was the case, though, so we were prepared for it when we went to pull up our anchors today.  We enlisted the kayak and detached the anchor rode from Nirvana entirely while Camelot pulled theirs up, untwisting them as we went along.   Back on-board Nirvana, we reattached our rode and pulled our anchor up and got underway.  Next time, we’ll put out a stern line.  🙂

As we headed back to the marina, the two ducks that hang out in the cove were behaving very strangely.   They have been in the cove everytime we have gone out there this year, and they hang out by our boat.   We’ve named them George and Gracie.  This time, though, as we were motoring along, they followed us well out of the cove, swimming hard to try to keep up.

IMG_3606 They would fall behind and then take flight and land next to us near mid-ships.   Then drift back to where we were pulling the kayak, and tried to keep up again.

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They repeated this over and over.   After watching them do this five or six times, we slowed down so we could see what they would do when they caught up with us.   And they proceeded to paddle right up to the transom.

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And Gracie jumped aboard as we were moving along.   George seemed a bit more reserved.

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Eventually they got tired of playing with us and moved along.

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…..funny birds.

 

 

A sort of pet adoption.

We had a great night on the lake last night. And a beautiful sail home today. We got home this afternoon to find that 2 of our neighbor’s cats have decided they want to hang with us. All the perks of owning two cats, but none of hassle. One of the cats has been hanging out in our yard for the last week or two. Today he brought his buddy.

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The circle of life.

Today we met Julie’s new dog, Blake.  She’s a good doggie, and I know will bring much happiness into eachothers lives.

IMG_3264 Today we also learned that another one of our canine friends, Kokopelli (aka “the Admiral”), left us for the big boat in the sky.  Farewell, Koko, you were a great boat dog, and a good friend to Marty and Sue for many years.  Sail on…. we’ll miss you.1-DSCN3701

April 6 – Staying put.

Sunday, April 6.

After the marathon day we had yesterday, we’re taking it easy today.   We all dinghied over to Cistern Point and snorkeled for quite a while.

More swimming with the fishies.
More swimming with the fishies.

Between Cistern Point and our boat, a turtle was hanging out.  He was one cool dude – he didn’t mind that we floated close by to watch him for quite a while.   These are the best pictures I’ve gotten of a turtle of all my Caribbean trips.  I like how the colors get clearer and more vibrant as he gets closer to the surface.

Turtle dude surfacing - 1
Turtle dude surfacing – 1
Turtle dude surfacing - 2
Turtle dude surfacing – 2
Turtle dude surfacing - 3
Turtle dude surfacing – 3

The guys are headed back to Jost again today.   Tan-a-na’s crew leaves early tomorrow morning, so they are headed back to Tortola to spend the night at the marina.  After lunch we shopped ashore and enjoyed people/boat watching all afternoon, before hitting happy hour again on Cooper.

Cooper Island palms.
Cooper Island palms.

For sunset, we dinghied out to the mouth of the bay, beyond the anchorage, to get an unobstructed view of the sun setting over Tortola.

Sunset behind Tortola - viewed from Cooper Island
Sunset behind Tortola – viewed from Cooper Island

 

April 4 – Just another day in paradise.

Friday, April 4.

Sunrise view from the v-berth hatch:

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The winds have turned nasty, 25-28 knots out of the east.  Here in Lameshur Bay, we are very protected, so you’d hardly notice.   We’re staying another night.   Tan-a-na is going to make a run for Road Town on Tortola to check back into the BVI, as they discovered an error with their visas – they expire today, instead of the day they leave.   The guys are heading back to Jost, I think, for the night.

So we look forward to a very relaxing day and night here.   We made the right decision, as Tan-a-na told us that they had a terrible passage to Road Town.  6 foot waves, 28 knot winds, rain.   Once in Road Town, the winds were so strong, they couldn’t get an anchor set, so they made a run to Norman for the night.

Nestled into Great Lameshur, we went for a long snorkel this morning.

Fan coral.
Fan coral.
A pair of cuttlefish.
A pair of cuttlefish.
Now, what is it they say about snorkeling among a school of baitfish...?
Now, what is it they say about snorkeling among a school of baitfish…?
Rugged beach at Great Lameshur Bay.
Rugged beach at Great Lameshur Bay.

In the afternoon Susanne, Laura and I headed ashore to hike the Lameshur Trail.  We got lucky and missed the rain completely.  We had gorgeous views from the hills along the trail.

View from the Lameshur Trail, overlooking the plantation ruin and Little Lameshur Bay.
View from the Lameshur Trail, overlooking the plantation ruin and Little Lameshur Bay.
View from Lameshur Trail. Great Lameshur Bay in the distance, Little Lameshur Bay in the foreground. That lone boat in Great Lameshur is ours.
View from Lameshur Trail. Great Lameshur Bay in the distance, Little Lameshur Bay in the foreground. That lone boat in Great Lameshur is ours.
Hermit crab on Lameshur trail.
Hermit crab on Lameshur trail.
Looking SSW from Lameshur Trail. Reef Bay in the foreground.
Looking SSW from Lameshur Trail. Reef Bay in the foreground.

Another dinner aboard tonight and then we will head back to the BVI in the morning.

You know it’s cold when…

…the neighborhood gargoyle is wearing his woolies.  🙂

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Going batty.

Wow, this week has been crazy.   Today I’ve been on back to back calls since 6AM without a break until 2:30 PM.  And I have a couple more hours of meetings to go before the day is over — certainly lots more work to do after the calls.   But after my call ended at 2:30 I just had to get up and walk around.

I started to walk down the hall to the kitchen when a blob on the window by the front door caught my eye.   What the heck is that?

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I better take a closer look…

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OMG that is a bat!   In case you were not aware, Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in the US… about 1.5 million mexican free-tailed bats make the underside of the Congress Bridge downtown their home from about March to October.  Being nocturnal, they come out from under the bridge in droves after sunset everynight to forage for insects.  I’ve seen the exodus many times and consider them friend not foe.   This little guy didn’t make it back to the bridge, apparently.   I was perfectly fine to let him hang out on the window until nightfall, but I couldn’t resist the urge to go outside and get a better picture.  For you guys, of course.

So, i went outside and approached slowly…

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Then I had to lean in a little closer to get a better shot… this one is kind of blurry…his head is pointing down, and he’s hanging on to the leaded window piece with his little feet…IMG_2030

and just then, he woke up and flew right past me.  He scared the begeesus out of me and I was as startled as he was.   I wish I had been able to get a shot of him in flight.     Oh well.   I hope he makes it back to the bridge tonight.   Sorry I woke him up, but  I didn’t get a good night’s sleep either.

I think that, eventually, my heart rate will return to normal.  🙂   For now, it’s back to work for me!

A little worse for wear.

I saw this dragonfly perched on the top of my garden obelisk in the backyard.   At first I thought he might have been dead, but as I approached I saw that he was moving and watching my every move.   After taking a breather, he eventually flew off.

He looks a little like I feel this week… but reminds me that no matter what challenges we’re dealing with, we just have to keep on going.

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Here’s looking at you, kid.

Monday.  Bleh.
Early this morning I collected all the photos I took while Jake was here and put them on a SDRAM card for him to take home with him.  Here is one from the tubing trip yesterday.  A humongous dragonfly landed on Jake’s head.  I had to try to get a close-up.
I drove him (Jake, not the dragonfly) to the airport today, and he’s on his way home.  Being an aunt is the next best thing to being a mom, I guess.  I love my nieces and nephews, but live far away from them.  I am very glad they (and their parents) don’t mind having to trek across the country for a visit.
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How’s it hanging?

We had a great day on the lake today.   The winds picked up so we pulled anchor and sailed over to the Gnarly Gar and had lunch.    Jake did great at the helm.   On the way back to the marina, the winds were so light that Monte and Jake were able to jump in and be towed behind the boat, as we sailed along at about half a knot.

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When we got back home, Keeto was very happy to see the flock return, as usual.   He’s a funny bird.

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The evening was filled with Wii contests of strength and speed; a delicious spread of sauteed pork chops, pasta and kale that Jake prepared; and the mandatory showing of Captain Ron for new-sailor initiation.

A great weekend!

Little helper.

It’s Saturday!! Keeto loves to help out with making the grocery list. 🙂

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My other helper made awesome daiquiris at the end of the day. I wish every day was saturday. Cheers!

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Holy schmolies!

We had a great time on the lake this weekend. We anchored in Arky south last night. Rory and Greg joined us on Sapphire for the night. Lori, Dave and Jake stopped by on Camelot and tied up for several hours; to swim and grill up dinner on the boat. Boy was it a hot one!! 107+ in the city. Was probably hotter out here. But floating in the lake is the best way to beat the heat.
Back at the marina, we met up with Marty and Sue and floated for a while. It was great to see them. We saw Nick, Dmitri and Kelly, too. Nice day!
Made it back home by about 6 pm or so. As we were unpacking we heard all the bluejays in the vicinity urgently squawking and dive bombing something outside the kitchen window. This went on for a while, so I walked out to see what it was. There were about 10 or more jays in the oak tree joining in. I walked around shook the bushes a bit, but didn’t see anything. So I walked back to the front porch, when I saw a 6′ snake slithering up onto the porch about a foot away from me and my bare feet and legs. YIKES!!! I guess I should be more careful.

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A google search later leads me to believe this is a Texas Rat Snake.

Virtual Friday!!!

This has been yet another busy week.   But, today is the last day of work for me, as we’re taking a long weekend.   Wooo Hooooo!

Tonight I stopped by Mayfield Park on the way to a friend’s house.  There are peacocks in residence here, and a couple were putting on a show when I arrived.

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Mock – yeah. ing – yeah. bird – yeah.

We share our property with some very friendly and vocal mockingbirds – the state bird of Texas.  Here’s one:

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And here’s the song that is now stuck in my head.  Enjoy!