You’d be sorely mistaken. As you all know, I’m a two-year faithful follower of the Bald Eagle webcam in Davenport Iowa, placed and maintained by the good folks at Alcoa. The three eaglets, Faith, Hope, and Spirit are about to fledge any day, each one flapping their wings and jumping up to a branch above the nest to test their flight skills.
I See You. Do You See Me?
If that wasn’t cooooool enough, enter the Osprey Webcam in North Carolina, also hosted by Alcoa. The osprey are nesting high above the Yadkin river on top of the 1917 Narrows Dam.
From the Alcoa Osprey Cam website:
Meet Oliveea and Oscar
Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI) Yadkin Division is proud to introduce our osprey family. The osprey is one of the most widespread birds of prey and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Oliveea and her lifetime mate Oscar have been with us for the last few years. The pair became parents to three chicks, which hatched at the end of April. Chicks usually fledge in late June or early July, so you will want to be around for that! Please join us as often as you can for the latest updates/viewings.
But when I think osprey, I think of a good old friend from my Martha’s Vineyard days, the brilliant Dr. Rob Bierregaard.
From Rob’s University of North Carolina webpage, a part of his bio:
I’ve been studying the Osprey population on Martha’s Vineyard, MA, since 1969. Beginning in 2000, in collaboration with Dr. Mark Martell of The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, I put satellite transmitters on a total of seven adult birds, six on Martha’s Vineyard and one in Charlotte. Beginning in 2004 I began tagging juvenile Ospreys. Through the end of the breeding season in 2009, I have tagged 29 fledgling Ospreys. Tracking young Ospreys on their first migration has proven to be a really exciting avenue of research.
In 2009, in collaboration with Alan Poole and the Westport River, MA, Osprey team, we began tagging adult male Ospreys to learn about their hunting behavior in the three months when they are pretty much to sole providers for themselves, their mate, and a brood of hungry and growing nestlings.
This great video of Rob’s New Hampshire based Project Osprey Track is the best way I can introduce him to my readers. If you are a Tweeter, you can follow Rob on Twitter @ospreytrax.
I’m going to add the Alcoa Osprey webcam to my blogroll; oh what fun nature is to watch. Thanks Alcoa! And thanks Rob for all you do.
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And They’re Off…………..
Son Two and his motorcycle, heading to another round of races, hoping to best his last race fourth-place finish. Incentive: Money is only given to top three finishers!
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Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue.
Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue. Patience is a Virtue.
I ordered some new patio umbrellas.
This is what arrived: the frame, minus the actual umbrella!
We opened the pool today and with the extraordinary precautions we took last winter to fend off meeces eating the electronics of the pool heater, I expected nothing less than a “no problem” report from pool guys.
Nope.
The mice not only ate the steel wool, they dug, found, and ATE the transmitter wires – the wires that connect the heater to the power source. Mmmmm good. We figured we’d thought of everything. If you remember, by New York mandate, our pest control company is no longer allowed to put bait stations more than 50 feet away from base of the home. Hence, the steel wool. But it didn’t seem to keep the rodents away.
And finally, reason number one why my mantra Patience is Virtue is being sung, I am scheduled for a patio furniture delivery. Between 9am and 1pm. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Actual delivery time: 3:21. Last I checked, that is NOT between 9 and 1. All I got in response: “we’re running late.” 
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Who Needs a Reservation at The Red Lobster?
We don’t. Not when you have your own lobster traps and a hubby who loves to be out at sea. Here, with a live Rhode Island report, the intrepid and able fisherman, Mr. EOS:
Yesterday morning, the fog lifted just enough, and the surf subsided, such that I could launch from the beach and see if a fish and/or lobster dinner was in my future.
First, I had to collect a few crabs for fish bait. As occasionally happens, I find a treasure among the rocks; this time it was this big Atom swimmer with an eelskin slipped over it. That’s an old trick, but one rarely seen nowadays, I suspect. And I hadn’t found a big swimming lure like that since I was a kid. That hideous fluorescent job tho… hooks painted too!
I caught no fish, but collected a pair of keeper lobsters. One had the shell virus that ruins their saleability, but a) I don’t sell with my recreational license, and b) the meat is fine. The “after” picture shows the shell disease best. I’ll let you know how they taste tomorrow!
Oh, and if anyone catches a mess of Long Island Sound bluefish, save me the carcasses – I am totally OUT of lobster bait now.
And ready to eat………
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My Annual Cablevision Rant
Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows my not so big love affair with Cablevision. Their feuds with other channels, their prices, and now this:
In the mail last week, a letter, shouting Important Information about your TV Service.
Assuming it was a rate increase, I opened the letter with one eye closed. No, not a rate increase but this:
As of June 5, all of your televisions will require a digital cable box. That’s a real problem, especially for the TV in the kitchen.
It’s a small TV, attached under the cabinet and gets basic cable channels, perfect for morning coffee. I’d say perfect for Morning Joe but I do NOT, under any circumstance, watch MSNBC.
The cable boxes are huge, even the non DVR ones, and having one sit on the counter just galls me. Galls me no end.
Galls me because I don’t want to pay any more to Cablevision. Galls me because I don’t like the aesthetics of a box. Galls me because I don’t WANT another box. Galls me that I must comply.
The teaser is that the box is free**. Read the fine print: **free for the first year, then $6.95 per month after that, plus the cost of the remote.
So all of you dear readers who in my previous Cablevision rants have said I need to get with the program and go cable free and get a house antenna, you may finally have won your case.
I found a great article written by Connecticut Tech Guru Richard Frisch on this very subject. I’m glad I am not alone in my angst. I’m tweeting this post to him!
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The Last of The Mohicans
The peony bed is still alive but the rains did take a toll on some of the heavy blooms.
With the sun out early this morning, the remaining blooms are standing tall and few last buds are looking like they will open.
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I Thought About Being a Vegetarian Anyway
We have a new barbecue in the house, a megalith with a sear station and temperatures, with all the burners on, that can reach 700°.
But used to a lame old barbecue, that took forever to heat up, let alone cook a burger or dog (not Dawg!), we left the organic chicken sausages unattended for a smidge too long.
Mmmmmmm. Pass the green salad, please.
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What a Difference a Storm Front Makes
This morning, la la la, outside, reading, butterflies fluttering, enjoying the first dose of sunshine in weeks…
Then whoosh, a giant, and I mean GIANT thunderstorm; no time even to bring in the cushions………and this video isn’t even the worst of it. Your Chicken Reporter wasn’t too keen on taking video with lightning swirling all around me head! Some areas have reported hail.
No burgers on the barbie either……..
Happily, there’s always a good book….
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I’m No Second Banana!
I found myself in a “discussion” today that was worthy of coming out of blog vacation. What transpired left me speechless [something Mr. EOS will tell you is rare!].
At the supermarket, as I got out of my car, a woman in the space behind me also got out. As she did, a plastic bag of what was left of her fruit snack fell on the ground, so I politely, and I think diplomatically, said, “excuse me, you dropped something.”
She gave me a dirty look and walked toward the market, ignoring me and my comment.
I caught up to her and said: I’m sorry, perhaps you didn’t notice, but a plastic bag of orange and banana fell out of your car and I trust you will throw it away before someone slips on it.
The young woman, at the most in her early 30s, well dressed and coming out of a nice car, looked me straight in the eye and said “mind your business, you old hag.”
Honestly, I was so taken aback I didn’t know what to do. I looked around to make sure John Quiñones of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” was not filming and when I was sure I was alone, I contemplating decking her with my purse or making a citizen’s arrest.
Of course I know violence would get me nowhere and this woman’s behavior (note I didn’t say lady!) did not warrant me stooping to her level. So with an old plastic grocery bag in my trunk, (Californian’s will be sorry that they have banned plastic completely!) I picked up HER trash and plunked it in the proper receptacle. And went to another grocery store, sure if I stayed in the same store with her, I wouldn’t be able to contain myself from trying and trip her with my cart or toss a banana peel under her feet.
Don’t you wonder how someone could behave so badly?
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Jumping The Fence
Over and out for the long weekend. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!
