Surprise

I went to a friend's pier today to take some photos of a few boats.  It was overcast and I had not been there before, so I wasn't sure what I might find.  It's a little cove off the Patuxent with quiet waters, and the hum of traffic from the nearby bridge.  It's really peaceful.

The boats I expected were there as well as some others.  I wanted to get the Oyster boat with it's mast, yard arm and tackle.











There was more to be seen though.  There were several Turkey Vultures roosting, one of which landed atop the mast of the boat.  Not sure that's a good omen.. hmm.











I moved from the pier to the back yard to gain a different perspective, but had left my camera bag behind.  After taking a few pics I walked back to the pier and was startled by some noise at the water's edge.  Then I saw a very water-logged bird trying to flap/walk up on the rock lined shore.


He couldn't walk very well.  After trying to get on top of the next rock and failing, he settled in to preen and attempted to dry out.  I left him there to recuperate.  Hope he makes it..  but as you can see he's looking pretty rough.. poor thing.

There were two guys on the boat on the opposing bank.  One was fishing and the other messing around with a remote controlled gas powered boat.  Every time he started it up his little Schnauzer would go crazy barking.

Last a took a few shots of a more distant boat.

Not as cheerful as I had hoped, but it's still a beautiful little cove.  The sun will soon shine, the vultures will find some other place and maybe the Osprey and song birds will take over.  Right?


Cheers,
Brian

Eagle

I love the Bald Eagle.  I find them majestic and beautiful.  I know that they can be, and often are, scavengers.  That fact does not diminish their stature in my eyes.

As fall approaches we often start seeing a few Bald Eagles in our area.  I saw one yesterday but didn't have the camera out in time.  Today as I was driving around  NAS Pax River I saw one perched quite close to the road on a wooden sign.  I went up the road a short distance, pulled over and got my camera and 200mm zoom lens out.  I drove slowly back toward the eagle and amazingly he didn't fly off immediately.  I took a number of rapid shots.

He did jump to a take-off and then slid below horizon of the grass berm that's above the river. 

  I took a similar drive on the way home.  I spotted some of the geese in a small pond, and then a Turkey Vulture.

 






To the right:  There's always one guy .....
 

 The Vulture isn't the prettiest beast, but he has an important job... janitor.

I spotted the eagle further ahead, not far from where I had seen it in the morning.  I was able to snap a quick few shots and they didn't turn out too bad with a bit of processing and cropping.

 
I mentioned on FaceBook that I was both excited and sad about this post.  That's because you can see in the zoomed-in cropped photos that one of his eyes is clouded over - like a cataract is there.  I hope that's all that is wrong with him (her?)

A town lost in time

Our recent vacation needed a little... tweaking.  It was going real well and we were enjoying our stay in Massanutten Resort in Virginia.  However, a need for a trip to Annapolis and an Eye Doc visit became necessary. After Deb was cleared for take-off, we set off.. with no real plan.

Ultimately, after a bit of a drive west we decided to just "head North."  We took route 83 out of the Baltimore area to find what lay ahead.  It's a nice highway, two lanes each direction and at least at the time we drove, it wasn't too crowded.

As we passed the border with PA we spied a "Rest Area" and pulled in.  The service area had a Visitor's Center and more brochures than you could read in several weeks, they spanned the whole of PA.  Concentrating on the county we were in, we talked with the host and had a couple ideas.

First, we took in a Clock and Watch Museum and then Turkey Hill Farms "Experience."  (I'll blog on them another day.) Then headed into and through Lancaster to a little Village.  The Amish were everywhere and looked to run a good deal of the shops.  It was touristy, but nice.

One of the Brochures listed a Bed & Breakfast and we took a chance on it.  We couldn't have been happier with it.  We had a nice little suite in a building separate from the main house.  The main home was spectacular inside, thought I didn't think to get any good photos.  We walked around a bit and then headed to dinner, but since it was "late" like 7:30 PM most of the local places were nearing closing.  We found a "Steamboat" looking building that said "Live Music, Piano Player" and took another chance.  It turned out fine with an older gent playing and singing - till 8:00 anyway.

Here's a few shots:



I thought these scooters were the coolest things ever.  "Razors" on steroids.  They've apparently been featured in Martha Stewart Living, and Elle.

Of course the more "standard" buggies were around, some were easier to see than others.































One young guy had a sulky.  I don't think I've ever seen a race inspired buggy used by the Amish before.. kind of cool if you're by yourself.  It's the sports car  of the farm.

And by the way, those scooters were everywhere, and used by everyone.. boys, girls, men and women alike.






We drove around and there were plenty of farms.

Our little suite is on the left end, first floor of this building. There is a second unit on the right, and an upper unit in the middle.

Our unit is hidden from view in the second photo of the property, the main house is all the way up front.  Then there's a unit that looks like a Shed - which is what it was called too.  Then a "barn" at the foreground.

There's a nice lawn and gazebo in the back, would be perfect for weddings.





















A few shots from my phone of the interior of the house:

 
 And holding the secret till the end, this little town is called Intercourse Village.  So named at the time, because there was pleasant and engaging conversation to be found in the little town.


Till next time,
Brian

Karaoke

A few weeks ago Deb and I met some friends at Applebee's for dessert and possible singing.  One of our friends, Val, will on occasion sing at an open mic night.  Karaoke is not something that Deb would normally take on, she prefers to sing at church or to live accompaniment.  Yet, it's still something that has been on her bucket list.  With some encouragement Deb joined Val and another woman in some Journey.  Kind of fitting actually.

Val, Angela, and Deb

 While they sang their hearts out...














  They were still having fun... which was the most important part of the whole thing.

It was a great night, everyone had fun.  One of the young ladies at our table reluctantly picked up a mic for one song as well.  She got a prize for best singer for the evening!

 



















 There were many other singers of course, and our friend Amanda among them.

Amanda's turn

Then there was Frank.. (maybe Fred?)  Frank sang as often as the DJ (Kevin and a colleague) would let him.  He wasn't bad, and had a harmonica with him to add to tunes, Piano Man by Billy Joel as an example.

Frank on harmonica

Believe this is Josh, in the hat

 And who says you can't dance at an Applebee's?

DJ's Kevin and ???

Another singer,, don't remember her name.

And one of my favorites, not for the photo quality, but for the content of a mom and her daughter.

and below, how another daughter is always aware of an opportunity to Photo-Bomb!

  Like I said, a great night.

Peace,
Brian