Day 19.205: Boat trip miscellany

Day 19.154: Whale watching

Our nature group joined some other local birders on the whale watch boat out of Kennebunk again today. We saw a few birds but no whales - which means we get to go again for free another time. Here is some of what we saw. 

Exile #2 did not join but had a nature walk including seeing us off at the river mouth

Chimney swift

Common loon

Wilson’s storm petrel

Wilson’s storm petrel

Wilson’s storm petrel

Great black-backed gull

Gannet

Sooty shearwater

Bonaparte’s gull

Least tern

Double-crested cormorant

Fish crow

Two new life birds and a first-in-Maine (I think) and first of the year sighting of the least tern. 

Day 19.152: Civic duties

On Tuesday, four of us voted in the Maine primary elections. 

Today, I did the last of the duties relating to the Honda Civic that Exile #4 was driving last week by sending the title to the insurance company in acceptance of the total loss settlement. Meanwhile, today is Exile #4’s birthday and they have been doing a lot of adulting. Moving into their first apartment, starting a new job (today was day 4) and buying a car to replace the aforementioned write-off. Quite the start to a new season of life. Happy Birthday!

Day 19.145: Not entirely according to plan

After I worked a half day, we packed up the van and Exile #4’s car and set off for their new apartment in Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, about 3/4 of the way there, a large truck, illegally using the left lane thought that maybe moving into the middle lane was a good idea, but chose the bit of the lane currently occupied by Exile #4’s vehicle. One side-swipe and a 180 degree spin later, and our plans were a bit derailed. 

I met them at the yard where they were towed to. I was a few miles ahead of them when the incident occurred. 

Amazingly, we managed to get Exile #4 and the contents of the car into the already quite full van and we were able to complete most of the plan for the day after a two hour delay. We skipped some of the planned furniture construction, but at least put the bed together. 

The apartment seems very nice and the insurance company will provide a rental car for the next few days, so things are not too bad all things considered. 

Day 19.068: Gathering

Today’s logistics were a little complicated but worked out about as well as we could have imagined. Exile #2, Exile #3 and I left home a little before noon and got on the road to Boston.

An hour and half or so later, we were at South Station in Boston to meet Exile #4 who arrived on a train a few minutes after we arrived. 

After another short drive we arrived at Logan Airport where I went on a side-quest to meet E5N1 as he arrived on his flight from Florida. We soon got together at the terminal for our departing flight. 

 We did get separated a little later when we decided to grab some mid-afternoon food. This was how we ended up seated to eat:

Hopefully all will continue to go smoothly as we continue together. 

Day 19.032: Clean snow, clean cars

The day started with a few inches of snow to clear.

We still had quite a bit from the big storm two weeks ago, but a bit of fresh white snow brightens things a bit.

By lunchtime, the temperatures had got a few degrees above freezing for what feels like the first time in weeks and I - along with several neighbors jumped at the opportunity to wash the cars. They don't look as clean as the fresh snow, but certainly better than they were after several weeks of driving on slushy salty roads.

Day 18.318: Saturday birding part 1

Our nature group gathered in Biddeford Pool on Saturday afternoon. Here is some of what caught my eye and was caught by my camera on The Pool side:

Bufflehead

Common eiders

Rock pigeons

American herring gull

Common loon

Groundsel tree. Even from a few feet away, it looked like this plant was in flower - rather than these feathery seeds

And on the coastal side:

Red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted merganser

Buffleheads

Red-breasted mergansers

Surf scoters

Ring-billed gull

Remote-controlled sailing dinghy - I was impressed to see it tacking in a fairly stiff breeze - somehow it seemed like it would much harder than sailing a boat while on board 

Horned grebe

The weather closing in

A smaller group went on to Fortune's Rocks Beach and nearby pools, but I'll save that for tomorrow.