Sitting on the dock of the bay

 

While Joan and I count down the days till we once again untie the dock lines and head east, I find myself with some free time on my hands.  My SiriusXM radio was on the "60s on 6" channel, and who should play but Otis Redding and his classic anthem.  What a great idea!  So I grabbed my binoculars and spent some quality time, out with my bird friends.

Pelicans at Stingaree, eating fish guts

Here's an interesting factoid I learned about pelicans:  Most birds, including gulls, are omnivores - they'll eat anything.  But pelicans are strictly carnivores.  They're attracted to the commotion caused by the gulls, but won't touch bread, and quickly lose interest.

There is also a pair of breeding mallards in the marina.  Mama mallard is bringing up four little ducklings, and it's cute as heck seeing them swimming around.

Snow lounging on Deja Vu

Snow the cat has gotten rather comfortable with marina life.  There's a power boat two slips down called Déjà vu where he loves to hang out.  I think he likes it there better than on Dragonfly!

We also continue to make improvements to Dragonfly, and get better at our sailing skills.  Here's Joan, practicing her cleat knots.

In other news, I have found a First Mate to help me sail Dragonfly from Lake Charles back to Kemah, via the Gulf of Mexico.  His name is Tom, and he is an experienced sailor and skipper/owner of S/V Dehra, also docked here in my marina.  Welcome aboard, Tom.