We had a gale warning and then we had a gale. Winds of more than 40 knots were recorded at numerous sites in this area, both on and offshore. The highest I saw being 47 knots at an offshore buoy. I don’t know the wind strength on Skull Creek. Doubtlessly it was not that high, but it was probably the strongest wind I have experienced here and made an odd humming sound through the live oaks. At about 4 a.m. Carol heard it rip the cover from our deck furniture, so it was all hands on deck to bring in the light furniture before it too blew away. Carol went back to sleep. I stayed awake. About an hour later I looked in on the eagle cam. The camera operates with infra-red light at night which does not disturb the birds. The nest was swaying, but secure, and the presumably mother eagle was hunkered down sleeping.
I have not heard of any significant damage in the area. A few tree limbs blew down and the jib of a boat beyond GANNET unfurled and was torn. The remnants are still fluttering in the light breeze this sunny morning. I always put three additional wraps of the jib sheet around the sail when I furl the jib and tie an extra line through the clew if I leave the sail up when I am away. I don’t know why others don’t do the same.
I look in on the eagle cam several times a day. I read that during the first weeks after eaglets hatch the female is at the nest 90% of the time and the male provides most of the food. By the fifth week this changes so both parents are equally away and provide equal amounts of food.
Two eaglets hatched last week within a few hours of one another. By the second day I saw an unpleasant proof of the survival value of bullying as the older and slightly bigger eaglet attacked his younger sibling. From an article about bald eagle nesting facts:
In the nest the oldest eaglet can act aggressively toward their siblings. The older, and larger eaglet often tries to dominate or even kill its sibling(s).
Mother nature, indeed.
Having intelligent readers one of my functions is to be a conduit of information they bring to my attention to you.
I thank James for a link to an interesting video, THE GHOSTS OF CAPE HORN. Despite a sometimes overwrought and melodramatic narration, I enjoyed it and am struck by how much human muscle power went into the building of large wooden ships as well as sailing them.
PBS and the BBC are running a new version of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. The first episode aired in the US last Sunday evening at 8 PM Eastern Time on Masterpiece Theater. I missed it, but was able to view it online. It varies considerably from the novel and earlier adaptions, including having a young female reporter along on the journey and a black Passepartout, but I found it entertaining and will watch the rest of the series as it airs.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiin82Yt5j1AhXGm-AKHWMPCoEQwqsBegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fvideo%2Fepisode-1-uycju8%2F&usg=AOvVaw1nII0oxEkTA1AUnWvk5_PU https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiin82Yt5j1AhXGm-AKHWMPCoEQwqsBegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fvideo%2Fepisode-1-uycju8%2F&usg=AOvVaw1nII0oxEkTA1AUnWvk5_PU
The 1956 movie starring David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, and Cantinflas is perhaps the favorite of my childhood. I was 14 years old in a suburb of St. Louis and hadn’t been anywhere much. Here was the world. Exciting. Beautiful. Varied. Wondrous. I wanted to experience it.
As continued conduit, I thank Larry for the quote from Francis Bacon and James, again, for the quote from Mark Twain.
Age appears to be best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read.
--Francis Bacon
Mark Twain in 1912:
In his book 'Innocents Abroad', he stated: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, & narrow-mindedness, & many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men & things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime."
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