Birding, monitors and pie

A day of this and that

Two bald eagles sniffed out some breakfast right outside Dad and Anita’s window this morning. The birds were nearly hovering in the air as they watched the water for the prey. It was incredible. So much so that I forgot to grab the camera until it was too late. I did manage to take a photo of Northern Flicker woodpecker (the yellow-shafted form of course) that seemed nonplussed by the predators hovering around him.

Since it was raining I couldn’t take many photos today. I got a great action shot of Dad’s pork chops cooking in the oven. I took advantage of the weather to install a flat screen computer monitor for Dad. It was not without its complications. The monitor wouldn’t work so, after being on hold for 45 minutes, I got some help from the technical service person who told me the minimum settings required for the new monitor. The new settings needed to be established before taking the old monitor off. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time.

We went to the public library in Freeland where I so wanted to shoot a photo of a white-haired man in his 60s who was sitting in a chair laughing to himself as he read Mad magazine. I admire the hell out of that.

We had lunch at the Dog House tavern in Langley where the fish and chips were surprisingly good. A nice delicate batter on the fish! After lunch I ducked into my favorite shop in Langley, Gregor’s rare books. About four or six years ago I passed on an autographed first edition of a Kurt Vonnegut book. I think it was “Slaughterhouse Five.” I kick myself to this day for not buying it, but I didn’t have the money then (nor do I now). The bookstore was all out of Vonnegut books today.

I plan to install an Ethernet card in Dad and Anita’s computer tomorrow so they can get DSL. The broadband service will actually be cheaper than the dial-up service they have now because they can get rid of the extra phone line they’ve been paying for.

Oooh! I almost forgot! I had a slice of huckleberry pie at Greenbank Farm this afternoon. We stopped by as I searched for cufflinks at the thrift stores in Langley and Freeland. No luck, but I scored big on the pie. Sweet! Reminds me of my sister Pam, who was working on fractions as in elementary school. She was explaining the concept to all of us and she said, “Henry Medina is smart. He’s a whole pie. I’m just half a pie.” I wish I was a whole pie.