Here, Mrs. Paco contemplates the strange twist of fate that has stuck her with a husband who insists on dragging her into the mosquito-infested wilderness...
We picked up a brochure today that, among other things, lists many of the birds to be found in Brunswick County. I don't claim to have identified any by sight, but I find the names of some of them intriguing or amusing or both and hope to get a glimpse of some of these eventually: the greater scaup (not to be confused with the lesser scaup); the worm-eating warbler; the dark-eyed junco; the eastern-wood pewee; the boat-tailed grackle; the lesser yellowlegs whimbrel and the least sandpiper.
Does 'maritime forest' mean trees grown for ships?
ReplyDeleteLove the bird names. Should put them in a novel.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, sandpiper is the only one of those birds that we have in Oz.
ReplyDeleteOurs is the most sandpiper, probably so known because it migrates from the northern hemisphere in large numbers.
No doubt they are trying to escape the global colding, from which your least lot are suffering.
When I was a kid, my favorite thing in life was roaming the woods and wild places. I still love it, but walking very far is more difficult now. However, I'm fortunate to live near a state reserve that has some excellent hiking trails.
ReplyDeleteGregory: I think I feel my leg getting pulled.
ReplyDeleteSkeeter: I think the least sandpiper is actually the species I've seen skittering along the beach here. Looks like the photos on the internet, anyway.
Rebecca: Same here. I used to wander for miles through the woods around my house back in Cary, NC, when there were still thousands of acres of undeveloped land. I'm looking forward to exploring Brunswick County - although the missus and I will, of course, be advancing with caution (don't need any more broken bones, if we can avoid it).
It's funny how evocative smells can be. The scent of the pine forests takes me back to when I was six years old, and Old Paco was building a tree house for my brother and me. It was in late Spring, and the air was pleasantly warm, and the aroma wafting up from the pine straw was wonderful.
Don't you mean a "haute dog and frites?"
ReplyDeleteAnd I never thought the scaup was so great, myself. It's just an okay scaup.
Steve: Quite right; a haute dog and pommes frites.
ReplyDeleteStrange how mere birds have established their own caste system: greater and lesser scaups, indeed!
Well, nobody ever got anywhere fighting against the scaupiarchy.
ReplyDeleteAfter the birds revolt it will all be different. The least shall be first.
ReplyDeleteThey all sound like swamp creatures.
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