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December 21, 1996
The sun is out! The sun is out! The days get longer. I am on my way down to Rhode Island to celebrate Nancy's birthday tomorrow and to try out the new scope on the population of Watchemocket Cove.
First day of new scope, first day of winter. There are way more ducks at Watchemocket Cove in the winter. The place is alive. Really quite amazing for an urban place.
The scope took some getting used to. I had it on the maximum magnification, which seemed to cut down the visual field a little and also wavered a lot. I also think I didn't put the tripod mount on tight enough, which could account for some of the wavering. But no matter.
Today is the first time I have seen red breasted mergansers there. 6 of them. The list:
I didn't count the gulls. There were too many of them and they were in great commotion flying back and forth and swooping down in bursts like snowflakes in a blizzard. They got even more stirred up when breaders came to feed the swans. The gulls see a car and they think it's a food bonanza.
Igor, the broken winged Canada goose, was hanging out with the swans and eating bread from the breaders. He didn't go near the vast flocks of his kin.
After birding, we had an early dinner at Taste of India. I had vegetable curry for a change. I always order malai kofta there and the waiter thinks I'm in a rut. I think I'm in a rut too so I've decided to order a different thing every time I go there until I've tried all the vegetarian dishes on the menu. I will continue to order the vegetable nan though. That's a must.
On to Seekonk to see My Fellow Americans, which Nancy kept calling Grumpy Old Presidents. I laughed out loud. A lot. James Garner and Jack Lemmon play off each other very well. The movie dragged in places and didn't seem quite sure whether it was a thriller, a farce, a male bonding road pic, or a message film. The violence was cartoonish in some scenes and shocking in others. But overall I have to say I liked it. I haven't laughed that much at a movie in a long time.
For most of the day I was tense. Worried about getting the Xmas shopping and birthday shopping (the Nov. & Dec. birthday brothers elected to celebrate on Xmas) done. I was also frustrated with the scope. I wanted instant gratification, perfect views of all birds. I didn't want to have to learn to use it. That sort of fit in with my overall tension for the day. No patience with myself but infinite patience with everybody else.