A loony night on the Lake...

[Misty Blue]

It all started at the forum fest at the loon center in Moultonborough. Chat'en with the naturalists they discovered that I live on the Lake, dive and have a work boat. I have'nt been so drafted since Viet Nam.

Truly blessed, my regular gig is to maintain the loon santuary at Gliens Island. Sorry folks. No baby this year. But here is where it gets cool.

For the second year in a row I was asked to help with night banding of the loon population. Yikes! Cool!

The night was pitch black, raining like a cow on a flat rock, thankfully calm and no thunder.

I am not a naturalist. I am a sailor. So my job was to assist by using my work boat as a platform for the scientists tests. These folks are pros. Sampling feathers, mandibles, and I don't know what else.

Once anchored out in the proper location the birds werre brought on board with great care. Since by then, I had nothing else to do I got to hold the critters. ....BIG BIRDS! So as the experts did their thing I was holding the bird on my lap rolling it this way and that as it kept trying to eat me, kept crapen' on me and my boat and slapping me in the face with it's feet! As I am trying to get out of this alive I was reminding the loon that I was trying to save thier species as the scientists calmy took their samples, filled out their log sheets and safely brought the birds back. A mother's care. Four s and three babies!

I have spent my whole life on the water and that was the worst night that I have ever had getting home. Black as the ace of spades and the GPS was caughing up a hair ball.

'Got home around 0530 just in time to jump into the truck and go to work. Long day, but what a gift I was given. Loon poop, feathers, and God knows what else on me and my boat. Every bit of it a treaure and a memory.

Yea, "Life is good today!".

Misty Blue

Misty Blue.