Bird Strike

THUD!

While sitting on the couch watching CBS Sunday Morning we were startled by a loud thud against the big picture window in the living room. We had heard this sound once before and knew exactly what it was — a bird flying into the window.

Donna got up and looked outside to see if there was a dead bird in the driveway below. She said, “It looks hurt.” From my seated position I said, “I’m not a bird doctor, I don’t know what I can do for it.” But I got up and looked anyway. Turns out it wasn’t just one bird, it was one hurt bird with another bird on top pinning it down.

Hard to tell from the zoomed in cell phone camera, but my guess is a small red-tailed hawk brought down a dove in mid-flight and its momentum crashed them into the window.

21,000 Indian Blankets


Day 4 of our 2018 Jumbo Road Trip.

Tyler, TX. to Abilene, TX. Like avoiding big cities, another hallmark of a Bogardus road trip is at least one meal a day at a local spot and today because we were at a regular Holiday Inn instead of an Express1, we drove a couple miles down the road to a place called The Diner. We highly recommend eating here if you ever find yourself in Tyler and if you go for breakfast, you absolutely need to try the Banana French Toast2.

Instead of geocaching along the route today, after breakfast we headed over to a local park in Tyler that had a walking trail with a bunch of caches. On our mile and a half walk we found 4 of the 5 we looked for.

On FM2114 between Laguna Park and the town of West the road was lined along both sides wild flowers. Finally I could stand it no longer, so I found a spot that led to a ranch entrance and pulled off to take a picture. While I was circling the car looking in a field of Indian Blanket flowers for the image I wanted, Donna was inside the car taking pictures of me. Not too far west of West, Texas, which is now my second favorite town name, right after North, South Carolina, the Ladybug rode past its twenty first thousandth mile.

I would like to tell you we gave the car a bath when we stopped for the night in celebration of this milestone, but it was really for washing off the bird blood off the hood and windshield. About 15 miles outside of Abilene on I-20, with Donna at the wheel, a bird decided to fly right into the front of the Mini. For the record I still lead in bird kills 2 to 1 having scooped one of them up in the mouth of the Miata back in 2008 and 2015.

Not As Noisy

That's ThreeYesterday’s bouncing bolt was not the only thing the Emperor tried to eat on the drive home. For the second time in the last two months the mouth of the Miata has swallowed a bird.

This time Donna was at the wheel and I didn’t even notice the impact at all. We were heading north on US301 and quickly running out of Georgia when she calmly mentions, “I just hit a bird.” Sure enough after we crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina we stopped to change drivers and discovered a decent size female cardinal plastered against the mesh grill.

Donna pointed out that this bird was likely bigger than the one I hit in May. “OK,” I said, “You win the biggest bird trophy, but I’m still ahead 2 to 1 in quantity standings.”

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 06/25/15: 12

Got Some Splainin’ To Do

Splainin'

I’m now averaging sucking a bird to its death into the grill of the Emperor every 7 years or so.

Yesterday we took a long overdue road trip. The first objective was to head to our favorite bookstore in the Richmond Hill, GA. Objective #2 was to gather some Moss Motoring Challenge points and lastly was to enjoy a nice drive with the top down before the brain-frying weather that is called summer in the south shows up.

Inside a half full outlet mall just south of Savannah, Georgia is Book Warehouse. Hard cover books for $1.99. They are used /returned / off-lease library books, so they are about a year old and covered in shiny acetate with stickers plastered everywhere. In spite of the convenience of the Kindle, there is something neat about holding a hefty collection of inked paper bound together, inside a couple sheets of cardboard. For around thirty bucks we came away with half a trunk full of fine literature, Daniel Steele for her and Robert B. Parker for me.

On the trip down and back we made a few stops and racked up 5 Motoring Challenge points, two lakes, a state park, a city and one sneak peek.

Mission accomplished. We were gone from home on Sunday for 2 meals, nearly 300 total miles and 9-1/2 hours. This splains why all I had the energy for posting last night was two pictures, one from Saturday (we helped set up the reception room for a co-workers wedding) and one from Sunday (a variation of the sneak peek photo.)

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1476

Motoring Challenge Points 5, Approx Miles Driven 215
Totals So Far: 39 points & 930 miles

79,000 Doves Cry

We got up at 5:00 AM and headed southeast, destinations: Dorchester, Ridgeville, Summerville, Summerville, Ravenel, Hollywood, Edisto Island, Adams Runs, Jacksonboro, Cottageville and Round O.

Just before crossing the bridge over the intercoastal waterway in the South Carolina Low Country at the intersection of No and Where, the Emperor ticked past the seventy-nine thousand mile mark. Somewhere within 25 miles either way of that event a young male bluejay tufted titmouse committed suicide by flying right in front of us. He was given an un-proper burial (i.e. dumped) under a bush along the side of the Adams Run, SC Post Office.

I didn’t listen to the ballgame on Thursday or Friday and the FRS beat the MFY. I watched the game yesterday afternoon and they lost. Tonight they are playing on ESPN and I figured that if I didn’t watch they might win like Thursday or Friday. I’m listening on the internet and that might be the wrong thing to do too, as the Yankees are up 1 to 0 in the second. Maybe I should quit listening… Nine o’clock on USA are new episodes of Law & Oder: Criminal Intent, followed by In Plain Sight.

Oh, word of advice, if you live on a hill and your neighbor has a pool, don’t forget to set your parking brake.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 235