Trivia

 

We found out about a local trivia night over lunch in the office one day, so of course I recruited a team for that night. The trivia is at a nice restaurant with this view of the bay. The participants are young families (The Half Shells) and elderly people (The Geezers) while our little office group is called Cape Charles in Charge (an 80s kids reference that I had to have explained to me). 

 

As you can see this isn't your typical trivia view



We have gotten 3rd place both times and are hoping to move up the ranks throughout the summer! The Old Geezers really know their history though...

Around the Preserve

Sadly this is an invasive Chinese tree species, but it's so pretty! It looks so cool because all this tall purple flower groups are blooming, but the leaves lag behind.

This is the drive back from my office to the barn. Not too bad to look at and it always smells great!

On my way to do laundry I was distracted by these pretty guys. They were shaking their feet to scare up some lunch and were doing pretty good with fiddler crab collection!

Virginia is for Birders

The title of my blog is in reference to Virginia's slogan "Virginia is for Birders". This isn't a quaint slogan that you have to research or something that Virginians don't know is their obscure 'state slogan', no, this is everywhere. License plates, signs, commercials - you name it.


 

I can't attest to its truth just yet - but I do know that I came here for the birds and boy have I seen some. We have a big birding blitz day in a few weeks and we are finding nests left and right, so I definitely have birds on the brain (read: not a bird brain).

 

Who knows, maybe Virginia is a great place to come with your significant other, but for me it's going to be rich in my relationship with nature. 

  

Earth Day

We hosted Open Farm on Earth Day 2017! The Reserve had wagon rides around the property with access to roads normally closed to the public. We had a food truck, band, kayak tours, a dock with a spotting scope for birding, and all kinds of activities. It was a little gray and rainy, but a chance to share our passion for nature with the public was worth the extra layers.

I helped relay with the walkie talkies, rode the front of the wagon for a few hours, and helped some people bird at the dock!

 

Bald Eagles

Today I saw something pretty awesome.

I've been lucky to have seen a lot of bald eagles in my life and can account to this day many of these sightings: I remember seeing a baldie nest on an Ecology field trip in Proctor, there was a nice nest spotted from the road in the Grand Tetons and we shared our scope with some French tourists, we saw a huge nest over the swelling Red River while we rode a john boat, I had a pair swoop down around me in a sculpture garden in Seattle last month, and recently we had a giant bald eagle flying so close to us we could hear its wings beat as we floated down the Illinois River. 


The craziest and closest nest I've ever seen was today on a barrier island. This pair has been nesting on the ground for several years now and appear to have fledged one chick this round. Seeing the chick and the parents in this coastal habitat was pretty memorable.

Usually bald eagles choose trees up in the canopy to build their 4-5 foot wide nests, so it was so strange to see this big nest on the ground - and on sand no less!

And I'm only on week 2!

Food

Let's be honest, we all know that my favorite thing to take pictures of is my food. Hate me for it or not, you can't deny it's a savory art.

  

We had a retirement party potluck my second day on the job and I didn't want to seem like a total mooch, so I decided to make cookies. Perhaps I should've gone with something like chex mix, but of course I chose a big project after my first day of work and in a new kitchen. When I got home from my glorious Food Lion experience I realized I had no flour (only cookie mix), no rolling pin, and no vanilla. There was no way in hell I was going back to that Food Lion, so I got creative - hairspray bottle covered in plastic wrap for the rolling pin, plastic wrap on the cutting board since I didn't have flour, and lime juice instead of vanilla to flavor the icing. I also think I was a bit dehydrated and wasn't thinking clearly!

 

Mastering the perfect soft boiled egg

  

My Easter meal was salmon, tricolored carrots roasted with Parmesan, and asparagus with blood orange.

 

Dairy Barn

I'm sure there will be many updates on the dairy barn as the summer progresses, but I'll introduce you to the cute little apartment above the old dairy barn.

It is a cute 2 bedroom "garage apartment". I'll be getting a roommate here shortly, but so far I've been moving in and making it feel like home.

Sunrise at the shop.

Sunrise from my porch.