Today was “prep” day for our Thanksgiving celebration with my Dad & family starting tomorrow. While I was busy breaking green beans, cleaning broccoli and cauliflower, frying bacon and …. there was a huge commotion outside. It sounded like giant fish thrashing and splashing … oh and the squawking decibel level? Right outside the cockpit?
I forgot about breaking beans and ran upstairs. When I saw the cormorants battling for the fish, I ducked below for the camera — when will I remember to grab the camera as I run up the companionway? Anyway, as usual, the drama was unfolding before I could photograph it. Everything just moves too fast sometimes! But bottom line, one cormorant apparently ticked off the other by stealing his fish. They kept diving and surfacing … a different cormorant possessing the fish at any given time above the water. It was quite entertaining.
Later, as I was finally cleaning up and washing dishes … the starboard tank ran out of water. Where else but on a boat can you run out of water in the middle of doing dishes? I switched to the other tank & asked David if he would mind refilling the starboard tank. When he went up to get the hose, he was surprised to find a giant manatee sunning himself on our springline closest to the fresh water hose (shut off). 🙂 By the time I got upstairs, the manatee was gone. Story of my life, not quite quick enough to get the photo.
So tomorrow we’re off to spend a few days with my 92 year old Dad (he’s the reason we’re sticking close this winter) and celebrate Thanksgiving! Next week, we’ll celebrate with kids & grandkids. Keeping my fingers crossed that our 3 year old grandson will ask to spend the night aboard the boat, instead of with his mom & dad in the duplex across the street … Who knows, maybe we can even teach him to drive the dinghy.
