Happy Cinco de Mayo! (Spanish for "5th of May")

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

What do you ask is "Cinco de Mayo"? Well, according to Wikipedia:

A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "5th of May") is a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla.

Birds at Durant Nature Park (Lake #2)

Went for a quick walk with the camera during lunch one day last week to Durant Nature Park. Take a look at a Great Blue Heron who didn't really want his picture taken.


I also spotted a few other interesing birds including this lone Solitary Sandpiper on Lake #2. My guess is that it must have stopped for a rest during its migration to colder parts of North America.

Durant Nature park is a short drive from I work and is always a nice place to take the camera and do a little hiking. Here is a nice writeup about the park by John I. Connors of The Carolina Bird Club.

Kayaking B Everett Jordan Lake (North Carolina)

Today we joined the Johnson's on B Everett Jordan Lake for some kayaking. This was our first trip out in the new (red) Wilderness Systems Pamlico Excel Sport Tandem kayak. We had a blast. The weather was beautiful and the traffic on the portion of the lake we kayaked was very light. We put in at Farrington Point and spent about 4 hours or so on the water and traveled about 8 miles.

The highlight of the trip was the spotting of 18 bald eagles! In addition we saw a pair of Orchard Orioles, a pair of Prothonotary Warblers, and a Scarlet Tanager, among many other species of birds.

Several of the pictures here are of our friends Mike and Lisa in their new (green) Old Town Dirigo Tandem Plus kayak.