Summer Boy

It seems to happen every year. After the rush of spring, I feel like there's nothing exciting to do in June. Then we get the Forth of July and fireworks which I love. After the 4th, the month of July flies by. You get the hot, sticky weather and it just isn't much fun. There's no point going to the ocean, it's just too crowded.

   But then towards mid-August you get more nice summer days. There is the occasional cool night. You got idiots already talking about pumpkin lattes and "sweater weather". And worst of all, you can tell the days are getting shorter. And then it hits you, you already miss summer and it isn't even over yet. Sure I have albies to look forward to. I'm going to Block Island in September and New Hamphire for the fall foliage. However, summer feels over as soon as it started. 

   This week I took a break from birding and did some summer things on my days off. I think this was the first weekend since January 1 that I haven't birded at least once when not at work. Almost every single week I got out both days carrying binoculars. I did summer things on my two days off and had a great time.

   Thursday I went to Prudence Island. Prudence is a big island in Narragansett Bay with a small year round population and a decent summer rental population. To reach the island you need a boat or take the ferry out of Bristol. I took the ferry over. There is only one small convenient store on the island. Other than that store you must bring all of your supplies. Since I was only spending the afternoon, my supplies were my bike and what was in my backpack. Round trip ticket for the ferry for myself and my bike was $13 and change.

   I did what I normally do on Prudence. I rode my bike to my favorite bay and snorkeled. It's fun to be surrounded by the little fish. I didn't go fishing. I just played in the water for a couple of hours until I had to ride my bike back to the ferry landing.

My beach

A view in Bristol Harbor on the way back.

 Friday morning I went to do another thing on my summer list. I wanted to see Diamondback Terrapins. Terrapins are a turtle that lives in brackish water. I have always wanted to see one, but never have. Since we had a full moon this week, it seemed like a good chance to see babies hatch. When a female makes a nest, volunteers put a protective barrier around it so that predators (coyotes are the worst) won't dig them up.

   Well, I didn't see any baby terrapins, but I did see two coyotes. I had my camera ready for the second one. Some baby turtles did hatch on Friday morning, but I got there about 15 minutes after they were released. I did talk to a woman that is a volunteer. She was very informative and gave me a ton of information.

Coyote scat. Notice all of the corn in it. The property is
right next to a corn field. These coyote are not going hungry.

No babies emerged for me

Friday night I went to a concert to see the ultimate  boys of summer, The Beach Boys. This was third year in a row I have seen The Beach Boys. We didn't plan on seeing them again, but I got an email for cheap tickets and no added fees. It was too good to pass up. The concert was at Bold Point Park in East Providence. You can read below my feelings on the venue.

   Mike Love and Bruce Johnston (who came on in 1965) are the only two original members to tour as The Beach Boys. I don't know how they still have the energy at 78 years old to perform night after night but they are fantastic. They play all of their hits and a couple of covers. They are just awesome. Seeing them three years in a row has not gotten old. In fact I appreciate them even more. Once Mike Love retires or worse, then The Beach Boys won't be the same. I'm happy I got to see them on Friday night.

Mike Love, center
Bruce Johnston, left on keyboard

Mike Love

They had a big screen. They played a lot of clips from the
past. The late Dennis Wilson on the screen when I took this pic.