Things I am thankful for

 

  It has become a Thanksgiving tradition of mine to do a blog post about things I am thankful for. Sometimes it is just a collection of memories from the previous eleven months. Other times I have written about cheating death and happiness of knowing a family member that has passed. This year I was celebrating my favorite Thanksgiving of all time in New Hampshire and really didn't have time to make a post. 

   Since I hate stopping traditions I figure better late than  never...

I am thankful Laurie's broken ankle healed and we have had one full year with neither of us being injured or in pain

I am thankful for the summer Saturday's I had off from work. In a series of weekends we saw a lifer Soft Shelled Turtle, John Adam's birthplace, and Fort Trumbull in CT

I am thankful I am not doing a big year trying to see as many birds or vertebrates as I can in 2025. It was fun last year but two years in a row would be mentally exhausting

Thankful for old friends that I've fished with for twenty years (Dave), friends that I've birded with the past decade (my text group and others), and new friends at work (Adam)

I am thankful for May. My weekdays off from work I fished or went to NH. My Saturday's off I socialized with birder friends.

I am thankful for Wareham. Onset summer concerts and the picnic area at the Railroad Bridge made for a great summer

Thankful my two month long Mother Nature slump is over. I had brutal bad luck but at some point statistics say things had to change. In the past month I have seen two lifer birds, had a twenty striper day, caught a decent striper another day, and had the rain wash away enough snow in NH to safely  hike The Flume Gorge

I am thankful I am done chasing Pacific Loon and Cave Swallows

Selfishly, I am thankful for my employee discount but also matching 401K

I am thankful I caught a shark but also to experience it with James and Adam

Boathouse Row!

Smallmouth Bass and Sharks!

I am thankful I got the Scopoli's Shearwater so if I choose not to go on anymore pelagics I don't have to!

Thankful for Sue dropping everything when I can get down South County to bird

Thankful for the little Milk Snake that wouldn't stop biting me, the opossum I randomly saw, the Bean Goose, and all the nature I come across.

Thankful that you read this and that writing about my adventures inspires some of you to go on your own

Happy Holidays!