Marinas are For the Birds

I woke up to a majestic heron hanging out one pier over.  Then in the water by the boat I saw a duck that I had never seen before.  I had to look it up, behold the Hooded Mergansers!  Just stunning, and quite enjoying the ice-free marina.

Not my photo :(

I scrambled to grab my phone, and when I returned he was gone.  However, the Heron was happy to preen and pose, so I took a few pictures of it instead.

Heron as it preened and groomed and basked in the feeble morning sun.  

Tomorrow I need to bring my DSLR on board.

From that energizing start the day just got better.  I have been looking, for nearly half a year, for the Origo 3000 marine alcohol stove.  It was discontinued around the pandemic.  It is impossible to buy new and a good example hasn't appeared for sale within 120 miles - the very limit of how far I'm willing to drive for a stove.

According to AI, Wikipedia says - 'The Origo 3000 stove was first introduced in the early 1980s. It became popular among boaters for its simplicity and reliability.'

I spotted one in a pile of stuff advertised as 'boat parts' a couple of days ago and heard back from the seller. He had dug it out of storage and was at a marina near me.  Sorry birds, there is a determined human afoot.

We met, I happily paid the meager asking price (1/3 of what I had seen elsewhere).  And tonight I prepared a meal.  My little backpacking stove can return to the trunk, along with the rest of the go-bag.

I spent the remainder of the day at the big-box hardware store buying supplies for the salon remodel; lumber, paint, epoxy, paint rollers, alcohol fuel, and a replacement water valve for under the sink.

Then I went to the makerspace/office, made a cut list and transformed 8' slabs of wood into the correct sizes.  The delivery guy got a break, nothing showed up today.  

Once I got to the boat, I installed the valve, fired up the stove and cooked sausage for dinner.  Yummy, and now the boat smells less of the diesel I spilled (on the deck, not in the water) a few days ago.

With a fully functional kitchen, I'm one step closer to meeting new bird friends.

May happy birds entertain your day.