Annapolis

We've been in Annapolis for a couple of days now, walking our feet off. There are a lot of good places to go here: chandleries, a marine consignment store named Bacon Sales, a really good Sunday brunch at Buddys (unlimited bacon and good people watching, it doesn't get any better), a really great Goodwill with a really great book corner, so 16 new paperbacks on my shelf and best of all, lots of old and new friends in the harbor and here in the creek to socialise with.

We're waiting for an alternator to be tuned up, it should be finished around noon, (so one more walk across town) and then we're off to the Rhode River for the Gam weekend. There should be some good seminars this year and, as always, too many people I want to catch up with and not enough time to do it. I love coming home in the evening with my face sore from smiling and laughing. It's such an exhausting schedule.

I thought I'd share some photos of a hitch-hiker we had a little while ago. We've had bats, butterflies and lots of birds, but this was our first Giant Silk Moth. And it really is giant: hook-your-thumbs-together-and-put-your-hands-flat giant. It had big dark 'eyes' on each wing, called a distraction pattern, to scare off the birds and squirrels.

The body was cigar shaped and very furry and the long antenna gave it a kind of Groucho Marks look.

The moths only live about two weeks, long enough to mate and lay eggs. They are lacking mouth parts, so never eat at all. Poor thing, can you imagine a life without bacon?