Friday Funnies

This week has been all about birds viewed from our apartment window overlooking the Nashua River in Nashua, NH.

Aside from Mourning Doves flocking to a dead tree along the river bank, there's been a group of Mallard ducks on the dock. It isn't really a dock, just a grate on the river, but lately it's been a popular early morning gathering spot for them, but without coffee cups.

After sitting a while, several of this group left for a river swim, females outnumbered the males by a 2:1 ratio.

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay was co-written by singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding recorded it twice in 1967, three days before his death in a Dec plane crash. Released in 1968, the song became the first posthumous No. 1 U.S. single and reached No. 3 on the UK singles chart. Redding is regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the history of American popular music and an influencing artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Redding was 26 when he died, eight years after another plane crash killed three rock 'n roll legends at young ages: Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), The Big Bopper (22). 

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Be careful out there, because . . .

Today, is the first Friday the 13th in 2024. The second and final one is Friday, Dec 13.

When Doves Gather

Every night for the past couple of weeks, this tree that borders the Nashua River and is visible from our mill apartment window has hosted a large gathering of Mourning Doves.

This isn't a nightly gathering of just a few doves. Several evenings, we have counted upwards of 30 doves, while other evenings there have been less than half that number.

We have a front-row seat nightly as the doves usually arrive by our dinner time and our table is by the window. They start arriving one-by-one anywhere between 6 and 6:30 pm and remain anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. All take flight by sunset.

Apparently, this behavior is not unusual and according to online information, Mourning Doves, when not breeding or nesting, will often form large flocks and can be seen perching on tree branches, telephone wires and lamp posts in groups of 12 or more. 

We've noticed that this current nightly sit-in is very peaceful with as many as four or five doves sharing the same tree branch. The most activity is that the doves preen their feathers.

An online check of the term for a collection of Mourning Doves produced several terms for a group of doves, including: cote, dole, bevy, flight and dule (French word for mourning). Their name derives from their soft distinct and sorrowful coo-ing calls which is usually coming from a male seeking a mate. Doves have been known to watch over a deceased mate, try to care for them and return to the place where the bird died. They will eventually seek a new mate.

The Mourning Dove is a small-headed dove with a graceful, slender-tail, light gray and brown and generally muted in color with well-defined black spots on their wings. Their pointed tails are longer than those of other doves enabling the birds to fly fast; they have been clocked at 55 mph. Males and females are similar in appearance, the species is generally monogamous.

The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. Also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove and colloquially as the turtle dove. It was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove. 

Unfortunately, as the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America, these birds have a high mortality rate. Hunters harvest more than 20 million annually, yet the Mourning Dove remains one of the most abundant birds with a U.S. population estimated at 350 million. Predators include raccoons, hawks, owls, squirrels, snakes, cats and dogs. Disease and weather extremes also take a toll on young and adult doves.

How long we'll continue to witness this nightly gathering is uncertain. But, as long as the doves gather on this tree near our window, we'll be watching these peaceful birds.

Hopefully, they will remain in this area through the winter; however many move south in late fall. If fellow blogger David G. can provide additional information, it would be appreciated.

Has anyone else seen a similar gathering where you live?

Friday Funnies

The previous post mentioned Pop's Clam Shack, a popular seafood eatery in Alton Bay, NH, where customers lined up to await opening time, ourselves included.

Waiting in line for a food order is nothing new — whether it's a human or vehicular line-up.

We experienced a very long human line a couple of years ago on a road trip to Maine. As shown below, the line at Red's Eats is never-ending in summer months.

Red's Eats in Wiscasset, ME, with customer line-up

Located at the foot of 41 Water and Main St in Wiscasset, ME, Red's Eats has been called the most famous restaurant in the state on Route 1 for over 80 years. Red's advertises itself as the world's best lobster shack. A claim supported by Down East Magazine's Best of Maine 2024 issue where readers named Red's Eats — Best Lobster Roll and Best Lobster Shack.  

Red's is a small shack with no indoor dining

A summertime legend, this shack is the size of a small house trailer. There's a single window where orders are placed; customers are called when their food is ready. Opened in Boothbay, ME, in 1938, it moved to the north end of Wiscasset in 1954. Like Pop's, it's also a family-run business handed down through several generations. Dedicated customers return each season for the famous lobstah roll or the views of the Sheepscot River, maybe both as dining here is al fresco.

Chick-fil-A in Lancaster, PA, with drive-up line

Unlike the family-run one-of-a-kind, Pop's and Red's, another eatery also has lines — but instead of people, it's vehicles. On road trips, we've seen line-ups at nearly every one.

Other differences: unlike Pop's and Red's, which specialize in seafood, Chick-fil-A, Inc. (a play on the word filet) specializes in chicken. And, it's open year-round vs. seasonally and has indoor seating (unlike Pop's and Red's). Headquartered in College Park, GA, it's the largest American fast food chain specializing in chicken sandwiches and operating 3,059 restaurants across 48 states. Company values are influenced by the religious beliefs of its late founder, S. Truett Cathy, a devout Southern Baptist. Restaurants are closed on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day. During the Christian season of Lent, Chick-fil-A promotes fish sandwiches in keeping with the tradition of meat abstinence.

We've eaten at Pop's and Red's, but never at Chick-fil-A and have no plans to change that. For us, some places are well worth the wait, others not so much.

Your Turn — Would you or have you waited in line at a local eatery including Chick-fil-A?

Enjoy Your Weekend

Temps in the low to mid 70s in Nashua, NH, perfect for a day trip

Ticket to Ride

Many recognize the post title as that of a 1965 tune by the Beatles. 

It's also what we used for a NH rail trip over Labor Day weekend. 

Along with friends, Judy and Randy, we boarded the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad in Meredith, NH. This was the starting and ending point for a 2-hour round trip along the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Ourselves and friends were all aboard and ready to depart

The Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad in Meredith and Weirs Beach, NH, and the Granite State Scenic Railway in Lincoln, NH, share 54 miles of historic railroad track that dates to 1848, the time when Zachary Taylor was President, trains were pulled by steam locomotives and steam-powered automobiles were becoming popular.

Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad (Internet Source)

During the mid-1800’s, the track was owned by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad. Back then, it served as one of the primary routes north through NH for summer-time tourists who traveled from cities like Boston, Hartford and New York to the pristine lakes and mountains of northern NH as well as to points further north including the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and Montreal, Canada.

Cloudy day views of Lake Winnipesaukee from the train

Has anyone ever seen one of these? It's called a foilboard and it lets the surfboard and its rider rise above the water's surface, allowing for fast speeds and increased maneuverability under a wide range of conditions — according to online sources.

Conductor Dave announced that was his last day after 31 years

Our 2-hour round trip was along the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. It's the largest lake in NH and is located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. The Lakes Region of NH is in the east-central part of the state, south of the White Mountains Region and extending to the Maine border, so-named due to its many lakes and up to 273 bodies of water. Lake Winnie is the largest of these, followed by Lake Winnisquam, Squam Lake and Newfound Lake.

Pop's Clam Shell in Alton Bay, NH, always draws a waiting line in season

After the train excursion, we drove to Alton Bay for a first-time dining experience at Pop's Clam Shell, which fellow blogger Erika has posted about many times (sorry, we missed a meet-up this time). Pop's is a summer tradition and at the same location since 1945. It's family owned and has been operated by three generations of the Benton family featuring generous very large portions of fresh seafood, fried clams, onion rings and more. Of course, these are not the best food choices, but this was a holiday weekend and, most likely, a one-and-done stop for us (until the next time).

We shared this generous seafood platter

Pop's closes from 3 to 4 pm to restock and a line of customers starts forming right before reopening time. We arrived after 3 pm and waited with other customers. Like similar food places, Pop's opens seasonally on weekends only from May to June, opens 5 days from July through August, then returns to weekends only through September before closing for the season.

The most unusual "pickup" truck we've ever seen

Waiting for the reopening time, we walked around Alton Bay, which borders Lake Winnie, but without a downtown area. That's when we saw this unusual vehicle, a Tesla Cybertruck. Hard to believe this is classified as a pickup. The license plate was from Montana. We would have enjoyed a chat with its owner, who we never saw.

If anyone is considering a purchase, here's some info, no gas fuel is needed for this battery-only electric vehicle with a mileage range under 350 miles, towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. The 2024 Tesla Cybertruck has a starting sticker price of $80,240 and the top of the range, the Cyberbeast, starts at $100,240. The body is made of stainless-steel and, as we noticed, seems to attract fingerprints (not ours). Imagine the damage this could cause if it were to hit another vehicle !

A holiday weekend would be incomplete (for us) if we didn't enjoy hot dogs, so we indulged at a local ice cream stand.

It was a perfect day for an ice cream treat, but then what day isn't?

Also on the weekend, we were shot, but not injured. The shots were at the local retail pharmacy for a now-annual flu vaccine and updated Covid vaccine. Perhaps, you will be doing the same in weeks to come.