This morning, when I looked out the parlor window, several flashes of white on the creek caught my eye. I set up the spotting-scope to take a closer look. Hooded mergansers--eleven of them: five mal ...

Yesterday, I had an errand to run to the sloop Clearwater. By dusk, the tide turned and pushed the remaining ice out of the creek. A strong southerly wind eventually calmed, so I decided to put the ...