Shooting Osprey

First, here's the latest on the Whaler news.  The mechanic showed up yesterday morning and put the cleaned and rebuilt carburetor on.  The Evinrude started but ran rough, and he thought it wasn't pumping water like it oughta.  He said he wanted to have it hauled out to work on it.  OK, says I, whatever it takes.  After he left, I was looking at the Whaler and I was astonished to see how much growth is on it.   It's only been in the water for a few weeks!

The marina guys came and towed the Whaler away.

The marina guys have now traveled farther in the Whaler than I have, a fact they celebrated.

I took the dogs up for their bi-hourly potty break and I saw this boat sitting on its trailer.  Look at all the weeds growing on it.  That poor bastard, I thought.

I went over to check the Whaler.  Look at all the weeds growing on it.  I'm a poor bastard too, I guess.

I hadn't been running the air conditioners on Drift Away since Pam left.  I thought I'd try to acclimate to the warm Georgia weather.  Since the A/C units were shut down and because the Whaler had so much growth on it, I figured it would be a good time to check the seawater strainer for the Cruisair cooling system.  It's inside this unit in the pic below.

Inside is a screen that keeps gunk out of the cooling system.  I removed it and it was completely plugged with mud and grass.  It also stunk to high heaven.  I decided to clean it outside the boat.   "But wait!" you're thinking, "You know how clumsy you are and you're sure to drop it in the drink!"

No, I'll hold onto it tight.  I have this completely under control.  So I took it out onto the dock and rinsed it in the water.  The bottom fell off the strainer and sank to the bottom of the river never to be seen again.  Sigh. 

So I spent a few hours online trying to find a 1 5/8" diameter by 6" long strainer.   I don't think it exists anywhere.  I googled both Perko and Grocco strainers and couldn't find anything close.   Then I heard Dan call my name from outside.  He was in his runabout.   "Grab your camera!"  

I did, and I took his picture.  "No, not me.  Get in!"  It sounded like a great idea!   Off we went.   The dogs looked concerned.  I'm not supposed to have fun without them.

The Ospreys are nesting, and for some reason love to build nests on channel markers.  Maybe it's because each marker is numbered and they can tell which one is theirs.

This Osprey nest is lit at night.

This guy in the pic below was yelling at us to get out of her yard.

Osprey are awesome in flight.

Cormorants are common here too.

Pelicans are everywhere too, and seem to enjoy sitting on pilings.  Most people put pointy plastic caps on their pilings to keep pelicans off, but I guess other people like pelicans and leave the caps off.

Back at the marina, Pat and Jingles were watching for us.  

It seems that dogs have no sense of time, and are always glad to see you when you come home and greet you like you've been gone for days.  Jingles is no exception.

And neither are Chevy and Ruby.

So if any of you know of a 1 5/8" diameter by 6" long strainer, let me know.  I need to get the A/C fixed before Pamela comes home.