Chris’s photograph with this post is of Point Pinos Lighthouse, which is located in Pacific Grove. Point Pinos is Spanish for point of the pines. Point Pinos is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast. The purple sky is due to the sunset and not some midwestern thunderstorm.

Anne and I drove up to the Riverlands for another one of our birding expeditions. We saw lots of birds and got lots of good pictures too. We stopped in at the ranger station and they had a tally board of different bird sightings. Their board showed five eagles and 60 to 80 Trumpeter Swans. We didn’t see that many swans, but they were still plentiful. We did see over a dozen Bald Eagles. The big news though is that we saw pelicans. Pelicans are spring and fall migratory birds and usually don’t show up here until March. Could this be a sign of an early spring? Pictures to follow, once they are processed, they were taken with my new (to me) SLR camera. It is a lot faster than any of my point-and-shoot cameras.

After the Riverlands, I went biking. Anne’s bike is in the shop, so she went upstairs to work on Jane’s present. It hit 50+ °F today and tomorrow is forecasted for 60°F. The Post’s editorial cartoon had the Weatherbird lying about on a deck chair in only a swimsuit, while Mound City’s mounds of ice melt. Some old curmudgeon feels compelled to point out that it is only 45 °F. To which the Weatherbird retorts, “Hey! Don’t mess with the moment, Dude.”

I got 15 miles in the Park. There were lots of people doing lots of different things in the Park on Saturday afternoon. Lots of walkers and runners were there. Most like me were in the roads, because the bike trail is still iced over. I saw people cross-country skiing across the golf course and others rollerblading using cross-country ski like skates. A couple of guys were flying radio-controlled gliders and a couple was playing catch, albeit with a neon-green baseball, so as not to lose the ball in the snow. And bikers, lots of bikers were out on the roads. Tomorrow will be warmer and Anne will drag out Big Red.

Happy Birthday Jane! I dredged up this photo of you and Anne from last year. It shows you two cruising across the Mississippi River on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, Route 66’s path, the Mother Road. Dear God, please don’t let their mother learn about their hot-rodding ways. Anne has been working hard on your birthday present, but alas it is not finished yet, so please be patient.