Sea Otter with Clam

When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Jane has been asking me for pictures of Sea Otter babies. Nay, demanding them! Upon careful review of our photos, I did not find any pictures of quality that I could publish. I offer this dining otter instead. The problem is that we were shooting from a bobbing boat that by law was not permitted to approach the marine mammals closely and they are dark furred creatures, which slows shutter speed, further exacerbating the difficulty of getting a good shot. Instead, I offer the above photograph as substitute. I do not expect Jane to be fooled, a shellfish is not the same as baby otters, but maybe we can just clam-up about this now?

Turning now to more local wildlife, of the six-legged variety, the state bird of Michigan, the mosquito, which up north here is especially troublesome this year. Like the rest of the Midwest, the UP has gotten more than the usual amount of rain and these little demons have multiplied as a result. Light winds have made venturing outside unpleasant. Even Harry has resorted to using Off! bug spray. On our first night here, I was sitting around with Anne and Anne and Bill. I was the only one with Off! on and the other three sat around swatting.

On this 243rd anniversary of our nation’s birthday, it is worthwhile recalling the revolutionary origin of this country. Harkening back to the beginning, it is easy to draw comparisons between the tyrant King George and the reactionary nitwit who currently rules, but that’s no way to celebrate the 4th. Tanks, but no tanks.

Instead of getting our undies all in a bunch because of it or even worse tuning into Tonald Dump’s 4th of July’s celebration of himself, Anne and I channeled our political sensibilities through NPR’s annual broadcast of the politically inspired, musical comedy group, Capitol Steps. The only problem with political jokes is that sometimes they get elected.

A recurring meme in their performances is a song where word-initialization-rejuxtaposition is used to create funny words and phrases. Tonald Dump is a perfect example. At one point this act was composed of Congressional pages, but I think that they have long since moved beyond that stage. They are bipartisan, but I prefer to highlight one side over the other. Happy 4th of July!