Steal this pumpkin

Out at the farm

On a cool morning it's nice to have a heat lamp to warm things up.

I'm one sexy looking Knobbed Hornbill

Don't make fun of my big webbed feet

These guys have fluffy cotton-like fur around their necks

An alligator chorus

The Marabou Stork has a large air sack beneath its chin

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine is usually very crowded in the spring  So it was interesting to have some space to photograph some of the locals.  And yes, I did forget to get the info on some of these fancy folks

The waiting game

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - It's early in the season to have lots of migrating birds and way early for any nesting.  So the birds who really like the habitat the Alligator Farm presents just hang out.  The crowd here are Ibis (white) and Roseate Spoonbills (red-ish pink).
   And so we wait for some action ... like wing flapping or actually moving to another perch.  Or maybe fighting over territory.  Anything!  But no.
     However, the alligators were having a ball...or rather a grunting contest.  Lots of alligators, lots of grunting.  Practicing for mating season although it's still a couple of months off

Along for the ride

Everyone needs a mascot...that's been around a while.

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We've been home a week and I'm ready to go again.  But medical appointments and air conditioning to battle 80% humidity and higher temps well keep us here a while.
     Anyway, for those who are keeping count here's a short tally:
   
     Duration - -  Leave OB 5/08 & Return 10/15
     Trip Mileage  - -  15, 135 miles
     Route     - -   18 states / 2 Canadian Provinces
     House sit       Tucson, AZ - - 3 weeks
                           Poulsbo, WA - - 3 weeks
    

Southern Comfort

No, this is not a college president's mansion

The Aberdeen, Carolina & Western rolls past a closed furniture factory

RICHMOND HILL, GA - - This is it.  We're on the way home. Five months and one week after leaving.  Are we happy that we'll be back in Ormond Beach tomorrow?  Hard to answer.  I know that about two weeks from now we'll be ready to go again.  It takes about that long to check out the new restaurants, new businesses, new construction and get frustrated by high humidity and temperatures to match.
     Anyway...  The top pic is the house we looked after for the past two weeks.  It was purchased by Lydia's  great grandfather in 1903.  Four bedrooms and a sun room were eventually added.  With only the two of us in residence, it was pretty empty.  It's owned by a member of the extended family and serves as a gathering place for get togethers.
     I realize I used a A,C&W train shot in my previous blog post.  But, hey this train is heading in a different direction.  And I like trains.

Just the thing for decorating the front yard

The perfect front yard decoration...

...Or maybe you're partial to a red caboose

A 90-car freight train rolls through Aberdeen

100 yards from where we are staying you can hear the whistle and feel the rumble of a long freight

WEST END, NC - - Things are very quiet in West End where we are staying...except when a freight train rumbles through.  We've seen the 4-car style; the 13 car style and, once in a while, the 80-90 car version.  About a mile away is a siding with 4 locomotives  of a 20 unit fleet for sale.  The Aberdeen, Carolina & Western company was incorporated in 1987, taking over the operations of the former Norfolk, Southern Railway. It runs 150 miles of track from Aberdeen to Star, NC and is the largest privately held short-line / regional freight carrier in NC.  The AC&W connects freight with CSX and other regional freight networks.
     Aberdeen is about 12 miles away. It has more rail traffic and is the headquarters of the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR.  This 47 mile short-line / regional freight does most of its business between Aberdeen and Fayetteville (home of Fort Bragg, army base).  What A&R lacks in length it makes up in a long and colorful history, having been founded in 1892.
     NOTES:  The 'side door' caboose sits in front of the A&R company headquarters.  'Rockfish' comes from the name of a creek the track runs along or maybe from a small town which used to be in the area...nobody's really sure.
     It's raining outside, a nice October shower.  Leaves are falling like a light snowfall.  There are vast forests of pine trees all around as turpentine was big business over 100 years ago.  However, we are surrounded by a good amount of hardwood trees  with lots of leaves.

Staying cool

There's nothing like a big jar of iced tea on a hot day

HOT SPRINGS, NC - -We were rolling down a back road in NC looking for interesting things.  The Smoky Mountain Diner in Hot Springs fit the bill.   Good food, lots of iced tea...although they used Ball jars instead of Mason jars.  And, as we were eating on the back porch, an older couple showed

up in a two person horse-drawn buggy.  I've seen tractors parked at places (out West) but never a 1-horsepower / four-wheeled mode of travel.