Summer's End

This weekend is my last weekend in a while that I won't have work obligations, so Robb and I took the opportunity to get out of town. (I've been really hoping to go see my dad in France, but there's some kind of stupid hold-up with my passport renewal. I let it expire sometime after Robb's accident.)



We are in Monterey, California enjoying the nature. Yesterday, we went to Elkhorn Slough, which is a large tidal estuary that has been set aside as a preserve. (Slough is pronounced "slew" in case y'all were wondering. A slough is a kind of marsh or bayou.)

Elkhorn Slough's website says that it doesn't allow bikes, so Robb and I ended up walking. Very, very slowly. Walking remains quite difficult for Robb, and we rarely do much of it. So yesterday's hike was a major accomplishment. It was a chilly overcast day, with moody blue light. The migratory birds for which Elkhorn Slough is so famous had not arrived yet, but there was still lots to see.



A Common Checkered Skipper butterfly. This butterfly is about the size of a nickel, and maybe not quite as blue as this photo would suggest.

I honestly don't know how people photograph butterflies in a serious way. My bird-scaring-off-skills are rivaled only by my skills in butterfly-terrorizing.




Every visitor to Monterey hopes to see a Sea Otter. And we were treated to an extended gawk at this fine fellow. He was feasting on crabs and we could hear him "crawnch crawnch crawnching" his meal.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how Robb and I try to adapt our changed situation to our interests. Despite our limitations, we just keep going. I doubt that most people on the trail would ever think, "That paralyzed man is out hiking. How brave he must be." If people notice us at all, they probably think, "If those two think that by moving so slowly they aren't going to scare off all the birds, they are sorely mistaken."