Friday Fun

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: Our morning out and about included a walk to what we call 'Eagle Beach' since the first time we visited there, we shared the place for about a half hour with enormous bald eagle. The spot is formally called West McGraw Street End Project.  I think Eagle Beach sounds better. 

It takes work getting there (at least the way we go), as it involved hundreds of precarious stairs, many in a state of terrible disrepair. You really have to watch your step, no pun intended.

We made it down unscathed, and walked along Perkins Lane to the little access point. 

I immediately pointed out how low the tide was. 

Later today this weekend is optimal for low tide explorations, in conjunction with the upcoming 'super moon' on Saturday. It's the third super moon so far this year!

There was no eagle at the beach today, just a whole bunch of Canada geese. It made me wonder if the low tide attracted them, and we began to wonder what those geese like to eat.

We did some research upon returning home. Turns out the geese are primarily herbivores, green vegetation and grains making up the bulk of their diet.  However, they do sometimes eat small insects and fish. So I wonder if they were eating seaweed and maybe a little sea life when we happened upon them. 

While on our walk, the kids gleaned their first blackberries of the year. They were tart, but there's something sweet about the first ones. :)

TWO OF A KIND: This afternoon, the four of us were playing Dixit Jr., a fun card game where a player gives a clue about one of the nine graphic cards out on the table, and other players try to be the first to guess which graphic they're talking about.

On one play it was CJ's turn and he gave a clue: "Like a kudzu."

WTH? Annabelle and I are rolling our eyes and sighing, while Christian immediately points to the 'right' card (in this photo, the bottom one, with what looked like arteries and veins to me and Bee).

When we inquired a) WHY CJ gave that description and b) WHY Christian guessed that card, CJ explained: "Kudzus are very invasive, and often crosses over one another. And if it finds someplace it can live, it can and definitely will spread. They're most commonly found in the southeastern United States." 

Oh. Well. WHATEVER. Not that I'm a sore loser or anything. 

O, THANK HEAVEN: This evening 'round 6, we while we were out playing board games and plotting our weekend at one of our favorite places to strategerize , I heard a fellow patron mention something about 'free Slurpees.'

Oh. My GOD. I had totally forgotten that it was 7/11 - free Slurpee day at the store of the same name. Christian and I fired up the smart phones and started searching for the nearest 7-Eleven. We found one just a mile or so away. The deal ended at 7, so we had not too much time to spare. As we walked in the store's door, we were part of a steady stream. The smart woman working the register recognized our crazy-Slurpee-eyes, and immediately said 'the cups are here,' right up front, by the door. Cool!

We four each filled one up - two Coca Cola ones, two sugar free watermelon. The kids each had one for dessert, and we stashed the other two in the freezer for tomorrow.

Thanks, 7-Eleven!

OUT OF GAS: We've been following the efforts of the Project Reboot team as they have been trying to get command over the 36-year-old ISEE-3 spacecraft, borne in the disco era!  For years, it has been spinning around out there as space junk, it mission long over. However, a team of people have been working to bring it back to life and use it as an instrument of science again. 

They successfully established communications with ISEE-3 weeks ago, have received data about solar activity from one of its onboard instruments, and a few days ago, even managed to fire its thrusters to try to change its orbit. However, more recent attempts to fire the thrusters again have resulted in no change in its position, and the team is pretty certain the craft is out of gas, so to speak. More accurately, they believe the nitrogen used to pressurize the fuel system is spent. Bummer, dudes. However, they are soldiering forward, with ambitious plans to use ISEE-3 for future science projects.
Here's a link to an NBC news video about the project http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/rebooted-nasa-spacecrafts-tank-runs-dry-mission-continues-n152991


WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: Stumbled across a very video of two of my favorite things in once place today. It's Brian May of Queen on board NASA's new Orion capsule. Cool!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCpJuOyjtC4


POSTPONED: The Antares' ISS resupply mission scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to Sunday due to weather concerns. New targeted launch time: . July 13 at 12:52 p.m. EDT. Coverage will be provided on NASA TV, both on cable providers and online.