Folks,

Dux:

Ditto all you typed regarding all he typed. Hmmmm. May I call your attention to the active word "mock" in the title of that tasty recipe? Over the years, and several bottles of Pepto Bismol later, I have come to the conclusion that is never a good omen.

I took a long walk by the river this beautiful fall morning. Some trees were still in shadow but others across the water were ablaze in their autumn finery. I spied what I identified as a Cormorant perched in a pool of sunlight out in the middle of the current. He was a medium sized bird. His feathers were dark, his bill was not particularly long and a reddish yellow in color. I'd say his neck was too long for a duck and ducks don't perch do they? He was holding onto a tiny branch that was sticking up out of the water from a submerged snag. I watched for a time and as the bird opened its wings several times, not in an attempt to fly, but rather to dry or warm them, I wondered how it managed to keep its balance.

Eventually the bird sidled down the limb into the water and paddled away up stream. In a moment he dove and reappeared even farther up river. I soon lost him as he rounded a curve near the cane forest. I'm sure they are common but I have never seen this bird here before.

OK, you are quite right to remind everyone that my skills of bird identification are miserably lacking. In spite of that grievous shortcoming I can say with 100% reliability that whatever it may have been, it definitely was not a chicken.