AUCTION

June 20, 2009---Onshore, just a short way from the boat, is a sign indicating an auction of property. Brother & I being of curious nature took the dinghy over and tied it to a small tree. Walked up the slope to the tent & visited with the real-estate folks. As it got closer to 11:00 a.m. more & more people had crowded under the tent. Even before the auction started there was a sense that the price for the 7 lots available might get a bit high. This is prime water front property. The largest lot was 1.88 acres. When the auctioneer started the biding at $350,000 our suspicions were confirmed. Biding continued with excitement to the final price of $581,000. That does not include the 10% sellers fee. Wow! And you thought the economy was bad! The new owners promptly walked down the slope to view their purchase. Across the water from the open, green slope can be seen the Shady Grove Harbor marina in the background.

Took the dinghy to Steve's Landing for lunch. It was a nice mid day trip. Food there is excellent and desserts are out of this word!

On the opposite shore from the auction sign is a power line. A large nest has two birds watching over the little one's. At first I thought they were bald eagles. But with all the white on the underside and the brown around the eyes my research shows they are Osprey. The young are not easily seen. At times I have counted at least three.
Osprey are a large raptor measuring from 16 to 32 inches.