55 degrees F Clear Wind 5 mph E
I apologize for not giving you an update since last Friday.
I was hoping to give you good news that we were "live". Which we are not ... yet!
Let me fill you in on that in a second.
But first, let me give you an update on what you are MOST interested in ... our LOONS!
The loons have been around and have shown some interest in the nest and have actually been up ON the nest a few times. The first time I saw them up on the nest was last Friday. And they were up there when I came home this afternoon.
Now having said that, let me put it in perspective for you. I know that you are very frustrated and feeling that you are missing a lot. And I fully understand that frustration. And we are still working on trying to get everything up and working again. But you have not missed a lot of action.
Out of a 24 hour day, the loons have been on the nest a maximum of 5 or 10 minutes each day. That is well over 99% of the time that they are not on the nest or around the nest.
Having said that, I understand how special each and every appearance it.
I still cannot believe everything that has happened this year.
Early on, it seemed that everything was working perfectly and that we would be able to have the nest out and the camera on the day the ice went out. Reality proved to be different.
The good folks at Broadband have gone above and beyond the call of duty.
They were out last Friday working on things for many hours. All to no avail.
They have ordered a number of pieces of new equipment, including a new camera, which are supposed to arrive by FedEx tomorrow. When we replace all those things with new equipment, hopefully it will take care of the problems and we will soon be able to send you the LoonCam!
We will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new equipment and working on things as soon as it comes.
I think I found out tonight exactly what had happened. Or at least confirmed what we had expected about a lightning strike in one of the storms last week.
I was talking to one of the neighbors tonight and he was asking how soon the LoonCam would be live. I told him some of what had happened and that I suspected a lightning strike when I was out of town.
He right away told me he knew EXACTLY when it happened!
Late one night during one of the storms, he said there was a HUGE flash of light that lit up the inside of their house and there was an immediate huge BOOM! He said there was no delay between the light and the boom - they were simultaneous. So he knew it had struck nearby but he did not know where.
He said the dogs almost hit the ceiling and went wild.
He went out and looked around but could not find any sign of the lightning strike nor was anything on fire. So he put it out of his mind.
Until I told him about all the things that had been knocked out and then he immediately remembered it.
So apparently that is what did all the damage.
Once again, it is a great reminder of how powerful nature is and how weak we are in the face of it. And it is a reminder of how wonderful it is when everything works 'just right' to bring you the LoonCam. I sometime - many times - sort of just expect that all the things that need to work together just perfectly WILL work perfectly.
But life is not quite so simple.
Just know that we are working hard to try to bring you our beloved loons as soon as we can.
Take comfort know that you have not missed any of the main event yet.
But the clock is ticking. And I am every mindful of that.
Thank you all for your love and support and concern. You are the BEST!
Comments or Questions? LoonCam@yahoo.com
Copyright 2014 Larry R. Backlund