An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers.

The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.

An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more.

This happens yet again.

The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"

'Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."

The bartender and the whole town was pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening - he orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.

The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all..."

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well... It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

Messrs Maguire Pub, Dublin, 2012

Last fall we thought it would be a great idea to get out of the VA winter for a few days at the Hammock Coast Birding Festival south of Myrtle Beach. Average highs for the first week of February there are 61°F (16°C). We got in Wednesday after a day of white-knuckle driving in the rain, punctuated by sitting in park for about an hour on I-95 near Lumberton, NC. After checking in at the festival HQ and checking in at our Airbnb, we ventured out in the terrible weather to a local joint that would have been walking distance in reasonable weather. We drove. Inlet Crab House and Raw Bar delivered, though, as our dinners were excellent and very reasonably priced. On Wednesday evening we relaxed watching USA Curling at the Olympics.

So how did that winter weather escape plan work out for us? On Thursday morning I found myself standing on a jetty 100 yards out into the Atlantic Ocean at Huntington Beach State Park. It was around freezing with a 25 mph wind blowing on us. The waves crashing against the rocks were dampening us with salt spray. I was peering into my binoculars, searching through the fog looking for Northern Gannets.

100% a great time. I would totally do it again. Although I'd appreciate better weather next time. I have no photos from that morning because, well, isn't it obvious? I added the common loon and razorbill to my life list, though. We saw the gannets; although I had seen them previously, I did not remember just how large those birds are. Watching them dive for fish was spectacular, even in those conditions. On the way back we walked behind the dunes out of the wind, where I found a salt marsh sparrow, also a lifer for me.

After a break for lunch at our Airbnb, we headed back out for our afternoon birding event, looking for red-cockaded woodpeckers at Brookgreen Gardens, directly across the street from the state park. They have about 3000 acres of Long Leaf Pine forest, where about 40 of the worldwide population of 14,000 woodpeckers live. Alas, they were not to be found on our 90-minute tour.

Later that afternoon we attended the festival happy hour and were surprised at how far folks had traveled for this event. I had feared I might be one of a few lone outsiders, but we met people from Wyoming, Utah, AZ, and all over the country. After the happy hour, we stopped at Quigley's Pint and Plate for dinner, where I enjoyed a beer brewed there on the premises and a steak and shrimp dinner. That evening we relaxed in the Airbnb while watching USA Curling.

Friday morning we had a date with ducks. We met up with guide Richard Costa at a pond in the state park, where I saw many ducks, was freezing, and got more than a few lessons in duck identification. (Look at the bill!) The sun came out and the fog lifted just as our session ended at 10 AM. After that we lingered a bit and then headed south, as we had about a 1-hour drive to the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge is run by the SC DNR, although the Yawkey Foundation helps pay the bills. Our guide, DNR Education and Outreach Coordinator Molly McNeill, was fabulous. The refuge is an island in the Intercoastal Waterway. You park and hop on a pontoon boat for a 30-second ride to get there. The refuge features longleaf pine forests, as well as old rice plantation land that is now a series of freshwater and brackish ponds. I had three target birds for the trip.

1. Red-cockaded woodpecker
2. Roseate spoonbill
3. Wood stock

I got all three at the refuge. That's a good day of birding. We got great looks at a bunch of other shorebirds and ducks too.

Note: The woodpeckers only breed in mature longleaf pine trees, which used to cover the SE USA. Today, they only exist in a few places in the SE where the forests are managed specifically to help the birds. Longleaf pine cones need fire to clear out the underbrush to set new seeds. The trees literally depend on fire to reproduce. Fire suppression has been the SOP for years, although now the agencies managing these forests are doing controlled burns to keep the ecosystem healthy.

On Friday evening we attended the festival dinner, where Dr. Patrick McMillan gave a very engaging keynote talk. When we returned to the Airbnb, we...wait for it...watched USA Curling. Hey, I like curling. I joined a league a few years back and quite enjoyed playing the game. However, the league met on Saturday nights, and I didn't enjoy it enough to give up every Saturday night for it.

Saturday morning had us out of the Airbnb by 6:15 AM as we had a 7:30 birding session at the Black River Cypress Preserve. We spent three hours at the preserve, racking up mostly common birds, although a red-headed woodpecker gave us some great extended looks. Saturday afternoon got blustery to go with the barely above freezing temps. We had a boat tour scheduled but decided to skip it due to the weather. Instead, we went back to the state park and did some birding on our own, then went across the highway to Brookgreen to explore the park. We went for a walk and found a river otter enjoying life in a pond. We also went to the small zoo there. I generally avoid zoos, but I guessed correctly that this zoo was rescue-focused, and it was. We got to see a red wolf, one of only 300ish alive in the world. The park is part of the breeding program trying to save the species. They also had several species of owls and a couple of bald eagles that were rescues that could not survive in the wild. We happened to be there as an attendant was giving the owls fresh water, and it was hilarious watching the barn owls do their intimidation dance, which I doubt intimidates anything larger than a rodent. Likewise, the great horned owls cluck and growl, which again lacks a real fear factor when you know the owls can't fly.

After that we had another festival dinner, conveniently located less than a mile from our Airbnb. They gave away a bunch of door prizes. As expected, I won nothing.

Do I even need to tell you how we spent Saturday night?

There were some festival events on Sunday morning, but we had a 5.5-hour drive home if all went well. All went well; the drive was uneventful.

Would we do this festival again? Absolutely. Will we? Who knows? The only reason we wouldn't repeat next year is if we decide to do some other birding festival instead.

Last fall we thought it would be a great idea to get out of the VA winter for a few days at the Hammock Coast Birding Festival south of Myrtle Beach. Average highs for the first week of February there are 61°F (16°C). We got in Wednesday after a day of white-knuckle driving in the rain, punctuated by sitting in park for about an hour on I-95 near Lumberton, NC. After checking in at the festival HQ and checking in at our Airbnb, we ventured out in the terrible weather to a local joint that would have been walking distance in reasonable weather. We drove. Inlet Crab House and Raw Bar delivered, though, as our dinners were excellent and very reasonably priced. On Wednesday evening we relaxed watching USA Curling at the Olympics.

So how did that winter weather escape plan work out for us? On Thursday morning I found myself standing on a jetty 100 yards out into the Atlantic Ocean at Huntington Beach State Park. It was around freezing with a 25 mph wind blowing on us. The waves crashing against the rocks were dampening us with salt spray. I was peering into my binoculars, searching through the fog looking for Northern Gannets.

100% a great time. I would totally do it again. Although I'd appreciate better weather next time. I have no photos from that morning because, well, isn't it obvious? I added the common loon and razorbill to my life list, though. We saw the gannets; although I had seen them previously, I did not remember just how large those birds are. Watching them dive for fish was spectacular, even in those conditions. On the way back we walked behind the dunes out of the wind, where I found a salt marsh sparrow, also a lifer for me.

After a break for lunch at our Airbnb, we headed back out for our afternoon birding event, looking for red-cockaded woodpeckers at Brookgreen Gardens, directly across the street from the state park. They have about 3000 acres of Long Leaf Pine forest, where about 40 of the worldwide population of 14,000 woodpeckers live. Alas, they were not to be found on our 90-minute tour.

Later that afternoon we attended the festival happy hour and were surprised at how far folks had traveled for this event. I had feared I might be one of a few lone outsiders, but we met people from Wyoming, Utah, AZ, and all over the country. After the happy hour, we stopped at Quigley's Pint and Plate for dinner, where I enjoyed a beer brewed there on the premises and a steak and shrimp dinner. That evening we relaxed in the Airbnb while watching USA Curling.

Friday morning we had a date with ducks. We met up with guide Richard Costa at a pond in the state park, where I saw many ducks, was freezing, and got more than a few lessons in duck identification. (Look at the bill!) The sun came out and the fog lifted just as our session ended at 10 AM. After that we lingered a bit and then headed south, as we had about a 1-hour drive to the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge is run by the SC DNR, although the Yawkey Foundation helps pay the bills. Our guide, DNR Education and Outreach Coordinator Molly McNeill, was fabulous. The refuge is an island in the Intercoastal Waterway. You park and hop on a pontoon boat for a 30-second ride to get there. The refuge features longleaf pine forests, as well as old rice plantation land that is now a series of freshwater and brackish ponds. I had three target birds for the trip.

1. Red-cockaded woodpecker
2. Roseate spoonbill
3. Wood stock

I got all three at the refuge. That's a good day of birding. We got great looks at a bunch of other shorebirds and ducks too.

Note: The woodpeckers only breed in mature longleaf pine trees, which used to cover the SE USA. Today, they only exist in a few places in the SE where the forests are managed specifically to help the birds. Longleaf pine cones need fire to clear out the underbrush to set new seeds. The trees literally depend on fire to reproduce. Fire suppression has been the SOP for years, although now the agencies managing these forests are doing controlled burns to keep the ecosystem healthy.

On Friday evening we attended the festival dinner, where Dr. Patrick McMillan gave a very engaging keynote talk. When we returned to the Airbnb, we...wait for it...watched USA Curling. Hey, I like curling. I joined a league a few years back and quite enjoyed playing the game. However, the league met on Saturday nights, and I didn't enjoy it enough to give up every Saturday night for it.

Saturday morning had us out of the Airbnb by 6:15 AM as we had a 7:30 birding session at the Black River Cypress Preserve. We spent three hours at the preserve, racking up mostly common birds, although a red-headed woodpecker gave us some great extended looks. Saturday afternoon got blustery to go with the barely above freezing temps. We had a boat tour scheduled but decided to skip it due to the weather. Instead, we went back to the state park and did some birding on our own, then went across the highway to Brookgreen to explore the park. We went for a walk and found a river otter enjoying life in a pond. We also went to the small zoo there. I generally avoid zoos, but I guessed correctly that this zoo was rescue-focused, and it was. We got to see a red wolf, one of only 300ish alive in the world. The park is part of the breeding program trying to save the species. They also had several species of owls and a couple of bald eagles that were rescues that could not survive in the wild. We happened to be there as an attendant was giving the owls fresh water, and it was hilarious watching the barn owls do their intimidation dance, which I doubt intimidates anything larger than a rodent. Likewise, the great horned owls cluck and growl, which again lacks a real fear factor when you know the owls can't fly.

After that we had another festival dinner, conveniently located less than a mile from our Airbnb. They gave away a bunch of door prizes. As expected, I won nothing.

Do I even need to tell you how we spent Saturday night?

There were some festival events on Sunday morning, but we had a 5.5-hour drive home if all went well. All went well; the drive was uneventful.

Would we do this festival again? Absolutely. Will we? Who knows? The only reason we wouldn't repeat next year is if we decide to do some other birding festival instead.

It's Sunday morning, February 1st. These are 10 things I'm thinking about.

1. It's fucking cold here. It's 19F (-5C) as I type this. I live in the South. I do not remember this kind of extended cold streak in my 28 years in Virginia. We are into the 2nd week of brutally cold temperatures. We are expected to at least get above freezing this week.

2. I spent the morning cleaning up the document directory on my PC. I create many spreadsheets. Are too many spreadsheets possible? I'm not sure that it is. My brain apparently works in columns and rows.

3. The federal government is a hostile adversary and should be treated as such until such time that we get new leadership that respects the Constitution and the rule of law.

4. It's February 1, and there is still no healthcare deal out of the Senate. I'm sure that Schumer has written many sternly worded emails, though.

5. It's an Indigo Girls morning. They are awesome.

6. I spent yesterday vacation planning for the fall or early winter. I was all set on a 7-day Texas road trip centered around camping at Big Bend National Park. Then, as I dug into looking at campground reservations in the park, I learned that the Chisos Basin area will be off-limits effective June 1 for construction that could last two years. Some of the most iconic hikes and sights are there, and it doesn't make sense to plan a trip if we'll miss so much of the park. I think we've settled on a 7-day birding road trip through Florida. Big Bend will have to wait.

7. Texas is a stupidly large state.

8. I'm feeling increasingly optimistic about my business this year. Stuff is happening, and it's all good. Last year I wrote a business plan, and so far it's all going according to plan. Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because the other shoe always drops. Also, I feel a little conflicted about feeling good about any part of my life with everything happening in this country.

9. I wonder how many non-US-based Drupal folks are passing on DrupalCon North America this year because they are afraid to cross our border? Catching up with Drupal community folks from far-flung locations is one of the best things about DrupalCon. I fear it'll be almost 100% Americans this year.

10. I'm only working two days this week as we are going to a birding festival in South Carolina. I need the break. I worked every weekend in January. Hopefully I'll see some payback in Q2 from the extra effort in January. Also, the weather looks nice for the festival: 50°F (10C) and sunny every day.