Cute!

The little bit of white leads me to think it may be a crossbreed of some kind... A greater or lesser white fronted that got "friendly" with a domesticated one?

They supposedly mate for life though, so who knows.

Well drat. Every time we think we have a "new" bird it turns out to be either a mallard cross or an escapee from a farm.

I suspect you are correct. Not nearly enough white on the face to be either greater or lesser white fronted.

The answer from my friend Daniel:
Je reviens sur notre rencontre de mercredi et la question de tes amis canadiens : " tell me why every hotel in Germany is an Adler "
Si je comprends bien la question, il faudrait expliquer pourquoi tous les hôtels d'Allemagne sont des aigles (?), ou ont le mot "Adler" dans leur nom.
D'abord il n'existe pas à ma connaissance de signification seconde du mot Adler justifiant la première hypothèse.
Ensuite, le mot Adler n'apparaît pas de façon habituelle dans le nom des hôtels, mais de façon occasionnelle, comme d'autres animaux : Hirsch (le cerf), Schwan (le cygne), Weißes Rössle (cheval blanc), et la liste pourrait être longue. Sur la place du marché de Herzogenaurach, il y a un restaurant dénommé " Gasthaus zum goldenen Ochsen" (le bœuf d'or).
Évidemment, l'aigle est l'oiseau présent dans les armes de plusieurs maisons princières illustres : Prusse, Empire Allemand, Empire Autrichien, Russie des Tsars, mais je ne vois pas quel pourrait être le lien avec le nom d'un hôtel.

Well actually, we did also find it funny. Joe would love you as his teacher, you sound great!

Ha ha. So true. You're never too old for toilet humor. I bet you yourself smirked a grin or two at Joe's horse butt quips during your time with him on tour.

We rather like Joe too. And yes, he is just the peak age for appreciation of toilet humour. You, on the other hand, might be just a wee bit too old. On the other other hand it helps if you can share humour with your students?

Thanks. It certainly shows what the conditions were like.

We both have rain pants and hooded jackets which actually do keep us dry. The yellow is a bonus which adds to visibility in low light and rain.

I like Joe. I would have laughed along with him! What can I say...I'm a grade six teacher and toilet humor always gets a laugh when you're 10 or 11 years old.

That's a great shot nonetheless!

Dots looks well prepared for it!

Thus sounds fairly "normal ", especially the late dinner time. This is why Dodie always carries sandwiches, fruit and some treats from a bakery or grocery store. We have an insulated bag specially for this purpose as we prefer to eat at 5:30 or 6 pm. Campground on top of hill-ugghhh-clearly not positioned by anyone who ever camped!

This was my Day One on a ride many years ago. I remember Aumale well…no dinner until 7 despite being famished. Campground conveniently placed on the highest point in town!!