The duck hunters must check in each morning of the hunt before they head for their favorite spots. They are a dedicated bunch, as they arrive on the refuge at four in the morning to check in. So, by about ten o'clock many of them are ready to leave, and they are certainly hungry. The Friends provide the chili as an outreach activity.
They are all dressed in cammo, and this young man spent a lot of time fixing his face! I was happy to see so many young folks enjoying the out of doors.
Of course, it was the older, more experienced hunters that brought in their limit of ducks for the day. ;).
Colin, the volunteer from England, was working the visitor's center today. He will be heading back "across the pond" on Tuesday. I knew he'd enjoy having some chili, so I headed over there to relieve him so he could go to the hunter's check station for lunch.
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After a couple of hours, I looked out the window and here's what I saw:
Not the usual visitor's entering the refuge. :) Ranchers lease certain areas of the refuge for grazing, and periodically have a cattle drive to move the herds from area to area. The cattle keep the marsh under control and fertilize as well. There are no bulls in this group, and the cows will give birth out on the marsh in the next month or two.
You know you are in Texas when you see hundreds of cattle being herded down the road. The cowboy is alive and well here. I figure they traveled about eight miles today. How do I know this?.....by the telling evidence left all over the road after their passage. I don't know how they could have anything left in them by the time they made it to their new grazing spot. ;)
I figured Colin got stuck behind the herd as it came down the entrance road and I was correct. There is no way to pass the herd, and it took him over an hour to come the last five miles. In hindsight (pun intended) he wished he had left the check station five minutes earlier.
Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy
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