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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, November 26, 2010

An abrupt change

Thanksgiving Day dawned hot and muggy, and the mosquitoes were out in full force.  For the first time in refuge history, one of the volunteers had to work in the VIS (visitor’s center) on a National Holiday.  So, that meant we would all wait to have our dinner until Colin returned from his tour of duty.  :)  Colin is a resident of England that has flown here each fall for the last eight years to volunteer on the refuge.  He took the VIS duty yesterday so the rest of us could get the dinner prepared.  Turns out he had never heard of the sweet potato dish topped with marshmallows, but loved the traditional green bean casserole that I prepared.  Neither of these dishes are normally served in England.  As usual, there was more food available than could be consumed, but it was an enjoyable and tasty repast.
 IMG_6682                                   Tonight’s photos are some from my recent cruise.

One of the things I really look forward to at a Thanksgiving Feast is savoring the taste of a large piece of crisp, brown turkey breast skin with a dash of salt sprinkled on it.  I know it’s not good for you to eat, but once a year I indulge and my mouth was watering at the thought of this culinary delight for me.  Boy, was I disappointed!  I don’t know what the carver of the turkey did with the skin, but none was to be found.  :(  I’m thinking I just may have to go buy one of those turkey breasts with the skin on so I can roast it and have my yearly treat.  (a whole turkey is just too big for me alone)


The wait staff put on quite a show the last night of the cruise as we dined.IMG_7071 IMG_7076
After the feasting, I came back to the rig and the air conditioner was still running pretty steadily.  Then about 9:00, the wind shifted, the rain began, and the temp dropped about 30 degrees in 30 minutes!  I was suddenly getting goose bumps, and even had to turn the heat on.  What an abrupt change of weather as the cold front from the north moved through.  It didn’t drop low enough to wipe out our massive supply of mosquitoes, but today’s northerly high winds did keep them at bay. 

It rained most of this morning, and I just hunkered down inside and played on the computer.  I did a little work in the afternoon taking inventory for the VIS, but all in all it was a relaxing day spent inside with the furnace on.  Each time I took Emma out, she was invigorated by the cooler temperatures and ran circles around me at the end of her 18’ lead.  She likes the colder temps more than I do.  :)

If the sun shines tomorrow, perhaps we’ll take a drive.  Maybe I’ll make a trip to the Bolivar Peninsula.  I think I’ll pack a lunch tonight just in case…
_MG_6977                                        Sunrise entering the port of Nassau, Bahamas.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

14 comments:

  1. nothing like a good old fashioned turkey dinner!!!..skin included!!

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  2. Too bad about the turkey skin, but the rest sounds like a good meal and a good time!

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  3. We fixed a turkey breast and I love the skin too. But I tried to keep it under control and threw out most of it. If only you didn't have the mosquitoes it sounds like a great time. Our "girls" hate the cold but they don't have the fur coat like Emma has. Glad you had a good holiday.

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  4. Looks like the cold front is really getting around! Glad you had a good turkey dinner!

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  5. My trick is use a Bounty to soak up the grease in the other side of the skin, then indulge on the crunchy almost-fat-free (I hope) yummy skin!

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  6. Wow, what a beautiful sunrise. Glad you all had a good traditional Thanksgiving! Hope you get your turkey skin!

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  7. A beautiful sunrise is always a great way to start a day ... whether on a cruise or on land.

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  8. Pretty sunrise!! We actually had a really pretty one here today, but the scenery wasn't nearly as attractive...We had turkey skin..I would have mailed some to ya if I had known!!

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  9. Good to see you had a good Thanksgiving meal, Emma must like being able to get out and go a little, Hope she got a taste of turkey Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  10. Thank you for sharing your cruise! What a very relaxing way to travel across the ocean!!

    May the winds blow away the mosquitoes so that you can get more bird pics! I just love the ones you posted! Fantastic as always!!

    Vicariously enjoying the birds through your eyes!
    Kathy

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  11. Sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving! I see you're getting our weather now, except we didn't have any rain.

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  12. Wow, we had that drop in temp too! It was something, one minute sweat the next, where's the heat?

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  13. Just aired up my tires due to the drop in temperature here. Saw a large flock of sandcrains flying over. Talked to one of them and he said that he had heard you were back from your trip and would stop by and say hello when he gets down to your area.

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  14. I am a fan of the skin too! Sometimes we get a rotisserie chicken at Walmart and I sneak just a little skin when I am cutting it up.

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