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Borrego Springs, CA

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Frost on the pumpkin!

There are not many pumpkins in a marsh, but if there were they would have been covered with frost this morning.  My outside thermometer (located between the rear two tires on the passenger’s side of the rig) read 32*F when I got up this morning.  Everything outside was coated in white, and my furnace was working away to keep things comfortable inside.  I’m thinking I’d better get my extend-a-stay extra propane tank set up pretty soon.

 

After breakfast, Emma and I headed out on a birding road trip.  We drove through High Island, and headed down the Bolivar Peninsula.  This is the route you take if you want to take the ferry to Galveston.  I turned off just before the ferry to a shore bird sanctuary.  After about a mile, the road ends at the Gulf of Mexico.

_MG_7155Not much was happening, bird wise, at the shore except this great blue heron.  So, I turned around and headed back out.

_MG_7170 _MG_7160

I did spot a few lesser yellowlegs and a dunlin along the side of the road on my way out.  I decided to head back to the refuge and take the road out to Frozen Point.  Frozen Point got it’s name before the refuge was in existence.  The story is there was a severe winter storm out of the north that descended down Texas.  As the freezing winds blew out of the north, the cattle on the ranches kept walking south trying to find refuge from the storm.  Eventually they reached Galveston Bay and could proceed no further.  As the storm continued, they froze to death… hence the name.

 

No one was freezing today, and quite a few folks spent the day either fishing from shore or wading out into the bay to fish.  I didn’t see anyone catch anything, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the holiday weekend.

_MG_7177As I drove along, this robin hopped up on one of the fence posts in the middle of the marsh.  That was a bit of a surprise.  :)  Not the usual place you would expect to see one of these guys. 

_MG_7186On the way back to the VIS, I caught a glimpse of this Virginia rail skulking it’s way amongst the marsh vegetation.

_MG_7193 _MG_7203

I pulled the car over to the side of the road, and waited patiently to get these further shots of this elusive bird.  You’ve heard that saying “thin as a rail?”  Well, when these birds turn sideways they almost disappear before your very eyes into the vegetation.

_MG_7222This interesting RV was parked in the lot next to the VIS as I arrived.  The owners are from Homer, Alaska, and they are trying to visit all of the National Wildlife Refuges in Texas on this part of their trip.  I sure would have liked to see the inside of it.

 

That little road trip today lasted over five hours.  When I got back to the rig, I checked on the pot of chicken soup I had brewing in the crock pot, and then spent the remainder of the afternoon outside with Emma. 

_MG_7225About an hour before sunset, the geese started their flights to their evening roosting sites.  The skies to the south and west of the RV pads were just full of streaming flocks.  I’d estimate that I saw 10,000 geese in the air this evening.  Most of them were snow geese, but there were also flocks of white-fronted geese.  Clear skies and no wind this evening means the temps will plummet once again.  It’s not supposed to be as cold as last night, however.  Those freezing temperatures last night had absolutely no effect on the mosquito population, and Emma and I scrambled inside quickly as the hoard descended!

 

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

13 comments:

  1. now that is'quite the house on wheels'!!!..it would have been interesting to see the inside!!

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  2. Judy: Your comment on my blog made me laugh. And, of course, you're right...duh...I would be towing a fifth wheel. I'm beginning to think I'm making this out to be a bigger problem than it is and all my indecision is driving me nuts!! Thanks for the info about the DP.

    Jeana

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  3. I've seen flies buzzing around here but no mosquitos. I'm not crazy about the cold temperatures - don't mind while I'm wrapped in my comforter overnight, but getting up in the morning is painful!

    I have heard a bird or two but haven't seen hardly a one. I'd hoped to at least see a roadrunner.

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  4. Mosquito are my most hated insects. The sound they make is so irritating and the bites itch like crazy. Unfortunately they love me :-(

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  5. Once again, beautiful bird pictures. How did you learn about birds? Was that part of your prior life?

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  6. I wonder what "Class" that Motorhome is - x, y or z?? Nice pics as usual.

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  7. What a motor home...the inside is probably very interesting. Too bad we can't google an image. Those people might have a blog fo their own.

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  8. Excellent Rail photos!! I'm jealous!

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  9. If I would had to have guessed, I would have said Alaska for that rigs home state, but I am not sure why. Maybe because they like to see themselves as different?

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  10. I don't think we have ever encountered any mosquitos out here in the Southwest during the winter months but we do have lots of pesky flys. Cold night time temps seem to the norm all over the place so far this year. Hope it's not going to turn out to be one of them there nasty winters!!

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  11. Sounds to me like you and Emma could use a couple of toque's yourself.

    I guess down in these parts they call a toque a wool cap.

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  12. I love your bird photos, I find them fascinating. One fall I had a chance to see the migrating snow geese at a refuge in Missouri, it was an unusually warm Thanksgiving that year. It was just so amazing to see that many geese in the sky at once.

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  13. When I started to read your post I thought, oh good, this ill help with the mosquitoes. But no. I hope you have a favorite repent.

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