.

.
Borrego Springs, CA

Saturday, January 8, 2011

An out of the blue surprise!

It was off to the VIS for me today on a glorious sunny Saturday at Anahuac.  I got the free coffee we supply for visitors perking, and opened up shop.  I usually don’t have much of anybody visit the first few hours, so I was caught off guard when people began to show up around 8:30.  It turns out that today was a local volunteer work day on the refuge sponsored by the Friends of Anahuac Refuge (FOAR).  The ‘Friends’ also provide the nature store that is located inside the VIS.  They would be cleaning up a row of live oak trees that mostly survived the hurricane. 

 

Today’s clean up was lead by Stephanie and Tammy, two refuge staff members.  As Stephanie arrived she delivered a piece of mail to me.  I knew my brother, Carl, was sending something to me, but I just assumed it was probably some more articles or small items that were left from my mother.

IMG_8374

Boy, was I wrong!  In the envelope was a calendar made by Carl.  How did he know I needed a calendar?  In my old rig, I had one of those dry erase type calendars where you write in each month with a marker.  When I got this rig, I had no wall space available to put it up, and I haven’t found a calendar for this year that I can put on my refrigerator.  I really missed having one because I like to write reminders on it each month about birthdays, bill due dates, and stuff like Emma’s heartworm tablets and flea treatment.

IMG_8370The real surprise was that Carl had taken the time to go through my blog from the last year or so and incorporated a different photo each month of one of my bird pictures. (except December, which has my ‘boobs hanging low’  :))  He also included all the dates for the birthdays of my kids and grandkids!  How thoughtful that was for an aging grandma?  :)  He also asked me to update him if he missed any dates.  Does that mean he might make another calendar for me next year??  Cool beans!  If so, I’m thinking of adding the flea dates, heartworm dates, and charge card paying dates.  Reminders are always helpful.

 

Everyone that was in the VIS when I opened up the envelope wanted to see it, and they all thought it was a marvelous gift.  I had to chuckle about the Bird Lady of Blog Land title on each page!  I think it was RICK that gave me that moniker.  I’ll try to live up to that title.  :)  Thanks, Carl, you really made my day!

_MG_8367As this white-faced ibis tucks his beak under his wing for a little siesta, I’m thinking I’ll be doing the same in a little while.

 

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

26 comments:

  1. What a great gift, and one that shows a lot of thought and planning. You are special, bird lady!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a special gift. And your pictures are definitely worth being on a calendar. Fingers crossed for a new one next year. Hint, hint, brother Carl.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well how cool is that??? Brother Carl, you rock!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a thoughtful and amazing brother you must have!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think Carl may be onto something...those calendars without the personal dates would sell like hotcakes! Where do I order?
    Great surprise!
    Blessings, K
    http://seashellsandoveralls.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a cool gift; and all the more personal because it contains your photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a brother!!! Sounds and looks like a wonderful gift. Your pictures are great enough to be put on calendars for all to use and enjoy. A new business adventure??

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are totally "The Bird Lady of Blogland"....You are an amazing, knowledgable, funny lady...enjoy your title..you sooooo deserve it!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's a fine looking calendar!

    ReplyDelete
  10. And your very own photos on the calendar too. Now that is extra special:))

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful calendar and thoughtful brother, Carl!

    You definitely deserve the title with all of your wonderful avian photos!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love gifts like that...from the heart!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. what a great gift!..you are the 'bird lady of blogland!'..and you must also be the best sister in Carl's world for him to make this extra special gift for you!!..hang it proudly!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great gift and how thoughtful of your brother.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a great gift you received. And what a thoughtful brother you have. Lucky you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a wonderful gift and wonderful brother! Could we borrow him?

    ReplyDelete
  17. We sure believe in photo calendars, making them for our family members each Christmas. Only we use our own photos. Your bird photos are always so beautiful -- we can see why Carl would use them! And it's certainly a labor of love.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ha! Your brother Carl is awesome! I love that he included the "boobs hang low" picture!

    Have the BEST day!
    Cyndi and Stumpy @ RVly Ever After

    ReplyDelete
  19. You will love that gift ALL YEAR LONG... each time you look at the calender, it will give you a big grin!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. oh my what a wonderful thoughtful gift Judy. I love it and as usual you made me laugh again. I think he should have put your "boobs hanging low" on it.

    Take Care We are headed to the desert cancel your plans and join us
    Brenda Brown

    ReplyDelete
  21. awesome idea from the bro ~ creativity obviously runs in the fam!!!!!

    and the sense of humor; i.e. Dec....

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great gift, now the question is: how are you going to top that for him?

    ReplyDelete
  23. All of the above! Love it!

    dewelldesigns.blogsot.com (Me and My Dog)

    ReplyDelete
  24. How do you like your new moniker...Bird Lady of Blog Land???

    ReplyDelete
  25. Does this mean we can call you BL of BL?? or maybe BLOBL (blobble)?? Ann

    ReplyDelete