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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A little hike, a little disaster, and a little battle begins.

It was a day filled with minor defugalties.  (spell check has no suggestions for that spelling, but it’s a word I’ve used forever to describe small problems)  Yesterday afternoon I set out to do my laundry, but another volunteer was using the washer and dryer.  So I went back again this morning at 8:30, and yet a different volunteer had beat me to the laundry room.  So, I packed up my cameras and Emma and headed for the Skillern Tract for a little hike.

64 Anahuac NWR 20116

The Skillern Tract is one of the few areas open to the public on the refuge that has water in it, and it is handicapped accessible.  Because of the drought, most of the moist soil units are bone dry.  When working at the VIS, we suggest to all birders that they drive a further 10 miles to visit this area.

_MG_4282It’s a very nice walk through riparian habitat along East Bay Bayou.  This morning, the trees along the bayou were just bubbling with American goldfinches and sparrows.  I also saw blue-gray gnatcatchers and an orange-crowned warbler, but they were reluctant to pose for a picture. 

_MG_4254The paved trail culminates in a wooden overlook (pictured above in the collage).  The marsh surrounding the overlook was loaded with feeding blue-winged teal and northern shovelers. 

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There were also several good sized groups of black-bellied whistling ducks.  They were more interested in resting than whistling while Emma and I were there.  Winking smile It was at this point that I decided to change lenses on the camera, and was shocked to see that my telephoto lens had four huge cracks across the lens.  Disaster!  It took me a moment to calm down and remember that I always use some kind of filter to help protect my lenses.  Phew!  The lens itself was fine, just the filter was cracked.

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This noisy little marsh wren was chattering away at us as we left the overlook.  Now Emma is no bird watcher, but she finds enough other things along the way to sniff and investigate.  Today was no exception.

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Being a true dog, her first reaction to this scat (probably from a raccoon) was to roll in it.  When I dissuaded her from doing that, her next step was to try to eat it!  Yuck!  Dogs are so disgusting sometimes.

Back at the ranch, I decided to check on the five mousetraps I set yesterday in various places around the rig.  I had discovered evidence of an unwanted guest the other day so bought some more armament yesterday.  That crafty little mouse had managed to eat the peanut butter clean off of two of the traps without setting them off.  So, the battle begins.  Mouse 1, me 0.  This is just the first inning, and I’m determined to be victorious. 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

25 comments:

  1. Victory is yours! I have never heard a duck whistle. I guess I haven't lived. sigh

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  2. Not your best day, but not a bad day! Nature beats laundry any day. :-)

    Jack said to tell you not to call Emma nasty. He'd like the way she smelled after rolling in all that good stuff along the trails!

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  3. There is a reason to use those filters, even though many photographers say why put a cheap piece of glass over an expensive piece of glass ... it's better to replace one of them filters ... I'm a firm believer in those UV filters for that reason alone.

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  4. The filters I use are not cheap but it certainly beats replacing a cracked or scratched lens!!

    Love the little marsh wren...love their song!

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  5. That is a great example why you should always use a filter:)

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  6. Been there, done that--all summer long. Hang in there and the victory will be yours.

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  7. Remember, laundry is not due until the socks and underwear are gone. With that off you mind you are free to pursue the rodents.

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  8. Judy try wrapping a couple wraps of dental floss around the peanut butter, they then get their teeth caught in it and it trips the trap.

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  9. Poor Emma. No poo for her. She needs a kitty! A cat would make tootsie treats for Emma, and take care of your mice problems, too.

    Is it just me, or has your entire blogroll defaulted to feeds?

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  10. Oh brother. As soon as I wrote that, it fixed itself.

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  11. Nothing like the feeling of success when you check the traps in the morning and find a little body there! I'm on constant rodent patrol around here. When I see signs I rebate and move a few traps. So far I'm winning. Two caught in the rig in three months and to in the basement bays. They might get in, but they don't get to hang out for long!

    Good luck.

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  12. Emma must be related to my late dog Zoe. How she could find poop, rolling it and then rub up against my leg, I'll never know.

    I see you're rising to the challenge of getting rid of the meese. You'll conquer them, after all what's a mere mouse when you've fought Murphy repeatedly and won?

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  13. "defugalties"!! I thought I was the only person in the world to use that word. Don't know where I picked it up, but use it all the time when small problems arise. Glad you had the filter on your lens. Would hate to miss all those fantastic pictures while you waited on another lens to arrive.

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  14. I am so happy it was a cover. I want one of those cameras so bad could die. I don't know why I just don't buy one already. Your first bird pictures was so real looking I caught myself moving very slowly not to make it fly away. Did I really just say that?

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  15. I looked up "defugalty", since I had never heard the word. Interestingly it isn't in the dictionary but is a word that many people have used for years. Thanks for teaching us something new!

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  16. I still vote for rodent bait! Also I wouldn't fool around with the wimpy mouse bait - go straight to the big stuff.

    I was just telling my youngest son today about giving over my flower bed in Asheville to a snake who liked it, so I'm not completely heartless except when it comes to rodents!

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  17. happy mouse hunting!!..hope this chore ends quickly!!

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  18. Maybe you didn't get the laundry done but seems you had a good day anyway...lots of nature and no broken lens. Thanks for the reminder to use a filter.

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  19. Gosh, I'm so glad your lens was not broken. I've had lens covers crack, but, for the life of me, can't figure out how it happens.

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  20. Lens filters....wouldn't leave home without em.

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  21. At least Emma doesn't eat her own scat....now that is a problem for some dogs...Glad your lens is gonna be OK...
    You need Mighty Mouse..."HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY,THAT MEANS THAT MIGHTY MOUSE IS ON THE WAY..ON THE SEA OR ON THE LAND, HE'S GOT THE SITUATION WELL IN HAND"...Sorry..couldn't resist..you do remember him, right?? ..little caped rodent in a Supermouse suit with muscles..?

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  22. Ohh not to be contrary to Gypsy's comment, but using products like Dcon don't work well in RVs...

    Wanna ask me how I know? ummm they eat the poison and look for water, and that is what kills them... the problem is when the water is in our grey plastic water lines in RV's.. The mice chew right through the line to get to the water.. and the line happened to be halfway up in the narrow encased wall between our fridge and shower stall! now talk about a bugger trying to pull out the old line, and refish the new line back up in a 2 inch wall space to reattach to the shower faucet and attach new Pex fittings! NOT fun... will never ever use Dcon again!

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

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  23. As usual wonderful pics....Have you ever published...better than most pics I see in magazines.
    Donna W.
    (dont know why but wouldnt post under my google account)

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  24. Love that you know all the names of the birds. I envy your knowledge.

    We only had a house guest once. While in Rhode Island in Sept. Got to my potatoes in a bottom cabinet. Haven't seen traces since.

    I like the idea of traps and not poison. Sure would not want a critter chewing through plastic pipes either.

    Betca hit the laundry REAL early tomorrow.

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  25. WOW happy to hear about the lens filters. WHEW! I'd hate it if your fabulous pictures weren't here.

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