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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, October 5, 2012

A drive, some planning, and a beheading

I surely haven’t seen very many bears since the harvesting of the corn.  That makes me very glad that I was here during August and early September.  That seemed to be the peak of visible bear activity.  After all the business I took care of on Wednesday, Emma and I went on a slow drive through the refuge yesterday.  All of tonight’s photos are from that drive. 

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One of the most common birds found on the refuge is the Bobwhite.  I haven’t seen very many of them this year, so I was happy to try to sneak up on this one to try to get a good picture.  As I was inching down the road in the car, someone pulled up behind me and blasted his horn.  Really?  Did he think that was necessary on this little back road?  I pulled over to the side, and he left me in a spray of gravel and dust.  Needless to say, that was the end of seeing the little quail.  Sad smile

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We didn’t see any bears at all on this little journey, but as usual lots of turtles were out sunning themselves in the roadside water ditches.  I try to drive along these ditches pretty slowly just in case I get a chance to see some kind of rail skulking through the shallow waters.

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As Emma and I sat outside last early evening, I brought out my maps and Passport America book.  It was time to start planning my drive to Okefenokee NWR in Georgia.  I’ll have about two weeks to get there, so I’ll be taking my time covering the miles.  No danger of PDD (Paul Dahl Disorder) here.  Right now, I believe I’ll drive about 140 miles the first day to arrive at Kampers Lodge Campground/RV Park in Wilson, NC.  I might stay there two nights to do a little sightseeing in the area.  Then I’ll head into South Carolina.

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I’m not sure yet where I’ll stay, but I want to visit Bishopville.  A couple of weeks ago I watched a DVD from Netflix that was titled “A Man Named Pearl”.  It’s a documentary about a black man from Bishopville, SC, that is now famous for his topiary sculptures.  Since it is not too far off of I-95, I’ve decided I’m going to try to see his property.

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George went to get the shrimp fresh off of the shrimping boat today.  He rapped on my door this afternoon to hand me the ten pounds that I had ordered.  So, the two of us had a shrimp beheading party.  I had never done this before, but wearing my rubber gloves it didn’t take too long at all.  I guess it’s all in the wrist!  Eye rolling smile  We sat outside beyond the electric fence to accomplish this and share a ‘heads only’ garbage bucket.  I’m sure glad I didn’t have the 50 pounds to do that he did.

Before I forget, if you don’t have anything better to do, I’m going to suggest you tune into the Discovery channel tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern to watch “Winged Planet.”  I saw a preview on the NBC Nightly News last night, and it promises to be an outstanding show.  It will give a view of our world through the eyes of flying birds.  So, if you’ve ever wanted to soar like an eagle, you’d better tune in.

I guess I’d better end this post.  I have ten pounds of shrimp to de-shell and get that nasty vein out of tonight before I give my new food sealer its first job.  I think it will probably take a bit longer than the beheading party did…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

16 comments:

  1. Holy Shrimpoly!..I HATE cleaning and deveining those little suckers!! But the taste may just justify the "kitchen detail", eh??

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  2. Glad to hear you are able to avoid PDD in your travels. I'm not sure I would want to go to a beheading party.

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  3. Was a little concerned when I saw a beheading in your title. Glad you had the fun of that and not me. :-)

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  4. When you get to Kampers Lodge, ask Mouse (the owner) if you can see her basket. Then show her yours.
    Lots to see in the area. The City rose garden for one, with the whirlygig.

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  5. love the bobwhites... not as many in the south as there used to be because of the fire ant and the fact they are ground nesters... not get for the freshly hatched babies... enjoy the shrimp they are very, very expensive here on the west coast...

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  6. I saw the the preview for “Winged Planet" also. It does look like it is going to be great.

    I would beheading a shrimp any day. I LOVE them!!! Enjoy

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  7. I love to cook, but I'm not sure I would enjoy processing the shrimp. It reminds me of all the excess produce I had to clean, can and freeze when we had a big garden. I like to buy just what I need now.

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  8. Great picture of the dragonfly. I think I have said before how I am partial to this winged beauty. I wonder if the guy laying on the horn had a touch of PDD...NOT that Paul would actually use his horn.

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  9. Why can't people drive to enjoy the scenery? I encounter that all the time. So much beauty out there to see.
    I hate to devain shrimp what a task but the end result sure makes for some good eating.

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  10. Horn? What's a horn?

    When I read your post title about beheading I thought maybe you made a wrong turn out driving and ended up at the Tower of London. :c)

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  11. My brother lives in Wilson NC, so I can't wait to hear about the campground. We told him
    since Art has retired we will be down to see them. That was exciting news.
    I loved seeing the quail. There used to be alot here in Indiana but the predators have
    practically wiped them out :(

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  12. Thanks for the tip on the show. We have it set to record. When we were in Myakka this summer, I was trying to get a picture of a hawk and some guy did the same thing. Honked and spun past me like they were headed for fire. Really?

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  13. This is one time that relying solely on OTA TV signals is a drawback. But it's rare that we don't have anything and we save a bundle on Sat TV fees so guess I don't feel too bad missing that show :)

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  14. Now I know why we always buy shrimp 'ready to go'! Beheading and de-veining sounds like a pretty disgusting job but what do I know as I've never done either!!

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  15. We are in Chincoteague Island and only have our TV antenna and we are not able to get it. We are really looking forward to getting shrimp when we get in your area. We have our deveiner and we are ready to go.

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  16. Wearing rubber gloves make the work a bit easier and faster, right? It skips the part where you would feel the texture of what you’re holding, thus, it would not get in the way of doing the work. Aside from that, it prevents you from having possible allergic reactions; case in point was beheading the shrimp. By the way, how did the de-shelling go?

    Malinda Chaudhry

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