Roving in the fog and cold

It was another morning of chilly temperatures, low cloud cover, and scattered fog.  I was assigned to rove for the morning, but encountered no visitors.  That was no surprise to me.  I put today’s hybrid refuge vehicle in drive and toddled along at about five miles per hour.  I had the window down, but the heat turned up as well.

I found one of the huge fox squirrels hunkered down on the top of a burned tree stump in the middle of the pine trees and saw palmettos.  Can’t you just feel the cold wetness of this morning?

All of the birds seemed to be fluffed up to keep themselves warm including this red-shouldered hawk.  The dark dingy conditions made taking pictures a bit of a challenge.  I was surprised this raptor sat still as long as it did.

But eventually it got tired of me looking at it, and took flight.  At least it gave me a nice view of it’s red shoulders for which it was named.  On days like this when there are few visitors, and I’m just crawling along, my mind has plenty of time to conjure. 

Today I was thinking about what my brother and I will eat while I’m recuperating from surgery.  I’ve been trying to get some meals made and frozen ahead of time in preparation.  It’s been about 45 years or so since we’ve resided in the same abode, so I’m not sure of his likes, dislikes, or cooking abilities.  Seems to me the only thing I remember him preparing in the past is turkey chile with beans.  I’ve never really been a fan of chile, and I’m thinking it might not be too pleasant in this small enclosed area after consuming beans.

So far, I’ve got some turkey noodle soup, a meatloaf, and a Hamburger Helper meal frozen.  First time I’ve ever used Hamburger Helper.  I also want to make another spinach quiche, and perhaps I’ll provide the ham for the Christmas dinner here so I’ll have those leftovers.  I’ve got plenty of North Carolina shrimp on hand, and some sweet Italian sausage so I don’t think we’ll starve.

Anyway, back to my roving.  I checked out the not so ‘secret’ pond near the Homestead.  I’ve always expected to find some sandhill cranes here, and today I finally found them.  There are lots of cranes out on the wet prairies, but you have to be in a boat to see them.  I shut off the engine and just enjoyed watching them feed in the field next to the pond for about twenty minutes.

Surprisingly, the skies cleared in the afternoon.  The blue skies didn’t do much to raise the temperatures, and I only had two visitors while working the VC in the afternoon.  I have tomorrow off, and will be driving to Kingsland for groceries and such.  Don’t expect much excitement there though.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy