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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

♫ ♪ “Some Days are Diamonds” ♫

♪ “Some Days are Stones” ♫  Do you remember that tune from John Denver?  Well, today was definitely a Diamond day for me.  Along about 9:30, Gay and Joe came over to my rig to pick me up for a tour of the refuge.  Gay and Joe write a blog that I follow, and I’m always up for a meet and greet, and a chance to show off the refuge.  Little did I know what a great day it was going to turn out to be.

Joe and Gay Taylor

When they arrived, they brought me a bag of black oil sunflower seeds for the Hard Rock Bird Café.  What a surprise that was!  Then they fawned over my ‘wild child’, Emma.  Okay, I think I’m really going to like these folks.  Winking smile 

That was just the beginning.  Next, we all hopped into their Jeep and headed off on a grand circle tour that I had planned.  First stop was the new Visitors Center in Anahuac.  This was my first time to ever ride in a Jeep.  I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to crawl into it, but Joe provided a step stool for us vertically challenged individuals.  To my surprise, Gay is a tad shorter than I am, so that step stool goes with the Jeep.

After our ‘virtual’ ride in an air boat to view the movie at the VC, we headed for the refuge.  When I take folks on a tour of the refuge, I put my interest in getting pictures on a back burner so they can best enjoy what they see.  As we made our way around the Shoveler Pond Auto Drive, it became apparent to me that Gay and Joe are my kind of people.  They drove slowly, and stopped often for photo opportunities.  All the while, we chit chatted and shared experiences.

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After doing most of the roads on the main refuge entrance, I directed them over to the eastern Skillern Tract where temps had risen enough for us to get out to walk around some.  It was a treat for me to have visitors interested in photographing all the birds we found.  Here we were chasing after getting some shots of a vermillion flycatcher.  I’ll be interested to see the shots that Gay got.  Note the camera strap that Gay is wearing.

75 Anahuac NWR 2013-20149

We then walked the handicapped accessible trail to an overlook of the marsh.  The bird highlight of the day for me was the orange-crowned warbler that was working the fencing boards of the overlook.

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Joe asked me what I thought this little bird was doing.  My answer?  Picking off spiders and such from the areas under the railing.  This little guy systematically worked each crevasse.  Obviously a good strategy for finding a meal.

Unbelievably, after admiring Gay’s Blackrapid camera strap, they had me try it on to see how I liked it.  Then, they gave it to me!  I was going to order one from Amazon, but they insisted I take the one they had as they would soon be in Tucson, AZ, to buy another one.  This is a fantastic contraption that saves your neck from the weight of a camera.  I couldn’t believe their generosity.  You hear about people giving you the shirt off of their backs, and this was similar.  What a wonderful couple.  I was humbled.

We had such a good time, I wished that they were staying in the area longer.  It was one of those instances where you immediately hit it off with some folks and things just gel.  I sure hope we are able to hook up again many times somewhere down the road.

Then when I got home, I had another surprise waiting for me.

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Daer Grandma Bell,  You mabee don’t whot to go to our house, Beecause we may have ghosts?  But you can come if you want.   from Seth

In my mailbox was a letter from my second oldest grandson Seth.  He is in first grade.  Isn’t it just precious?  How do you answer a letter like this?  Ghosts?  On my!  It just makes me chuckle every time I read it, and I’ve reread it a lot!  I just love Seth.  He got his heart’s desire of a pet rat for Christmas. Surprised smile  We had a long discussion about this in a phone conversation.  I’m glad I’m going back to Minnesota next summer so I can see him again, but in the meantime, I need to answer this letter…

It was definitely a Diamond day!

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                                                                                THE END!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

36 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh that letter is just toooo precious!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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  2. That note from your grandson is a treasure!!! I wonder why he thinks his house is haunted? You had one of those memorable days that you will look back on from time to time and smile.

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  3. A really nice day and people:) I trust the rat was really a guinea pig:)

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  4. I say it was a diamond, ruby and emerald day! What a wonderful visit from some mighty thoughtful friends.

    Love the letter. Don't kids say the funniest and cutest things.

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  5. What a wonderful day. I'm happy for you and your new friends.
    The Seth letter is absolutely precious. I think I might answer with some inventive and creative good ghost stories - maybe fairies or something like that. I'd surely ask him to tell me more about 'his' ghosts. It sounds like Seth may be prepping to be a great story teller.

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  6. WOW! How do I even respond to your kind words. We fell so fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know you. Meeting you in person was so natural...thank you for spending your day with us, sharing your knowledge with us, and for the wonderful contribution you make as a volunteer. Anahuac is a beautiful refuge.

    I am still sorting through hundreds of photos...enjoying every minute and the memories made.

    Seth's letter is priceless! I hope you let us know why he thinks he has ghosts...

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  7. Grandkids are terrific!

    I think I've asked you before, but what camera do you use to take those wonderful bird shots? I'm in the market!

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  8. Wonderful day indeed! I've never seen one of those straps before, but as much as you carry your camera, I'll bet you'll wonder how you got along without it. Way cool!

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  9. A diamond day indeed ... do share your experience with the strap after you've used it for a while. I have a cotton carrier, which works very nicely, but am looking for something that takes up less space in my camera bag for longer trips.

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  10. Great blog. Nice meeting folks with similar interests. And very generous too. Love to see a close up shot of the strap.

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  11. What a great visit you had with these wonderful people. The bird shots are fantastic. I'll have to look them up and maybe meet them when they hit Tucson.

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  12. I still have notes written to me from Megan, our oldest grand. So glad that you heard from Seth.

    It is so much fun to meet fellow bloggers. And it is so hard to tell them goodbye not knowing when we will meet again.

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  13. What a diamond day, indeed... oh little Seth! how cute is that.... pet rat .. oh, me... adorable. What a generous gesture! by your friends. and I love your little notes... how did you get those... I'll find out ~ fun

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  14. better bring your ghost busters outfit...

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  15. What a great day... from beginning to end! Of course now we're all waiting to hear about the ghosts....

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  16. Love the letter - yes, want to hear about the ghosts. And that was one hungry warbler!

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  17. That camera strap sounds interesting. Is it the "kick" model?

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  18. Love the letter from Seth but would love to hear his story behind the ghosts even more.

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  19. You certainly had a perfect day.

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  20. I would take that kind of day anytime! Perfect!

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  21. I have to get one of those orange crowned warblers for my grandson Owie. He's terrified of spiders, but ghosts don't bother him one bit!

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  22. Man, I think that camera strap is the bee's knees!! We have a heavy Kodak and it kills my neck, but takes some pretty good photos for an old camera...What a perfect ending to a great day...a letter from a grand!!!

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  23. Ghosts, eh? I hope you'll take a pic of your reply to Seth. We need to find out WHY he sent you a letter about ghosts!

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  24. Seems like you're getting quite a few visitors lately. Hope you can handle two more :) Saturday afternoon would be good for us. Around 1:00. We can meet you at the visitor center. You can email me through the link on my blog if that's easier. We look forward to meeting you!

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  25. I couldn't tell from the picture if the camera strap is like the binocular straps that go over your shoulders and across your back. With the big cameras you two pros have the strap around your neck would be really heavy. What a wonderful day, it's just like that sometimes when people click. It's wonderful! Your grandson's letter just made me smile! Kids are so cute at that age.

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  26. Sounds like you had a really awesome day! Glad you hit it off so well with Gay and Joe.

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  27. I want to see a photo of that strap! It looks like a wonderful addition for anyone with a heavy camera. They have lots of different straps...I wonder which one you were gifted! That was a super nice gift!! Loved your bird photos. Still kinda cold at -17 F tonight...maybe tomorrow we will get above zero...maybe, but it supposed to be windy..darn. Stay warm")

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  28. That sounds like a super day. And the letter was just icing on the cake. Two of my granddaughters have rats for pets and they are really quite cute. Wouldn't want to do any cage cleaning but petting and holding the rats is fun.

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  29. What a happy day! Sounds like so much fun and how sweet to come home to a letter like that! You'll have fun answering that one for sure.

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  30. What a great day for you, cherish that letter.

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  31. Is that camera strap the kind you use with binoculars? I tried one of those with my heavy Canon and it was OK while I was actively taking photos, but is didn't go over my shoulder while I walked and so I had to constantly hold on to the camera. What do you think?

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  32. May I ask a favor please. Would you post a picture of the camera strap please?

    Thank you,
    Rex

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  33. Beautiful photos and what a perfect day ya'll had! I love Gay's blog and yours!

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  34. A diamond day indeed, and one of the better "the end" photos.

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