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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A workout, Talleys, martins and grass

It’s been quite a busy weekend for me.  First, on Friday, I drove into the town of Anahuac and signed up for a membership at the Wellness Clinic.  That’s where I did the physical therapy on my shoulder.  My shoulder is fine, but I’m having some issues with my back that makes walking any distance a real problem.  I thought maybe if I could do some treadmill work, things might improve.  For $27/month, seniors can use the workout room, pool, and classes six days a week.  I’m not really interested in the classes, but Friday I used the treadmill and recumbent step climber.  I planned to finish up with some time in the pool, but it was closed for repairs.  I think I’ve been sitting around too much lately, and maybe that’s why I’m having some back problems.  We’ll see.

When I got home, there was an email from Nan and John Talley saying they were staying the night at the Walmart in Port Arthur, and they wondered if we could get together on Saturday.  I sent them my phone number because I had a different idea.  After we talked, they left Walmart and headed to Winnie.  I figured they could stay here overnight with electricity since the site next to me was vacated by fellow volunteers Terry and Bob while I was in Chicago.  They were up for that.

As I waited for their arrival outside with Emma, I heard a familiar sound and scanned the skies.  Sure enough, the first purple martins had arrived!  That means that migration has begun for sure, and spring is not far away.  Wahoo!

John and Nan Talley

It turned out that John and Nan didn’t arrive until well after dark, but we made plans, after they got backed into the site, for an all day tour of the refuge on Saturday.  And what a beautiful weather day we had for it!  It was pretty windy on the refuge, but the sun was shining, and we weren’t freezing to death.

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When time allows, I start visitors out at the VC to watch the movies about the refuge.  After that, we head around the Shoveler Pond auto tour route.  As with Sue and Mo when they visited, we took the boardwalk into the fresh water marsh.

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Nan recently lost her camera, so had to use her phone to try to get a picture of that baby gator that greeted us as we started out on the boardwalk.  Of course, there was a lot of jabbering away as we leisurely took our stroll.

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With the nice warm temperatures, more than alligators we out sunning themselves.  I think it might have been John that spotted this tiny red-eared slider turtle.  It was only the size of a medium sized cookie.

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And then Nan spotted another young alligator that was so well camouflaged in the muck and mire of the marsh.  I would guess that it was about a year old and probably a sibling of the first gator we saw.  Mama was probably lurking nearby, as they usually don’t send the young out on their own for at least two years.

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It was a grand day on the refuge, and we enjoyed our packed lunches out in the wilds.  After we got back to the rigs, Nan invited me over to a delicious dinner that she had prepared, and we continued our visit.  It’s been over two years since we last crossed paths just before they went fulltime.

John and Nan headed out today for Houston, and I just lazed around most of the day.  I’ve been trying to get someone to help me with the grass around the rig.  This maintenance area that I stay at is mostly cement, but there are areas of green around the RV sites, and they’ve recently gone crazy with growth.  So much so that the grassy area where Emma does her business was about 18” deep.  That was unacceptable to her as she doesn’t like to get her feet wet in the heavy dew of the morning.  Eye rolling smile  Happily, Barry and Lynn stopped over after working the VC today with a weed whacker, and we took care of the problem.  The whole area really needs a mowing, but with reduced staff numbers it’s hard to get that accomplished.  The weed whacker is too much for me to handle, and as near as I’ve been able to figure out, there isn’t any mower located here.  Grrr!  After all, I do have those steel toed boots whiling away just waiting to be used…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

26 comments:

  1. You are so casual about the gators! Do you ever get any around your rig? I'm a 1,000 miles away and they still make me nervous!

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  2. Nan and John - two of my favorite people. I loved that little tiny turtle.

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  3. That little turtle is so cute! Even the little baby gators aren't too bad, but I'm afraid of them when they grow up!

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  4. I always thought you had a special relationship with nature's wildlife. I'm disappointed that you haven't yet retrained those gators to eat the grass around your motorhome site. :cD

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  6. I guess it's obvious that I don't have a special relationship with Blogger comments and see them post in duplicate... :cO

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  7. John and Nan where sure lucky to get you as a personal guide:)

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  8. It is fun to see pictures without snow! :)

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  9. WOW! What an awesome day! I love the little turtle.

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  10. Nan and John Talley were our virtual friends until we met them in Red Bay, AL in January at the Tiffin Service Center. They went from virtual to personal friends. Nan said she might hook up with you.

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  11. Thanks again for a wonderful tour! And to neet up with you once more was pure joy. I had so much fun sharing the refuge through your eyes and being able to laugh and joke around. Those photos of me are soooo flattering!............. NOT........ It's a shame that you could not photoshop some inches off me. oh well....

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  12. Grace is the same way- prissy about going on wet grass. Glad you guys had a nice day on the refuge.

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  13. Interesting that mommy gators have their babies with them for 2 years. They seem well-equipped to be on their own much earlier. What an adventure you had with friends--a grand day out!

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  14. I don't know if you're on a health care plan, but you might check into "Silver Sneakers"..... it's a program offered to seniors that gives you access to fitness centers all over.

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  15. Glad you were able to reunite with those two and had a beautiful day for a walk. They "thought" they were going to spend two days in a Houston park, but the person who told them were to stay was exactly on mark. They are about a half hour outside Houston on the North side. The park was full, so they are staying in a Walmart. We can't even meet up because we are going to be with some other friends. Darn the bad luck.

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  16. Looks like a great tour--I want a tour from the bird lady one of these days!!

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  17. Another great tour for some of your fans. Love that young alligator picture with him hiding. Hope we'll be coming your way too this spring. You may have to start taking reservations! :-) If I weren't so busy keeping warm, winter with all the geese is another time I'd really love to visit you and hear those thundering wings, calls and the skies filled.

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  18. What a wonderful day! Awesome pics. You are wise to suspect that inactivity may be causing the back stiffness. And wise also to do something about it!

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  19. Nan and John sure hit the area at the right time. Last year (I forget when, days seem to run together) we stopped at that Visitors Center. Not opened. Thinking it was the wrong time of year. It would have been a hoot to find you there.

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  20. Would you be allowed to use your own hedge clippers or loppers? Big tools, but might come in handy on many occasions if you had room in your toad somewhere.

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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  21. Steel toed boots? Are you planning to use them on the grass that dares to grow and get Emma's feet wet!?

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  22. Gotta love a lady with steel toed boots...they should get you a mower, there'd probably be plenty to mow once you got started.

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  23. I never realized for some reason that there were gators where you are!

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  24. Sounds like a neat day. We returned to LA (Lower Alabama) yesterday, and I've been listening for the Great Crested Flycatcher, but haven't heard it whistle yet... still too early, I suppose.

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  25. How fun to see blog friends! I really think the treadmill will help your back..I tore something in my back making the bed here and had a real bad time getting up and down from the chair and in bed..but I never gave up my walk in the AM..It took a good 3-4 weeks, but it is much better...Also, a couple ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory) helped out...

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  26. Nice post.Thanks for sharing this in your blog

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