I'm pooped!

I was on the road this morning in the dense fog by 7:00.  It was a 50 mile drive through the hills to the Country Store restaurant where we all met before heading out for a day of birding.  12 people joined me in the refuge van and we headed for the water treatment plant in Burnet, TX.  A member of the Upper Hill Country Bird and Flower Society had made arrangements for us to be allowed in.  Normally, the public is not allowed.  Water treatment plants are quite often some of the better places to go birding.  However, the fog was so thick this morning that the ducks that were on the ponds were barely visible, and as we approached, they paddled away into the mist.  An employee was waiting patiently in a truck for us to finish so he could lock up the gates behind us.  That eliminated our idea of coming back after the fog lifted. 

We headed off for a ranch that is in the ecotourism business.  Since the group had reservations, we were met by the owners and guided on a hike through the ranch after spending some time on the patio viewing the visitors to their numerous bird feeders.  The woodpeckers especially liked the tall slender tree stump that was plastered with peanut butter.  I think the hike was a little under two miles which included an interesting and muddy creek crossing.  I'm sure glad I wore my oldest shoes. Texans in this area are experiencing unusually high water levels after almost two years of severe drought.  The ranch does an excellent job of maintaining trails, bird feeders, and water devices for wildlife.  I'm thinking I'd like to come back during the spring migration.

We got back a little late to the restaurant for lunch, but none of the food was prepared ahead (other than the soup), so everything was hot and fresh.  For a little restaurant out in the middle of nowhere, they were a little overwhelmed with twenty starving birders descending on them at the same time.  Of course, they knew we were coming, and had put on extra staff for the lunch.  I had a delicious hamburger.

By the time everyone got fed, it was 2:30.  We headed to the nearby Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery, and hiked around all of the ponds and down along the Colorado river.  It was great to spend a day with a bunch of enthusiastic birders, and the stipend I received for being the bird guru will just about pay for the tire I had to buy yesterday.  A profitable day in more than one way!  :)

After ten hours in her crate, Emma was more than happy to see me return and we spent the remainder of today's daylight outside.  This is the first time that I have left her for such an extended period, but she did fine.  Since she's been so cooped up, I'm sure the TV won't have the only Olympics happening tonight.  :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

Fish, oatmeal, and beef.

Sounds like selections on a menu, doesn't it?  Well, I experienced all three things today and it didn't have anything to do with eating.  I picked up Peggy this morning around 9:00, at the Flying X, and we headed out in the rain for Burnet, TX.  That's where the bird tour I'll be guiding on Saturday will begin.  As I said yesterday, I wanted to check out the locations where the tour will go ahead of time.  We only had one wrong turn and detour before arriving at the County Store where the tour will begin.  Since we didn't have very good directions, we went inside to ask where the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery was.  Of course, we had to buy some fresh bakery items to fuel our journey.  :)

FISH....This is a foggy, overcast view of the fish pond areas of the hatchery.  Since we were traveling in an official Fish and Wildlife vehicle, we were given a personal tour of the hatchery grounds.  The staff was aware that there would be a bird tour coming on Saturday, and they showed me the best places to take the group to observe birds.  That was a great help to me since I've never been here before.

This National Fish Hatchery raises several kinds of fish including catfish, striped bass, trout, and another species that I can't recall this evening.  Behind this pond, you can barely see the outline of the Texas hills.  The Colorado River borders the hatchery and I will take the group down along its bank.  We observed scaup, egrets, an osprey, and a grebe, through the rain, during our drive. The forecast for Saturday is for much more pleasant conditions, so I'm hoping that will result in better birding.

We checked out the other two places that the tour will go, but didn't have access to them today.  One is on a ranch and the other is at the local water treatment plant.  I feel better after having located where I'll be going.

After stopping for lunch, we headed back toward the refuge via a slightly different route.

OATMEAL....Since we took a back road on our return journey, we were able to go through the town of Oatmeal, Texas.  This town is very small, and about the only things around are this oatmeal (?) tank and the town cemetery.  I don't think they raise oats around here, so don't know how this town got it name.  I'm thinking it took us less than three minutes to go through there.  :)

After I dropped Peggy off at the Flying X, I decided to take the more scenic route back to headquarters. 

BEEF....If you were reading my blog last year at about this time, you will recognize that I was traveling down aptly named Cow Creek Road. 

I just love looking at these Texas longhorns.  There's such history in their breed.  Cow Creek Road doesn't have a lot of traffic, and I'm happy about that.  These longhorns wander along the road, and there is great birding along this ten mile stretch of back country as well.  Last year when I was here during the drought, there wasn't much water in the creek, but today, the creek was rushing along and there was water crossing the road at several places.  I'll be sure to go back down this road again when the rain stops to take some pictures of the scenic areas the creek has cut through this canyon.

What an enjoyable adventure today was despite the rain.  I'm looking forward to leading that bird tour on Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy