An Anahuac Avian Adios!

Alliteration, don’t you just love it?  I was off to the VIS this morning under cloudy, windy skies.  There were not many people visiting the refuge today, and my sales for the day amounted to exactly zero!  That’s the first time I’ve been skunked here.  At least I didn’t have any interruptions as I entered the data into a spreadsheet for all the bird surveys I’ve done.  :)  That took me about four hours to accomplish.

The territory of this mockingbird surrounds the VIS, so this afternoon I decided to try to get his picture.  His feathers are a little rumpled due to the wind, but he remains vigilant in defending his territory.  Soon, he’ll start singing 101 different songs to attract a mate.

After work, I decided to take one last drive on the roads at this end of the refuge.  I guess I startled this family of blue winged teals. (click to enlarge)

There was also a brown pelican fishing Oyster bayou.  That doesn’t happen that often this far up the bayou.

A crested caracara took flight as I approached.  He is one of nature’s garbage men.  If an animal dies, he and the vultures clean up the remains.  I think he’s a little more stylish looking than the vultures.

 

As I drove the road towards Frozen Point, I stopped to enjoy this snowy egret procuring his evening meal.

Good things come to those who wait!  Mmmm…fresh fish!

 

Adios amigos, and thanks for giving me such a wonderful display for the last three months! 

 

I probably won’t post tomorrow night, as I’ll be getting all those last things done after working at the VIS.  Guess you’ll hear from me again once I get to Louisiana.  That’s a new state for me.  I’m looking forward to trying a shrimp Po-boy.  :)

 

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

The eggs are ready!

When I’m getting ready to head down the road, I boil up some eggs.  That’s one of the things I did today.  There’s nothing like a hard boiled egg sandwich for lunch in some rest area.  I seem to recall that AL of the Bayfield Bunch also eats a lot of hard boiled eggs when he travels.  I think maybe he goes a little overboard with having them everyday, but sometimes you just can’t get too much of a good thing.  :)

Since I’m working the VIS this weekend, I’ve started my pack up duties today.  The laundry is done, and most everything outside has been packed away except Emma’s tie out.  Fellow volunteer, Bob, took all the extend a stay propane tanks into town today to be filled, so that saved me a trip.  I called my mail service to change addresses, and did the changing the sheets battle with the bed.  I’ll wait until late Sunday afternoon to give the rig one last vacuuming, pack up the DISH satellite, dump the tanks, and hook up the toad.  I sure hope the forecasted rain for Sunday doesn’t materialize.

I’ve decided to replace the Norcold refrigerator in the rig with a household model at my first stop in Louisiana.  That being said, I’ve been on a mission the last two weeks to limit my grocery shopping, and use up as much food as possible that is in the frig.  Of course, that involved defrosting the freezer, and doing a purge.  I stood on my stool and found some things in the recesses of the freezer that were destined for the garbage can.  It’s amazing how much stuff gets forgotten about up in the freezer.  The door is above my head, so I have a tendency to just stand on my toes and grab what is within reach.  :)   Hmmm…I’m thinking maybe a frig with the freezer on the bottom would be a good idea for me?

I think I’m moving on just in the knick of time.  For several weeks, helicopters have been hovering above nearby fields, and crews have been erecting four foot spikes with some kind of sensors attached.  I wasn’t sure what that was all about.  Then, two days ago the seismic booms began.  Remember the sonic booms of the 70’s that would rattle the windows of your house?  Well these seismic booms rattle the earth you are standing on like mini earthquakes!  There’s also a loud boom.  Some have rattled the motorhome.  It’s kind of irritating to say the least.  I guess they’re looking for oil or something.  Who knows how long this will go on, so it’s just another reason that I’m happy to be hitting the road again.

I’m getting excited about going somewhere new.  My first time at a refuge is always filled with lots of learning and “seeing” things anew.  So now, I “have eggs…will travel!”  :)

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

Sea shells on the sea shore

One of the many blogs that I read is written by ANN.  I met John and Ann this summer while I was staying at Red Rock RV Park in Idaho.  They are spending the winter near Rockport, TX, and recently found a beach down there with a mother lode of sea shells.  When I read her post this afternoon, it brought back memories of the last time I had the joy of walking an ocean beach looking for shells.

It was back in the summer of 2007, and I was volunteering at Pea Island NWR and Alligator River NWR.

What a summer that was!  This was the view of the Atlantic right out my front window.  Pea Island is located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I spent a little over a month living on the shore.

This was a display in the Visitor’s Center, but it truly depicts the sea turtle nest hatchlings ‘boiling’ to the surface of the beach.

Volunteers would monitor each nest and construct a runway for the hatchlings to reach the ocean.  We would arrive at the nest at 7:00 at night and stay until midnight.  These sea turtles always hatch at night and need to be protected from the ghost crabs that will kill them all before they reach the water.  If you’re lucky enough to be there on a night that the eggs hatch, you have to literally beat the crabs off with a stick!  One of the nights that I was on watch, an entire nest hatched.  It was an exhilarating experience to insure that all little turtles made it to the sea.

On a different day, I helped band 500 young brown pelicans on an island off the coast.  The young pelicans were not real happy about this, and showed their disdain by emitting foul substances from both ends!  Those big pouches that they have feel like the softest kid glove leather.

After a month or so, I moved over to sister refuge, Alligator River, and had other creatures to contend with.  This mother black bear with three cubs came into the RV pads when we neglected to make sure the electric fence was turned on one day at lunch time.  We never forgot again.  :)

 

I know some of you may remember some of these pics from when I did my Sunday Blast from the Past posts about a year and a half ago, but then again maybe you don’t.  :)  Anyway,  ANN talking about collecting shells took me mentally back to that time on Pea Island.

 

It was cold and rainy and windy when I drove in to open the VIS this morning.  Absolutely no one was visiting, and who could blame them?  The wind out of the east kept getting stronger and stronger, and I began to worry about my slide toppers back at the rig.  Then the electricity went out!  I was plunged into darkness, and no way to heat the VIS shed.  I waited almost an hour, and then decided to close up and head for home. 

 

For a minute, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get all the way into the rig.  Once I pried the door open, it flew open and I was stuck in the doorway trying to hang onto the door, and get it closed with my computer backpack wedged against the side of the door frame.  Time seemed to stand still as I struggled to get the door shut against the wind, and Emma kept trying to lick my face!  Ugh! 

 

I did finally get it closed, and then I tried to get the slide outs in.  The bedroom slide came in easily, but the big living room slide would only come partially in.  I tried three times.  Ugh, again!  Okay, so I took a big breathe and waited for what I thought was a slight lull in wind.  The fourth try worked, thank goodness.  It’s not unusual for it to be windy in Texas, but today was ridiculous!! 

 

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