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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, December 15, 2011

A memorable day

Many of my days on various refuges are memorable, but today marked a milepost in my volunteering career.  The morning was spent moving all the educational materials from the community building at the RV sites to the new headquarters building.  Four vehicles were jam packed with boxes and materials for the 20 mile transfer.  After unloading about half of the stuff, it was time to head to a local restaurant in Anahuac for the farewell luncheon for Barbara and James and myself.  After a delicious lunch, we were recognized for our contributions to the refuge.

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For me, it marked a total of 4000 volunteers hours served at eight different refuges for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  I received an engraved rotating photo block.  Stephanie had gone to the trouble of printing and inserting four photos from my blog that I had taken at Anahuac this year.  What a special remembrance of my times here and at all the other refuges.  It is now ensconced in a special place in the rig atop the beautiful doily that LOREE  made for me.

After that, Stephanie informed the three of us that we had a choice of what to do this afternoon.  We could continue to unload the educational boxes, or we could head for the East Unit to watch this month’s aerial count of the waterfowl.  You know what my choice was!  I traded vehicles with one of the other volunteers since the Suburban wasn’t emptied yet, and off we went.

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We had to make a brief stop back at the rigs because James hasn’t learned yet to not leave home without his camera.  Winking smile  We chose a spot to wait that wasn’t too close to the waterfowl to disturb them.  You just never know for sure where the largest flocks are going to be.  Those darn birds have wings.  It turned out the major huge flocks were southeast of the spot we chose, but it sure beat unloading boxes.

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While we were waiting for the plane to arrive, I glanced out the passenger’s window and punched James in the arm.  I wanted him to turn and look to the right.  There was a healthy coyote giving us the once over.

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That coyote was curious enough about us to allow me to sneak out of the vehicle and get a pic of him/her from behind the back bumper.  We were probably parked along its normal traveling route as it hung around for quite some time.  Wild animals are creatures of habit just as we are.

64 Anahuac NWR 201122

After the fly by, we continued down the East Unit roads in search of getting a mottled duck picture for Stephanie.  They are so skittish that we didn’t see any close enough for a photo.  There was a great cooperative ruddy duck along the way however.  I love the way they hold their tail feathers up in the air.  Next spring, this guy will sport rusty red plumage and a bright blue beak._MG_4923We found plenty of mosquitoes on our drive, and this nice flock of white-fronted geese, but no mottled ducks today.  Barbara and James are heading out on Monday.  I’ll miss them.  We’ve had a great time together out and about on the refuge, and they’re always ready for an adventure.  I hope to volunteer again with them sometime.

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                                                                                 THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

31 comments:

  1. A memorable day indeed! Congratulations on 4000 hours. What an amazing contribution! Fabulous photos of the very handsome coyote.

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  2. That Ruddy Duck is really cool....if our posture was like theirs, we'd be lookin good! Up until about a month ago, we has coyotes in our pasture!

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  3. OOps! congratulations on your 4000 hours! How neat.

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  4. That's a really nice looking photo box. Are you leaving this site already, it doesn't seem like you were there too long this year?

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  5. I love you "The End" photos and congratulations on your awards for 4000 hours. That is a huge contribution.

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  6. Nice photo's of the coyote, distinctly different than the ones we see around Dogpound North on a daily basis though.

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  7. 4000 hours - wow. That is definitely a milestone. That coyote is one of the prettiest I've seen in a long time. Most of them look so scraggly. Where are we headed next? I've forgotten.

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  8. Congratulations on the 4000 hours. That's something to really be proud of. You've made a difference and had an impact at the refuges where you've served. You go, girl!

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  9. Congratulations and thank you for all your volunteering. What a nice gift they had for you. I love the coyote pictures. I know they are predators and hate to think of them taking a pet, but I have to admire their adaptability, intelligence, and beauty. They sure help out with keeping the rodent population in check.

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  10. I sure don't like coyotes, but this guy is a gorgeous creature. He sure looks healthy, not at all scraggly like most of the ones I've seen. He is actually a pretty animal.

    Great shots today, as usual.

    Congratulations on your 4,000 volunteer hours. Thank goodness for volunteers like you! :)

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  11. Congratulations!!! 4000 hours is certainly a milestone to celebrate.

    Love the ruddy duck...in almost all my photos of ruddys, they are sleeping!!

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  12. I always look forward to your blog Judy and to seeing going on in your life. You sure had some day today. What an achievement, 4000 hours! And what a nice way to thank you. The photo block is great. Thanks from me too. NWR's are among my very favorite places and I always try to find a campground close enough to visit and, if I can, kayak them.

    As always your wildlife pictures are just wonderful. What a handsome coyote. That bushy tail was a great ending!

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

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  13. I'm sure you have built some great memories in those 4000 hours! I hope you get to enjoy many more in many new places.

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  14. Congrats on your 4000 hour milestone!!..way to go Judy!!!

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  15. Its nice that they showed their appreciation with picture cube and a nice lunch.

    Last week I was on my way down to the lower end of the village and a coyote was just wondering around. He sure looked bad, skinny. I sure keep my eyes peeled when walking Fred.

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  16. Congratulations, Judy! The NWRs are lucky to have you as a volunteer.

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  17. I will echo everybody else's words of congratulations on the 4000 hours of volunteer work. JFK's memorable words come to mind: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!" You exemplify this spirit perfectly.

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  18. Congratulations Judy! Thanks for all of your volunteering time, for the counted hours and for all of those many unacknowledged events that go along with every volunteering experience. I find your efforts to be inspiring!

    John
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  19. What a wonderful day and a very special tribute you received. As usual, your photos are awesome! The coyote's eyes . . . rather haunting. Beautiful!

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  20. Congratulations on the milestone achievement. Hard work and fun rolled into one ... not something you often see combined.

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  21. 4,000 hours is a mighty long time. Good job well done.

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  22. Those Coyote pics were "National Geographic" worthy photos...He was absolutely spectacular!..and looked like he had been eating well, nice and filled out! Get some pics of the wildlife at Tickfaw, but there isn't as much as there.

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  23. Congrats on your well deserved award as 4,000 hours is quite an accomplishment.

    Great Coyote pics!

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  24. Congratulations, what a nice gift! Love the coyote pictures.

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  25. Wow, 4,000 hours is a great accomplishment. The coyote photos reminded me of our work camping gig in California, they had the biggest, healthiest coyotes I'd ever seen, not like the small skinny guys out on the desert.

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  26. Congratulations on the award. It is so great that you give your time to the refuges.

    Really nice pictures of the coyote.

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  27. Wow, 4000 hours! You are one of the special people that make this country so great. Thanks for all your hard work.

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  28. Congratulations! 4000 hours that's 5.5 + months, if it were 24/7. Wow that IS an accomplishment.

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  29. Congratulations & what a cool gift! So neat that they chose pics from your blog too. And I'm surprised you got such good shots of the Coyote. That is one healthy looking one for sure! Guess he gets a duckie diet...

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  30. Congratulations Judy. Now in addition to trying to become as good a photographer as you, I have to try to catch you on your hours. (I only got to 3000 on my tour at Anahuac)

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