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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

I can’t believe it!

How do you feel when you get a late night phone call?  My usual thought is, “This can’t be good news.”  Well, my phone rang just a little before 11:00 last night.  As I was crossing the room to pick up the phone, I was almost dreading it.  It was my oldest son, Daniel, and this is what he said, “ Mom, you won!”   I couldn’t believe it.  Apparently the Bears vs. Cowboys football game had just ended and the Bears won.

IMG_5224                                                                               White Ibis

That may not sound like much, but if you’ll remember, Dan talked me into joining his fantasy football league last fall.  I seldom if ever watch football, and joined more for the reason that we would chat about our choices each week.  I’ve pretty much been running at the bottom of the pack all these weeks, but surely enjoyed our weekly calls to each other.  This week, I somehow ended up choosing 15 out of 16 winners correctly.  That meant I was number one for picks for the week in this fantasy league and will soon be receiving a check for just under $150!  Wahoo!!  The stars must have been aligned just right last Wednesday when I made my picks.

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                                            Chased up some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks today.

Today I was off with the staff biologist, Patrick, to get familiar with the twelve or thirteen different areas on the refuge that I’ll be surveying for bird counts this winter and next spring.  Now this is an assignment right up my alley.

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                                                                             Off they go!

I’ll be participating in documenting bird populations for the Integrated Waterbird Management and Monitoring Initiative (IWMM) of the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways.  I’m excited about it, and know I’ll enjoy it each week.  The weather tomorrow sounds pretty good, so I’ll be up and out early to get started.

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   The birds didn’t fly very far, and joined their cousins, the fulvous whistling ducks, on one of the levies.

Going back to late night phone calls, I can remember one other call I got that was good news.  I think it was in 2003, and I was in bed asleep after a hard days work.  My, now, son in law, Dennis, called to ask permission for my daughter Robyn’s hand in marriage.  Since I liked Dennis and knew he loved my daughter, I, of course, granted his request.  One of those memorable and good decisions in life as I now have little Avery and Phoebe as a result.  So, I guess not all calls in the middle of the night are bad.

I leave you tonight with a portrait of one of my neighbors.  Seems he wasn’t too thrilled with me taking his picture as he stuck his tongue out at me!  Do you think he knows I’m not a native Texan?

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Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

42 comments:

  1. thanks for the "good news post"...!! made me happy...and congrats on the win!

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  2. I always love your posts... but this one, in particular, put a huge smile on my face. Hope that lottery paid off big-time.... but especially love the up-coming duck assignment. Hope the weather cooperates and makes it a lot of fun. As for that long-horn... aren't they beautiful?

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  3. I bet your Amazon account is all a flitter with anticipation. What ever will you buy!?! Loved the birdie pics today.... Think your neighbor was just taunting you to come closer!!

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  4. So you've been sandbagging in the pool all season waiting for the really big bucks. Time to double up.

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  5. Great post:) In my working life, late night calls were always bad news. Sounds like you will be doing the kind of work on the refuge that is right up your alley. Maybe you should buy a power ball ticket!

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  6. Congratulations!! Love the flying whistling ducks photos.

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  7. Well I'll be damned. And I thought you didn't really know anything about football so I couldn't imagine what you could talk to Daniel about. Well what great thing are you going to buy yourself with your winnings?? I assume this league cost something to join initially. I imagine you've gotten yours back. Way to go! Just fabulous pictures of the Whistling Ducks taking off. I can never get good flight pictures. Love your long horn. He's actually very handsome although I might prefer my last the end picture a tad more. LOL

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  8. It was for sure your lucky day! Can't wait for you to start your new assignment. Have a great day tomorrow!

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  9. Yippee!! I've had many late night not good phone calls so my heart and stomach plummet when the phone rings at night. Glad yours was good news.

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  10. In my past career, those late night phone calls meant I had to go in to work. I wish I had received a nice call like you got, I'm betting you'll try again next go round! :c)

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  11. I think Russ is in the wrong fantasy league - no big bucks for him...course I guess he would need to win first!! Congrats.

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  12. Congrats on the win! I can count on less than one hand the gambling 'wins' I've had in 64 years.

    Isn't it unnerving they way cows can tell things like that! :-)

    Love the Roseate shot!

    Cheers,
    Peter
    A retired photographer looks at life from behind an RV steering wheel.
    Life Unscripted

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  13. Yep, he can smell out the non-natives. Around Christmas time, I have always wanted to hang something from the horns though. Never got close enough... probably because they scare the heck out of me when you get close and realize how big they are and how those long horns can whack off your head. Carla - aka A Native Texan - and proud to be one.

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  14. Wow!!! Those are some wicked horns!!!!

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  15. Congratulations on the big win! You are sounding excited about the work you will be doing - that's great!

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  16. Congratulations! Lucky numbers you picked for sure.
    I have never heard of or seen whistling ducks before. I can't wait to see more pictures of your bird counts.

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  17. love the pics...I hate late calls, by the time my heart stops racing I can barely take in the news

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  18. Congrats on your big win..way to go! You did good for not knowing what you were doing:)

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  19. Cool! It's nice to win especially if you're not overly into it. Love the cow shot, I'm pretty sure he knows.

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  20. Congratulations on your fantasy football win!

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  21. Hiss on the Cowboys losing but yay for your win... and well, yeah, the Longhorn wasn't happy with your yaying over the Cowboys' loss

    How sweet that your now SIL called to ask...

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  22. You should do something special with your winnings! Spoil yourself a little.

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  23. Wahooooo, good for you. Treat yourself to something extra!!!!

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  24. I don't think I've ever had a good late night phone call. Congrats on yours!

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  25. we turn our phones off at night..no matter if it's good or bad the news can wait til morning! Congrats on your win and I love the longhorn, such massive racks

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  26. We gotta love our Chicago Bears!! As for middle of the night calls...never had a good one...NEVER!

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  27. Love the Longhorn. They are great looking animals, they seem to say I'm proud to be a Texan.

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  28. My reaction to late night calls are the same ... can't be good news. In our case, it's often Mui's mom or aunt calling from Turkey, neglecting to remember that we're 7, 8,or 9 hours ahead of them depending on where we are in the US. :-)

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  29. The Bears really came through this week for you. Congratulations! I love all your photos today. Like others I think the Texas Longhorn was not too crazy about your win. He really is sticking his tongue out at you. LOL!

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  30. I am glad the total collapse of my cowboys brought someone good fortune :)

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  31. Got envious about the bird counts! So glad you won the fantasy league contest! The longhorn looks friendly, doesn't he?

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  32. Love this post and congratulations on your wind-fall! I remember going to the horse races one time with a whole group of women, none of whom knew anything about horse racing. We'd bet on the horse whose jockey was wearing the pink shirt, or the horse who didn't have to wear blinders. The point to this is I started out with $25 to bet with and went home with about $75. So much for knowing what you're doing when betting! Love the Texas Longhorn.

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  33. 15 out of 16...that is just about unheard of. Congratulations!

    Sounds like you are in for a wonderful experience.

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  34. Very cool, congratulations on your win! I'll bet your son was whooping and hollering when he realized you won.

    Love the Longhorn Steer (?) - they are such powerful looking animals. Beautiful! :)

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  35. With picks like that one of the NFL Sunday shows is going to be after you to make predictions.

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  36. Congrats! I usually feel my stomach drop when the phone rings late. I too associate a late night call with bad news. You can call me anytime to tell me I'm getting $150. Awesome. I know you're going to enjoy the bird inventory. That really is exactly up your alley. Be well.

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  37. Congrats on the win. Great photo of the ducks.

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