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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Wrapping up the year

My last post left you in June at Tamarac NWR in Minnesota.  As it turned out, I still had more than three months left in my tour of duty there.

73 Tamarac NWR, 201342

Tamarac is another jewel of a refuge, and I enjoyed all the blooming ladyslippers along with all the birds I was surveying.  On my days off, I did the tourist thing in the area and in Fargo, ND.  I found a candy store that made chocolate covered sponge candy and chocolate covered potato chips.  That in itself was memorable.

73 Tamarac NWR, 201343

Then there was the malt shop and the Breadsmith store.  I make my own malts now, but I can’t wait to get back for some of those hearth baked breads.  I was able to visit kids and grandkids in Rochester twice during the summer, and perhaps they’ll be able to make a trip up to visit me next summer.

I had the pleasure of having four other bloggers visit, and how could I forget Mr. Smith the fresh vegetable grower?  Since the temps up there were 27* below zero yesterday, I wonder if he has put a shirt on yet.  Disappointed smile  My plans were to leave toward the end of September, but fate stepped in to decide otherwise.  The nice part about that was I got to enjoy the beautiful fall colors while worrying a bit about snow coming.

73 Tamarac NWR, 201344

All was not fun and games though at Tamarac.  The challenges began with the wood and deer ticks soon after my arrival.  Next was the mosquitoes.  Same say they are Minnesota’s state bird.  Winking smile  Early on the bears played havoc with my bird feeders, a horrible storm made toast of my outdoor screen tent, and I ended up aggravating my shoulder as the result of painting 200 sign posts.  Then the refrigerator broke, there was the government shutdown, and I was stuck by myself on 40,000 acres.  The leaves turned, and the invasion of the Asian beetles began.  I’m still finding those buggers crawling out from who knows where on warm days even after three months.  These little things keep life interesting though.

I need to apologize to Bob and Linda for including them in the collage of challenges.  I some how missed including them in the last collage.  I certainly didn’t feel they were in that category…really, I didn’t. Thinking smile

74 On the way to Bayou Cocodrie 20132

It was about the middle of October before I could finally head south to my next assignment at Bayou Cocodrie NWR in Louisiana.  I had to make that trip as quickly as I could because of my late departure, so not much time was spent visiting areas.  I did find two good campgrounds that I’ll visit on my way back north next spring, and I took a little time out at the Tom Sawyer Campground to enjoy the tug boat traffic along the Mighty Mississippi. 

75 Anahuac NWR 2013-20148

As you may remember, Bayou Cocodrie was a great disappointment to me, and I had to turn down that assignment.  Luckily, Stephanie had room for me here once again at Anahuac NWR along the Gulf Coast of Texas.  I’m now back in the land of birds and alligators and cattle drives for my sixth time.  I’ve already had a number of visitors, so life is good to finish out the year.

That’s a wrap for me for this year as 2014 is a little over five hours away.  Fireworks are a big thing here in Texas so I’ve wrapped Emma in her thunder shirt to help her get through ‘til midnight.  Happy New Year everyone!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

35 comments:

  1. Happy New Year to you and Emma! I hope she gets through the fireworks okay with her thunder shirt. :) See you in 2014.

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  2. Happy New Year, Judy. May 2014 hold many new, fun, experiences for you and Emma.

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  3. Happy New Year, Judy. I hope 2014 treats you well!

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  4. Your pictures are spendid in review just as in the originals. Those lady slippers are just magnificient. But I must say you are a dedicated one to fight off all those critters and difficulties. Hope your 2014 is really smooth sailing.

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  5. Happy trails to you and Emma in 2014.

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  6. Happy New Year, Judy, great job on the collages.

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  7. Wishing you the best ever 2014.... great birding, great travels, great Refuges... and most of all, a great life!

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  8. HAPPY NEW YEAR JUDY AND EMMA !!!! You share so much of your travels, photos and work ...... It has been a joy hopping along for the ride ..... Thanks for that .... Always a great delight to learn a lot along the way .... Especially from someone who knows sooooo much about nature and the birds ..... Looking forward to 2014 and all the fun on down the road !!!! All the best, Judy !!!!

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  9. Happy New Year, Judy. Thanks again for sharing all the great photos of the colorful and interesting and unusual things you see. May your water pressure ever be high, along with your interest in what you're doing. Good year coming.

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  10. Happy New Year Judy and maybe this might be the year that Emma settles down. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  11. Happy New Year. I'm hoping Murphy takes a different road than you do in 2014.

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  12. Happy New Year! (Your Asian beetles sound like the stink bugs that infested the coach before we left Virginia ... it took months to eradicate them, but they seem to be gone now.)

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  13. Happy New Year to you and Emma! Thank you for all your volunteer work! And all your wonderful posts!

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  14. Happy New Year, Judy and Emma. Hope that 2014 will be really good to you.

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  15. Those poor dogs, they just don't understand. Glad she has the thunder shirt to help her.
    Happy New Year to you both.

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  16. Happy new year! Love the collages!!! All the best in 2014!

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  17. Happy New Year. Hopefully 2014 will be the year I finally get your motorhome washed! :c)

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  18. Happy New Year, Judy. Hope this coming year is the best one - yet!

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  19. What a lovely collection....your posts of 2013 always kept me in stitches, in awe, and quite a bunch of education along the way. Happy New Year Judy!

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  20. Happy New Year, Judy! May your 2014 be as bug-free as possible.

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  21. Like me you seem to come away from places with a list of favorite things to eat. I just finished some of that pear jam I bought back in the Smokies on my english muffin! Happy New Year!

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  22. Happy New Year Judy--may it be a healthy one filled with happiness and lots of new experiences!

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  23. The Hummingbird photo is terrific! Lots of new photos...wonderful.

    Wishing you a very happy, healthy and safe new year!

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  24. Happy 2014, Judy! Looking forward to seeing you back in DL when you make it this way.

    Cheers,
    Jo, Stella and Zkhat

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  25. such wonderful memories. Always enjoy seeing your pictures and places you volunteer at .

    Happy New Year

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  26. Happy new year to you and Emma. I hope she made it through without too much trauma.

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  27. A happy and safe 2014! I look forward to
    all your wonderful blogs and pictures in the next year.
    Jan

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  28. Congrats on a wonderful adventurous 2013... and now on to more great discoveries in 2014!~

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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  29. First thank you for even including us in you great blog. We are honored to be among all you wonder pictures and great stories. My wife dose see me as one of her challenges. The very best to you and Emma this coming year .

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  30. A jam packed year for sure. Hoping all health challenges are now behind you and your next adventures are everything you hope for.

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  31. We've met Bob & Linda, wasn't challenging at all :-)

    happy new year

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