Another inside day

Well, the weatherman was right on today.  It was rainy off and on all day.  I did my laundry and some other chores and then decided I'd try to get some photos of the birds around the feeders.

I had the window open a crack by my table, and was serenaded by this Carolina wren from the top of the debris pile about 40' outside my door.  He has been singing his heart out for about a week, but usually flies off to another perch by the time I get my camera ready.

Carolina wrens sing very loudly, and are prolific nest builders.  As spring approaches, I'll have to watch all the outside nooks and crannies of the RV.  That male will be building nests in every available crevice.  He'll build multiple nests for his honey to choose from.  A couple of years ago, I camped at Caddo Lake State Park, TX, for three nights in the spring and had to remove as many nests before I could pull in my slides and move on.  I love watching these gregarious little birds.  ;)

These winter plummage chipping sparrows are very numerous right now.  Some of these birds will stay to breed, but most will migrate north in a month or so.  Balcones Canyonlands NWR is well known for its numerous varieties of sparrows in the winter.

Another frequent visitor to the feeders is the Carolina chickadee.  What busy little birds they are.  They prefer the black oil seeds, and choose one at a time before flying off to find a branch that is just the right size so they can hold the seed with their feet and peck it open. 

Last, but not least tonight, is the house finch.  Coloration varies widely on this species, but this is a very brightly colored male.  They also love the black oil seeds.  The house finch, formerly a western bird species, can now be found in abundance all across the US.

When I was here last year, the hill country was experiencing an incredibly severe drought, and Lake Travis was at an all time low.  Lake Travis provides the water for the city of Austin and surrounding area.  According to the news this evening,  the lake has risen 41' this winter and is now at a normal level.  Even though I've only been here two weeks, I can attest to the effects of the El Nino.  :)   The rain does go on and on.......

On a side note, it only took me about 45 seconds to upload tonight's five pictures.  Wow!  Compared to the, sometimes, hours I would spend in the past, this is unbelievable.  What a difference a new computer makes.

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

Challenging the brain cells!

I could have also titiled this post as "getting a new toy."  Yes, I went back to Austin/Cedar Park to the Best Buy to purchase the new laptop.  Little did I know that the time involved would be similar to purchasing a new car!  You know how that goes......hurry up and wait, for hours and hours.  Ugh!  I don't do well waiting hours and hours.  I purchased a Dell with a 17" screen and quite a few bells and whistles.  Scanning the plastic charge card was the easy part.  Getting the "Geeks" to get it ready to use and install the virus protection program was the time consuming part.  After three hours, it was finally ready to go.  So I headed for the nearest Sprint Store to have them install my aircard software.  When they started, they asked where my power cord was.  Hmmm, shouldn't it be in the box?  Apparently not!  The "geeks" forgot to pack it back in the box, so off I went on a return trip to Best Buy through the busy Saturday traffic.  When I got there, I had to wait in line to speak to a representative, and then he had the nerve to give me grief about it.  I took a deep breath and eventually got the missing power cord.  By the time I got back to the Sprint Store, they had installed the aircard software, and I was ready to go.

Poor Emma; she was in her crate for six hours while I got everything taken care of.  That was more time than I ever thought it would take.  We went on a nice walk when I returned, but I was chomping at the bit to see how things were going to work.

No sooner did I start unpacking the new laptop, when the phone rang and my son, Daniel, was calling to see if I had bought the new computer.  He then helped me through the intitial steps with Windows 7.  Of course, computers is what he does for a living,  and for me he was talking so fast that I struggled to keep up.  Once he hung up, I tried tinkering at my own speed, and was able to transfer over quite a bit of the things from my old computer by myself.  Slow and steady wins the race in my case.

I must say that I notice an astounding difference in the speed of trying to do things on this new computer.  I've been able to load all my travels pictures from the last four years, and get everything on my favorites bar that I had before.  I feel like I've really accomplished a lot today.  I guess I'll need to install a Word program before I can transfer over my spreadsheets.  I also have a few other programs that I want to install, but I'm afraid I've had enough of a brain challenge for today.  Time to chill out in front of the TV for the evening.  I'm a happy camper with this new toy.  :)

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

Oh, oh....I just noticed that I don't have the Google toolbar yet, so no spell check tonight.  Hope I didn't do too bad in that department.  :(

It's good to be back home again...

Most of today was spent preparing for and traveling to Midway Airport in Chicago, flying to Austin, TX, and getting back to the rig at Balcones Canyonlands NWR.  My thanks once again to Paul and Peggy, fellow volunteers, for picking me up at the airport in Austin.  I, thankfully, took them to lunch at the True Grit Bar and Grill on our way home.  The food was good, but I would have liked smaller portions.

There has been a cold and wet spell here at the refuge while I've been gone.  I had pulled in the slides, shut off the water, and lowered the thermostat to 40* before I left, so it was a bit chilly as I opened the rig this afternoon.  The first order of business was to set the temp at 69*, turn on the water,and open the slides.  I think unpacking after a trip is a pain in the neck, but I made myself do that straight away and then gave the rig a good vacuuming.

It sure feels good to be home.  I pulled a muscle in my back up in Chicago, and it has been really painful.  I'm hoping that being back in my own bed will help that situation.  I'm sure the pain was exacerbated by the stress involved in the reason for this journey.

Tomorrow I'll be picking Emma up, and things will return to normal.  I tried contacting Robyn this afternoon via Skype, but couldn't get through.  It's foggy and overcast, so I'm hoping I'll have better luck when the weather improves.

That's about it for today.  I'll spend what's left of the evening checking out everything that was recorded on the DVR while I was gone.  Then I'll crash for the night.....it's been a long week.

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

A writing assignment

This afternoon, I checked my email and I had a message from the Refuge Manager at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.  The second week in February, I'll be moving there to volunteer until the beginning of May.  As you may recall, I volunteered there last spring as well. 

Anyway, Deborah was asking if I'd be willing to lead their most popular bird tour during the Songbird Festival that takes place the last weekend in April.  It is quite an affair and is attended by hundreds of people.  Balcones Canyonlands NWR is located in the hill country west of Austin, TX, and the refuge is most well known for having two endangered bird species that nest there...golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos.  When birders come to Balcones, these are the two species that they are most interested in seeing. 

The Sunday morning bird tour (the one I've been asked to lead) is specifically designed to showcase these two species, and attendees expect the tour leader to produce them.  Hmmm, don't birds have wings for a reason?  No pressure there!  In addition, Deborah said that there have been complaints that the Sunday morning tour has been boring.  Alrighty then, I'll just find both these endangered species and be fun and entertaining while doing so.  A piece of cake, right?  ;)

In addition, she asked that I write up a snappy description of the tour that will entice droves of people to want to sign up and journey with me on this avian safari.  Also, include an impressive biography that will just WOW the public.  So, I've got a literary challenge that she wants ASAP.  I think I'll just mull it over for a few days in the back of my mind.  Any suggestions?

The best part of this assignment is that I will have to spend considerable time scouting out the best places to view these two species while I prepare for the tour during March and April.  With an assignment like that (for me) is it any wonder that I am returning to this refuge?  Hot diggety dog!!!

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