Packed up and ready to go

I spent the day today getting everything ready to head out in the morning.  It took a good portion of the day to do all the outside stuff and most of the inside stuff.  I didn’t think I’d make a post tonight since it was pretty mundane stuff and I didn’t plan to take any pictures of things like dumping the tanks or getting everything stored away.  Most everything was done by about 6:00 this evening, so Emma and I spent some time sitting outside before sunset.  That’s when I noticed a movement in the sage brush surrounding the fire crew bunk house.  Something was flopping around up there that wasn’t normal.  As several of the other volunteers stopped by to wish us a safe journey, that ‘something’ began walking towards the RV pads.
It turned out to be a white pelican, and it was making it’s way right toward the RV pads!  Once Emma noticed it, I put her inside so she wouldn’t spook our visitor.  What in the world is a pelican doing walking down the refuge road?  It came right down the road to the pads, and stopped briefly to inspect each one.
It didn’t seem to mind that a couple of us were following it along with our cameras clicking.  I don’t know if it was injured or not, as it seemed to amble along just fine.  What an unusual occurrence this was!  I tapped on Sue’s door so she could come out to see what was in her front yard, and she said she was sorry she didn’t have any fish! 
As it made it’s way through all the sites, I just hoped it would get to some water and be safe for the evening.  It’s wings didn’t appear to be broken, but this is not normal behavior for a pelican.  As it strolled in back of the last RV, the coyotes began their nightly chorus.  Vaya con Dios, mi amigo!  :(   (Go with God, my friend)

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

Laboring on Labor Day

National holiday or not, the Visitor’s Center must open, so you know who worked on this Labor Day.  :)  Actually, I enjoyed having the place to myself without all the office goings on, and since this was still part of the holiday weekend, I actually had 29 visitors today!  That was a big improvement over the measly 7 I had last Thursday.  It helps make the 8 hour day move along a little faster.
I had quite a bit of time in between visitors, so I did a little birding around headquarters.  This nice family of California Quail came sashaying through the grounds with Mom in the lead, and…
Dad covering their rear.  :)   There are quite a few of these quail families that hang around the visitor’s center, and I really enjoy watching them with their little top knots.
Of course, birds aren’t the only things that reside on the refuge.  Much to Emma’s delight, there are an abundance of cottontail rabbits.  This little guy has been lucky so far to stay out of the reach of the hungry coyotes and hawks.
Speaking of hawks, this pair of Red-Tailed Hawks put on quite a display of aerial acrobatics this afternoon in the air right over the VC.  They were up there circling and circling, and screeching and screeching just above the tree tops!  As the story unfolded, it turns out that a third hawk had invaded their “air space”, and was sitting in one of the big trees in their territory.  Before long, these two simultaneously swooped down into the same tree.  After much vocalization, this pair managed to chase the intruder far away.
Besides the mosquitoes and deer flies, there are also a gazillion dragon flies on the refuge.  These are just two of the many varieties.  ( I know squat about dragon flies)  As you walk the path to the parking lot, hordes of these insects take flight with each step. 
One of my favorite birds to watch in flight are white pelicans.  They remind me of B-52 Bombers.  Every day they get up into the air and just soar around. 
The only sound you hear when these birds are overhead is the collective whoosh of the air as they simultaneously flap their wings.  Unlike Canada geese, they never let out a peep.  Like I said yesterday, synchronized swimmers and fliers.  :)
As the afternoon began to wind down, I made one more trip to the old trees around the VC, and discovered a new life bird for me…the Lewis’s Woodpecker.  Try as I might, I just couldn’t get this bird to pose in the sun.  :(  He has a green back, pinkish belly, and red face.  You sure couldn’t tell that from these pictures.  So now I have another challenge to liven up my time working the VC…the quintessential Lewis’s Woodpecker picture!  :)

Since things are kind of slow working in the Visitor’s Center, I bring along my laptop and camera everyday.  I’m sure glad I had the camera with me today.  I think I’d be crazy bored without those two distractions.  :)

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

Variety, the spice of life

Could it be that not everyone is as interested in looking at bird photos as I am?  It’s hard to believe, but I think it’s true.  :)  So today, dear readers, come along with me on a trip to the farmer’s market in Burn, OR.  You’ll notice that there are not any pics of the market itself since it was really less than exciting, but the journey there and back was worth the trip.

Just getting down the six mile entrance road from the refuge was a lesson in careful driving.  Some one must have let the cows loose, because they were scattered all over the road.  So I ended up dodging cows, fragrant fresh “pies”, and about a dozen deer.  Many of the deer were just loosing their spots, so they were a little unsure of what to do about an oncoming vehicle.  :)
First stop was at the Narrows, where the two lakes meet.  I had to see if there were any new arrivals.  This American avocet was working the shallow waters.
Not far away was a young ring-billed gull flying in to join an adult, and a trio of white pelicans cooperatively hunting for a meal.  Those pelicans always remind me of a synchronized swimming team as they gracefully glide along in tandem, and then all turn inward at the same time to scoop up some fish.
Then I saw a young mallard shaking himself awake after a little snooze.  First you shake…
then you spread your wings to get the kinks out,
and then you calmly paddle away.

As I made my way along Hwy 205 through the ranchlands, a cattle drive was calmly taking place.
That is until the cattle decided they wanted to go a different way, and made a 90* turn right for the cowboy.
It wasn’t long, though, before the two cowboys and their dog had the herd back on the straight and narrow.  :)  It’s nice that there isn’t much traffic on this highway, so I could just stop in the middle of the road and watch this vignette transpire.

Eventually, I made it to town and the market, and was able to pick up a few fresh vegetables, but there weren’t very many tomatoes to be had and no corn on the cob.  :(   I did stop at one other booth, and made a purchase.
For you crafty types out there, these are hand crocheted small picture frames and flowers.  They are used in scrapbooking.  My daughter, Robyn, enjoys this hobby (or at least she did before she had two babies:)), so I picked these up for her.  I’ll be putting them in an envelope and sending them her way next week.

On the trip back to the rig, I stopped to take a few scenic shots along the way.
That’s the valley down there, and the refuge begins just before those mountains way in the distance.  From this height, the valley looks like a patch work quilt of circles and squares.  Pleasing scenery for the 35 mile drive home.
I leave you bird lovers, cowboys, ranchers, and crafters with this final pic of a harvested hayfield.  I just like the curves and symmetry of these fields.  :)

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

Getting ready

Ok, so I made a list and worked on checking several things off as done today.  It’s not very exciting, I’m afraid.  So, this evening I decided to take a little drive to get some milk and check out the Island Park Dam to see what was around.  I’m still hoping to see a moose one of these days.
I drove through a pretty heavy rainstorm to get there.  I’m thinking that all these cormorants and pelicans were drying off their feathers after the downpour.  Some of these islands weren’t visible about a month ago when the water was higher.
 Along the shoreline was an osprey standing in the water.  I’m not sure what he was doing there.  When he flew off, he didn’t have a fish in his talons.
This poor great blue heron was really working away on feather maintenance.

As if getting everything done on my list for getting ready to leave wasn’t enough, another little issue cropped up last night.  As I was putting away the dishes, the top of one of my kitchen cabinets came undone.  The top hinge came loose, and the screws went flying.  I still have to track down one of the screws.  I thought I’d have to go to West Yellowstone to get some wood putty, but Jim, next door, suggested  this evening that I just plug the stripped holes with toothpicks and put the screws back in.  I’ll give that a whirl tomorrow.  :)

My friends, Gordon and Juanita Pierce, are staying at Red Rock all season, and Gordon reported in his blog that the biting insects have departed.  Ha!  He needs to come over to my side of the park and give a little blood!  They are still here!  :(

Well, that’s the Red Rock Review for today.

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

A back roads trip

Since I slept in a little bit today, and wasn’t feeling terribly ambitious, I just kind of lazed about the rig today.  Couldn’t sit outside much because of all the flies, so I waited until early evening to head out for a trip on some of the back roads in the area.  I checked out several of the National forest campgrounds in the area, and they were all quite nice.  Some of them even had sites with electricity.
I also stopped back at the Island Lake Reservoir to see if I could get some better pictures of the Western grebe family.  They were no where to be seen, but a pair of white pelicans were paddling around the dam area.
                                     Mrs. and Mr. Pelican were just loafing.
And doing a little feather maintenance.
A ring-billed gull was also taking a break from food finding on the rocks of the dam.

We left the dam and headed down another back road…
…and met this fellow in the middle of the woods.  I’m not quite sure what he was doing there.  :)

I was hoping to see maybe a moose or a bear as we turned down a rustic National forest road, but it was not to be. 
However, there were some new flowers blooming along the way.  These little beauties have just started arriving.
I think this might be among the first of the Indian paintbrushes.  They are just beginning to show up.  What a marvelous wild flower display there has been in the mountains this year.

After moving the satellite dish the other day, it appears that I have parked the car too close to the rig and interfered with the signal.  So, I’d better go move the car so I can watch a little TV before I head off to bed.  :(

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

Take a guess!

Remember back in the day when there would be contests to guess how many jellybeans, or pennies, or marbles, or whatever were in a jar?  If you guessed the right number, you would win a prize at your local grocery store, or church bazaar, or county fair.  Well tonight, dear readers, I have a challenge for you!  Your only prize will be a congratulations on the blog, or a diamond willow walking stick, if you are in need of one.  :)

Your challenge is to guess how many white pelicans are in this photo that I took last week looking up into the sky from my RV site.  (you may want to enlarge the picture)

Lest you think I'm so bored that I spend my time counting specks in the sky, I can assure you that I didn't.  However, Chuck, the refuge biologist did just that and told me how many birds there were.  You see, there is a picture that was taken a few years ago by Karen Kilfeather depicting a similar migration flight of pelicans over the refuge that is posted in headquarters.  Chuck wanted to know if I had broken the record for the number of pelicans in one picture.  So, guess away!  :)

When I went down to Hdqrs this morning to do some office work (yuck), Deborah, the refuge manager, informed me that the "census people" would be here tomorrow morning to talk to me.  Since my official address is a mail service in South Dakota, I did not receive a census form in the mail.  She had been in contact with the census bureau and informed them that she had volunteers on the refuge that were full time RVers, so they are sending someone out.  Hmmm...

Besides barking at every vulture that soars overhead, Emma also is very interested in....

all the cottontail rabbits that come out at dawn and dusk.  Oddly enough, she was busy chewing on a stick this evening when this guy made his way across our site. He didn't stick around long, though.

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

Busy, busy, busy....

What a day this has been!  I'm not sure I can remember everything that happened today, but I'll try.  :)  It started with spending a couple of hours working with a group of home-school kids; teaching them about binoculars,birds, and a birdwatching hike.  The challenge with home-school groups is that they are all ages, so the presentation has to be interesting from the youngest to the oldest.  Keeps you on your toes!

Then it was back to the rig to take Emma out, eat lunch, and head for the Russel tract to show Karen, the local volunteer who is a professional photographer, and Mark, the hummingbird expert from Texas Parks and Wildlife, the hummingbird nest.  As we approached the nest, the skies opened up and the rain began once again.  We didn't stay long since they didn't want their cameras to get too wet, and we wanted the female to return to incubate the eggs.

When I got back to the rig, I had an email from John Tharp, one of the people on yesterday's bird tour.  He had taken my advice to hike the trail at Warbler Vista to view the golden-cheeked warbler after the tour...

and sent me this great photo that he was able to take of a beautiful male.  You can see how they got their name!  (double click on any photo to enlarge)

Next thing you know, I got a phone call from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.  If you remember, I was told last week that there were no openings there for any more volunteers this coming summer.  Well, it turns out they had a cancellation, and were wondering if I was still available for the month of September.  You betcha!  So, I guess I will be going to Oregon after all.  :)  I'm pumped about that.

A little while later, after answering several inquires about the bird tours through emails, John and Lynne came over.  John had purchased the needed clamp for the radiator hose, and wanted to get it fixed while there was a break in the rain.  As he crawled under the motorhome,  Lynne and I visited outside rehashing this year's experiences at Balcones.  While we were talking, I glanced skyward and was surprised....

This is what I saw right above my site!

Hundreds of migrating white pelicans!  They don't make any noise like geese, so you don't know they're coming.

They just kept coming and coming!  I estimated that there were 850 birds in all.  What a great sight.

John was able to get the hose fixed.  I started up the engine and ran it for about twenty minutes, and guess what?  No more leak!  What a relief that is.  I am in your debt, John....thank you!

Just as he finished, some light rain returned, so I headed inside.  I got a Skype call from my son, Andy, in Minnesota, and for the first time (on Skype) was able to see and talk to my two grandsons.  What a way to top off a fantastic day.  My daughter, Robyn, was up in Minnesota for her Army Reserves weekend, and installed it on Andy's computer.  The boys are old enough now to remember and recognize me.  Guess what their first question was....have you got any marshmallows?  I'll be sure to have plenty when I visit next month!

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