Random thoughts on random topics

1. I've been using the new post editor with Blogger, but was dismayed that there appeared to be no spell checker.  This evening, after tinkering around, I found a possible answer to that dilemma.  It appears to work better than the previous spell checker.
2. I'm trying out some of the new features which include this numbered list.
3. The temperatures are taking a major dive this evening after starting the morning at 55*!  Lows tonight will be around 20*.  I sure hope all the insulation that was placed around my water hook-up works.  More insulating materials were added yesterday and today.  The hook-ups are so wrapped up that I'm not sure how I'll exercise the generator next week. 
4. I find it very interesting to see and hear how this area in Texas is handling the arctic blast.  Having lived more than a decade in Minnesota, lows in the twenties isn't even mentionable on the news.  Around Houston, this is an earth shattering occurrence!  These will be the coldest temps in twenty years.  If  I were in a sticks and bricks, I'd just laugh it off, but I'm not.  Temperatures below freezing for three or four days and nights straight will be a challenge to endure.  Perhaps some of the mice will die of exposure.  ;)
5. I'm beginning to rethink my plans to do the salinity tests tomorrow.  The winds are running around 36 mph right now out of the north, and if they don't slow down, I'm thinking I may postpone that slosh through the muck tomorrow.  Wind chill temps will be in the single digits.  I also forgot to get a new set of batteries for the salinity meter.  What a coincidence!  :)
6. Looks like I'll be pretty busy at the Songbird Festival at Balcones in April.  Deborah has asked if I'll lead another bird tour or two.  Of course, I said yes.  That's my thing, you know.

Since most of the country is experiencing Mother Nature's deep freeze for the next few days, I hope you all find a warm place to sit it out...and may you not run out of propane!

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

Deep freeze coming!

When I got up this morning, I instantly noticed that I had no water. ;)  I checked the temperature, and it was 25* outside.  It took until 10:30 for the water hose to defrost.  Hmmm, it got a lot colder last night than predicted.  It's supposed to be above freezing for the next two nights, but then we are in for three miserably freezing nights and days.  Normally I would just unhook the hose and use my fresh water tank.  The problem is that I have very little potable water left in the tank, and I really don't want to fill the tank with the water available out of the hookups here.  No one drinks that water.  We get our drinking water at the community building where a new 20 gallon reverse osmosis machine purifies the water.

I decided to give Stephanie, the volunteer coordinator, a call to see if the refuge had any heat strips that I could use on the hose.  It turns out that at the weekly staff meeting, keeping the volunteers comfortable came up for an extended discussion.

This was the result of part of that discussion.  The hose was lifted off of the ground and insulated.  I hope that works.

The other part of the discussion centered around the rodent problem.  The refuge has decided to move forward with using poison (this is not usually done on a refuge) in addition with supplying me with six more glue traps.  The glue traps I put out myself  haven't caught a thing yet.  I set up three of the new traps on the outside of the rig.  One in the engine compartment, one in the generator compartment, and one in another storage area.  I'm going to continue to use the snap type traps inside the rig.  So, all in all, I have nine traps set in a 29' rig!  The body count so far has risen to 17 in the last two weeks....all caught inside the rig.  YUCK!

The other couple that is volunteering here at this time is leaving several weeks early since they are fed up with conditions.  For now I'll stay, but if I find a mouse running across my body while I'm in bed, I'm out of here.  This happened to one of the fire guys that is in the trailer across from me.  That is just too creepy for me.

So that's the latest for today.  The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and cleaning the rig...ho hum.

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

Oops!

Yesterday morning I took my time getting up and doing the normal morning chores.  I fixed a nice hot breakfast, took Emma for a long walk, and finally went to Winnie to do some grocery shopping.  By the time I got home and put everything away, it was a little after 11:00.  I then sat down to calculate my volunteer hours for the month of December, and glanced at the calendar that Stephanie had printed for me with my January assignments.  To my great surprise, it showed that I was supposed to be working the VIS yesterday.  Oh my goodness!  I thought I was only working the VIS on Saturdays.  Apparently the local volunteer wasn't available this weekend.

Needless to say, I literally hopped up out of my seat and prepared to hot foot it the ten miles over to the shack.  I got things opened up by noon, and had a fairly busy afternoon.  I guess it was because it was a holiday weekend.  The weather certainly wasn't anything to write home about.

One of the visitors I spoke with was a gentleman from Mississippi.  I asked him if he knew of the Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in southern Mississippi where I am thinking of volunteering at next winter.  It turned out he was a research biologist at Mississippi State University and works with both the Sandhill Crane and  Grand Bay NWRs.  What a small world!  I was just coresponding with a fellow volunteer that is at Sandhill in the morning.  He gave me his card, and maybe I'll be working with him next year.

I'm sure glad I glanced at that calendar...

I'm trying a new edition of the editor for my blog today, so I'm not sure how this will turn out.  I can't seem to find the spell check feature with this edition, and that is a concern to me.  I spell pretty well, but it never hurts to have a proofreader.

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

The Sunday Blast from the Past

On October 8, 2008, I arrived at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I would be boon docking on the fairgrounds with other Escapees attending the HOP (Head Out Program).

The next day, I would be able to check off one more thing on my Bucket List. I got up before 5:00 and was waiting outside the rig for the shuttle bus by 5:30. It was quite a challenge to find where I was supposed to be, but eventually I got there just in time. There were thousands of people out and about in the pre-dawn darkness. It is said that the Balloon Fiesta is where the breakfast burrito was invented.

By the luck of the draw, I was assigned a balloon with only four passengers. I was elated about that. Some of the balloons had as many as 20 passengers and had to stand three deep in the gondola. With only four, we each got an unobstructed view for the ride. We headed for the take off field where hot air was being blown into the balloons to get them ready.

The hardest part of the flight was getting in and out of the gondola. There is no door as I thought there might be, so we just had to climb over the side to get in or out. It helps to be flexible, but longer legs would have been an advantage. ;)

Anyway, as the balloon began to lift up straight, I got a little nervous as the gondola began to sway. It was only momentary, though, and we soon began to lift off. What a thrill that was! As we began to gain altitude, it was marvelous. There were about 75 ballons in the process of leaving the ground and we were one of the first. What a sight it was. We drifted over the Fiesta grounds and I could see all the Escapee rigs parked below.
This is the view straight up with the flame maintaining the hot air. It would blast on periodically as the pilot determined. In between blasts it was serenely quiet floating along.

As we got higher, the winds changed and we drifted back over the grounds again. We crossed the Rio Grande River (in the left bottom corner), and kept going.

While we were in the air, the pilot was in continuous contact with the earthbound chase team. He would let them know where he was going to land, and they would arrive with the van to pick us up.

The pilot chose an intersection in a residential area and set the balloon down softly exactly where he said. We all climbed out and grabbed a hold of the gondola. It did not turn over until we were all out. Such was not the case for other balloons. Some gondolas tipped over upon landing and the passengers fell like so many bowling pins. We created quite a stir in the neighborhood, and several folks came out in their pajamas to watch!

After helping to pack up the equipment in the van, we all returned to the launch field for the customary glass of champagne. What a grand experience this was!

The next morning, the winds had shifted and the balloons in the mass ascension had to take off from the middle of our rigs. What a site that was. We all just stood outside our rigs and watched as the sky filled with a rainbow of balloons.

This will be my last 'Blast from the Past' because a few weeks after this I started this blog. I've enjoyed reminiscing; hope you've enjoyed it too.

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

A busy day at the VIS

Thank goodness the number of folks stopping at the VIS (Visitor's Information Station) is on the rise. It can be very boring to sit in that shed for eight hours with few if any visitors. There was a steady drizzle of folks stopping in to register and get a map today. Most of them came for the first time, although there are those intrepid birders that are more or less regulars. It was busy enough that I ran out of refuge maps. I looked in every nook and cranny, but couldn't find any. When I zipped home for lunch, and to take Emma out, I searched the community building, but only came up with a handful of maps. By three o'clock I ran out of those too.

The visitors were all very pleasant today, and I really enjoyed talking with them. Quite a few even came back to report what they had seen. That really helps since we post sightings on a white board so people can check out what's around. This list includes birds as well as mammals and reptiles. I think the posting gives people a more personal connection to the refuge, and that's what we're here for. National Wildlife Refuges need all the support they can get.

I stepped outside for a little bit this morning to get a picture of the flocks of Snow Geese passing overhead. They do move around the refuge in the morning to find the best feeding areas. This morning's movement couldn't compare with the cloud of 8000 I saw last Sunday, but I always enjoy hearing and seeing geese as they fly in those energy saving Vees.

I kept my eye peeled out the one little window for my vibrantly colored little avian friend..

and I wasn't disappointed! He surely perks up my day. I'm still not satisfied with the picture, so I'll keep trying. Most folks get pretty excited when I tell them we have a Vermilion Flycatcher around, and this little dude has been very cooperatively making an appearance for his admiring fans when I point out the window. ;) One lady today asked if I paid him to show up on cue!

I'll probably be doing boring indoor paperwork tomorrow after a quick trip to the grocery store. Of course, if the weather turns out to be sunny, I just may put off that paperwork and do another bird survey instead. Why stay inside when you can get out to enjoy the wildlife???

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

A good start to the New Year.

The massive fog, that dominated the day yesterday, dissipated overnight, and by ten o'clock this morning the sun was shining. Even though it's a holiday, and I have the day off, I decided I had to take advantage of the sunny weather. I got the van packed and headed out to do the salinity tests and the bird survey around Shoveler Pond.

It was a little nippy out and the wind was out of the north, but only at about 15 mph. The cows had pretty well packed down the mud at the first stop, so slipping and sliding through it was a little easier this week. As I sloshed my way back to the van, I kicked up a rail running through the marsh. As I did the bay side testing, I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye.

A clapper rail was working the shallow bayou waters just before they entered Galveston Bay. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me; it was in the van about 100 yards away. I did watch the rail from a distance of about four feet for a while, and then headed back to get the camera. He didn't seem too skittish, so I thought I might have a chance for a picture.

As I was getting the camera together on the mono pod, wouldn't you know a big noisy diesel pickup truck went past me and stopped right at the culvert where the rail was. It sat there several minutes before moving on. I figured that I had missed my chance, but walked over anyway.

It turns out the Clapper rail was hiding in the culvert, and after a few minutes came back out to continue looking for tasty morsels in the mud and shallow water of the bayou. Rails are generally pretty secretive, so I felt very lucky to have this one pose for me. :) What marvelous feather coloring on its lower belly. Kind of looks like ripples in the water to me. Those long wide-spread toes give it stability in the mud and marsh. Rails can even walk across lily pads because of those toes.

Driving back to the RV pads in the afternoon, I did some reminiscing about the past year. I volunteered at four different National Wildlife Refuges, visited numerous state parks, national parks, and monuments, and spent time visiting all of my kids. What a wonderful time I had last year. After three and a half years of fulltiming, I still have no regrets and have no plans to quit any time soon! I hope all of you have had a good year too, and wish you the same for the New Year.

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