It's been a long time...

since I spent a whole day with two children under the age of two.  Let me see....about 35 years, as near as I can figure.  It won't come as a surprise that I was much younger then, and didn't think a thing about it.  ;)  It's also not like I was alone with my two granddaughters, Avery and Phoebe; their mother, Robyn, was there the whole time.  It brought back memories of utter exhaustion.  With Avery, almost two, and Phoebe, five months old, there isn't much time for rest or relaxation for a mother.  I just helped out today, but I can tell you that I'm bushed!

It was a great day, though.  Avery is a very busy chatter mouth (half of which is spoken in a language only her mother understands).  Phoebe is a chubby-cheeked, blue-eyed cherub with big toothless grins and feet that never stop moving.  Keeping socks on her feet is a real challenge in this sub-freezing weather.

We did all venture out into the cold today to go to the local Jewel Tea grocery store for supplies for the coming weekend.  Tomorrow, my oldest son, Daniel, and his wife, Crystal, will be flying in from Denver.  Then in the evening, my youngest son, Andy, his wife, Kelly, and their two sons, Joseph and Seth, will drive in from Minnesota.  I will make the most of having my family around me as we say goodbye to the oldest member. What a houseful there will be for the next two days!

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

10 degrees...Ugh!

That's right, it was 10* when I landed at Midway Airport in Chicago this evening!  It's cold enough to make your nostril hairs freeze!  When I lived in Minnesota, this was a common experience in the winter, but I really didn't want to ever deal with these kind of temperatures again.

The flight from Austin, TX, late this afternoon, was uneventful, and quicker than anticipated because of a strong tail wind.  Even though the flight started 15 minutes late, we arrived in Chicago ahead of schedule.  My winter coat was packed in the suitcase, but I did wear a sweatshirt and wind breaker on the flight.  Thank goodness, Dennis had the heater roaring in the car when he picked me up.

It was a long travel day since I arrived at the airport way ahead of my departure time, but I am thankful that Peggy and Paul drove me in.  I spent several hours playing spider solitaire on my laptop while I waited for my flight.  It's a lot different these days at the airport.  Everyone seems to be "connected" to some kind of electronic device.  It does make the waiting time go faster.  There was one slip up by me at the security check-in though.  I had my laptop in a backpack and didn't know that you have to take it out and send it through the scanner separately.  The inspector got a little bent about that.  I apologized and said I didn't know I had to take the laptop out of the bag.  There was no signage telling me to do so.  I calmly waited while everything was sent through again, and busied myself with putting my shoes on and tying them up.  Sorry about that.  :(

The grand daughters were already in bed by the time we made it to the house, so I'll have to wait until morning to see them.  I could use a heat wave about now......

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

What a surprise...second post today

I decided to reboot the computer to see if things were back to normal on my screen.  They were not; but I tried moving my cursor around and clicking on a few things, and wonder of all wonders, I was able to restore things back to the way I like them.  That is a great surprise to me that I was able to do that.   Yah Hoooooooo!!!   Good night to all!

Are you a creature of habit?

Oh boy, today showed me that I'm sure a creature of habit.  It started with my usual routine of getting up; briefly making a stop in the bathroom, tossing on a pair of sweats and sweatshirt, and taking Emma for her first outs.  As usual, it was before official sunrise.  Back at the RV, I fed Emma, turned on the TV, opened the curtains around the windshield area, and headed back to the bathroom to brush my teeth, make the bed, and get dressed.  I then fixed a bowl of cereal, checked my email and favorite blogs, and got the latest news from the Today Show. 

That has been my morning ritual since Emma joined me two years ago.  This afternoon, I took Emma to the vet's in Lago Vista.  She will be staying there for the next week as I make my journey to Chicago.  While at the kennel, she will be getting this year's round of shots, a bath, and a pedicure.  A little vacation for her while I take care of sad business.  The dog runs are spacious, and she will have excersize each day in a large fenced yard.  What more could a girl ask for?

After dropping Emma off, I headed for the nearest Walmart in Cedar Park to purchase a suitcase.  When I hit the road fulltime, I didn't think I'd be needing a suitcase, so I got rid of those I had.  I've decided I can always use it as a storage container for extra towels and sheets and keep it under my bed when I return.  That way I'll be prepared when I decide I need a quick grandkid fix in the future.  :)

So, back to the original topic; I found myself gearing some of my activities as if Emma were still here.  Did she need a walk? Was it time for her evening meal?..etc, etc.  WOW, she has certainly become a part of my life.  She's great company for me, but I think this will be a welcome respite from those responsibilities.

I accidentally hit some eroneous keys on the laptop a few minutes ago and it boogered up what I usually see on my screen.  Some of the stuff at the top of the screen has disappeared and I don't know how to get it back...including spell check.  So, if there are any typos, I'm sorry about that.  It's a good thing I'll be visiting Robyn tomorrow.  I'm sure she or Dennis can get me back to where I was.

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

Musical chairs and an ending

When I set up the rig yesterday on a newly constructed pad at Balcones Canyonlands NWR, I had to raise the front of the rig quite a bit in order to be level...so much so that the front tires were about three inches off of the ground.  That's not an especially good thing to do for an extended amount of time, and I will be here for the next three months.  It puts a lot of stress on the hydraulic leveling system.  

Apparently, there was a meeting to discuss this problem this morning, and it was decided that it had to be remedied.  When I returned from my walk with Emma around 9:30, a half dozen volunteers and staff had descended on my site, and I was informed that I would have to pack things up and move to the other new site while the problem was taken care of. 

 Shortly afterwards, a big dump truck dropped off these mounds in the middle of the site I had just moved out of.

After lunch, a couple of volunteers arrived and began leveling out the site.  The idea yesterday and today was to use my rig as a Guinea pig to make sure the two new sites were acceptable.  The second site where I was set up for the day, was quite level and even afforded shade in the morning.  Shade is not really an issue now, but as spring approaches and temperatures rise, it will be nice.

After a couple of hours, the guys were finished and I moved back, once again, and set up for the third time in two days.  Now, leveling the rig did not require the front wheels to be off of the ground.  Good job, guys!

Later in the afternoon, Emma and I (and my camera) took another walk...

Cactus are plentiful in the Texas Hill Country.

The moon was rising in the East as we walked...

down the new road leading to the two new volunteer sites.

All the moving back and forth kept me busy today, but the two walks with Emma, before and after, gave me moments to reflect.  You see, just before my first walk with Emma, I received a call from my daughter, Robyn, that my mother had died in the very early hours of the morning.  So, it was a day of tears, new beginnings, remembrances, and more tears....

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

A move to Balcones

This will be a short entry.  I made it the 260 miles from Anahuac NWR to Balcones Canyonlands NWR today.  After getting most things set up, I got a phone message that leads me to believe that I probably won't make it to my mother's bedside before she passes.  I will still fly to Chicago on Thursday.  This is an expected passage, but it's never easy for those left behind.

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

I should have guessed....

...the morning was going to pose challenges right off the bat.  When I woke up, I was surprised to see that it was 7:00.  I haven't slept that late in many moons.  It also meant that I only had a half hour to get everything done before I headed for the VIS.  Putting things into high gear, I dressed before taking Emma on her morning outs. (not that I'm usually naked when I take her out, but I generally just slip on a pair of sweats) She was very cooperative and took care of business in under ten minutes.  I wolfed down a bowl of cereal, put Emma in her crate, loaded up the van with binos, camera, and computer and drove the ten miles to the VIS by 8:00.  Phew.... Once inside the VIS, I started the free coffee to brewing, did the cash register opening checks, did the same for the charge card machine, and stepped outside to put up the banner that is strung between two poles when the VIS is open.  OK, now I was ready for business.  In the winter, visitors usually don't show up before 10:00, but today was the exception.

Around 8:30, while I was outside checking the skies with my binoculars for birds, a car pulled up, and the man driving wanted to know if he had to show his Golden Age Pass (now called the America the Beautiful Inter-agency Senior Pass) to enter the refuge.  I told him that all he had to do was register in the VIS, and followed him inside.  I seldom get cranky visitors to the refuge, but he was one of the few.  He ranted away about how there should be signs to explain all this.  Then he complained that there was no way to know this was a visitor's center.  I calmly told him that there was a large banner outside indicating such.  He then said "Well, it's upside down!"  Uh oh!  I told him I did that to get people's attention. :)  He did not think it was funny. :(  I plied him with a map and directions of where to drive, and he and his wife, who remained silent, were soon on their way.  I made sure to quickly turn the banner right side up!

A short time later, I resumed my scanning of the skies, and accidentally stepped....

right into a fire ant hill!  That's not a wise thing to do.  If you look closely, you can see all the ants swarming around after being disturbed.  They have a very nasty bite, but I was lucky and escaped that experience. 

The rest of the day calmed down.  A group of Boy Scouts arrived at 10:00, and Stephanie, Tami, and I took them on a bird tour in the van around Shoveler Pond.  They were working on their Bird Badge, and needed to identify 20 different bird species.  That was easily accomplished on our drive.  They all left happy and the subsequent visitors were all in a good frame of mind.  I had about $160 in sales today and everything balanced at close up time.  A good end to a shaky beginning today.  I locked the door of the VIS for the last time, and headed home.

Tomorrow, I'll do the last salinity testing and bird survey before I leave.  By the afternoon, fellow Escapees and NWR volunteers will arrive at the pads to visit for a day.  I've known Linda and Ron on the internet for several years, but tomorrow we'll get a chance to meet.  I look forward to that.

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