Spring Break 2020

For the most part of the week, we stayed near home and away from crowded areas in lieu of the virus threat...choosing when we DID go somewhere it was near a guarantee to be away from large numbers of human contact like the over-crowded beaches etc., even tho in South Texas there are no cases of the coronavirus reported [which I am leery of the reports -after all, this is a port city with all kinds of foreign ships docking here].  I figure better safe, than sorry.  A few parks we visited early in the day when most are still in bed asleep, Erik  gave me some lessons on my new pistol which I haven't fired yet, played Gin Rummy and the Quadruple Scrabble, UNO, went out in search of more bluebonnets and indian paint brush, and watched movies at home.

Bud laughs at this....but, Slowly, our son, Erik, is getting into birding when out walking and/or jogging. Before he came to visit during spring break, he texted me about seeing a 'huge' bird with a very long neck along the bayou when he was in a park, jogging. Well, then, when he was here with me, my morning walks are always with a camera dangling around my neck and in search for birds to photograph. Of course, his stride and pace is much faster than mine so he is always way ahead of me since I stop frequently to focus on what nature dazzles me with at the time. One day when out walking with him, [again, he's way ahead of me]...he texts me and describes a bird he is looking at, at his resting stop. A hawk. A Cooper's Hawk. He marvels my ability of IDing by description only. And now that he is back in Houston, he's doing a lot of Googling on birds he saw that day. And he confirms that it was indeed a Cooper's Hawk. This image is on the same day about 1/4 mile away from where Erik was...I was seeing this as he texted me his description.

Another day this past week, we went to an area that is about 100 miles from home. The refuge is called Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, [a federal park] near Austwell, Texas -population approximately 200; renowned for a whooping crane destination for the winter months. The refuge is huge! And, it's been over a decade since Bud and I were last there. [we went for the cranes at the time, but since then, have found a wintering ground much closer for us]. Needless to say we enjoyed our day out in the 'different' area along the coast; San Antonio Bay.  Photos follow:

The first one of the observation tower, is actually not mine [used with permission]...I borrowed it from the 'net.  We climbed to the top [if you suffer from vertigo, I advise you not to go on this!] and oh what an overall vista-

This photo of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is courtesy of Tripadvisor

...from atop the tower:

...this following image is when I stuck the camera between the safety wires focusing on the ground from the top of the tower...

Deer, Vultures, Owls, herons, blackbirds, osprey, grackles, and mockingbirds seen. One, 9 mile one way road meanders through the park that had a reported nesting Bald Eagle [which is a rare occurrence on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico], that Bud and I searched for. Didn't see any signs of the nest, and the docent at the visitor's center said that "Junior" was ready to fledge, so we assume it left the premises. Who knows. We certainly didn't find it.

BTW, did you hear that John Travolta contracted the coronavirus?  It was 'fake news'...it was just Saturday Night Fever.