Chilled to the Bone!

I left around 8 a.m., the temp was 44° and the winds were calm. By the time I got to the park I had planned on walking, it had dropped two degrees and the winds picked up considerably! I parked the car, got out [wearing sweat pants and a sweat shirt, no layers as I assumed when I left home, it'd be warming up and I'd get too hot]. The cold immediately cut through me. And, I never got warmed up, even walking!! At this park it was a bit miserable, but I kept going. The early morning sky was an intense shade of blue, and I spied many many aircraft contrails [passenger jets; empty due to covid or filled?]. The sun was brilliant, the green park lawns had been recently mowed and looked manicured.  The windmill you see is not always visible from the road.  During the summer months, the trees along the riverbank hide it from sight.  Only to see it during the winter when the trees are bare...

...but the open fields, are browned by winter kill. Very few waterfowl were seen on the lakes. Too cold for them, too? Or too early? I'd like to think they were nestled out away from the cold wind, waiting for the day to warm up a bit.  Normally, on a good day, when weather is decent, there can be a lot of joggers, walkers, birders, bikers [pedal bikes, not motorcycles], boaters and fishermen. On this day, during the time I was there, I saw two vehicles along the park road and not one outdoors, walking, or having anyone being active. If you look at the photo with the bright chartreuse arrow, it's directing you to one of the vehicles...it stopped, so from where I was [clear on the other side of the park], I zoomed in on the driver!] He kinda reminded me of Yukon Cornelius!

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I left this park eventually and headed back toward Corpus only to stop at another park. I was hoping by the time I arrived there, the sun would have warmed up the countryside. At least the wind was no longer a factor. Taking the first right turn after entering thru the park's gate, I drove by one of the many senior centers here in town. Passing that, the road drops down into a valley. This is what I saw going downhill...literally hundreds of Monk Parakeets! They were on the park road, in the trees, on the lawn, and even more across the street! And the duck/goose pond, all the waterfowl were snuggled in the water, not swimming much..the cormorants were sitting in the sun. It WAS cold for wildlife too