§ Wild Bird Wednesday Hodgepodge...

WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY
Sidebar Linking - Hosted by Stewart

While at the bay waters yesterday, I spotted an unusual [at least to me] action of this brown pelican while it was preening. It did it a couple of times before I decided to aim the camera toward it and wait for it to do it again for me and my lens. I waited...and waited. It picked at its feathers, on one side, then the other, then twisted its head to its belly. All the while cleaning up. I was beginning to tire a bit as I held the camera aimed and readied my finger on the shutter button. I waited more...and waited even some more. Then, the head came up and I was trying to anticipate that the stance was coming...yep!! Sure 'nough!!! This is it---







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HODGEPODGE
Sidebar Linking - Hosted by Joyce


1. Are you a force to be reckoned with? In what way? Only when I'm really, really mad...I tend to throw things and yell. But in all honesty, it's been a long time since my temper has been so forceful.

2. What are two things you love about the wintertime? Or, if love feels like too strong a word, what are two things you 'like' about winter? 1] No daylight savings time!!! 2] Mild winter temperatures instead of extreme summer heat.

3. Pomegranate, kumquat, persimmon, kiwi, and guava are all fruits said to have health benefits, particularly during the winter months. Do you have a favorite on the list? Are there any on the list you haven't tried? Tasted 'em all. I like kiwi and pomegranate. I have a pomegranate tree in our back yard. I love everything pomegranate. Even wine. At a wine tasting event in Fredricksburg, Texas is where I first tried it... you can purchase this delicious wine. Even order it delivered from their online site...Wait...the site is down; being reconstructed, so I did the wine label search [D'Vine Wines] and found an affiliate of the winery in Dallas/Fort Worth. The pomegranate wine is: Texas Twister.

4. I passed a local church yesterday and noticed they had this on their outdoor sign- 'When all else fails, do the right thing.' Your thoughts? Hmmmm, that must be something that is used a lot, we have a couple of churches that have the very same signage. My thoughts? Of COURSE, everyone should do the right thing. But, in the eyes and minds of others, doing the right thing may be a failure, but in my mind...right is always RIGHT no matter, and that is NOT failing. Why would this even work...if all else fails? Shouldn't you be doing 'right' in the first place?

5. Do you ski? According to one list I've seen, the top 5 ski destinations for 2014 are-St. Anton Austria, Whistler Canada, Cortina Italy, Tahoe USA, and Zermatt Switzerland. Of the five listed, which would you most like to visit? We can make skiing optional if that helps the non-skiers with their answer. LOL...growing up in Colorado? Do I ski? Nope. Tried it.  First time out on skis I  bruised three ribs. Never again. I'd much rather fall off a horse and get back up on it. Of the countries you have listed, I would probably pick Austria, but not for skiing --- for history.

6. What's the last thing you looked for online? (Besides my blog!) Besides looking for the wine label this morning? [see #3] It would be the bird sightings for the state of Texas to see what particular bird species have been spotted locally. I try to check this every morning. But if not, I especially make a habit of it during Spring Migration.  Texas is a birding haven for migration. 

7. What saying, slogan, quote, or motto have you seen lately that inspires you for the new year? I haven't seen or read anything that has been an inspiration to me this month. Yet, some of the other bloggers have had some very good quotes ---quotations can be inspiring year 'round!!

8. Insert your own random thought here. Championship Playoff Game...Sunday 2 PM [Texas Time Zone] CBS!!!  Bud and I will probably go to a sports bar, have a couple o' beers and a burger...watch the game on a big screen TV since we no longer have cable at home.







[this photo of 'skinny' me was taken long ago, even when I had LONG hair!] Always a Bronco Fan. Win or Lose.

§ Fredericksburg - Texas Wine Country

Fredericksburg is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. It is the sister city of Montabaur, Germany. On October 14, 1970, the Fredericksburg Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas.

connecting to:
Shadow Shot Sunday
















Texas Hill Country is known for their vineyards and wineries!!! Of course, wine tasting was on our list of 'things to do'. We naturally had to stop at Fredericksburg, Texas because of Bud being a history buff, and Erik and I liking the idea of doing some wine tasting. Being that it was only a 3 day weekend trip, and the highways, byways, and walkways were nearly bumper to bumper holiday traffic and shoppers, we stopped at the huge complex of the Pacific War Museum first after finding a parking place [that was a feat in itself!]; the day was 'rushed'. We spent a couple of hours there, and toured only a partial part. Hunger pangs were taking its toll on our bodies, even after a larger than normal breakfast earlier. Once the tour of the museum was over, and stopping at the book store/gift shop within the complex, we tasted the authentic German Cuisine. Fredericksburg Texas is probably 99% German Heritage. Then, we walked the touristy area, stopping by one wine tasting room that really didn't appeal to us. We ventured to another. Called D*Vine Winery...The three of us tasted 6 different wines each. One they were out of stock, the Bluebonnet Bliss [with blackberry infused]. I sampled Pedernales River Rose [strawberry], Gillespie Gulch [cranberry], Fred Red [Black Cherry] and more that I can't recall as I type this, but one that she convinced me to try - it wasn't on the tasting list - a new one for 2011; called Enchanted Granite. And, that's the one of which I bought a bottle!!! DEElicious!!! Can a wine be delicious? This was....Enchanted Granite is a Pomegranate infused Zinfandel. Truly yummy. I will have to take a trip downtown to Spec's Liquor and see if they carry this, if not, I will most definitely have them ship me more in due time.


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Now that the 'important' part of my post is done [rofl] - the wine, I move on to the Pacific War Museum! Being that it's all walks of the military, we tried to get in as much as we could regarding the Navy and the Marine Corps since Bud and Erik are that, respectively. There was a super memorial that could rival the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. [well, not really if you've ever seen the real thing as I have]....but the Pacific War Memorial in this complex WAS, without a doubt, very humbling and quite poignant and quite reminiscent of the Wall in D.C; similar concept. There, in the courtyard, they have several walls that memorialize ships, fleets, battalions, presidents during WWII, and 1000s of faces and names. I found one of Bud's ships that he was stationed on [AFTER the war of course]...but the ship, the USS Tabberer has some great accolades and history during the great war.


Left to Right: List of Names on the USS Tabberer [DE-418]...US Marine Corp 3rd Marine Division [Erik is 3rd Marine Division]....etched plate of the USS Tabberer. *By the way, I think it's ironic that Bud's birthday is April 18th...the ship he was on DE 418...April [4] 18 [birthday]. :o)


Part of the museum was dedicated to Admiral Nimitz - Commander of the Pacific Fleet [of which the Nimitz aircraft carrier in named]. As I perused this section, I found on display ONE chain link of the USS Nimitz anchor. The anchor chain weighs in at around 308,000 TONS!....one link weighs approximately [each] 365 pounds. I wish I had taken a comparison picture of this, with my hand beside the anchor link to show you its relative size...but trust me, it's HUGE!


To begin the tour of the museum complex, you begin here...at the renovated hotel...Fredericksburg's original Nimitz Hotel was built on Main Street in the late 1840s or early 1850s and acquired by Charles H. Nimitz in 1855. The hotel had four rooms and a large central fireplace. Nimitz subsequently built a new structure of adobe and wood and eventually expanded to fifty rooms. The hotel's Casino Hall quickly became a center of Fredericksburg social life; Nimitz also provided a room in which traveling salesmen could display their wares and a bathhouse that reportedly offered the only hot baths between San Antonio and El Paso. In addition, he operated a brewery, a saloon, and a general store at the hotel. The hotel had a rose garden, a vegetable garden, a grape arbor, and a stagecoach stop at the back protected by a high stone wall. The Nimitz soon gained a reputation for comfort and convenience. A number of families from Houston and Galveston spent their summers there, and among the more notable guests of the hotel were President Rutherford B. Hayes, Robert E. Lee, Philip H. Sheridan [Bud's ancestral files show he's relation; distantly], Horace Greeley, William Sydney Porter, the explorer Adolphus W. Greely, Ulysses S. Grant, William Rufus Shafter, Fitzhugh Lee, Earl Van Dorn and James T. Longstreet....the museum complex covers an entire block with many buildings and courtyards, along with a secondary area that is two blocks' walking distance from the main area.





FURTHER READING:


Texas Wine Country Map

Anchor Chain stats [photo of men LIFTING chain] ---
TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL - Nimitz Hotel
MONTABAUR Germany