§ Coming In....Going Out...

Even tho we have an Arctic front supposedly moving into our area over the Christmas weekend, with sub-freezing temps for a couple of days, I thought I'd go back a week or two, back to my regular day-trippin', when the day was balmy and the sun was shining. I went to Port Aransas to do my CBC [Christmas Bird Count] for the year. After I left the birding center, I drove to the ship channel jetty in hopes of seeing some ships come and perhaps, if lucky, seeing dolphins...

The first one I saw was a pilot boat heading out. Which means that one of the ships anchored out to sea was awaiting coming thru the channel as the now pilot aboard will guide them thru, safely.

Just minutes behind the pilot boat a tanker was leaving, and the pilot boat first seen was returning after dropping off the pilot onboard the tanker coming in...

My anticipating some dolphin action at the ship's bow, I didn't have too long-a-wait to see some once the tanker edged its way closer to where I stood...

When observers [I'm not the only one watching!] await the ship nearing them, it seems painfully slow. That, of course, is a safety measure! Most commercial vessels must maintain a speed of 6 to 8 knots to maintain steerage and they must remain near the center of a narrow channel. And to convert knots to MPH that would equal approximately 9 mph!!  Slow as molasses comes to mind.  

BACKGROUND: The Corpus Christi Ship Channel (CCSC) is a 45-ft deep channel that extends from the Gulf of Mexico 34 miles into the Port of Corpus Christi.

From where I stand on the jetty to watch the ships enter and exit, it's about one mile if that much.

§ Miscellany....

Blogger is not cooperating for me this time around. So, just photos posted for today...

Humor:



Heart shape:



Dolphins:



Park Bench at birding center:

§ Nuttin' Important....

Not much earth shattering going on at Hootin's abode this week. In fact, it's been too quiet. I'm not going anywhere much 'cause by the time the sun is getting ready to rise, the temps are climbing. This Saturday it's predicted to get a heat index of 110°F, so I will continue to stay home for the most part; do laundry, dust, and maybe vacuum. That's a dangerous heat index and it's kinda scary!! It's the first week in MAY!!!! That is the middle of August temps normally. I've been reading, watching game shows on TV [jeopardy only], getting a post finished and pre-scheduled to post for my bird blog. I did have another chiropractor visit on Tuesday, then, after the appointment, I went and bought me a couple of make-up bags that needed to be replaced. Priorities for the moment, tho, is stocking up on our pantry of canned goods, etc. for hurricane preparedness....menial things to be done before June [when hurricane season begins] arrives. I also need to schedule a hair cut soon!  I've put that off for some time now, and it shows.  My hair is curling where it's not supposed to curl.  lol  I filled up the car with gas the other day and it was $49.00!! When will this end? Eggs, tho it was suggested there'd be shortage of them because of the bird flu...I noticed at the store there are PLENTY of eggs! But the price per dozen has doubled. Figure that out. It's like the cost of fuel...around here [oil country] we have tons of storage tanks that hold millions of barrels each, yet the cost of gas sky-rockets?!! I could go on and on about our government and big corporations and their greed, but it's useless.  Hope this'll be the end in 2024.  I've had enough of his 'reign'.  [just my opinion!!!  I refuse to make it a huge discussion, so no need to get riled if you disagree.] I will just finish with more photos that have been on the computer for way too long [dolphins, box turtle, longhorn cattle and last - a squirrel]...

§ This and That....

For a few days I've stayed home and got some menial jobs done around the house. One was nothing earth shattering, but it took most of the morning. And since I go walking in the morning only, I didn't that day. The job of work was to clean, wax, dust, and arrange the entertainment center. One side of the shelving unit has our collection of DVD [and even some old VHS!!]. When using them, they never get put back in the original slot. So, I wanted to take them all out [100s] and dust the shelves, then arrange them alphabetically. By the way, you may wonder why we still have VHS in our collection...we have a DVD/VHS player, and some of our favorite movies have never made it to DVD. So, they stay here with us. Then, on the other side of the unit are four more shelves. There I have cassettes, CDs, and even vinyls -33 rpm and 45s-. Yep we have a record player, CD, and cassette player all in one. The collection of vinyls go back to the history of JAZZ, Elvis, Righteous Bros, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Herb Alpert, and many classical compositions. I even have a collection of Winston Churchill speeches in several volumes on 33rpm.

Now that you know the background of this post somewhat, the reason there is nothing much, I am sharing a few eclectic photos with you 'cause I have nothing better to share at the moment. I haven't gone walking 'cause the heat index has been hitting the 110° mark.  If I do go anywhere, it's all in the Air Conditioned Car...

Just outside our house, "x" marks the spot!

Finally, the frozen pitiful looking palm trees are coming back...

Power Line Repair work...on island highway!

 

Gift Shop Exterior on NORTH Padre Island [not South Padre Island...that's Brownsville, Texas]

 

I brought my lens-ball in from the car to clean and took a couple photos of a couple of my glass dolphins.

And Isaiah being somewhat of a mechanic. He thought the tire was a bit low and tried showing me that they needed inflating a bit so he could crawl under the chassis and check out the drive train for me.

 

 

...and to continue showcasing my Trolls...

↓ My 27th Troll Share ↓

TROLL DOLL COLLECTION Holiday Themed SMALLEST IN MY COLLECTION Thanksgiving Pilgrim circa: 80s

§ The Jetty...

As I mentioned in my previous post, the ship channel was quite busy. Of course I took pictures. I love watching the ships come into the channel to reach the ports o' call [Ingleside or Corpus]. I will just share what I saw the short time I was there, without much further chit chat...

The one image with the huge scooping machine is where they are in the process of repairing a broken jetty from Hurricane Harvey...three years ago!! I also took a few zoomed-in photos too [The first top left image is where they turn the ship into the channel from being anchored at sea waiting for their 'turn' to enter...and the last one in the series below, the ships travel within a few yards of some residential homes!]...

...some dolphin activity:

§ I Guess I'm Bored! I Don't Know What Else to Call It....

I just haven't felt like blogging much. I get in those moods more often than not these days. I guess mainly I can blame it on Covid. I don't know what else it could be. I'm not as active in my daily walking routine lately. Last week, it was mostly spent cleaning up debris in our yard[s] from the storm that was over us. Then, two days last week, it was raining and oh so very humid. I just lingered at home and crocheted and read. Oh, one morning, I got a spur up my rear end and it probed me into scouring and cleaning from ceiling to the floor....both bathrooms! My seldom used muscles told me I over-did it; the next day, a bit sore.

I did, however, drive to the island just for a change; a break in the scenery from indoor walls to outdoor sunshine. The TXDOT [or whatever state/federal department handles such things] was dredging the ship channel. Or getting some repair work done on it from two hurricanes in the last few years. The beach was closed to vehicle traffic, but I did walk in after parking on the access road at the barricades. What was really a bit eerie was the fact no one was around fishing off the jetty! I don't think I've ever before seen a scene like that. It felt like I was the only one left after some apocalypse.

...but I woke up a bit from my frenzied thoughts once a very large tanker appeared behind me. I quickly walked up to the jetty boulders and stood on the sandbar to watch for dolphins! I was treated to a show! Young ones with their parent...[as large as the one was, I'm thinking the papa!!!] After watching the dolphins, I walked along the quiet beach for a while, taking photos of the many terns, some with youngsters, begging to be fed, on the sand. I then drove to see if the swallows were still around, the babies in the mud nests lifted my spirits some. Also, seeing beautiful butterflies, cute lizards, more birds, and pretty wildflowers, I went home feeling a bit more 'alive' instead of a shut-in. I don't like being a shut-in. 

The tanker:  AISSOT ---Al Iraqia Shipping Services and Oil Trading.
Read more here

Bottlenose Dolphins


Royal Tern [youngster in foreground]


Barn Swallow parent, feeding two of its offspring