Day Goes From Boring to Blessed

Thursday,  June 27, 2013

Yesterday started out pretty boring.  I did a load of laundry only to discover that folding heavy bath towels one handed is not worth the effort.  I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  I read for a while and watched the birds.  Some don't "play well together".  They get rather selfish where food is concerned.

Again I had not slept enough hours during the night so I decided a nap was called for.  I slept from about 1:00 until 4:00 and eventually checked my phone for texts.  My husband had sent one a few minutes before, saying he had an emergency job on South Padre Island, and did I want to go with him.  That sure sounded better than the rest of my day had been so I agreed and he came to get me on the way.

South Padre Island (or as I normally refer to it - "the island") is a great place for photos of birds and I had not been there for that in months.  As we drove out there (about 20 miles), the wind was blowing so hard, it was creating sand storms across the road as we neared Port Isabel.  That didn't bode well for my planned picture taking. 

When we got to his job site,I stayed in the car and read.  It didn't take long for him to complete the task so he offered to take me to a couple of birding sites.  One is some property owned by The Valley Land Fund, not far from where he had his job.  As soon as I got out of the car, I knew my chances of seeing birds there, that hot afternoon weren't good.  Sorry I couldn't supplement this story with a photo of the reason, but as soon as I got out of the car, my camera lens fogged up from the contrast between the cool car and the steamy temperature outside.  The photo would have been of a white cat, with an orange stripped tail, wandering through the brush and a few feathers clinging to a nearby bush.  I only saw a few doves across the street in another piece of property owned by the group.

As we had crossed the causeway to the island, traffic was stacked up for a long way headed the other direction, so my husband said he would rather spend the time letting me check on the birds near the Convention Center (normally a good spot for warblers and thrushes), instead of sitting in the long line.  Beside the Convention Center it was hot, humid, windy, and without birds except for two or three grackles.

Ron found a shady place to read and I sent him a text that I was heading down the board walk.  The shrubs were all in bloom and the scent was strong and heavy in the humid heat.  Part way down the boardwalk, I found a treasure trove of birds and spent the next 20 - 30 minutes photographing them.  What a joy to see all of these unique, beautiful birds all in one spot.   The trip brightened my day A LOT!  So I will share some of my photos with you.

There was a flock of about 6 Roseate Spoonbills and a variety of Gulls.

 

There were a couple of Snowy Egrets and this beautiful Little Blue Heron.

Little Blue Heron.

This Great Egret was outstanding.  I often wonder how they stay so white out in the mud.

 

There were several Black-Necked Stilts (one of my favorites).  In the foreground is a Killdeer.

The group included at least a couple of White Ibises.

Here is a partial "group" shot.

 

At least a half dozen Common Moorhens wandered in and out of the area.

 

There were mother ducks with babies, sandpipers, Pied-Billed Grebes, Grackles,and Red-winged Blackbirds, and as I mentioned before, an assortment of Gulls, all gathered in a small area, allowing me a delightful afternoon with little exertion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so glad my husband took time to take me on that outing.  We then returned home with no delay on the causeway and had supper.  Following that we went to Ron's mother's house to visit with her, Ron's brother from Tennessee and his wife, and Ron's aunt from Louisiana.  We were having such a nice visit we lost all track of time and didn't get home until 11:30.  A nice day!

 

Discussion at Ron's mom's house, for me, had to be one-on-one.  I just couldn't hear in a group setting.  Ron's aunt has a good friend who has had a Cochlear Implant and she had told his aunt for me to be patient when the device is activated and to realise it will take time.  She had added me to their church prayer list especially for that time of activation.  I would request that from all of my praying friends.  That will be a stressful couple of days next week.

 

My arm was tired and gave me a little bit of a restless night, but not too bad.  It is getting better every day.  I must constantly remind myself not to use it.  That is easier said than done.