We spent the end of the year walking, eating, going to movies and enjoying our surroundings. The weather had been pretty cloudy, cold and windy. It was so cold that I even had to pull the flannel lined jeans out of storage.
The end of the year was pretty cold and windy here in the Valley. Of course it is pretty cold and windy across the country. New Years Eve we woke up to the temperature at 61 but in Birchwood it was -18. So I guess we can not complain even though tomorrow (Jan 1, 2018) we will see a high temp of 40!!
It was a good year to visit with friends and family. We made new friends but we did lose my oldest brother in October. I will miss his calls and laughter.
We are looking forward to 2018, no New Year Resolutions for either of us, we would just break them anyway!
Bird count: We ended the year with 587 birds, we added 31 new birds this year. 40 new year birds added make our year count at 384. We were trying for 400 but fell short. finally our month came in at 186. Actually pretty good month. There were a number of birds that we could not identify and a number we could not just find!
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Christmas on South Padre Island
Dec 23, 2017 We left home around 8:30 for our 90 mile trip to South Padre Island. Of course we made a few stops on the way.
This was our first stop. We had a really nice walk around the battlefield although a bit windy and cool.
We finally found the Aplomada Falcon on a very bumpy road, but worth the ride..
He sat for quite a few pictures.
time for shrimp lunch in Port Isabel at
We arrived at our hotel at about 2:00 pm.
We went out walking along the beach where the wind was blowing hard
We planned on watching the Vikings vs the Packers but out TV lost NBC! So we headed to the bar in the hotel to watch the game. Unfortunately the game had been blacked out! Luckily I recorded the game at home. (after we got home it was blacked out there too!) They have entertainment on Fri and Sat nights. Jack and Karla were the entertainment. We seen them 5 years ago when we spent Christmas here in 2012! At the time they were both near 80 years old, today they were 5 years older but still going strong. What a delight to see them still working and having fun.
Dec 24: after a great breakfast we walked across the street to the Birding and Nature Center
It turned out to be a beautiful day on the island. After a few hours of walking around we headed to lunch to the south end of the island to Dirty Al's for a pound of boiled shrimp and a few fried oysters.
After lunch we headed to the beach along with a lot of other people. of course Eric had to walk into the water...
Dec 25, 2017 Merry Christmas. the day began very foggy with a cool wind and heavy mist/rain, it stayed that way all day. We had breakfast then to the fitness center for a bit of jogging on the treadmill. Off for a ride to the northern most part of the island and a bit of walking on the beach. We then looked for places that were open for dinner. We found a place open at lunch time, so we stopped in for a nacho appetizer and beer. The place was very crowded as it was one of the only places open. Resting and nap was in order for the day. We went out for dinner at Kracken's Montana grill. They had a Christmas dinner plate that was so good!
it was the perfect amount and oh so good. Our hotel had a buffet but we were not interested in eating so much food. Not the best weather but a wonderful day.
Dec 26: after breakfast we checked out, then went back to the birding center to look once more for a few birds. Unfortunately we did not find the ones we were looking for. Still a bit foggy and light mist as we left the island.
We stopped at few places on the way back home including HEB for groceries.
This was our first stop. We had a really nice walk around the battlefield although a bit windy and cool.
We finally found the Aplomada Falcon on a very bumpy road, but worth the ride..
He sat for quite a few pictures.
time for shrimp lunch in Port Isabel at
We arrived at our hotel at about 2:00 pm.
We went out walking along the beach where the wind was blowing hard
We planned on watching the Vikings vs the Packers but out TV lost NBC! So we headed to the bar in the hotel to watch the game. Unfortunately the game had been blacked out! Luckily I recorded the game at home. (after we got home it was blacked out there too!) They have entertainment on Fri and Sat nights. Jack and Karla were the entertainment. We seen them 5 years ago when we spent Christmas here in 2012! At the time they were both near 80 years old, today they were 5 years older but still going strong. What a delight to see them still working and having fun.
Dec 24: after a great breakfast we walked across the street to the Birding and Nature Center
It turned out to be a beautiful day on the island. After a few hours of walking around we headed to lunch to the south end of the island to Dirty Al's for a pound of boiled shrimp and a few fried oysters.
After lunch we headed to the beach along with a lot of other people. of course Eric had to walk into the water...
Dec 25, 2017 Merry Christmas. the day began very foggy with a cool wind and heavy mist/rain, it stayed that way all day. We had breakfast then to the fitness center for a bit of jogging on the treadmill. Off for a ride to the northern most part of the island and a bit of walking on the beach. We then looked for places that were open for dinner. We found a place open at lunch time, so we stopped in for a nacho appetizer and beer. The place was very crowded as it was one of the only places open. Resting and nap was in order for the day. We went out for dinner at Kracken's Montana grill. They had a Christmas dinner plate that was so good!
it was the perfect amount and oh so good. Our hotel had a buffet but we were not interested in eating so much food. Not the best weather but a wonderful day.
Dec 26: after breakfast we checked out, then went back to the birding center to look once more for a few birds. Unfortunately we did not find the ones we were looking for. Still a bit foggy and light mist as we left the island.
We stopped at few places on the way back home including HEB for groceries.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Across the Border and quality pool time
Sunday Dec 17: Fred and Kim Galan picked us up for a trip across the border. We parked on this side of The Bridge and then walked across.
Being that it was Sunday there was not a lot of people. The Dentist and Doctors offices were all closed and some of the street vendors were not there. We shopped a bit, stopped for a drink
then had lunch at the Red Snapper. Our food was all good. Fred had the Shrimp
Eric said his Fish Tacos were fabulous, Kim's Shrimp Tacos were OK, my Mexican plate was good.
It was a fun day visiting with Wisconsin friends.
Birding at Salineno
an Olive Sparrow taking a bath
We did get a new bird The White Collared Seedeater, but no picture
Thursday Dec 21 the shortest day of the year! We took a nice long walk in the morning, we seen this huge turtle
Afternoon was pool time!
Right now we pretty much own the pool area. But we suspect that after the 1st of the year it will be more crowded once the park is full of people.
Blue Spiny Lizzard
Eric being artistic...
tomorrow (Dec 23 we are off to South Padre Island for the Holiday)
Being that it was Sunday there was not a lot of people. The Dentist and Doctors offices were all closed and some of the street vendors were not there. We shopped a bit, stopped for a drink
then had lunch at the Red Snapper. Our food was all good. Fred had the Shrimp
Eric said his Fish Tacos were fabulous, Kim's Shrimp Tacos were OK, my Mexican plate was good.
It was a fun day visiting with Wisconsin friends.
Birding at Salineno
an Olive Sparrow taking a bath
We did get a new bird The White Collared Seedeater, but no picture
Thursday Dec 21 the shortest day of the year! We took a nice long walk in the morning, we seen this huge turtle
Afternoon was pool time!
Right now we pretty much own the pool area. But we suspect that after the 1st of the year it will be more crowded once the park is full of people.
Blue Spiny Lizzard
Eric being artistic...
tomorrow (Dec 23 we are off to South Padre Island for the Holiday)
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Estero Llano Grande State Park, golf
Yesterday we went to Santa Ana WLR were we volunteered in 2011 + 2012. It was fun to see the refuge again. The trees and foliage really grew up. We had a great bird walk there with John and Sue.
Dec 10, Today we went on a a bird walk at the state park with Rick and May. We seen 81 different birds including the Tropical Parula which is a rare visitor to the US
Dec 10, Today we went on a a bird walk at the state park with Rick and May. We seen 81 different birds including the Tropical Parula which is a rare visitor to the US
on the way to the park we seen about 100 Green Parakeets. Not as exciting as the Parula but still new to us.
Green Kingfisher eating a fish
and the camouflaged Common Pauraque
Walking around our neighborhood we met a few neighbors
Olive Sparrow, we can hear him sing but it is very hard to find and almost impossible to get a picture. He was trying to hide but we found him and got his picture.
On Tuesday we went to the Hidalgo Pump House and found this Ringed Kingfisher. Beautiful day to be outside.
We went golfing at a golf course near us, El Nino. It is a short 3 par, with mostly scrub for grass and really bad greens but it was $8 per person, we were the only ones there, it took about an hour to golf all 9 holes and we had a great time! We are looking at golfing once a week, this place is a good starting course.
Refrigerator is working again. We finally called a repair man on Monday. He had us do a few things to check it out. We made an appointment for Tuesday, in the mean time he said to leave it on. Well guess what? Of course it worked! We have had this problem a few times where the fridge stops working then begins again..
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Cold weather in the Valley
Dec 6, the cold front made it all the way down here to the Valley. Temps between 52-37 for 3 days. It might not seem cold to some but down here that is pretty cold. Wind too! Good couple of days to clean out closets, set up housekeeping and check out our park.
We were able to meet Kim and Fred Galan for lunch on Thursday. The day was very cold, windy and wet. It was fun getting together again. Thursday night/Friday morning we had snow in the Valley. The last time they had snow was in 2005. Of course the weather people were ecstatic about the snow, we on the other hand were very annoyed.
Of course the cold weather lasted only 3 days, although it seemed longer. We are still glad we are here in South Texas!
We were able to meet Kim and Fred Galan for lunch on Thursday. The day was very cold, windy and wet. It was fun getting together again. Thursday night/Friday morning we had snow in the Valley. The last time they had snow was in 2005. Of course the weather people were ecstatic about the snow, we on the other hand were very annoyed.
Of course the cold weather lasted only 3 days, although it seemed longer. We are still glad we are here in South Texas!
Friday, December 8, 2017
We arrived at Retama Village in Mission Tx
Dec 1: we drove to Choke Canyon State Park in Three Rivers, TX. We drove about 190 miles from Georgetown, just north of Austin today. It was a pretty uneventful trip. Not too much traffic or construction.
We have stayed at Choke Canyon in the past. It is a nice state park, large sites on the water with a short (2 mile) trail. Our weather has been great since we hit Texas.
Since we did not get a volunteer gig this year we will be taking a "gap" year. We are looking forward to exploring the Valley and spending time at the pool. Mission is about 75 miles west of Brownsville. We would have preferred to stay more in the middle of the Valley but we waited to hear from various parks about volunteering. By the time we decided that no one wanted us it was a bit late to find the "perfect" location.
We finally arrived at our winter destination after another 190 mile drive. We are looking forward to being back in the Valley again.
Our site is about 5 lots from the pool area
Our little coach house is 12 X 20
advertised as decorated in Southwest style. Not sure what that means, but we love the coach house, if not the furniture...
Of course we had to do a bit of birding to look for old friends...
Green Jays
Javalina with Green Jay
We had to take a trip to Brownsville to look for the Tamaulipas Crow. We looked a few years ago but did not find them. This year we seen a few of them! New life bird! Its a little crazy walking around the dump as it is an active site. Lots of trucks dropping off garbage etc, large equipment moving waste etc. But it is one of the few places in the US that you can find these birds.
One little glitch when we landed, the refrigerator is acting up again. It was fine the entire way down here. Now it decides to go out... It is always something.
We have stayed at Choke Canyon in the past. It is a nice state park, large sites on the water with a short (2 mile) trail. Our weather has been great since we hit Texas.
Since we did not get a volunteer gig this year we will be taking a "gap" year. We are looking forward to exploring the Valley and spending time at the pool. Mission is about 75 miles west of Brownsville. We would have preferred to stay more in the middle of the Valley but we waited to hear from various parks about volunteering. By the time we decided that no one wanted us it was a bit late to find the "perfect" location.
We finally arrived at our winter destination after another 190 mile drive. We are looking forward to being back in the Valley again.
Our site is about 5 lots from the pool area
Our little coach house is 12 X 20
advertised as decorated in Southwest style. Not sure what that means, but we love the coach house, if not the furniture...
Of course we had to do a bit of birding to look for old friends...
Green Jays
Javalina with Green Jay
Texas Tortoise, this was a little guy
Great Kiskadee
We had to take a trip to Brownsville to look for the Tamaulipas Crow. We looked a few years ago but did not find them. This year we seen a few of them! New life bird! Its a little crazy walking around the dump as it is an active site. Lots of trucks dropping off garbage etc, large equipment moving waste etc. But it is one of the few places in the US that you can find these birds.
One little glitch when we landed, the refrigerator is acting up again. It was fine the entire way down here. Now it decides to go out... It is always something.
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