January 2020

A new year is upon us, we don't make resolutions because realistically rarely does anyone ever keep them.  We will try (as always) to get some exercise, eat good food and of course to be kind to others.

Jan 1 was a rainy day but we managed to get out and get 66 species of birds.  Eric, Marybeth and Greg participated in the Clayton's Polar Dip on South Padre Island.

It was a cloudy day and as soon as they came up from the water the rain began!  We had to run to the truck as it was raining so hard...

3 uneventful days of work started out our new year.  We really enjoy the sunshine, blue sky and palm trees.  Can't seem to get enough of our views while we are working or playing.

On one of our days off, we volunteered to help the Coastal Biologist with planting on an island in Laguna Madre. there were 6 people (4 volunteers) and two boats that went out a few miles into the Laguna.

The tide was low so we could not get too close to the shore, the ground was very slippery and muddy and a few deep holes that everyone seemed to find.

I borrowed Stephanie's boots as they were higher to get to shore.

After getting the supplies to shore we had to drag them another 200 yards to where the planting was to take place.

After planting the seedling we protected them with plastic sleeves.

We planted about 90 plants

Oh Yes, I got stuck in the mud both ways!! almost over my boot!

It was a fun day, beautiful weather, met some nice people, got to get out on the water but...  we don't need to do that again.  The boat rides were a bit unnerving.

Back to work:  Snake!!  This was the biggest we have seen this year!  We ran into 2 of them on our walk while we were working.  not sure if we will walk that trail for awhile.

Wearing of the Yellow and Green  Go Pack!! A bit of a nail bitter but they won, on to the NFC Championship.  Does Eric have enough Leinenkugels to get him through the next game?

We heard about a Fork Tailed Flycatcher in the area..  we have missed it twice But we found it with a little help from our friends.  It was a very overcast dark morning so no pictures but we got very good and long looks at the beautiful bird.  Not our picture but one from the internet...

We tried to get the King Rail too but no luck... maybe next time.


Back to work..

We had a few calm weather days so the trash pick up business was in full pick up mode.  We did have an issue with our vehicle, as we were driving down the highway the Low Pressure Oil light and alarm came on!  We had to be rescued by one of the volunteers, but as we waited for our rescuer we were able to get 3 large bags of trash picked up!  Never a dull moment here on the refugee.

For our Friday Fish Fry we went to a local Seafood market, purchased a Dozen oysters for $10.  they needed cleaning but some were very large! and oh so good..

they had to be scrubbed twice to get all the sand, mud etc off..

Shucking them was a bit more difficult than we had before

The flare up!

The final product was sooo good, the cheese was perfect, the oysters were juicy and delicious, we will most likely do this again soon...

the weather turned to cold and windy for our days off....

Birding, shopping and golfing was on our agenda.  We went to Mexico on Monday for lunch and a little shopping, Tuesday we hit the links in Brownsville. our first time golfing since we arrived here in November.  Luckily no one was in front or behind us, we were able to breeze right through 9 holes in a little over an hour.

this must be the year of the snake.. He was about 2 feet long but pretty skinny

Back to work and of course the weather is perfect..  Oh well, no complaints.

Days off we headed to Falcon State Park, west of here on the Rio Grande.  We made a stop at part of our wildlife refuge that is pretty much Thorny Scrub, and yes Eric did get some scratches.  We were looking for the Green Tailed Towhee, did not find it on Sunday but did find it on Wednesday on our way back home.

Our accommodations for our weekend.  We did bring along good pads for our bedding. It had a brand new A/C-Heater that worked great on A/C.  Our weather was very warm.

yes we brought the refrigerator and electric cooler...

Look whats for dinner!  leftover pizza over the grill.  it was pretty good!

We were alone at the shelters except for the coyotes, owls and night critters!  beautiful sunsets and the sky was full of stars and planets

Dinner on Monday was Spam and hard boiled eggs on the grill..  we sure do know how to live it up!

 We went to a private RV park to look for birds, the sign says free looks but they charged us $3 each to look around.  It was a very peaceful place right on the river.  not sure I would camp there, actually I am sure that I would not camp there but it was a nice place to walk around.

 Our tradition of Jiffy Pop over the fire continues!   A fun treat for a warm night.

Back to work for the end of the month

What a great start to 2020.  We have been lucky with the warmer than normal temps and little rain.  South Texas needs rain as our ponds and lakes are drying up! We are so fortunate to be out of the cold and snow. Enjoying our surroundings, the people, the food, the "work" we do and the ability to enjoy it all together.