Taking a Ride on a Dreary Day

A dreary day. Raining on and off. We decided to take a ride through the 15 mile Laguna Madre area, just outside of Laguna Vista.
A 15 mile route took us 3 hours!
We stopped at viewing areas along the way and read every informational sign on the route. Mostly we stopped to look at the birds. We watched an Osprey eating a fish that was a foot long! The fish tail flapped each time the osprey took a bite out of it. Finally -the fish stopped moving.

This solitary tree was in the right
place for this bird to have a rest.

We stopped at the Visitor's Center and three Green Jays just flew in, for have an afternoon snack. Up close their colors are striking! We've seen several Green Jays since coming down here and each time, each one, is just as beautiful as the last one we saw.

These tracks are quite deep. Wish I could've seen the Nilgai that made them! A nilgai is a native antelope of India. They were introduced to South Texas in the early 1930's on the King Ranch. Exotic hunting being the sole purpose of bringing them to the state. One day, on our excursions, I hope to see one!
                             

Thorn forests, cacti, flowers, various palm trees, and scrub of all varieties dominant the area we drove through today. I love this cactus **it has red balls on it, like little apples.

The yellow flowers growing near it were blended in as if it was a bouquet waiting for someone to think it was a Kodak moment!

Along our drive this Roadrunner stopped just long enough to strike a pose for me. He ran quickly along the brush catching bugs in the air. This is only the second time I've seen a roadrunner, in the wild.

      The highlight of the day. 
Entering the Laguna Madre drive, the first thing you notice are the speed bumps. Not your regular speed bump. These are bumps that are narrow, about 5" high, and pointy. You really need to slow almost to a stop to go over them. 
We wondered why they were there. Talking to a volunteer we learned they were there to slow people down. And? The reason being, there are ocelots in the thorny forests. There have been incidents, where ocelots have been hit.
The speed bumps are hopefully slowing people ,so no more ocelots are killed. 
There are not many left in the country, about one hundred or less, with approximately 30 in this area.
There were two signs cautioning people of ocelot crossings. Believe me, I had my eyes everywhere hoping we would spot one. No luck on our drive.
We left the area about 4:45, it was getting dark early because of the dreary day it was. As we drove out I looked to my left and there crossing the road, very close to the Visitor's Center was an ocelot! We slowly drove closer as the ocelot ran across the road, paced a few times along the fence and ran into the thick brush. 
Camera? Yup, not ready! Maybe next time.

Sand Castles and Red Tide

Building sand castles--a fun activity when going to the beach. Our first trip over to South Padre Island was to attend Castle Days. Not to build sand castles, but to view them.

Builders from all over the world came to the Island, to "play in the sand."
Their imaginations were in top shape and their creations were magical!

The downside of the weekend and the following two weeks was that the Red Tide was in. Red tide can cause
burning eyes and skin irritation. Many fish also wash up onto the beach and it gets very smelly. In Texas, red tides are caused by high concentrations of a microscopic alga called Karenia brevis.The water may become discolored, causing it to appear red, light
green, dark green or brown.
Symptoms common when breathing red tide toxins include coughing, sneezing, and teary eyes. Many people were wearing masks to help filter and lessen the effects. Interestingly enough, it affected Joe more than myself. He covered his nose and mouth with a napkin while we walked the beach to view the "castles."  We didn't stick around, as coughing while trying to enjoy something is not pleasant. Amazingly, as soon as we were away from the beach, the symptoms dissipated. No more coughing and Joe's eyes were fine.

Look at these "sand castles"~~~these professional builders are good!
Puss 'N Boots was my favorite.  The shark attack was Joe's favorite. Men!

Battles, Birds and Snakes

Texas is rich in history, which pleases Joe as he loves reading about all aspects of it. Recently, we visited the battlefields at Palo Alto in Brownsville,TX. Palo Alto was the site of the first battle of the US/Mexican war in 1846.The Visitor's Center featured a video educating viewers of the timetable, the participants, the reasons, and the area covered by the US/Mexican war, with perspectives from both countries. As we patiently watched the video and took it all in, I was anxious to get outdoors to see the birds!  Joe was anxious to get into the main area of the Center to start reading every little detail, on every plaque and poster. Wonderful! Something that interests both of us, at the same place!
Joe stayed in the Center reading while I headed outside with my binoculars
around my neck. I walked 1 1/2 miles, through the battlefield, now with
winding, blacktopped paths for easy walking, to view a nest of the Black-Shouldered Kite. The Kite must've been notified of my presence, as it gracefully flew up from the brush! How fortunate to be there at that moment.

I walked back to find Joe still reading. As closing time was approaching we decided to return to Palo Alto another day, for Joe to resume reading and for me to walk the battlefields looking for more of my feathered friends.

I'm contemplating wearing my boots next time we go out there, as there were several signs on the paths, to be careful and watch for snakes. Texas has several venomous snakes. The two in our area are the Western

Diamondback Rattlesnake and the Coral Snake. A non-venomous snake that we have encountered here is the Indigo Snake, which eats the Diamondback Rattlesnake.

We were walking down a path, at Laguna Atascosa, I was leading the

way and 3ft. in front of me was an Indigo snake basking, in the

sun. I stopped abrutly, holding Joe back. (He is deathly afraid of

snakes!) We gently walked around our 5ft. "friend" so I could get a

picture. I only got the tail end as it slipped into the tall grass.

I felt fairly comfortable quietly stepping

around it, as an Indigo snakes

favorite food is any type of rodent, not people!

Aesthetically Obtrusive

I think the Border Fence is aesthetically obtrusive. I have other feelings about the fence, but in this post I just want to show what it looks like. I'm sure I will write more about it in future posts.

When we came upon the fence it took my breath away, for a minute. The first time we saw it, there were many "workers" present. I was amazed at how ominous it looks. I need to do more reading about this fence. I have talked to residents of Brownsville to get their opinions. I find it interesting to listen to what they have to say, there are many, many opinions.  

The fence goes on for miles and miles right now. There are different

"styles" to the fence.

We have friends that live across the road from one section of the fence.

Of course, we just had to walk over there and take a closer look. You don't realize how tall it is until you are standing next to it. The opening you can see down the road on the left of the picture is a driveway. Another story to follow about one of the driveways.

Sunsets and Shrimp

Sunset and palm trees~this is the sight when I'm walking in our 55+park. We live at Winter Haven in Brownsville, TX this winter. Near the border, near the sea. The water in the picture is called a reseca, they run throughout the park. There is one in our backyard. People fish in the resacas in town and here in the park, although it's a catch and release at the park. With all the chemicals used here: on the grass, for mosquitos, for insects, etc. I think catch and release is a great idea! Some of the fish in the resaca here are very large catfish. Large -like 3ft. long for these narrow waterways!

South Padre Island is only 25minutes from our door. We go there a few times a week. There is great bird watching on the Island. The Island also had a shrimp festival one weekend. We spent a lot of time reviewing all the restaurants that were in competition for the best shrimp. Walking up and down the grounds listening to the chefs, as to how the shrimp was made, asking people how the shrimp was that they were eating, looking for the one that was just right. I found coconut shrimp over mashed potatoes with shaved carrots. Yum! I love coconut shrimp. I love mashed potatoes. That was my choice. Joe's choice was not amongst the tents of shrimp...his choice was a turkey leg. Yup, a turkey leg, and he totally enjoyed every bite. Can't change a meat eater!

Just want to say~~I'm just learning how to organize and post on this blog. Sometimes it will seem like I don't know how to do this. That's right! I don't!
I hope to improve with posting, with topics, with the whole nine yards. Patience is a virtue - I taught Kindergarten - I CAN DO THIS! 

A little background

We spent our first two winters in Mazatlan, Mexico. Our third winter took us to Columbia, Missouri, to spend time with my daughter. Florida became our next winter home. This is our fifth year and we are in Brownsville, Texas.

I started this blog to communicate with those that want to read about our "escapades", rather than filling people's inboxes with stories and pictures that might not be wanted.

You can log onto "Looking for a Bird and a Birdie" whenever you wish. http://abirdandabirdie.blogspot.com/

Pictures are of us in Mexico during Our Lady of Guadulupe Day, at the Catherdral.
Mickey Mouse at Disney, which we went to often.
Snow in Columbia, Missouri-we had snow and ice all winter!

Looking For a Bird and a Birdie

Looking for a Bird and a Birdie~~together Joe and I (Nancy) decided on this title for our blog.

Why? Well, I'm always looking for birds and Joe's wishing he could birdie on every hole!

Joe has been retired from School Administration since 1998.

I was an Elementary Teacher and retired in 2004. Between us we have four children and three grandchildren.

Years before retiring I started vacationing, with my sister, for a week each winter, in Mazatlan, Mexico. The first winter, after I retired, Geri and I went to Mazatlan and I said to her, "I could do this all winter."

So started our lives in two places.