Warm Work Week

this was a warm work week. the sun was out most of the time, the wind was blowing and the temps were about 80 deg.  Lots of butterflies are coming through the refuge.  it is hard to get pictures as they move too much.

this tree had 6 butterflies on it before I took the picture:

Eric installed a bench that had been sitting right on the ground.  it was too high for some people to sit on and it was a bit wobbly.

there were a lot of trees down from the wind over the weekend and throughout the week.  we were able to remove all of them, did not have to call the fire crew in with chain saws.

we are planning a public canoe trip next Wed.  There were some canoes that have backs on them and are a lot lighter, so we transferred them to our trailer.  that was pretty hard work, we need to lift more weights this summer.  Eric is thinking we need to carry our canoes around the yard 3 times a week.  I'll lift weights, he can carry the canoe!

we went back to the reveg area to weed!  not a fun job but someone has to do it.  we only lasted 2 hours.  too hot and humid.  next to our area is a palm tree farm.  they had uprooted them last week and put them on the truck yesterday.

a lot of the birds and ducks are leaving the area, heading north.  a lot of winter Texans will be leaving soon too!  we leave here in 3 weeks! 

High winds last night and today.  means cold weather is coming.  87 today, 65 and falling temps tomorrow! 

A Perfect 10 Weather Day??

the local meteorologist claimed that today (Sunday March 4) was to be a perfect weather day and gave it a 10!  I will agree that the temp of 77 and sunny skies would make it a 10 but...  the wind was not as calm as expected.  we had about 15 mph winds, under 10 mph would have made this a perfect day.

We did get a 15 mile bike ride in this morning before heading out for lunch.  we were going to go to New York deli for world famous ruben sandwiches..  well it is closed on Sundays!  we tried this restaurant in a different city a few weeks ago on a Saturday and it was not open then either!!  maybe we are not meant to have this sandwich.  we will give it one more try.  Our second option was Texas BBQ.  I had looked up 3 different places near the deli.  But alas none of them were open on Sunday either!!  what the heck..  we ended up at Pancho's Nuevo Mexican restaurant. 

I ordered the enchilada suzias, with chicken and green sauce:

the enchiladas were overstuffed with moist chicken breast.  the beans were the best we have ever had and the rice was good too.

Eric had Chicken flauta's:

again they were stuffed with moist chicken breast.  this place could be a repeat..

off to the old pumphouse in Hidalgo to look for a bird.  well, we found it!  it is a monk parrot.  ours was the blue variety.

tonight a gathering at the campfire to make Pudgy Pies and roast some marshmallows. 

wonderful night for a campfire and to get together with friends. we all have so much to talk about.

Birding at Santa Ana etc

Saturday the weather changed, 95 on Friday and 65 on Saturday!  very windy but we went to Santa Ana for a bird walk.  we have been trying to go every weekend but the weather has not cooperated or we had other plans.  Our guides are another volunteer couple.  we ID'd another 15 birds so our total count for the RGV is 108!!  we can still find a few more especially this month.  The birds should be migrating north from Central and South America right through the refuge. 

our tour took us on our trails, they looked pretty good!!  we did see one area where we could weed whip, will take care of that on Monday.

The skies cleared but the wind remained.

we went to Quinta Matzalan with Mike and Carol in the Afternoon.  Local trees..

local critters..

Ocelot:

Jagurandi:

Me and Carol with a Mountain Lion:

new growth on the cactus:

heading out for lunch:

we went to Alejandro's seafood buffet in Mission.  Most of the food was pretty good. the fried shrimp and two shrimp/seafood salads were the best.  I had doubles (maybe triple) servings of those.  The cold shrimp was not that good. it had been frozen so lost its taste.  If we had time this place could be a repeat.  On Wednesdays they have shrimp and BBQ ribs! 

Eric had a campfire but no one showed up!  but that was OK, the winds died down, the sky was clear, and the fire was great!

South Padre Island

we thought we would give the Island another try.  the weather at home was suppose to be 93 deg, the temp at SPI was suppose to be 80.  it was about 78 at the beach, overcast and windy.  we spent a few house sitting and walking along the beach.

here I am sunning!!

well maybe my feet will get a bit of color!

Warning!  Warning! Presence of Venomous Marine Life!

not a pretty day.

A group of winter Texans playing on the beach...

some of them actually went into the water!  Here I am all covered up!  we think they were from Canada, as there was a lot of vehicles in the parking lot from Canada.

we had to have seafood for lunch/dinner.  the other volunteers told us about this place right on the water..

Eric got the shrimp and fish platter, I got the shrimp platter. It was OK.  not as good as the last time we were on the Island.  the shrimp was huge, but it lacked flavor.  would not go back here.   service was good, location was good but the food... just OK.

Spring break should be starting this weekend.  a lot of people were leaving the island.  we hope to get at least one more day there.

Little Graceland!

On our way to South Padre Island to spend the day at the beach we stopped at Little Graceland in Los Fresnos, just north of Brownsville.

Simon Vega joined the U.S. Army on February 6th back in 1958. Simon reported to Fort Carson, Colorado, to complete a 4-day induction into the military. From Colorado he was sent to Fort Hood, Texas, and took basic training for 4 weeks. During that same period of time, Elvis had arrived from his induction from Arkansas. It was at Fort Hood where, Simon introduced his wife, Theresa Vega, to Elvis for a photo opportunity. Theresa recalls that Elvis was nervous while he placed his arm around her for the picture. After the picture was taken, Elvis responded "gracias". The photo of Elvis and Theresa can be seen in the Little Graceland Museum. Although Simon had met Elvis around the barracks at Fort Hood, it wasn't until they got shipped off to Germany where Simon finally got the opportunity to get to know Elvis. In late August of 1958 when they arrived in Freidburg, Germany, both men were assigned to Company D Spearhead 3rd Army Division. It was in the "chow" line that Simon approached Elvis and reintroduced himself. From that day on, Vega and Presley became "army buddies". The two friends shared guard duty and other details. Elvis just wanted to be treated as an equal to his fellow soldiers; no better, no worse.
the gates are a replica of the gates at Graceland.

replica of Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo MS

this is one of the murals on the wall around the house.

this car is the same make, model and year of the pink Cadillac Elvis gave to his mother.   the car he gave to his mother was originally blue, he had it painted pink for her.

Simon wanted us to write on the wall, just like they do on Gracelands wall..

we were not allowd to take pictures in the museum itself.  he has three rooms filled with memorbillia. lots of albums, pictures, concert tickets etc.  we spent about an hour with Simon Vega.  he even wrote a song and had it recorded in Nashville.  He played it for us, it was very nice.

we are now 1 degree of separation from Elvis!!! 

it was worth the stop. a bit odd at first but we liked Simon and his stories.

clearing trails

Wednesday there was a lot of branches and a few small trees on the trails.  we probably removed between 20-30!  the Bigwigs were in for a meeting so we had to make sure all was cleaned and pruned before they arrived.  Everyone has been working hard all week for the show.  they arrived just as we were leaving for the day.

before:

After:

we went for dinner with about 12 other volunteers.  nice evening. food was OK.

Thurs we helped take the vans back to the airport..

took a while to find one set of keys..  afterwards we went to a local state park.  the flowers are all blooming..

totem poles around the park..

Turtles on a log, one had climbed on the others back!

we did get a few more birds.  our count is up to 96!  should make 100 by the time we leave..