Today was a relaxed day and we are getting used to doing things early and late.The middle of the day is for "siestas" and for getting out of the sun. This AM Ruth needed to get some meds on order and that took the better part of the hour with the insurance Co., who would not send a 'script' to an address for us to pick up on the road. She finally did it the easy way and had her MD call it in to a local Walgreen's just down the road here in Harlingen. We will pick it up tomorrow. (Technology is a two sided coin.)
 |
| Beehive Cactus |
 |
| Jim in front of a giant Prickly Pear Cactus |
 |
| A Chachalaca |
 |
| Under the bushes is a Green Tailed Towhee |
 |
| The trail in Ramsay Park |
 |
| One of the ponds in this unique desert park |
 |
| The Curved Billed Thrasher sings away. |
 |
| In case you get lost there . |
So, we had a delayed trip out to two potential bird sites, the second of which was fruitful albeit in the sun and some shade as we walked the trail at 90 F, in Ramsay Park on the edge of Harlingen. This is a desert habitat with cactus, and enough trees (oak) to allow the body to get out of the sun at times. Some of the trees that are in this park are: Wild Olive, Texas Ebony, Cedar Elm, Snakes Eyes (bush) , and Lemoncillo There are great benches to sit quietly and observe the wildlife. There was activity in the desert, on the floor, in the air and in a small pond nearby. Ruth took a short walk ahead of me and was able to zero in on a CHACHALAKA, and a pair of CURVED BILLED THRASHERS. Then sitting on the previously mentioned bench we observed some ground scratching birds that lingered near and were searching for food under the brush. We could see them with their shiny green tails and red caps (though not as clear as thought) They were the GREEN TAILED TOWHEE, a pair of them.
Overhead, Jim spotted a pair of CHIMNEY SWIFTS, and sitting on a limb and chasing flies was a GREAT KISKADEE, who sounds quite like its name when it calls. The other bird we added to our species list was the GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. So four new birds on the list as we approach 200 species.
Harlingen , if you have never been there, has two main streets that are one way and then converge right at the junction of two Expressways and it can be confusing to the novice. I almost went out of town the first time near there. Coming home I drove the wrong direction and WAS going out of town until Ruth mentioned I was. We are beginning to use the GPS more but still like to figure out where we are going ahead of time using maps.
In the afternoon , after lunch, we tried to solve a trailer problem. It seems the jack for the tongue lift, would not work when we needed it to raise the tongue for level after unhitching. There is a "Plan B" with a manual handle, but that is not why we bought it. The batteries it runs off of are brand new, but there was a problem. We called a local recommended company to send a guy over . So , "Silver" came over and analyzed the problem and sure enough in five minutes he found that a "breaker"of sorts that catches the electricity from from the batteries to the jack, was dead, He clipped it off, connected the wires, taped it securely and was finished. His 27 years doing this sort of work was worth the call. Oh,... how much was the service call to the Park? Wanna Guess/?Nope. It was just $35.00 and well worth the work. A very fair price. Excellent work as the jack now works once a gain,. Save those muscles.
Ruth prepared the hamburgers on the grill for supper, with her favorite flavors and that was a treat. Once in a while we like to cook on the outdoor, portable grill.
As the storm approaches I will get ready to study the visit to the Santa Ana NWR a few miles down the road. Here the possibilities for viewing the Tropical birds are almost endless. If we do get there in the morning it should be good. Enjoy the photos from today mostly from Ramsay Park.
Post Script. The thunder and lightning has started and the rain is nearby. BOOM! It was short lived about 15 minutes. That was it!
No comments:
Post a Comment