There are many more photos today.
The day was perfect at 65 F when we left the confines of the trailer at 9:00 Am this morning. The overcast clouds had cleared and the sky was blue. A light wind was blowing in from the west. We headed west on US 2/52 to the town of Foxholm and headed north about 6 miles to the Refuge. Our lunch was packed as usual and here is a photo of the prep of the lunch. It doesn't vary much, except for the day I wanted to get a Sub sandwich and they were closed. So here is the lunch prep table layout. I like those flat-breads to make a sandwich, with one slice of Vadalia onion, a slice of horseradish cheese, and one slice of smoked or Pepper Turkey slathered with mustard and a dab of Miracle Whip. Sometimes I will add some pickle relish to the mix. Add to that a cup of jello and fruit and a cookie and I am ready for lunch in the wilderness. Ruth has fruit (apples) and carrots with tomatoes sometimes adding a tuna salad for variety. We both carry large tumblers of water and (for Jim ) lemonade. (Jim has used the lemonade for a year now to keep those kidney stones away.)
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| The lunch prep table. |
The Refuge centers around Lake Darling, named for a man made lake named after the well known cartoonist "Ding" Darling. (Before our time?) Known in both cartooning bird and wildlife history. He started the Wildlife Stamp Program and in the time of the great drought of the '30's, that project began to return the wildlife, and waterfowl particularly, to its present state. The Lake covers 9,000 acres and the Dam is on the south end of the Lake.
Lake Darling, a 9,600-acre lake named in honor of Ding Darling, is the largest of several water impoundments on the Refuge. Its primary purpose is to furnish a regulated supply of water to smaller marshes downstream and especially to the larger marshes on the J. Clark Salyer Refuge, 110 miles downstream. The lake is designed to hold a two-year supply of water to safeguard marshes downstream against the threat of drought. The dam also makes it possible to reduce the flooding and to regulate releases during periods of low flow. Both operations benefit people in the valley below the dam.
Upper Souris NWR lies in the beautiful Souris River Valley of northwestern North Dakota and extends for nearly 35 miles along the Souris River corridor. This 32,092-acre Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is an important unit in a series of national wildlife refuges in the great waterfowl migration corridor known as the Central Flyway.
A SAMPLE OF" DING" DARLING WORK IN THE '30'S
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| As you can see he was a conservationist. (See the site) |
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| The Refuge system started by "Teddy"Roosevelt, involved this refuge in the 1930's (CCC) |
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| "TR" started the Refuge system with one small one in Florida. (Pelican Island) |
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| The entry marker at the Refuge |
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| A partial view of Lake Darling. |
The bird list we accumulated today was very good getting over 40 bird species, although the Female were with their young making identification very difficult. Sorting those females out is tough birding, especially with the chicks.
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| This Bobolink would not turn around, but you get the idea. |
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| One of the female ducks with young. Species? |
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| Ruth captured this White Pelican taking off after few strokes. |
And on the way to the refuge,we were once again intrigued by the brilliant blue, Flax flowers being grown in this area. Northern Plains has many types of grain being produced.
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| A field of Flax. In the morning it is blue... in the afternoon it looks almost white! |
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| Some of the Pelicans here at Upper Souris. With Willets and Marbled Godwits. |
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| Wild roses at the side of the road. |
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| Our neighbors left us a note after we shared conversation and jam! |
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All in all it was a good day, Ruth made a batch of beef Strohgonof from our leftover ribeye steak of July 4. Excellent flavor and consistency.
Tomorrow we will head for Lostwood NWR, which is a a different type of Reserve as it has no lakes of large ponds.
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