Our Little Town - A Trip South

But being a brother or a sister (if you are lucky enough) is the role of a lifetime.

~ Holly Goldberg Sloan, Appleblossom the Possum

RF and BFH - part of the cast of characters from my story. [The hat was made by our friend DV]

RF knows so many of the birds and plants. He's a wise one.

My sister and I talk almost every day. Sometimes we have news or an "issue." Sometimes we just need to hear the other's voice. And whether in text or full voice, we talk at the same time and sometimes over each other. Even our text messages can be three conversations going at once.

Our brother is quiet. He is a strong and calming force. We communicate regularly, but not "every day."

On our short drive to our hometown BF said that she was committed to listening more and not talking over me and him. When I didn't jump in with my commitment as well, she repeated herself, gently (?) pressing me to so pledge as well.

Of course, our promises were honored in the breach. We would get loud and then remember. We got carried away and silenced ourselves. I suppose a stranger might see wild waves of conversation. 

<Heavy sigh>  It's going to take a little more practice.

I definitely saw that I am more than a little pushy. Brothers and sisters help in that realization. Who hasn't exclaimed "You are not the boss of me" to a sibling at one time or another. And we were with old friends whose sister was absent. I was just stepping up, perhaps a little too firmly. It was stress...really.
  
I suppose improvement in this quarter is matter of adjusting the approach. I was just trying to help, but I don't want to be that pushy person....

But I am getting way ahead of myself! Let's go back to the beginning.

Just before Christmas we learned a long-time family friend died. He was of our parent's generation and we had known the family most of our lives. So we each planned to head to our hometown to support the family. When we realized we would all be heading south we coordinated a bit and planned to see family and take care of a couple of things that had been waiting for such a trip.

I drove down early Friday. There were stops along the way for a few wildlife observations. Just outside of Gonzales I glanced over my shoulder and saw a Great Egret and Great Blue Heron in a pond. I turned the car around  to get a better look and discovered a dozen or more Killdeer along the banks of the pond. It was that kind of day.

The egret flew past the heron. Not to be outdone, the heron took off on a glide past the egret and further - to the end of the pond. The Killdeer ignored them both.

Stopping briefly at my sister's, I greeted her pup and my brother-in-law who handed me a freshly made cup of coffee (Thanks, GS!) before we loaded up for one more hour on the road.

The Feeder:

We met our brother and DV, who is almost a brother.* He brought the ladder. RF brought the tools. I brought the bird feeder and seed.  My sister brought me. We are bird people and I was determined to find a feeder that would last. Then we relocated to the local burger joint for coffee and conversation.

Time will tell.

The Farm:

For a couple of reasons we decided to stop by the family farm. I thought I was seeing nightshade "tomatoes," but the yellow orbs edging the field were Buffalo Gourds.** There was a good sized patch about 10 rows into the field as well, but I decided I did not need to get my shoes muddy. 

Buffalo Gourds. They are so pretty, but stinky. And squirrels love them. Squirrels would.

The "shamrocks" were blooming.***

This clover was blooming in the ditches.

Then I found a nightshade tomato. It was from the Silver-leaf Nightshade. Even without leaves, I knew because the stems were thorn-less.****

Terrible photo, but no question a nightshade.

No thorns.

Madness!

On the drive over to our hotel we observed "a murmuration of starlings." I'd seen video of one, but never experienced it in person. It was beautiful and frightening. The bird calls are deafening. A friend described them as "chisme birds" - gossip birds.*****

Chisme birds

The hotel:

We checked in and started to unload the luggage cart when we discovered pink markings all over the hall and our room. The ceiling in the bathroom was damaged and "coming down." We asked the front desk to explain and they moved us to another room.  We suspect water damage from the hurricane.

Still, they gave us water and chips and the beds were good. We rested before heading back for services.

These did not last long.

I was careful to hide the fact that my socks did not match.

The Friends: 

No one is ever ready to lose a parent. Many old friends from grade school and beyond were there to support our friends. We prayed and held on to each other.

Yes, and I was bossy.******


Dinner:

Delicious. No food fights.


The ER:

We raided the fruit bowl in the hotel lobby, grabbed a couple of water bottles, and sat with some friends in the ER for a little while. We have logged a good deal of time in hospital waiting rooms and are good at it.

Yes, I was bossy again. My sister apologized on my behalf.


Birds: 

We woke early for a quick trip to Indian Point. Please note the next post as the birding must have its own space (even though I included the ones from outside of Gonzales).

  
Funeral:

We celebrated our friend with the celebration of the Mass. He was buried with military honors. I plan to write a separate post honoring him as well.


Lunch and more birds:

After lunch and catching up with sibling schedules, we received a text from DV. He sent a photo of a field full of Snow Geese. I suggested we text back that we were on our way. And we headed out that way to visit him and his hat business (he makes wonderful hats), his wife (who is wonderful as well) and the fields full of birds I will talk about in the next post.
 


The Birthday Party:

The family was celebrating our youngest nephew's birthday with a cook-out and chocolate cake. How could he possible be 16 already? But he is.

He has a bookcase full of books - many classics - he will read and review. He explained he was reading Fahrenheit 451 for the third time.******* [He also is into vinyl. DH and I plan to see if there are any of our old records that he might like to have. We aren't ever going to worry with them again.]

We ate cake (I understand my sister ate ice cream too), caught up on everyone, and talked of plans. [This is the nephew who adventures with us. He's getting a passport this year. We are excited!]
 

Look at that cake!

Second Evening:

We headed out to visit BR and CR on their farm. They are wonderful people and always a joy to see. They are about the hardest working folks I know and always have an open door and smiles on their faces. They welcome us like family and remind us that they have room for us whenever we want to come visit. 

She got the "Roomba" she wanted for Christmas. He received the cotton candy machine he asked for and showed it off with glee. [I am serious - a cotton candy machine.] He also shared the hilarious tale of his acquisition of a slushy machine (shhhh! Margaritas!) from an Ebay auction.

We caught up on how their kids are faring and have invited ourselves back for margaritas and cotton candy.

After that I think we ate dinner and collapsed. Wait. We ate dinner, packed, and then collapsed.

My sister drank a Lemontini. I got a sip.

Second Morning:

Yeah, we were for the birds one last time before heading up the country. 

We raced to get home before the frigid (for us anyway) temperatures set in. I got off the highway just as the mist began to freeze on my windshield. 

It was a heck of a trip home. The drive down had been fast and easy. The drive back was full of detours and construction and reduced speed limits. How had I missed seeing the closed lanes and barriers on the other side of the highway? 

David Sedaris kept me company all the way home (when I wasn't turning off the radio to dictate bird observations into my phone). He was reading his latest book, Theft By Finding. Comprised of selected journal posts, it is bizarre and wonderful. I love David Sedaris. He's a genius. And he understands. 

We are members of the same club.

Christmas Yucca at Sunset Lake

I need this sign. We saw it in Rockport on our way home.

NOTES:

*Our mothers were best friends. I named my oldest after our mothers (his mother's first name and my mother's middle name). He so named his youngest.

**Just because you can eat it doesn't mean you should. https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/cucurbitabg.html


***A guide told us that there is no such thing as a shamrock, but that the yellow clover was named the "official" shamrock by someone or other. She preferred the Wood Sorrel. I claim the name for any three-leaved clover-type plant. https://www.britannica.com/plant/shamrock


****Other nightshades common here - like Buffalobur and Horse Nettle - are pretty thorny.

*****This is true. They do share information, but the murmuration behavior is believed to be protection from predators. https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/the-incredible-science-behind-starling-murmurations [Should I mention that starlings are non-native and an invasive species? There.]


****** I prefer to call it a "firm suggestion." But upon reflection, I can see where I might be a bit too firm at times.


******* He read it in junior high because he wanted to. He read it again for a book report last year. Now, I think it has been assigned. I haven't read it at all.

The Upside Down? (photo by BFH)

Look Over Your Shoulder

She decided to free herself, 

dance into the wind, 

create a new language. 

And birds fluttered around her, 

writing “yes” in the sky. 

~ Monique Duval

Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and more in the shallow ponds/tidal pools/tidal marsh of Indian Point

[Note: The photos here are mine and my sister's (hers are the good ones - mine are bad cell phone shots).  Hers will be indicated by "photo by BFH."]

Okay. Maybe I am a little obsessed, but I try to do a little naturalist "work" while traveling. I watch for birds and see if I can tell what they are without ending up "hunting turtles."* I also document a few different things for projects I've joined.

On this almost three hour drive to my sister's place I counted kestrels and hawks (7 Kestrels and 15 hawks). I was surprised there were no Crested Caracaras along the stretch between Cuero and Gonzales (on the last trip I saw 4), but we would eventually see some further south.

American Kestrel (photo by BFH) - These little raptors were all over the place.

I did glance over my shoulder south of Gonzales to check a pond. I check every pond and this time saw a Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. There were Killdeer in numbers in front of the pond. All a good omen for the trip.

Many birds have been moving south for the winter and we knew there would be crowds of them at the point. I don't think we ever go near our hometown without planning a trip to Indian Point. And this trip was no different. We would do our best to be there near dawn on this first legal trip to the point since the hurricane.**

On Saturday morning we walked down the road and watched White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, and American Avocets and others feed in the shallows. They seemed to be following some school of "something good to eat." They moved back and forth heads down. Terns dive-bombed the water. Birds perched in the mangroves and stood on small "islands."

In spite of the grey mist we were still able to see and enjoy the birds. Here Great Blue Herons and a White Pelican.

American Avocets

Snowy Egrets

Black-crowned Night Heron (photo by BFH) - I knew these existed, but this is the first I've seen. There were two more perched up in the mangroves.

Great Blue Heron (photo by BFH) - In both days combined, I suppose we saw more than 30. This one was close to the road somewhat hidden by the mangroves. What a photo!

White Ibis (photo by BFH)

Roseate Spoonbills. (photo by BFH) Our mother dearly loved thse birds and I will never forget the time Dad took us out "to show us something." It was a tidal marsh full of spoonbills. Then they flew up all together and the sunlight flashed across their feathers. Incredible.

We attempt to "sneak up" on the birds.

We walked down the road, but did not get all the way to the beach as we did not need to. After feasting on this lush birding breakfast, we headed back to the car to start our official day.

After lunch we got a text from our friend DV with a photo of Snow Geese in the fields around his home and hat workshop. We replied that we would be "right there" and drove out to see him and his wife and the birds. There were hawks and kestrels, eagles (Crested Caracara - the Mexican Eagle) and geese, and SANDHILL CRANES.

Look at that red tail! She was taking a photo of that hawk - now look at the hawk hiding on the right side of the pole. (photo by BFH)

I don't remember seeing Sandhill Cranes*** as a child, although I must have.  A friend said he'd seen some fly over his house in central Texas around Thanksgiving. So I have been watching for them.

A week or so later I saw a group of what I thought were Sandhill Cranes fly over the park as I walked with Zelda and friends. But there was no mistaking these birds on this day. They were amazing - their size and sound and wingspan. We drove by all the birds so we wouldn't bother them (apparently cars driving by do not startle them much as cars stopping or people walking up will). We did talk our brother into stopping a couple of times. And the birds startled.

There were hundreds and hundreds of birds in the fields.

I know some folks who plan to stake this place out next winter.

Snow Geese and White-fronted Geese

Sandhill Cranes

On Sunday we got an earlier start to Indian Point and experienced another amazing morning. This time we walked along the beach and saw sandpipers and sanderlings as well as a Red Head duck out in the water. Of course he would be there.

Looks like we might have disturbed these birds

White Pelican overflight

We saw the raccoon on Saturday, but only tracks on Sunday.

There seemed to be more oyster shells on the beach and in the shallows than I've seen before. This is an area with oyster beds just off shore.

Wild women on the beach.

It's a lovely place, even if you miss the sunrise.

The Willet - A few minutes after this he flew and showed off the distinctly marked wings.

The Drive Home:

After saying goodbye to our brother, we stopped for something to drink and had a bit of a "drive-by" at Sunset Lake Park (it's the other side of Indian Point, sort of). We did not see much, save a formation of Snow Geese flying overhead.

Snow Geese in formation

In Rockport there were seagulls, a Great Egret, and over 100 Red Heads at the marina.

These were two of the Rockport Red Heads. The other was too far out to photograph. (photo by BFH)

We drove into Victoria along Fox Road where we had seen turkeys, cardinals and vultures on a trip in the summer. This was our first trip down Fox Road since the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and we saw little other than hurricane damage - a number of round bales of cotton sat sodden in the fields. You could see the high water mark on them. Such a waste.

Then I bid goodbye to my sister, loaded my car, and started what would be a long trip home through construction and bad weather, but little traffic.

As I headed out I continued the bird count. I might not have continued counting had there not been a Crested Caracara on Hwy 87. It hopped from the ditch towards the roadway and I recognized it in an instant. I blew past him and started the count.

David Sedaris kept me company reading his latest book and I thought about the weird and wonderful things he noted in his journal, the basis of this book. I love to get a peek inside someone's thoughts.

When I had counted enough birds to need to write them down, I'd turn off the audio and dictate the count into the "notes" on my phone. I figured - even with the insanity of the dictating program and auto correct - I would be able to decipher the count. I also knew that without notes I'd be lost.

Here is an example of my notes with translation:

17 black mulchers (17 Black Vultures)
One rich older talk to black voters (1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Black Vultures)
50 black vaulters (50 Black Vultures)

[Clearly I will have to learn how to dictate. And am I the only one who thinks that was a lot of vultures?]

Once I managed to get beyond the construction on the tollway, I caught a glimpse of movement over my left shoulder. What was that? Sometimes I'm fooled by leaves moving, a smudge on the window, or the "floaters" in my eyes. I know I always need to take a second look and sometimes a third, so I glance back. It was not a mulcher or a voter or a vaulter.

It was a Southwest Airlines jet making an approach to Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

Not a bird. [Also not my photo.]

NOTES:

*It is actually "hunting turtles in the ditch." My cousin, TF describes Dad's tendency to drift towards the ditch as he observed deer or birds or something in the wild as he drove down the highway.

**Long after the hurricane there was water on some of the roads due to hard wind off shore.

***I seem to remember reading about a boy killing a Sandhill Crane in my freshman English class in high school, but I certainly could be remembering it wrong.


WHAT ELSE DID WE SEE AT THE POINT?

Lightning Whelk - no hermit crab

Non-native Sea Rocket. I'd never seen it before and we had to search some for an id.

The entire Sea Rocket plant.

Green Thread - What were all these flowers doing blooming this late?

There is a base of small broken shell pieces. It is always nice to see an entire shell.

Beach Evening Primrose

Cockle

Camphor Daisy