Today was Non-stop! - Sat., Dec. 28

What a day. I headed to Mitchell Lake Audubon Wetlands for a 5K+ Volksmarch while Bob went to the gym to play basketball with his buds.

Once again, the long-eared owl was hanging out where it could be seen. People have been coming from all over to see it because it is out of its usual range.

Long-eared owl.

Other unique (to me) birds in the refuge:

The Bird Pond is home to many types of ducks. Excuse the grainy quality of these photos, the ducks were on the opposite side of the pond. Using my best Sherlock Holmes bird detecting skills, I think these ducks are in the following photo: male and female hooded mergansers, bufflehead, a gadwall, and scaups (species ?).

A variety of ducks.

Two hooded mergansers and a gadwall (?)

Adult female red-winged blackbird.

Mourning warbler (?) - a very small bird.

Need help identifying this bird.

And I saw a couple of my favorite birds again..

Black-necked stilt

Northern cardinal

Vermilion flycatcher

When Bob finished playing basketball and after I got home and showered, we drove out to Random because a food truck, The Melting Point, was there and we wanted to try it. They serve gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and tomotle soup. Bob and I each ordered Caprese grilled cheese sandwiches. The sandwich had tomato, basil and a chipotle sauce with cheddar cheese. So yummy! I was cold, so I had a bowl of tomotle soup (kind of like tomato soup only more flavorful) which hit the spot. For dessert we shared a Banana Rama grilled sandwich...Nutella and sliced bananas on cinnamon chocolate chip bread. It tasted like the best French toast you've ever eaten.

Some people come to Texas and say they've never seen a longhorn. We see them as we're driving down the freeway!

Trailered longhorns.

But wait, our day is not complete. After Random we stopped at Walmart and Costco to pick up a few items, then headed downtown for dinner and a river taxi cruise with The Cafe Society of San Antonio meetup.com group. We spent time shopping in downtown San Antonio. Bob wanted to purchase an Oregon shirt to wear at the Alamodome for the Alamo Bowl game on Monday night.

Christmas tree in front of The Alamo.

Bob in his new Ducks shirt at The Alamo.
(Ignore the Longhorn shirts behind him.)

Ten of us from the group met at Mexican Manhattan, a restaurant by the Riverwalk. We had warm drinks and appetizers, then walked down the stairs to river level where our leader hailed a river taxi. Because many people go to see the holiday lights along the river, the tour boats have very long lines. If you pay extra for a river taxi, you can get on the boats much quicker and go farther on the river.

The night air chilled us as we rode to see the lights. We were on the river taxi about two hours. Our driver did not inspire confidence and was the slowest boat on the river. Oh well. We certainly got to see the lights.

Some of our group at the restaurant.

The lights coming on at dusk.

Stephanie and me on the River Taxi.

Pearl Brewery lights as seen from our river taxi.

Downtown Riverwalk area

RiverCenter Mall's tree.

By the time we finished our ride we were chilled to the bone. Our group was going to the Esquire Tavern for more food and drinks. We opted to head for home and get warm! We need to take care of ourselves.

I'll leave you with one final photo from Mitchell Lake Wetlands. You can figure it out.

The end. Travel Bug out.

Perched - Tues., July 9

Perched at the dining room window in the RV park, I witness all types of bird activity.

A few weeks ago, a golden-fronted woodpecker was assaulting our neighbor's window. (In the first photo, the bird is NOT pecking at the cable, I had an awkward photo angle.)

Golden-fronted woodpecker looking at itself in the window.

"Oh, hello, what bird are you?"

Golden-fronted woodpecker still examining the window.

Last week, the boat-tailed grackles were fluffing. (From Wikipedia: Fluffing = "In breeding season, males tip their heads back and fluff up feathers to display and keep other males away. This same behavior is used as a defensive posture to attempt to intimidate predators.") In the last of the three grackle photos below, look for the fanned out tail feathers and the pulled back wings. That grackle means business!

"Hey, you're invading my turf!"

"You better leave now."

"No, I think YOU should leave! Now!"

Today a golden-fronted woodpecker took a bath atop our neighbor's 5th wheel slide out. First it had to make sure the coast was clear.

"Am I safe?"

One wet bird - call it a wet-headed woodpecker.

Still checking the perimeter for intruders.

Wet bird flies into nearby tree.

Then there's the rusty blackbird. This is the first time I've seen this bird. The blackbird was drinking from the roof drain rail on the 5th wheel next door.

Rusty blackbird.

Rusty blackbird.

Rusty blackbird drinking water.

There is a new hummingbird feeder next door to us; the hummingbirds are already fighting over it. I have not been able to capture the hummingbirds in flight. The feeder is partially behind a tree, so it's not easy to catch the hummers at the feeder either. We will have to put up our hummingbird feeder outside our back window. Then the cats and I will be entertained by these fast feathered beauties.

While I'm on the subject of entertaining cats, I found the best cat toy to date at Walmart. It's called SmartyKat® Hot Pursuit™. The cost was $19.99 plus tax.* The toy takes three AA batteries (not included) to run the stick with a "mouse tail" around and around under the cover.

For over a week, this toy has kept two cats very absorbed in catching and killing the moving "tail" sticking out from under the cover. I haven't had to put the attachment with feathers on yet because they're already having so much fun. (And no, I don't make any money off of these things.) See photos below. Happy, entertained cats = happy kitty momma.

Bowie always defers to Sunnie. Sunnie gets to play first. Once Sunnie is out of the picture, Bowie goes to town. He is such a busy, intelligent cat. He has to figure out every way he can possibly play with something.

In the photo below, note Bowie's feigned disinterest while Sunnie plays.

Sunnie attacking from the cat cave (box).

Bowie's turn.

You can't see it in the following photo, but Bowie has the cover in his mouth and is dragging the toy across the floor. He loves doing that.

Here you can see the little red "tail".

Conked out after playing with the toy. Notice the evil eye from Bowie.

*While sitting in the vet's waiting room last week, Animal Planet had ads for this toy. If you called then, it was $19.99, plus you got an extra one free. "But wait! There's more" ... the lady sitting next to me and I laughed because it sounded so much like the Ginzu knife ads that used to be on TV, so I missed what else came with it. I didn't write down the phone number or website to order it, but when I saw it at Walmart, well let's just say, in advertising terms, it triggered TOMA (top of mind awareness).

I'm so happy I bought it. You can see the result in the conked out kitties above. Too cute.

Travel Bug out.