Black-headed Grosbeak

An unusual bird under the feeders in our yard made us run for the binoculars, camera and bird guide. Close inspection proved it to be a western bird rare to our region. We managed a few quick photos and will submit them to rare bird records for the state.

Mississippi Gulf Coast

 Sunday was a drizzly, windy,  cold day so we drove to the coast and dreamed of beaches, boats, and swimming. The wind was blowing in from the water making small white caps and sending the sand skidding across the highway. A brave wind surfer had the waves to himself  as he rushed along and was sometimes actually lifted from the water.


The 26 miles of beaches are man made.  The sand was pumped in mechanically years ago. The water is rather shallow since it is a sound protected by  barrier islands that are further offshore. When I was a child it seemed we could wade a block out and not be deeper than up to our knees.

This area has been almost totally destroyed twice in my lifetime, most recently by Katrina, and covered in black crude oil from the BP oil spill in 2010. Memories fade and people return to build again. Close to New Orleans, it was always the place to retreat to in hot summers. Huge mansions lined the road on the side across from the beach. Only concrete slabs mark many of those places now.

Many come for the gaudy casinos that have grown like mushrooms and were quickly rebuilt after hurricane Katrina. Beautiful facades hide smoky, noisy, tawdry game rooms that echo with the electronic fake sounds of coins spitting from the slots (everything is mostly digital now). It does bring visitors and money to the coast in the job starved region.

The fishing boats were waiting for the shrimp season to begin and the sharkhead souvenir shop is being rebuilt after having washed out to sea with Katrina.

Big Branch Wildlife Refuge

Big Branch Wildlife Refuge is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans, showing up as the tall buildings in one of the photos , is on the south shore of the lake about 24 miles away. Pine woodlands and marsh border the lake on this side.

The endangered red cockaded woodpecker makes its home here. They nest in live pine trees and excavate holes in trees with red heart rot which causes the inner wood to become soft. The tree then exudes sap which acts as a deterrent against predators.

Thousands of ducks winter here. It was breathtaking to watch them circle the marsh in large flocks. The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, perched on a piling for a portrait. And pied billed grebes sat under tufts of grasses out of the stiff winds that blew all day. I was unable to get a photo of the bald eagle, but a pair of them made a quick pass overhead, too.

Rain!

A very strong low pressure moved through yesterday dumping inches of rain on a parched landscape. There had been some minor showers since fall with the passage of cold fronts, but nothing powerful enough to restore the ponds and creeks to usual levels.

This morning the pond is nearly full, and I am waiting for a crop of tadpoles because the frogs are happily chorusing along its banks.

Bar-B-Que

The smell of wood smoke and cooking meat fill the car as one approaches the Salt Lick,  and the salivary glands begin to flow in anticipation. Hundreds of people flood the restaurant every day of the week hungry for brisket, ribs and sausage. Simply prepared, simply served and simply delicious.

It's a real Texas treat!

a hint of spring

                                     

Carolina jasmine flowers, mayhaws in full blossom, the fields are greening up (the green fields are a bit of a cheat though because in Louisiana we plant rye grass for winter grazing, and it loves our usually mild winters). The purple martins are due to arrive any day so I cleaned out the plastic gourds that they use for nesting.  Time to do some transplanting and pruning shrubs and perennials. I do think I have a bit of spring fever.

Texas Pioneers

looking down the well

Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States,  was proud to be from Texas.  Johnson City in central Texas was his ancestral home. This small homestead belonged to his family. His paternal grandparents lived there for a time in the pioneer cabin. Before there were fences across the territory,  cattle drives were a way of getting the range raised cattle to market or trains. This was a site for gathering the cattle into large herds for the drive.

Fun Buses

Just a few fun buses or rv's that I have spotted on the road in recent days.  Does Albus Purgamentum mean "white trash"?

A Texas Distillery

On another Texas day trip we decided to taste some Texas whiskey. We had passed the sign on the highway often and felt it was time to investigate. It turned into a pleasant and informative outing.  We learned how the mash is made and got to taste it, sampled the pure alcohol that comes from the distilling and then the final product. All of this in the beautiful setting of the hill country.

Canyon walk to Hamilton Pool and Pedernales River

On a beautiful mild winter day we enjoyed a hike along Hamilton Creek and out to the Pedernales River in central Texas.  Along rocky canyon paths that are shaded with foliage and bordered with ferns in summer, but brighter and more open in winter, we enjoyed a slightly challenging outing. Over rocks and roots, up and down slopes, the views were worth the effort. A canyon wren's spiraling song echoed off the rock walls.

 Hamilton Pool was once the hippy secret place where free spirits swam in a green Eden during the 60's and 70's. It is still a favorite destination for those who love old swimming holes, but is regulated to preserve it's pristine nature.

A hike in the opposite direction brought us to the Pedernales River which has a limestone rock bottom with crystal clear water.  Severe drought has diminished the pool and river, but recent rains have brought them up a bit. In the past the pool had been filled by cascading waterfalls.