We made it back to Camp Crane Sunday after being home for a couple of days. While we were home, we got a little bit of mowing done, (before the John Deere broke down), and helped Anita with storm cleanup.
We got a couple of miles or so of walking in, had a nice campfire, grilled some burgers, and are in early tonight. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow, replacing the bent fence post at the HQ pen.
Monday morning, we went to work on the HQ pen with Fire and Bio. Between the Marsh Master, a lot of exertion, and a little bit of blood shed, we got the bent fence post replaced.
This afternoon, we spent mowing the beautiful savanna in front of the HQ pen. It sure did hurt our feelings to mow down those beautiful plants, but it is needed for monitoring of the soon to arrive, captive-reared cranes.
When we got back, Ferny Kat was relaxing on our sweat shirts that we had laid in the doorway. It wasn't long, we followed suite, relaxing by a fire.
We went to Clower/Thornton Park for a nature walk Tuesday morning. We saw a bunch of birds. Most of them were not hanging around for a photo. We had a nice stroll, finding a few, new for us, species of plants.
We got a few chores done at HQ, then went to Fontainebleau Trail to collect the phenology data. We had a very friendly Downy Woodpecker that was very photogenic.
We decided to take the short cut back through the North Gautier Unit. We thought we would make a quick drive through. That changed when we saw Wood Ducks and Geese in Valentine Pond. The ducks flew as soon as they realized we were there. Which may have saved them from the 7 Bald Eagles that were hanging around in the area.
Sighting 3 mature and 4 immature Eagles is our record for the North Gautier Unit.
The excitement of watching the Eagles escalated, when we had we had a trio of Sandhill Cranes fly over. It was a very noisy spot, with the Cranes a calling and the Eagles a chirping.
And of course, while we were there, we got our Nana and Coco fix.
We sat around outside when we got back and grilled steaks for supper while Ferny Kat checked out the Kubota.
We were slow getting started Wednesday. We continued moving slow with a leisurely stroll on the Dees Trail and Crane Lane this morning.
We opened all the storm shutters on the HQ building this afternoon. It is so good to be able to see outside the windows.
We went to the HQ pen in the hopes of finding the Savannah Sparrows that we saw on Monday. No such luck.
Thursday morning, we got a little bit of shopping done. When we returned, it started raining. It was a good time to get a few chores done in the camper.
After a couple of hours, the sun came out and it was a nice afternoon. The blooms had taken a beating from the heavy rain, but the critters did not seem to mind.
We came back and sat outside at Camp Crane, lazing around while Ferny Kat enjoyed her some outdoor time.
We got our Dees Trail fix in on Friday morning. We went to Erin's going away lunch, then headed to Crossroads, in the hopes of finishing the grass cutting.
In less than 24 hours, we traveled home, Lauren repaired the lawn mower, cut the grass, and we are back at Camp Crane, Saturday by noonish. After we unloaded the truck, we took our usual 2 mile stroll, taking pictures of critters and stuff.
As we were relaxing at Camp this afternoon, we saw a few birds and a busy squirrel building his winter nest. I wonder if this squirrel is the Southern version of Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog day??
