We were headed out the gate at 6:30 this morning, excited to go on the Crane Whisperer Tour. We were met with the calling of the cranes as we entered the refuge at Brown's Trail, then saw Sticky Bunz and several others. Our count was up to 5 in just a few minutes.
Ole Sticky must have partied hard last night, he looked like heck. He really needs to work on that grooming thing.
We had heard there were a couple of Mississippi Sandhill Cranes frequenting Highway 90. We went to check it out and found 2 foraging in a field.
On our way to Firetower Road, we were so glad to see the colt with his parents foraging at the edge of the woods on Highway 57.
We had another fantastic day looking for cranes and other birds and enjoying the beauty of the refuge.
We packed up and were leaving for home, when our new camper neighbors/co volunteers arrived, Katie and Bruce. They will be at the Refuge for the next couple months.
A look at the power lines on I 10 on our way home, revealed 2 more cranes. Our total today is 17. Not bad for a hot, humid, morning.
Monday
It didn't take Lauren long to get the grass cut at Crossroads. Most of the grass was dead from the dry weather. Crossroads has not got the frequent showers that Camp Refuge has.
Anita came over and spent the night. It goes without saying, we have fun when we are together.
Tuesday
We made it back to Camp Refuge just in time for lunch. We went to the Tiki Room. It was very good food, reasonable priced, and a great atmosphere. The rain this morning cooled the temperatures which allowed us to enjoy sitting outside at a table on the deck overlooking the water.
We put an empty can that had been holding bird feed in the camper compartment when we left, which attracted the critter. Lauren has a new strategy to try to catch this varmint before he does some major damage.
The slinky on the bird feeder pole has the squirrels slowed down, but they do make it up it occasionally for their feast. I guess the birds will have to share.
We managed to get our trail walk in before the rain this afternoon. We sat outside under the canopy watching the water soaked birds eat from the feeders until the rain ran us in. We had an awesome view of the sunset from the kitchen window. Not bad for a couch view.
Wednesday
We walked the CL Dees Trail this morning waiting for the Canon camera to arrive and found some new blooms after that rain yesterday. We also found what must be a young Cardinal. He was a pretty thing, even though he wasn't as vibrate as the adult males.
We loaded up the camera with the big lens and went to the Ocean Springs beach this afternoon.
On our way, we had to check on Baby Sunplex. He was at the edge of the woods foraging with his parents across from Sunplex. He has grown a lot in a week. We sure were glad to see he is still around.
We sat on the beach for a couple of hours. Lauren took lots of pictures of boats, birds, people, and things. It has been years since we sat on a beach. Luckily, the beach umbrella was still in good working condition.
It is amazing the things you see on a beach.
We went back to Camp Refuge and enjoyed watching the birds feasting at the feeders.
Thursday
It was supposed to be a big work day at Escatawpa Trail today. Instead it was Lauren and I. Bruce worked at headquarters, Charlie is on vacation for a month, and Melissa is off on fire duty in Colorado.
It was a hot, stuffy, trail to work today. We picked up limbs until we were heat exhausted and physically exhausted. The bad part is after we were tired, we had to walk 3/4 mile back to the van.
But we are two tough old birds, it wasn't nothing that a shade, a snack, and a Powerade won't cure.
We sat around again this afternoon watching the birds feeding at the feeder. We have a new pair of birds, a male and female House Finch. They seem to enjoy sitting on Momma's bird feeder eating their grub.
Friday
This morning I worked on our list of plants for our plant walk tomorrow. Lauren mowed the grounds at headquarters. I was surprised when I realized how many plants we have identified. We have learned a lot in the last few months.
This wasn't my only surprise of the day. A walk on the trail at noon, revealed we had more work to do to get the trail ready for tomorrow. Due to maintenance issues, we had to rearrange a lot of our plant markers. Nothing like spending the hottest part of the day looking for plants. After a few hours, we had it plant walk ready.
Saturday
We had 5 people on our trail plant walk this morning. We were pleased anyone showed up, after all it is hot and humid.
A 2 year old in the group had as much fun as anyone. He was full throttle for about 2/3rds of the trail, then got hot and tired and wanted his water. His face was as red as his hair by the time he got back to the VC.
After our plant walk, Lauren spent the rest of his morning, working on getting the movie going at the VC. After much troubleshooting, he finally came up with the solution.
We got off at lunch time and went to eat at Tapatio's. They really have a good taco salad.
This afternoon, we met Judy and Terry at Golden Nugget for her pre birthday celebration. There is some big money in this fishing tournament. We were very impressed with the yacht with a helicopter and boat sitting on top. Somebody is rich!!
Happy pre Birthday Hatchie!!
More pictures are here:
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