We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary Sunday. When we left the Crane Ranch we had the 2022 cohorts in the backyard.
We got to Meaher State Park a couple of hours before check in time. Not a problem, we were the only ones with a cabin reserved today. We are staying in the Eagle's Nest cabin on Duck Bay. It is fantastic!
We have a great view of the bay and an Osprey nest. The ospreys were busy all day bringing sticks and snacks to the nest.
We spent most of the day walking around, checking out the campground, the fishing pier, the beach, and the boardwalk.
We ate an early dinner at The Oyster House. We got lucky again when we were seated at a table with a pristine water view. The food was fantastic too.
After dinner, we relaxed at the cabin, then watched the sunset from the boardwalk. This has been a fabulous celebration!!
We got up before 6 am to watch the sunrise from the front porch of the cabin. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds in the way. Not a problem, we had plenty of critters to watch as we drank our coffee.
We spent most of the day relaxing at the cabin and taking in nature. We did leave long enough to go on a hike at 5 Rivers and go out to eat. The hike was nice, but the food at Longhorn Steak House was fabulous.
Tuesday morning we headed toward the Ranch. Our 45 minute trip was extended to an hour and a half when we turned around to go back for my Yeti that I left on the rail of the porch.
We spent most of the day getting caught up on our pictures.
Wednesday was another fabulous day. The day started with an email to Lauren requesting a picture of his for the cover of the Long Leaf Alliance magazine. He met a writer for the magazine a few months ago that was here to take pictures of the cranes that never showed up. Lauren offered him some photos of the cranes to use in his article. He never dreamed that this would lead to his picture on the cover of the magazine.
The day just kept getting better. We watched the banding of the twin Eaglets at the Beasley nest. Not only did we both get to hold the eagles, Lauren got a TV interview with WLOX! I was totally shocked when I turned around and saw him with a camera and mic pointed at him. He did a really good job. That gift of gab he has, paid off.
After all that excitement, we went with Scott, Theresa, and Jake to place an artificial nest platform in Maverick Pond. When we passed the pasture, the mated pair was there. The male crane decided to show off his graceful moves.
We put on our hip waders, (our very first experience to wear them), then waded through the pond to the other side. We pounded the post in the ground and secured the nest platform. The hay we put in it, just didn't look crane worthy, so we pulled up some grasses and piled it on top. Hopefully, the cranes will use this nest instead of building their own, since last years nest got flooded.
We came back and relaxed at Camp Crane and enjoyed watching WLOX and WXXV news report about the eagle banding. I am surprised Lauren was able to walk in the camper door after his big day. I figured his head would be too big.
Thursday, we worked on Eagle pictures then made a Wally World run. When we returned Lauren's new boat was here. Actually, it's bio's boat, but Lauren was the one to convince them to get a bigger boat for the bird surveys.
We spent the afternoon, getting the stuff from the old boat to the new boat during off and on showers. It was not a good day to take it out.
Friday we were greeted by some of the HQ gang as we started our day at the visitor center.
We also had our first bloom of the year in the native plant garden, an Indian Blanket.
We piddled around most of the day, working in the visitor center, checking our fws emails, restocking brochures, and getting our new designed volunteer cards printed and laminated. We also assisted with the gravel spreading at Camp Crane, (or rather, we mostly supervised). Despite the obstacles Sami had with the skid steer breaking down, she did a fantastic job. What should have been a quick job turned into most of the day.
We worked in the visitor center on Saturday. Our first order of business was to fill the feeder at HQ, then we assisted Fire with media posts regarding today's prescribed burn. The rest of the day was spent talking with the nice folks that stopped by, getting magnets done for the bookstore, and assisting our new Camp Crane residents, the Linas, get settled in.
We had a late evening Camp Crane flyover when some the HQ gang were heading to their roost for the night.
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