that you couldn’t quite reach and it just about drove you crazy?  This poor pelican tried his darnedest to satisfy his itch, but I don’t think he ever got it.  I was just amazed at his persistence, not to mention his flexibility.

Some other sights at the Birding Center in Port Aransas today.

Above, starting at the top, is a Great Blue Heron with friends, a Green-Winged Teal, Roseate Spoonbills, a Tri-Colored Heron, another Green-Winged Teal, and in the center is a Mockingbird.  What a great day! 

Sue

I made my second trip to the Birding Center today.  It was a nice sunny day, but a little windy and chilly.  Not Minnesota-style windy and chilly though!  Some of my favorite pictures — here is a gorgeous Great Blue Heron.  I love how his legs blend in with the reeds.

 As usual, there was an abundance of ducks of all sorts.  Here is a female Northern Shoveler.  Look at the size of that schnozz!  Reminds me not to look directly at the camera — an angled shot might be more flattering, plus a touch of powder!

And another favorite, a Green-Winged Teal:

But the stars of the show (to me, anyway) are the pelicans.  Yesterday I saw mostly White Pelicans, but these are Brown Pelicans.  The brown and yellow are in breeding plumage; the darker brown is probably a juvenile.  Here are a couple soaking up the sun, shielding themselves from the wind, and two others “fishing”.

There were a couple that were having their lunch.  They would repeatedly dive for fish (even though the water is very shallow here), and were apparently successful.  They would spring from the water, then dive in beak first:

Yum!

 Soon I will post about some crafty things — my second pair of socks that I’m working on, and a kaleidoscope quilt top I’m piecing.  And, like it or not, I’m sure there will be more birds!

Sue

Well,  as I stated earlier, Paradise Pond was my very most favorite place to visit.  Very small pond, totally enclosed with trees, with a walkway over the water on two sides.  We could see all sorts of bird life here, and it was soooo peaceful.  I took some of my best photos here last year.  Here are a couple of photos from January and February of 2008:

Here is what I found today:

I couldn’t believe my eyes, and felt almost physically ill!!!  I did some searching on line, and apparently it’s been very dry since last winter.  Hopefully, in 2010 we will have something that more resembles our old pond. 

Sue

Today I visited the birding center at Port Aransas, my favorite place in town!  And yes, that even includes all the cute little shops, seafood places, and a small quilt shop!  Today is chilly but sunny, and there were lots of birds to be seen.  No sign of the roseate spoonbills though, but I’ll hopefully see them on another visit.  Here is the view as you walk into the area:

This is a blue-gray gnatcatcher.  This isn’t a particularly special picture, but I had never seen one of these birds before.  He’s very tiny, and doesn’t sit still long!

This Northern Shoveler was enjoying a splish-splash bath.

These Tri-Colored Heron are one of my favorites.  They are a smaller, daintier looking heron than the Great Blue Heron we usually see. 

This was a successful birding expedition.  Later I will blog about the heart-breaking trip to Paradise Pond, my former favorite-est bird-spying spot.

Sue

Better this week…

.5 yards In This week
16.5 yards In YTD

7.5 Yards Out This Week
7.5 Yards Out YTD

Net: 9 Yards In YTD
Goal: 75 Yards Out

Every once in a while I guess I need a reminder that I’m not really in control of my life.  My broken wrist was a big reminder, as it really changed how November and December played out.  A time to slow down, set to-do lists and schedules aside. 

In December I was starting to feel independent and a little more in control of my life, and we find out (after tests and much waiting) that hubby has a medical condition requiring surgery.  It’s not life threatening (thank you, God), but does need to be taken care of.  Hmm, the plan to go to Texas for ten weeks to escape some of the Minnesota Winter (brrr) is thrown out the window (not literally, our windows are probably all frozen shut).  You need to do what you need to do.  We can get the surgery done and survive the cold winter as well. 

Then yesterday we were waiting for the call from the scheduling nurse to arrange the surgery date.  The earliest date is the end of January.  What???  We could have gone to Texas right after Christmas and  … well, never mind.  We’re obviously not in control here.

But wait, we could sneak in a SHORT trip before the surgery.  (Can you hear me packing?)  I know, I’m not in charge, but we’re doing our best to get in a little sunshine and R&R, play some cards with our winter friends, enjoy some walks on the beach, eat some good freshly caught fish, do some bird-watching and take some pictures.  This will be a wonderful pre-surgery diversion for both of us. 

I’m not in control.  I’m not in control.  I’m not in control.  I’m just along for the ride.

Sue

Oh, man, this isn’t the start that I envisioned, but how was I to know Fabric Town was having a big sale???

So I’m starting the year in the negative, but I don’t regret it one bit.  25 FQ’s for a buck apiece (some for an Asian quilt I have in mind, some for my brown/gold/cream/red stash), three pieces of Fusions (yum) at half price, and a bit of white with pink flowers for a girly baby quilt.  So here are the hard facts:

Fabric In YTD:   16 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 0 yards

2009 Goal:         75 yards OUT

YTD Net:           -16 yards

Well, I need to get something of my own on the Gammill so I can at least subtract a backing for next week!  I’m currently back to  piecing blocks for Judy L’s last Quilt for an Hour (started it months ago, so can’t count anything out of stash).  I love the quilt, and I’m doing it in Civil War fabrics.  Oh, and I’m doing two of them, so I am currently working on 60 blocks!  I’m not much of a resolution maker, because I would make the same ones every year so obviously they don’t “take”.  But I should probably work on moderation in 2009!  And this week I plan to get my version of Judy L’s Labor Day Challenge Quilt onto the longarm.