April 10, 2014 Quintana Bird Refuge, Freeport, TX

Today we spent the day with my cousin Diane and her husband Jim.  We went to the gulf coast at a little town called Quintana, where there is a bird refuge;  alas, we saw very few birds, probably because we were there at midday.  Then we walked out on a LONG jetty and enjoyed seeing other seabirds, including a squadron of pelicans in a bit of a feeding frenzy.  The two dolphins we saw might have helped with that....  The weather was perfect for our coastal adventure!

Quintana

Paintbrush

Summer tanager

Bubba, Nannie, Jim, and Diane.
On top of the viewing tower at the bird refuge.

Shrike with lunch

Jim

Bubba

Diane & Nannie

Boat-tailed grackle.
The End.

April 7, 2014 Beaches at Port Aransas and Mustang Island

Since the weather was supposed to "fair off" today, we headed 80 miles south to Port Aransas and the beaches.  First we visited the Mustang Island State Park, and enjoyed every minute.  The wind was still cutting, and the temps were chilly at 55-60 degrees, but at least the sun was out!  The beach was beautiful and we enjoyed a lovely stroll.

For lunch, we drove back thru Port Aransas and got some delicious takeout poboys and fries.  Took 'em down to the city park beach and chowed down at a picnic table.  The gulls and grackles were hanging around, hoping for a handout.  While Bubba fed the gulls, I found out that the best way to get the treat to a grackle is to throw it under a vehicle.

These gulf beaches are hard-packed and people drive on them - which amazed us.  There were even a few campers parked out there on the sand!  Mighty convenient if you don't mind sand!

The city park also has a long granite "rock jetty" which we investigated.  Such a grand time - the weather cooperated with sun and warmth!  And when we got home, there was a rainbow shining at us.  Life is Good!

Some kind of palm trunk that looked like it needed a shave....

Grackle in the ground cover - looked like a form of ice plant.

Hellooooo from Mustang Island!

Nice pelican picture, Bubba!

Busy sandpiper.

Hmmm, wonder why that seagull is on top of that other seagull?

Rock jetty - a very long one!

And the happy rainbow that greeted us when we arrived back at our camper!

April 5, 2014 Port Lavaca, TX nature walk

Since the weather is still cool and windy we opted to do the nature boardwalk today.  It curves from the mainland, across the marsh, and into Lavaca Bay.  We saw a few feathered friends out in the marsh, and then we walked around the park.  If the weather was better, this would be a great spot to park our camper!  Alas, it's too cold/windy, and also there were no vacancies!

Black-necked Stilt

Tricolored Heron

Looking at 4 lovely Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

And here they are!  Such LONG tails!

Ruddy Turnstone

Father and Daughter and Bear!

Boat-Tailed Grackle - these guys are everywhere!

Here is where we went today....

April 4, 2014 Port Lavaca, TX

We are spending a few days here at Port Lavaca (north of Corpus Christi), where our daughter Michelle & son-in-law Duane are staying while Duane works a turnaround at a nearby plant.  We brought our grand-dog Bear with us on our trip, and he is a pretty good camper!  He thinks we are OK, but he much prefers to be with his "mom and dad"....   Today we visited a couple of beaches, with winds were upwards of 30 mph - hold on to your hat!  Even though the wind was fierce and the waters were muddy and churning, we enjoyed our visit to Magnolia and Indianola Beaches.

Bluebonnets!

We were sitting still behind our camper, in the wind....

The churned up water is muddy brown.

Pretty Lady!

Paintbrush flowers and yellow blossoms.

Indian Blanket flowers.

This is interesting - I hope you can enlarge this picture and read it.