thebirderspost

Nov. 30:  After a busy holiday weekend (US Thanksgiving), we hoped Monday would bring things back to “normal”.  We headed over to try for the woodpecker again (no luck), then drove the other side of the buffer sanctuary.  On Monday & Thursday you may drive all the way to the lake.  It showered on & off all day with sunny breaks.  Not too hot (about 24).

When I found out Bill hadn’t photographed the water hyacinths last time we were here (instead, just a Glossy Ibis with a couple of blooms behind it) he thought he should do it this time.  There weren’t the profusion of blossoms like last time – but even one is beautiful.

There were marsh flowers everywhere, though many too far away to photograph.  Some beautiful spiky blue ones & the yellow ones which we have up north amongst the lily pads.  Round little yellow balls about the size of a tennis ball.  There were also pinks & reds + lots of yellows & whites.

Here is a white pond lily in full bloom.  You can even see the yellow stamens inside.

The most common hawk we’ve seen is the Red-shouldered.  Here are 3 separate individuals along the way.  The Florida sub-species is quite pale compared with its western cousin.

I was thrilled to see this aligator sunning on a hummock!  It was too close to photograph the whole beast!

A Purple Galinule  showed up alongside us also – this one isn’t quite as colorful as usual – his bill is a bit faded but his purple is pretty good!

In comparison, here is its cousin, the Common Moorhen (also known as Common Galinule), with its bright bill.

This female Belted Kingfisher was just about to take flight.   We know she’s female because she wears a rust belt (males wear only blue).

At the end of the road we stopped at a lookout tower, on which were perched a number of vultures – both Black & Turkey.  This Turkey Vulture sat for a close-up – what a beaut, eh?

This little bandit (Loggerhead Shrike) was bringing other info to our attention.

As we left the area, the rain was moving away…voila.

A little snake was lying on the road, so I got Bill to photograph it, then scared it out of harm’s way.  Banded water snake (non-poisonous) about a foot & a half long.

A couple of Limpkins were present on our return – subtle beauty in those feather markings.

This Wood Stork looks much better in its native habitat (rather than begging from fishermen or sitting on a roof).

These swamp lilies were also blooming far away from the road, however I found a site next to the road near the exit for a closer look.

Today we didn’t get insect bites because we were in the truck.  Walking is a misery for us.  These no-see-ums are horrible & we suffer the most intense itching for days.  No hydrocortizone cream helps at all!  ACK!  Nearly turned around & went home!

Dec. 2:  Off to Clewiston.  Well, actually about 45 minutes south of the town on the Big Cypress Indian Reserve.  The forecast is for rain nearly every day of the week we’re here, so not sure what we’ll be up to.

Arrived about noon & got the power turned on just in time before a huge downpour of rain!  You may not think this was crucial, but it was 30C & we needed AC to cool off the trailer (which of course houses our travelling kitties).  Had to wait until it stopped for Bill to go out & finish setting up.  Had lunch, Bill had his nap, then he checked for something he’s been checking for every day for a year now.  It’s a new camera lens from Canon (EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM).  He has been trying to buy it from the Camera Store in Calgary (on back order) as well as checking with B&H Photo (one of America’s most esteemed camera stores located in NY, NY).  We’ve talked about this for a year now & he finally decided he’d contact Canon directly & ask them what is going on with this lens & why it is never available.  The website didn’t work very well – hence a phone call.  As he was discussing his woes with the woman on the phone, she said B&H had the lens available on-line now.  He looked while on the phone & sure enough, it said it was available!  He quickly hung up & called B&H.  They had it & he ordered it.  Seemed like a dream.  I guess if it arrives Friday, we’ll really believe it.  It is a lighter lens than the big one he is carrying now.  It is rated very highly & should “lock” onto his subjects just as easily.  Here’s hoping!

Here are the travelling kitties.  Katrina is a marvellous traveller & emerges from the bedcovers  immediately after I enter the trailer at our new destination & announce “we’re here at our new place kitties!”  (that’s her at the front)  Natasha, on the other hand, sometimes waits hours before she will show her little face.  This shot is not while travelling just a shot of them asleep on the bed.

Dec. 3:  Promise of rain, so Bill worked.  The only exciting thing that happened (& it was VERY exciting) was that one of the employees knocked on our door & said to watch out in the woods because a panther has been seen!  That’s a Florida Panther (otherwise known as a cougar).  I think she didn’t expect my reaction.  My face lit up & I said ‘Wow – I’d love to see a panther”!  HA!  Anyway, we couldn’t go out because of the rain – although there wasn’t really very much of it.  We did go out at one point & watch a flock of swallows overhead.  They included:  Barn, Tree, N. Rough-winged & a Purple Martin!  Cool.

Dec. 4:  Friday & the day we are supposed to receive the lens.  Billy checked this tracking this mornibng & it said it was delivered yesterday at 2:40 PM!  We phoned them & YES – it is here.

VOILA!!  There is the camera with new lens (& doubler) at the top – making it 550 power.  Below is the old 500 lens.  It is heaver than the whole setup above!  Oh joy!

Supposed to be a rainy day today – at times, heavy.  However, it didn’t really rain all morning, so we set out in the truck with the lens to give it a try.  No sun today, but here’s what Bill got with his hew device:

A series of shots of a Black Vulture landing beside his bud (who’s waiting with open arms!)

White Ibises  [Ibi? ] rooting in a field – then flying (note 1 dark juvenile in the middle.

Series of a Great Egret taking off (on angel’s wings).

Close up of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

A large flock of Rough-winged Swallows were perching on this wire, right above a canal.  Here are a few of them.

Since I began this blog with a water hyacinth, thought I’d end with one.  Here you can see the purple & yellow markings in the centre of each flower.

Oh, my Billy is a happy boy!

OK – I’m a bit pissed off because my latest draft was “deleted” somehow.  I will now re-create the day we were out last week, which was followed by 3 days for Bill’s work, etc.  I’M NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!

Nov. 23rd (or so) – It was still a bit hot, but not in the 30’s.  About 26 & mostly sunny.  We headed off to the Indian River Buffer Preserve to search for the elusive Red-cockaded Woodpecker (& whatever else we could find, including manatees!)

The best we could do in the woodpecker dept was the banded tree where it nests!

This is long-leafed pine territory again (just like at Jerry & Dale’s place).

On a long walk we did find a large flock of birds in the trees & captured this Downy Woodpecker (which is much smaller than the quest bird).

This bird is a LIFER!  Little did we know that this large flock of unidentified (at the time) birds would yield a Lifer!  It was only after we returned home & looked at hundreds of Bill’s photos on the computer that we found out it was a Pine Warbler!  We’ve never seen one before – Yay!  They were feeding high in the pines as well on the ground, so no give-away as far as habits were concerned.  We also identified a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo & Red-bellied Woodpecker in this group.

We headed into Fellsmere for lunch, then returned to drive along the other side of the buffer zone.  A small canal ran parallel to us & we spotted a few nice birds here.

This is a Female Anhinga with the creamy neck, drying her wings.

A male flew by – he has a black neck – he’s not really just a silhouette.

This elegant Little Blue Heron struck a pose.

A Glossy Ibis is much smaller than its cousin, the White Ibis.  It is sitting amongst one of the most beautiful water plants I’ve ever seen – water hyacinth.

At the end of the trail, we found a large group of grackles & blackbirds making quite a racket.  This Boat-tailed Grackle (which is nearly 17″ long) has a hilarious “song” & certainly makes a spectable of itself when it sings!  If you have a bird app, give it a play.  Not quite a hilarious as a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but a close second!

Also in the area was a dozing group of Snowy Egrets.

They look more elegant when they land.  What beautiful feathers – like angels’ wings.

As we turned for home, we spotted a couple of Roseate Spoonbills taking off.  Bill leapt out of the truck with his camera & tried to get a “lock” on them.  It was hard, but he did it (oh, he’s good).

So, 3 days of work, then we got out again Nov. 28.  This my Uncle Bud’s 94th birthday!  He is my Mom’s brother & they’re the last 2 Larson siblings still living (Mom being 96!).

He was a hero in WW II – flew a Lancaster Bomber.  Here he is with all his medals in Nanton, AB a couple of years ago.  They brought in the last working Lancaster & he sat in the cockpit when it was started up.  It made me extremely emotional just to hear it & look up at my Uncle Bud up there!  All the family who could make it showed up to celebrate with him.  An amazing day!

Back to reality here in FL.  Out again in the heat (high today 26), but at least a bit of a breeze.

When we came out after breakfast, this Osprey was sitting on a branch nearby.  There are many nests in this area & we’ve seen dozens of them.

Back to9  the Malabar Scrub Sanctuary.  Once again the 3 Sandhill Cranes who were there last week, were there once again.  Here are 2 of them lying down.  Their orange eye almost disappears next to their red crests.  When we left for our walk they stook up & started to “talking” to each other.  I absolutely love the sound of the cranes.  When many of them fly high overhead, it is beautiful!

Bill shot this without my knowing:  A Monarch butterly on the tiny lilac flowers in the grass.

Now for the PIECE DE RESISTANCE!  MY GOAL FOR THIS TRIP!  Florida Scrub Jay.  It is not only a Lifer, but the second last jay that can be seen in North America!  I have seen Blue, Brown, Gray, Green, Mexican, Pinyon, Stellar’s, Western Scrub – & now Florida Scrub!  The only 1 I’m missing is Island Scrub Jay & I will hae to travel to San Diego & take a boat to Santa Cruz Island in order to get that one.  Nonetheless, I’m stoked!

On the way back Billy took this flower for me.  It is growing in a wet ditch.  Three white petals:  common arrowhead (because the leaves are very tall with a small oblong leaf  at the top which looks like an arrow.

We left for the Micco Scrub Sanctuary to check it out.  There were 5 horse trailers there, so obriously riders in the area.  We never came across them, but did come across another flock of Pine Warblers (along with a Yellow-rumped).

We did however, find an AMAZING grasshopper – called Eastern Lubber Grasshopper.  It is nearly 6″ long & can’t fly.  Gets along by lumbering, crawling & can only make small hops.  Wings are only about half its body length, so can’t fly either.  Very toxic (warning comes in form of the bright colors) so no predators can eat it.  Famers hate it!

To end on a nicer note, here’s a white peacock butterfly.  What a great day – I’m so happy about the jay!

Nov. 29:  Last day of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend – but as soon as the actul day (Thursday) was over – starting “Black Friday” the Xmas ornaments went up!  All along the main street are the large red & green tinsel soldiers, candles, Xmas trees, snowmen, etc.  All lit with Xmas lights.  The main park has a huge Xmas tree lit with hundreds of lights.  All the homes have put up their decorations also.  Holy Mackerel!

We set out for the inlet at Indian R. sanctuary.  Ran into a couple of birders who saw our licence plate (which is “BIRDERS” for anyone who doesn’t know) to let us know that quite a few pelagic birds had blown in over the last few days.  They told us where to find a beach access to look for them.  We did a little walk first to an observation tower.

First bird was this female N. Cardinal.  She was in such night light, we thought we should take a photo.

Beaked butterly pea – what a perfect name!  The flower is nearly 2″ across!

A white butterfly on a white flower.  The same butterfly I posted earlier with the electric blue antennae tips.  Those tips really show up here.

As we returned to the car we finally got a shot of one of our Lifers – Mottled Duck.  Unfortunately, just a record.  Hopefully a better one later.  Not very exciting – looks sort of like a female mallard.

Came across 3 Amer. White Pelicans fishing.  Here are 2 of them with fish in their pouches – going down!

We headed over to the beach area where those 2 birders were sitting on chairs watching what went by.

Morning Glories were profuse in the vegetation at the top of the dunes.  They are larger & darker purple than I’ve seen before.

We did manage to see a few new birds for our list, including Caspian Tern & Gannet, but no kittiwakes nor jaegers.

Along the shore in front of us, the usual Willets, Ruddy Turnstones & Sanderlings scampered up & down with the surf.  This Sanderling came close & was in nice light – so got his photo taken.

The waves were high & the wind blew salt spray.  When we licked our lips after we left, they tasted salty.  Too busy elsewhere to do much more birding today & too hot!  More later

A short drive to Sebastian from St. Augustine – only 3 hours.  A small RV park near the Indian River (which is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a long island).  If we headed north on the main road on the island we would reach Cape Canaveral in about an hour or so!

Nov. 19:  Forecast is pretty iffy with lots of rain over the next few days, but mostly showers & thunder showers.  So it was a day of reconnoitering.  We drove north, west & south to all the parks we could find nearby while clouds threatened around us.  It was STINKIN’ HOT!  High 32 & humidity about 100% – Yikes!  We stayed in the car most of the time, but got out to shoot any excellent photos nearby.

One of the first birds we identified was this Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a wire on a busy road.  His red shoulder is glowing in the sun.  Bill had to park on the grass off the shoulder.  It’s all about the shoulder!

I can’t resist this study of storks.  They are just the greatest looking birds!  Taking a bath was hilarious – always amuses me, but I loved “storks on the roof”.

The Ruddy Turnstones were everywhere & not afraid of people.  Do you notice the little pale lilac flowers in the grass?  They are in every lawn we’ve found, sometimes prolific.  I’ll try to find out what they are.

Juvenile Brown Pelicans rockin’ it.

Obviously they’re not very fast.  We are actively searching for manatees!

We finally identified a Sandwich Tern – amongst the Royal Terms.  Here he is diving for fish.

See the pale tip of its bill?  Great stuff Billy!

Sanderlings are also very common – in winter plumage.

The other most common shorebird is a Willet – this one caught a small crab.

The only gull we’ve managed to identify is this Laughing Gull. Gulls are a nightmare to identify – with so many juveniles, it takes a specialized gull book to do it!  I remember my primo, Mur, trying valiantly to identify a gull on the west coast from a book he had.  But I told him that’s is just about impossible if it’s a juvenile.

We did however, spot a Black Skimmer within this group of mostly Royal Terns resting on shore.  That’s him front & center (small black guy)  with a lower bill longer than upper & a little white face.

Also spotted – on the road in front of us, was a Common Ground Dove.

Shut in for 3 days with rain.  It didn’t actually rain very much, but it was still stinkin’ hot.  The lows at night were between 22 & 24C – ACK!  Humidity in the 90%-ile range.  Clammy bed, clammy everything.  Towels don’t dry, etc.  YUCK!

Nov. 23:  At last!  It went down to 15C last night – oh joy!  High today forecast to be 21!  Off we went into the sunshine.  There is a wind today, but with these temps, it is just great to be out.

First stop was Turkey Creek Sanctuary, with a long, long boardwalk which winds through the woods & along the creek.  Manatees are seen here regularly – but not by us today.  All the warblers have pretty well gone through (so says the naturalist here).  The only birds we saw were the ever-present Turkey & Black Vultures overhead, & a Cardinal!

We did however, see 2 other mammals which Bill photographed.  No squirrel so far has stayed still long enough for a pic…until now.

The raccoon was delightful, leaping on top of its prey.

An interesting red & white fungus on a tree.

This is reindeer lichen, though we didn’t see any reindeer around.  Likely they wait until Dec. 25th to arrive.

And these lovely flowers.  The first is the ground cover in the grass we see everywhere.  The 2nd is just another lovley yellow flower!

We went on to a scrub park looking for Florida Scrub Jays, but found some beautiful Sandhill Cranes (Greater subspecies & likely to live here year round), too close to get their full height (about 3′ tall).  Also saw Mottled Ducks, but didn’t identify them until it was too late to photograph them!  We’ll do it later, because they are a Lifer!

An Anhinga dried its wings in a bush over the pond.

Common Moorehens were here also.

The pond had beautiful lily pads with huge white flowers.

We had by this time walked for 3 hours, so we stopped in town for lunch, then went back to the Inlet to try to photograph pelicans diving.  They were very active today, but Bill didn’t like any of the shots he took, so we’ll return again.

However, we spotted this not-quite-mature Ringed-bill Gull in our stork pond from the other day.  At this age, their bill is slightly pink & the whole tip is black.

An Osprey caught a fish.

This juvenile Snowy Egret was checking for smaller fish from the shoreline.

We’d seen a Belted Kingfisher earlier & when we returned along the same road it was still there.  This is especially for my friend Natasha who has rendered some beautiful kingfisher art.

When  we returned to our trailer I took this phto of the shrubs which surround our site.  They’re about 2′ tall.  So pretty with the red mulch, then the grass with the little lilac flowers.  Mexican petunias – or purple shower.

I think this is enough for now.  Will start a new blog tomorrow.

(OK – THEY JUST UPDATED THE SYSTEM.  I CAN NOW ADD PHOTOS FULL SIZE – AS I USED TO.  I’M SO HAPPY!  MATTER OF FACT, I’VE GONE BACK & FIXED THE ENTIRE SEQUENCE SINCE WE LEFT CANADA!

Nov. 10:  Left Jerry & Dale’s about 9 AM.  Drove through the rest of NC, all of SC & into GA.  Stayed overnight at the KOA south of Savannah.

Nov. 11:  Drove to St. Augustine FL – At last we’re talkin’ birding!!!  After a good night’s sleep we headed over to the Guano River where there is an Estuarine preserve with miles of walking trails.  At one of the piers we saw Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, Willets, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, & Snowy Egrets.  All were silhouetted against the sun, so no photos (but we’ll get ’em later!)

We did spot this juvenile White Ibis preening in a bush.  (No, he’s not white yet but he will be!)

At first I was sceptical that we’d see anything since the woods were pretty quiet & all we saw was this interesting caterpillar with the 2 dark “eyes” at the front.  But we eventually came to an open swampy area.

At last we found some birds – & what a great treat!  Black-bellied Whistling Ducks!  If you have a bird app you will hear why they’re called whistling ducks!  First we just saw their bright pinky-orange bills in the grass – then we saw some out in the open.  Must’ve been about 50.  Interestingly, we ran into a 79-year-old man out birding who’d only seen them for the 1st time here last year.  He’s been birding for 50 years in FL!  We, of course, saw them in TX the last couple of years.  The sad part is that they normally see Fulvous Whistling Ducks also – but we didn’t see them (yet).  They would be a lifer!  So we live in hope!

The forest is mostly short-leafed pines.  But as we walk though we hear all these little “thunks” – because there are walnut trees & it is the season for them to ripen & fall.  Also betel palms & the betel nuts are falling (“Bloody Mary’s chewing betel nuts….” – for anyone who knows the words to all the songs in “South Pacific” like me!)

And finally an Egret (Snowy)!

One of the common birds around here is an Eastern Phoebe.  Here’s one now.

Came across a Lincoln Sparrow (which are pretty common around NA – but since we couldn’t find a Salt Marsh Sparrow or Seaside Sparrow, it’ll have to do!  (Keep fingers crossed for these other 2 lifers!)

Bill kiindly agreed to take this photo of a southern toad.  It’s about 4″ long.  (I hate to ask him for flowers, butterflies & other things besides birds!)

We did see an Osprey hunting one of the marshes.  There were Turkey & Black Vultures flying around – as well as Bald Eagle, Amer. White Pelican & Magnificent Frigatebirds.  All too far away to photograph this time.

On the way back we coudn’t resist another, closer shot of the BBWD’s.  We quit by noon since it was stinkin’ hot – over 30C!  But what a wonderful thing it was to get out birding!

Nov. 13:  My darling Janie’s BD!  Sent her a quick email sending wishes before we left.  Same place again, since we’d sussed it out.  Also stopped along the beach where there was a parking area & amongst the fishermen on the shore, we spied a group of Ruddy Turnstones & Sanderlings (both common here).

It was what we called a banner day!  Cooler today – though we walked for at least 3 hours again, there was a breeze also – with temp 21C!  Yay!

Here are the photos I asked Bill to take for me.  He’s such a good sport about it he deserves lots of credit for indulging me! (Sometimes I take them with my iPhone, but they’re not the same quality.

A spider high in the canopy – about 40′ up.

Gecko in a bat box.

White butterfly with elecric blue antennae tips.

A Saw Palmetto leaf with 30 individual spikes on it.  .

We heard a Great-horned Owl hooting in the woods.  Never could spot it, but no doubt what it was.  Sure hoped for a Barred Owl or something else more exotic (ha!  birders – ever the optimists!).

There was a flock of little birds high in the canopy (i.e. hard to identify), but we managed to see a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinlet & probably a Baltimore Oriole.  Too high for photos.

However, one thrill was to finally get photos of the beautiful Yellow-throated Warbler.  1st photo shows its yellow throat – 2nd a bit from the side.  It isn’t a lifer, since we finally chased one down in TX – but we were unable to get a photo.

This Great Egret flew off when we got near, but landed high in a tree top.  He’s pretty against the blue sky.

On the way past the BBWD’s (whistling ducks) we found a Palm Warbler, which we usually find at one end of Waskesiu each spring!

Bill couldn’tresist a couple more shots of the BBWD’s including their interesting wing pattern (R).

Nov. 14-15:  Work days for Bill & cleaning/laundry for me.

Nov. 16:  Out again!  Anastasia State Park.  A bit of a bust in the walking dept. but still got some new birds.

The coastal trees are shaped by the winds.

Some groupings have a nice symmetry.

The soft grass is a contrast to the colorful flowers.

There are veils of Spanish moss in the forests.

These are called pretty berry – how appropriate & what a great fuschia color.

Wood Storks have been talked about in every bit of birding litarature we’ve seen – but we haven’t seen one for several years now (not for lack of trying).  At last we were rewarded!  Not only that, but when we returned to this particular spot, there were people fishing & a storK & an egret were “begging” for fish guts (or whatever) & were right beside the people.  Such ancient looking beasts.

Speaking of ancient looking beats – here’s the “ET” look-alike in the flesh – a gopher tortoise.  They dig burrows which are used by over 350 other species!  They are currently listed as threatened & there are signs warning motorists to watch for them crossing the road.  Which is exactly what happened here – we saw it in the middle of the road, turned around, stopped the truck & Bill got out to photograph it.

Along the coast we’ve seen lots of Ruddy Turnstones.  One of the nicest markings of all the shorebirds, even in winter plumage.

We drove around some of the residential areas looking for parrots – but all we came across were White Isib (yes – mature adults & they’re white!)  The 2nd shot shows one throwing an insect back into its throat after that long, curved bill picks it up.

A day of work/cleaning/laundry, then we’re off Wednesday to Sebastian!

About an 8 hour trip to Fayetteville (long!), with stops for “rest”, lunch, etc.  Weather forecast wasn’t very good & it did indeed rain nearly the whole time we were there.  However, Jerry & Dale’s warm hospitality totally negated the wet weather, thank goodness!

Here’s our rig in front of their home in the circular drive.  We left the kitties in the trailer & slept in the beautiful guest quarters with ensuite & all the amenities.  It is a gorgeous home – sort of a southern mansion – with a beautiful glassed in sunporch at the back with a view of a lush forest.

Here is the whole house from the front.  A swimming pool is off to the left side.  The drive is covered with pine straw.  I didn’t know what that was until we got here.  The long-leaf pine tree (which is also home to the elusive & rare Red-cockaded Woodpecker) sheds its leaves (needles) & that reddish “straw” is used in many ways.

We haven’t spent much time with Dale & Jerry together – just brief get-togethers at various LW functions.  We did have Jerry to dinner at our place in Calgary once, but Dale wasn’t there.  They run the LivingWorks US operation & do a bang-up job.

Here are Dale & I in front of the office.  Apparently Jerry had planned one of the larger rooms for the office, but Dale nixed it (we know who has the power, of course) & the office is in a closet!  Here are Dale & I smooshed together in front of the office – you can just see a computer in the background.  We can’t really pass by each other without sucking in big-time – Ha!

Jerry & I had been emailing each other along the road about dinner.  I wanted to be sure to let them know NOT to make dessert (due to my diabetes & Bill trying to watch his sugar as well).  We asked for ribs, which is one of Jerry’s specialties, so were looking foward to that.  He also asked if we liked Brunswick Stew.  I had never heard of it, but googled it to find out what it was. A light vegatable stew with some type of meat shredded into it.  Said it went well with BBQ – although I thought it odd to have 2 types of meat for dinner!  Well – we found out they were trying to avoid giving us anything with sugar (e.g. the dry-rub & BBQ sauce on the ribs) so made the stew only.  Bill didn’t like it much, but ate a bit.  I liked it fine & would eat it again any time.  But at dinner all we did was “rib” them about not making ribs.  Then we find out Dale doesn’t even know that we’re staying another night!  That was it – Jerry ran out & bought ribs & made his dry-rub to let them sit overnight.

We walked with both of them for awhile the next morning then Jerry returned to the house to work on the ribs.  He lit the smoker up (with his own supply of wild cherry wood & hickory) & cooked those suckers for 6 hours.  We continued our walk in the rain with Dale – for about 3 hours!  After a big nap (for Bill)  we got ready for dinner.

Here’s Bill helping with the cooking (well, not really, he just thought it wouold make a good photo if it looked like he was contributing).  Jerry is preparing the asparagus for grilling.

Once things were mostly looked after, we sat & relaxed in the living room while Dale still slaved in the kitchen.  That’s Lucky the cat on Jerry’s lap, enjoying the affection.

It may be hard to see what Lucky looks like.  Here’s a photo of her on her own.  See those  big golden eyes?  She has lots of interesting markings.

They have 2 cats, but we didn’t see Willy.  He is a Turkish Van cat & was found almost completely black out on the road!  Poor little thing.  Another rescue by the Swanners.  He is very shy & was nowhere to be seen by us the whole time.  They also have a dog – big German Shepherd who is very sweet too.

Then it was dinner time – no more ribbing – the ribs are here!

So is the mac’n’cheese!

Here’s a very happy man!  (Note:  Bill hates asparagus – so ate salad instead)

We had a wonderful time.  That Dale has a wicked & sophisticated sense of humor – let me tell, you can’t get away with anything around her!  Jerry is simply a sweetheart.  What a wonderful couple – we enjoyed our time with them immensely & felt right at home from the very beginning.

Thanks Dale & Jerry – you are the best & we love you!

Oct. 26, 27, 28 & 29:  Rain!  Yep, shut in for 4 days.  Nothing exciting happened except Bill worked & I did laundry, cleaned, read & worked a bit on our house.  Oh wait!  There was some excitement.  At about noon on Wednesday the power went out!  We of course have propane for heating, so wouldn’t freeze or anything – but no electricity.  We have a battery, but didn’t want to use it up.  Oh well, we went out to dinner!  Ha!  There is a nice Mexican restaurant down the road aobut 10 minutes away.  When we returned, the power was back on, so all good!  Apparently the power goes out regularly in the “mountains”.

Oct. 30:  Steven Usher’s 59th birthday!  Alas, I sent him BD wishes this morning, congratulating him on his 61st.  ACK!  My math skills are terrible – I worked it out from the date “1956”.  😦

Nonetheless, it is a beautiful day with clear, sunny skies!  High about 19C.  We retraced some of our previous steps onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, then looped back north.

The colors are fading fast.  Tops of the mountains are mostly bare now.  As usual, we drove through some fog this morning and there was 1 fog bank left lying in a valley.

This valley had only trees with red leaves, some confers & the rest bare.

Even bare trees are attractive.

There were still a few places with lots of color.

Lovely light did make a difference.

Lots of beautiful close-ups – here…

…and here.

What fun to run into a couple from Connecticut who were making a big loop around the country, including Michigan, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone & the many parks of Utah.  This little “Bambi” is a 1964 model, completely restored inside.  They were kind enough to let us walk in & look.  It is beyond cute!

There are not many rocky outcrops in these mountains, but this is a famous one.

Many of the roads are cut through the stone however, and cause “weeping walls”.  This one was doing some heavy sobbing.

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Just another lovely valley.

At the end of our day, we headed a little south of our destination turn-off & revisited the gate which Bill didn’t get a complete picture of earlier.

When we got back, Bill took a few photos around Cardinal Ridge Farm, where we’re staying.  Here’s our truck & trailer amongst the colors.

Along with a fawn rescue, free-range chickens, & exotic geese, they raise honey.  You may not quite be able to see the little yellow sign, but it says:  CAUTION:  HONEY BEES AT WORK.  The little white boxes at the bottom house the bees.

Oct. 31st – HALLOWEEN!  A cloudy day, but we decided since there is no rain, to try the Great Smoky Mountains National Park again.  It’s been a week since we visited it with Dana.  We thought since the colors are waning, there may not be as many people on the road – which was chockablock last week!

Oh not so!  Still lots of traffic – pretty colors still can be found.

There are some spectacular individual trees.

In places it’s like a impressionist painting with little dots of different colors – such a lovely soft peach color.

Against the gray tree trunks.

Sometimes black, sometimes gray — tree trunks.

Last week when the weather was nicer, we saw quite a few butterfiles.  Wildflowers grow along the open viewpoints where people stop.  Flowers are still blooming – including these pink ones, which I couldn’t find the species.  (If you know – please write to me!)

Last for today.

One other thing I should talk about is boiled peanuts.  There are lots of produce stands in most towns.  They often sell boiled peanuts.  So, being curious, I bought half a tall, styrofoam cup of them to try.  YUCK!  So absolutely terrible!  They are either boiled in a salt brine or sometimes cajun spiced.  I bought plain, salted.  The shells are very soft & pull apart – but so are the nuts!  That includes the papery brown inner shell.  Soft, mushy & taste a bit like squash (but not the good sweet taste of squash – maybe a bit “off”)!!!  Both Bill & I tried them.  Had to eat mints to get the taste out of our mouths!  So be warned all ye who travel here!

Shut in again for 5 days.  Bill had more work which was fine since it rained again just about the whole time.  Only outing to the grocery store.  Ah me (sigh).

Nov. 5:  Supposed to be a cloudy day, but there were a few sunny breaks.  We took our last trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Of course most of the leaves are gone, but there is still some pretty sights.  We both remarked today that with a breeze blowing today, this has been the calmest visit anywhere we’ve travelled – for a month almost no wind every day.  There is an American flag on top of the ridge just outside our kitchen window  it usually just hangs limp!  Amazing!

Most of the tops of the mountains have only green confers left – the rest of the deciduous are bare.

But there are still a few places showing off.  Sun and cloud made interesting patterns on the hills (oops – mountains!).

“Old yeller”.

Yellow & red are pretty.

A nice backdrop for a bare oak tree.

These little bushes turn many different colors – from yellow to pink to orange to purple.

A dramatic border.

It was great to get out!  We don’t like being cooped up.  However, it promises to rain tomorrow & Saturday.  Sunday we leave to Fayetteville to visit Jerry & Dale Swanner!

Dana Buck is the daughter of Bill’s favourite cousin, Lou Ann.  Most everyone knows that our trailer is named for her with the licence plate “LOU ANN”.  Dana lives in Atlanta, GA, about an hour & a half away. We only get to see these relatives every year or 2, which we did when both Paul’s daughters (Dana is Paul’s sister) were pregnant at the same time & we had a shower for them in Missoula MT.   These pregnancies were totally uncoordinated & they were due a month apart.  Both babies have now been born.  Hollin has a girl & Maren has a boy (1st boy in the family in 55 years, since their Dad was born!!).  These are 2 of the cutest women (look like teenagers, both of them)!  Can’t resist sending a photo of each.

Hollin & her baby, Adelyn (ADD-uh-linn) THE GIRL.

Maren w/ baby Orin (THE BOY!)

Sat. Oct. 24:  We set off right after Dana arrived (about 11:30 AM) for the Blue Ridge Parkway. What a big difference from a few days ago. Most of the colors have changed & some of the higher elevations have lost their leaves.

It was a stunning drive.

The colors are just about at full-throttle!

Sometimes a different image catches one’s eye.

There wasn’t much sun, so colors seem a little more muted.

Here are Bill & Dana.

I cooked dinner for Dana in the trailer then we chatted & went to bed early.  Since she was sleeping on the double bed made up just below the kitties’ heated baskets, they climbed all over her all night.  She was a great sport about it all, but we don’t really know if she meant it!  (She’s so sweet)  We were really happy she stayed in the trailer with us.  OUR FIRST OVERNIGHT VISITOR!

Sun. Oct. 25:  Another cloudy day, but we got an early start to the Smoky Mtns National Park.  Truly this was the most beautiful day for the colors we’ve had since we got here.

We just kept saying “wow!”

It didn’t seem real!  I finally told Bill that I didn’t need him to take me to Cape Breton to see the colours.  We used to cycle there every September, but couldn’t go in October because Bill had to be back to his job at the Banff School of Fine Arts Oct. 1st.  The hills there are very beautiful & I have seen pictures of what it looks like in prime fall colours – amazing.  But so is it here!

Some close-ups.

And another.  Despite the lack of sun, the trees seem to glow!

Even closer.

Looking through the forest is beautiful.

Looking far away also beautiful.

Last one for today.  These photos leave something to be desired, due to this limited format.  (NOPE – NOT ANY MORE – ALL GOOD!)  Next year when Bill does his photos for 2015-16, you will be able to see more & better!

Except for the 2 purple girls!

We thought we’d seen the most beautiful colours in the universe today & as we headed up the parkway, we stopped at a large parking area with more beautiful views.  A couple fo Ranger cars had come by with sirens shrieking, then a park worker’s truck came up & blocked off the road.  She turned everyone back because there had been an accident on the road & it would apparently be closed for hours.  So we had to take the long way home!  Hopefully nothing serious, but I’m afraid it was.

Dana had to leave right away when we got back.  Her dog Maggie, was at daycare & would have missed her (doesn’t like staying overnight)!  She got home safely, confirmed by her sending us an email.  What a treat to have her come to visit!  Thank you Dana – you are a gem!

After the weekend doing laundry & chores, plus taking care of new home building business, we got out on Monday to walk along the green space in town.  It is a paved pathway along the Little Tennessee River & despite not being quite continuous, it goes for quite a long distance.  One simply has to drive to another area to park.   The first time we walked there, we did see a few new birds, but Bill didn’t bring his camera.  I guess he wanted to see if it was justified carrying around that big sucker!  We saw an Eastern Towhee, some Song Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees, N. Cardinal & a few others.  This time it was much quieter – since we’d spent the morning at home waiting for a business call for Bill (which never came – he not having the correct date!!).

We saw a flock of Turkey Vultures & a few Blacks – so here it is, the magnificent young Black, glowing in the sun.

I also spied a Tufted Titmouse, but it was too quick for even Bill to spot, to say nothing of a photo.  We didn’t see our Eastern Towhee, but will try again later.

A Carolina Wren obliged us with some good looks but just a quick photo op.  Nonetheless, it was a lovely day to get out for a walk & do some proper birding.

Tues. Oct. 20th:  Had to take the truck into the Ford dealer to get tires balanced.  Bill’s been feeling “out-of-whack” for some time now, so now he’s better.  Then on to drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Even in a few days the colors have turned a little more.

Here are a couple of nice ones.  The lower echelons are still quite green – one needs to drive high up into the mountains to see lots of color like this.

A lovely gnarled,moss-covered oak.  Oak trees are amazing!

Though it looks like low-hanging fog, it is likely pollution 😦

It’s nice to see the bright reds among the yellow & oranges.

These are some of the brightest colors we’ve seen yet.

We shall return to this parkway again when we have more time & hopefully even more of the colors have turned.  But such a perfect day with hardly a breath of wind and temps around 20.  Overnight lately though, it has gone slightly below freezing.

Wed. Oct. 21:  Another lovely walk along the Little Tennessee River this morning.  At last we have a few bird photos for you!

Indeed, this is a Lifer for both of us – Carolina Chickadee.  Not quite as buffy on the sides as ours.

This Gray Catbird showed up.  Bill refused to let me include the photo of its under-tail coverts, which are rust – a very distinguishing mark besides its black cap!  Said it wasn’t a good enough photo.  I guess he can censure me after all!

The other day we saw Turkey Vultures & knew there were also Black Vultures here.  Today we saw both in the same quadrant of the sky.  The Black Vulture has white wing tips whereas the Turkey Vulture had white along 1 whole edge of its wing.

As usual, there are lots of American Goldfinches along the path.  They are vocal but not nearly as pretty as in spring.  Most of their yellow is gone.  That large seed pod on the right contained at least 3 birds feeding – just like on human feeders.

Luckily N. Cardinals keep their bright red all year!  The day was just lovely once again with highs around 22C, bright sun & no wind.  Perfect!

Whoodathunk we’d get another Lifer today?  Well, here is a Fish Crow!  They aren’t usually fluffed up like this, just caught one “fluffing” (if you’ll excuse the expression).  For the 1st time we ran into a group of birders here this morning!

We’ve seen lots of Eastern Bluebirds, however none close enough to photograph.  With so many around, I hope we’ll get one sometime.

Thurs. Oct. 22:  A long drive today.  Left before 8 – home by 3:30.  Bill is really going to build up his arm & shoulder muscles.  The roads are nothing but switch-backs – never stopping.

The colors however, have accelerated.

Most of the tops of the hills (oops, mountains) are now totally in fall hues.  Still quite a bit of green below.

There are lots of reds & yellows, but also some purples.   The evergreens just add to the mix.

This small format photo doesn’t really show the beauty of Bill’s photography.  You’ll have to wait for next year’s photos when he sends them out.  OH YES IT DOES NOW – BECAUSE I’VE GONE THRU & FIXED THEM ALL!

At our picnic table at noon, this lovely stand of trees was back-dropped (is that a word?) by the hillside which was in shadow.

When I lived in Kingston, ON my art was a piece of blue bristol board with colored leaves glued to it, which I’d pressed between waxed paper.  Makes me want to do it again!  I finally understood why fall is the favourite season for many easterners.  For me, it’s always been spring, but at least I understand.

This weekend Bill’s cousin, Dana, is coming to visit & stay overnight.  She lives in Atlanta, GA – only about 2 hours away!  Very exciting!  More on her visit next blog!

Bill worked one more day, but on Oct. 14th, we finally got out and about!  Drove through Cherokee up into Smoky Mtns National Park.  Us and hundreds of others!  The roads were very busy & every place to stop was mostly full but we did find a few places to park.

The higher we went, the more the trees had changed color.

No wonder they’re called the Smoky Mountains – they seem to recede into smoke in the distance.

There are still some areas of old growth forest which weren’t razed by early pioneers in the area.  Some of the largest trees on the east coast apparently.  A lovely old gnarled specimen.

The number of scenic hillsides is going to increase over the next few weeks while we’re here, but they are truly beautiful.

Thurs. Oct. 15/15:  Today we headed south to do another loop back into Franklin.  It was a very foggy morning.

The fog started to lift & Bill spied a flock of crows taking off from their overnight roost (tiny black dots, top photo, left side, just above black trees).

We stopped at a big open field with horses grazing & a beautiful gate.

We followed a twisting-turning narrow road up through Highlands, but there were few places to stop.  We did find a couple of waterfalls however with a place to park.  The traffic was pretty bad, with no shoulder on the roads, & barely wide enough for our big truck.

At lunchtime we found a picnic area & saw 3 Ruffed Grouse.  There are only 2 types of grouse here – the other is Northern Bobwhite, but we haven’t seen 1 yet.  Bill didn’t have his birding camera, so no bird photos!  The only other birds we’ve seen are Turkey Vulture, Wild Turkey (right on the property where we’re staying), Carolina Chickadee (lifer for me!!), Blue Jay, Amer. Crow, Belted Kingfisher, House Sparrow & Eur. Starling.  May have heard a N. Cardinal (since the name of the place is Cardinal Ridge RV) & Tufted Titmouse.  Don’t know then well enough by voice to confirm yet.

Fri. Oct. 16/15:  A loop to the northwest today.  We found a much less-travelled road with little traffic – though it twist & turn up and down the hills.  That can’t be avoided in this area, since we in the “mountains”!

It certainly allows us to find some lovely vistas.  The day was beautiful again, with the high around 20 (though lows promise to approach zero in the next few days!).

Another beautiful waterfall next to a crystal clear stream.

Because the waterfall was not in the sun, Bill had to set up his tripod to capture it.  Look what landed at his feet in the sun!  I guess it’s a Monarch, since it’s about 5″ across!  We found a flock of American Goldfinch at our pit-stop also!

Fishers were fly-fishing in this stream with vehicles parked in every little pull-out along the road.  They were in waders & had lots of gear.  There were also rafters & kayakers!

A few hours of that type of driving & Bill needs to return home for his nap!

We left Calgary Oct.1st.  Our first stop was Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.  This brings up some important events over the summer.

1.  We have bought 2 adjoining lots in Maple Creek (MC) and plan to build a new house there.  MC is located 4 hours east of Calgary, just over the SK border.  We will move there eventually, to retire.  We have done the opposite of most people, essentially facilitated by having no kids.  We lived in a condo most of our lives together, travelling all over the world, cycling, birding and having a pretty great time!  We have never had bird feeders, etc. so are looking forward to a new way of life!  The lots have some very large trees, which will provide excellent for cover for birds – plus we’ll have a bird bath and perhaps some bird houses.  Here are some shots of the 2 small delapidated dwellings as they went down – taken from the street by our lovely real-estate agent, Betty Abbott.

The street is lined with huge elm trees. as are many of the streets in MC, planted in the town many years ago.  Apparently there are more elms per population than anywhere else in Canada (population of MC only 2500)!  We plan to start building our home in the spring when we return from this trip – WHICH IS LIKELY THE LAST ONE WE’LL TAKE TO THE US!

2.  They sold LivingWorks – to 2 corporate lawyers!  This was done according to Bill & his partner’s wishes – for a decent sum, still keeping the present board while the new partners “bone up” on the LW world, keeping staff for at least 5 years & keeping corporate headquarters in Calgary.  This ensures the world will be a suicide safer place for (hopefully) another 30 years or so!  Yay!

3.  Had some extra eyelid material removed, as it was starting to interfere with my vision.  All good there, birding should be better than ever!

4.   Had as piece of my face removed (skin cancer) about the size of my thumbnail with some reconstruction, but thank goodness all cancer gone!  I’ve had it taken off with nitro in the same place at least 3 times, so I guess this time it sank deeper.  How lucky my dermatologist was able to get me into a special place that not only removed the growth but tested it in a lab just behind the operating room, to make sure all cancer gone.  It is between my nose and lip on the left side.  Dr. Arnett did the reconstruction, pulling up the skin from below, giving me a bit of a sneer at the moment.  Hopefully this will go down in a few weeks.  I don’t feel I quite look myself, but Bill still loves me, so that’s all that counts (& I think my Mom loves me too!)

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Driving down here, we stopped in 6 more places, after Maple Creek:

1. Estevan, SK

2. Jamestown, ND

3. Sioux City, SD

4. Kansas City, MO

5. Paducah, KY

6. Chattanooga, TN

Our drive through the Dakotas was pretty serene.  We passed through some of Nebraska & Iowa on the way to Kansas City, MO.  Then the traffic got worse with lots more big trucks & many more lanes.  Going through St. Louis, MO was very hairy – a city of over 3 million in the greater area.  Nashville wasn’t as big, but just about as busy (though it seemed a bit exciting just to be there).  As we arrived in Chattanooga (which always seemed quite glamorous because of the Choo Choo) we drove through a small corner of Georgia.  So we have touched more new states than I never thought we would!  Dead animals on the road included raccoons, oppossums & deer.

We’re now ensconced at a private RV park in the Smoky Mtns of NC at a beautiful location where we can see the changing of the colors.  There are only about 7 or 8 sites & it is extremely quiet!  The weather is also gorgeous (though we had a day of rain) – with highs in the low 20’s & lows in the mid-teens – PERFECT!  The change of colors is really just starting now, so photos from Bill later!  He is working for a few days, so we’ll post photos in another blog.

Oh – but we got out for a quick walk today (to the top of the mountain) and saw this beautiful bracket fungus – unlike I’ve ever seen.  Curly!  About a foot across!