Thanksgiving Week

The week before, we went to our dentist and I broke out with a cold sore.  The day after Thanksgiving, we went to our family doctor for our physicals and I came down with a severe head cold!?!  What's with that?  I have not been out and about in a while and am just now feeling like doing this blog.

Some butterfly pictures to share with you...

Gulf Fritillary

Red-lined Scrub-Hairstreak

Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak/Southern Skipperling

Southern Skipperling

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our sons home along with 25 people.  Here Mitchell and Wallace are carving the turkeys.

And outside,  the grandkids and I are discovering an inch worm.

Here at the "Village,"  the hedges are getting trimmed...

Only a few flowers are now left...

One little Guayacan flower before the clipping.

These sites are in a circle and they are pull throughs.

There are also these little houses you can rent.

This is our site...all groomed now.

This Curve-billed Thrasher was wondering what happened to his bush.

Until next time...

Home Again, Home Again...

We arrived in "The Valley" on the 9th to the wonderful smell of plastics burning and blowing over from Mexico, and my sinuses are giving me fits!

We are staying at Bentsen Palm RV in site 624, and will be here until the first part of January when we will then move to the Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR where we will be volunteering until March.

This is where you check in upon arrival.

There is an Esperanza lined bike path where you can ride all the way to Conway.

We have been busy with our grandkids...

Lindsey

Joaquin

Picking them up from school and watching them taking swimming lessons.

Wallace went to the deer lease with friends...

while I took a hike over to Bentsen State Park.

Staying here at the park allows you free admission.  Did not see anything out of the ordinary.  Green Jays are a dime a dozen!!!  The butterfly park is just down the road, and Thanksgiving week is the best time to see rare butterflies.  I will be searching to see what I can come up with to share with you.

We will be seeing our doctors, shelling pecans from our sons yard for pecan pies, and eating at our favorite Mexican food restaurant Taco Ole on business 83 in Sharyland.  So many things to do...

Our state bird, the Mockingbird, eating a berry off of the Turk's Cap.  They are tasty...

Until next time...

Bison Auction

As promised, I am finally getting around to posting about the auction while we were at Wichita Mountains NWR.

This bison handling facility was designed by Temple Grandin, an autistic woman, who had a concern for the humane treatment of animals.  It is truly an amazing feat of mazes and gates and catwalks.  So we shall start with a few pictures of it.

The bison are led down a maze with gates that open and shut.  This one is being led to the main area where it will be auctioned off.  Wallace is in this area, helping with the gates.

Skulls are auctioned off as well.

This auction draws a pretty good crowd.

This big boy was first to be auctioned off.  Number 8.  With his head lowered and tail raised, you can tell he was not a happy camper.  He is four years old and weighs 1500 lbs.

Notice his black tongue.  He sold for $4000.00.

This caught my eye.  Real cowboys from all over came to bid.

Their trucks and trailers back up to this gate to load them up.

Notice the concrete ridges on the floor.  That keeps the gate secure while these powerful animals are loaded.

I said goodbye to number 8

as I heard this flock of 30 Sandhill Cranes flying south overhead, reminding us it was time for us to migrate south too.

Until next time...