Hot & Dusty

We have been at one of our favorite parks -Falcon State Park – which sits on Falcon Lake, perhaps the best bass fishing lake in the U.S. each morning, dozens of trucks hauling big bass rigs come rolling in with their sun-burned anglers ready for another day. This weekend, the Bassmasters tournament is here and the big names and big money will also.

Today we drove north to Zapata to look for a special bird – a White-collared Seedeater – which I got a look at – and traversed some really rough country. Hot, flat, dry, with nothing but a few horses or scrub cows here and there. This part of Texas makes us often wonder: How did the first settlers (or the natives) make it? The temperatures in early March about 90 with a stiff wind and a drought that has lasted over a year.
The evenings are spectacular with the recent full moon and the close approach of Mars. Coyotes yip and howl each night and the Common Pauraques send forth their unique call.

We awake to Northern Cardinals and the western cousins, Pyrrhuloxias, singing away and Northern Mockingbirds run through their whole routine as I walk by with Penny.

The recent rains, while doing nothing to break the drought, have greened up things a bit and many spring flowers are starting to pop. Likewise, a number of butterflies have emerged but good luck identifying them in 30 mph winds. One of the most common species is Red Admiral.

The dry air certainly clears our New England sinuses. No sniffles for weeks. It’s about the only place I’ve been where rest room hand driers actally work – no more wiping the moisture off on trousers.
Penny’s operation wound is healing slowly. Our bandaging has gone from Keystone Cops with warm water spraying everywhere and lots of swearing to a rather restrained procedure. Still gave a couple of stitches to get removed.
We have a weather system coming in which will move temps from today’s 90 degrees to 60 tomorrow. We are looking forward to it.
Vermont had 60’s yesterday but I suspect that there are a few surprises yet back home. We are missing friends and family but going to wait until we are sure we don’t get caught in snow like last year.