For The Birds

 

That has been the sentiment around our part of the World, the past few days.  Seems the birds, and other wildlife, are about the only things moving since Tuesday.  All our roads have been coated with ice.  No mail, newspaper, or pizza delivery.  Just now hearing that a section of I-55 just North of us is again closed due to an 18 wheeler accident attributed to ice.  Very weird weather.

Seems it was just another day for our birds, though.  We had many different varieties stopping by for a meal.  Seems they all liked shadow better than sun.  Had some Blue Jays.

Some I didn’t know the names of.  Maybe a plain ol’ sparrow.

And a very fast one.

A woodpecker, or two.

And of course, the Cardinals.

One had something unusual going on with one leg.  What do you think, Judy.

That’s about it for another day.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to get out tomorrow….jc

Round 2

 

Two thirty in the afternoon, in the deep South. One hundred miles North of New Orleans.  It isn’t supposed to be this way.  This clock sits right over our back door. Though the indoor temperature isn’t correct due to my having the door open for a for a few minutes, the outdoor temp is correct.  We received a second round of the white stuff again, today.  Twice in one week.

To say we aren’t used to this is an understatement.  Most of what we got today was sleet, so all the roads are a sheet of ice.  Thankfully, we have no where to go, as I’m sure it’s bumper cars in town.

 

Miss Casita wish’s she was back down in South Texas.

Put out some seed for the birds, and spent most of the day trying to get some good shots through the window.  Seems what my eye sees as proper focus doesn’t agree with my camera on zoomed shots.  Working on that diopter setting. Will have to figure out what’s best. trying to shoot with my glass’s on, or off.

Hopefully, by tomorrow it will start melting.  Supposed to be near seventy By Sunday.  Welcome to the Deep South, and global warming…….jc

Ghost Town Terlingua

 

Driving the big bend area of Texas, appearing to be nothing but dirt and rock, one can hardly imagine what the area looked like a hundred year ago. The town of Terlingua was a booming place in the early 1900’s. Cinnabar, the ore from which mercury is extracted, was discovered in the area in the late 1800’s.  By 1903, a man named Howard Perry had established the Chisos Mining Company. His workers provided the world with mercury until 1946, when the mine closed. Terlingua grew up around his mine, with a population of over 2000.  The remnants of that period in history are scattered along a few ridges that made up the mining camp. You’re free to wander among what remains. 

Some are being restored.

 

A few have been reconditioned and are enjoying a second life.  The old mercantile building, with it’s wide porch, is a popular place each evening. Locals and visitors alike share chairs and bench’s, and swap events of the day, or of a lifetime.

A century of wear on those old adobe bricks.

Porch dogs.  There were six or eight that greeted each visitor.  Appeared they belonged to no one in particular.

The Starlight Theatre is a thriving restaurant.  Opening at five each evening, it is probably the most popular dining destination of the Big Bend area.  Happy hour brings you in early, and the meals will keep you there for quite a while, enjoying every bite.

Still some rusty artifacts around.

Terlingua ghost town is just one of the many unusual attractions in the big bend of Texas.  I had a number of things on the list for us to do while in the area, and the list grew longer each day.  Hopefully, we will go that way again next January.  Maybe even a week earlier than the gathering in Lajitas. There’s just so much to see and do, and so little time……….jc

SNOW!!

 

Snow on the magnolias when we awoke this morning.  Though it would be considered nothing in most parts of the Country, it’s reason enough for schools to close, emergency management to jump into action, and other silly events, or non-events, to take place here in the deep South.

A few shots around the yard this morning.  I was actually walking around, trying to get Sally off the porch for her daily morning rituals.  Didn’t work.  She just went back to the door and waited till Wanda let her back in the house.  Maybe, smarter than me.

If you look closely, you can see what the accumulation was.

Spider web hammock.

                             

Goats in the woods

Cold sunflower.

And, of course, our feathered friends were all puffed up.  It didn’t take them long to discover the sunflower seeds I put out.

Just a little reminder that the weather man never knows.  Our forecasted temps in the teens didn’t happen, but it’s still cold.  Temperature outside at 11 AM is 27, and we are still having flurries.  Finally managed to entice Sally off the porch a little while ago, and Wanda is making a pot of chicken and dumplings.  Life is good, even when you’re snowbound.