Birds and Alligators and Lunch for $5.83

I am happy to report that I am liking this area a whole lot more this week - let me tell you why.

On Sunday, we found a very nice church to attend. The minister was in his 80's but still managed to preach a good sermon and we sang "Blessed Assurance", a favorite hymn of mom and it was a favorite of Mike's mom - brought tears to my eyes. The congregation is the kind of group that celebrates any and all things with food and this Sunday, they were celebrating the return of the "SnowBirds" with a full meal. So, of course, we participated and I can tell you that there are some good cooks in the area.

On Monday, we took a drive north to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and did we see wildlife. This is a huge refuge with several stopping and walking trails and a 16 mile driving loop. I'll take you on a tour with my pictures, but first... on the way to the refuge, we saw big ass birds in the field and stopped to take a look. They were so far away that my camera had a hard time capturing them, but I am quite sure they were whooping cranes (of which there are only 500 in existence). The refuge is where they winter. Just take a look at the size if these wings and remember they were over two blocks away from us.

Once we entered the park, the ladies in the office directed us to the most popular areas for birding and alligators. We started down one of the trails and this fellow greeted us about a couple hundred yards in. Turns out that he was just a little fellow in comparison to the ones we saw farther along the trail. This guy was either yawning or he thought Mike looked like an appetizer.

As we walked farther, we were both stunned by the number and vibrant color of the butterflies. It still amazes me that flowers are in full bloom this time of the year.

The peaceful sunbathing of this fellow reminded me of my mom. Once when we were on vacation in Florida, she walked right up to an alligator basking on the lawn because she was sure that it was fake. She was sure it was going to be made of Firestone rubber, but instead it opened its mouth just as she was going to touch it! I have never seen my mother move so fast! That night, one of the grandsons put a rubber aligator under her pillow as a joke... I don't think she was too amused!

When we finished that 1.5 mile walk (It is so good to have Mike free of back pain.), we headed up the road to another area that included an overlook of San Antonio Bay. You can tell the erosion that has taken place in the last few years due to Hurricane Ike and high coastal tides.

We saw herons galore

and Ibis (or wood stork, I am not sure which).

And then we walked to a small, nearly dried up lake and spotted this mud caked beauty. It was only when we looked more closely that we realized this must be the mama the ladies in the office were telling us about. The banks around her little "gator hole" was teaming with babies. First I spotted this one on the bank behind mama then, I looked across the hole and saw these...

the babies were literally everywhere you looked. We counted 16.

Now how could you not love this face.

When we got done admiring the new family, we took off on the driving trail. And we were warmly welcomed by deer, and more deer,

views complete with windmills,

and birds.

An armadillo crossed the road in front of us, and when we got back to the shoreline, we saw a wild pig going down for a late afternoon drink. Once again, my camera was too far away for a really good shot, but the binoculars proved it was a wild pig. And we saw more of the curved long bill birds - I really do have to find out what they are for sure.

Then it was time to head for home. On the way, we saw sandhill cranes in the field.

It was a beautiful day! And today, we started the day with a 5 mile bike ride.

Oh yea - lunch for $5.83 for both of us today - that is a total cost for 2 - chicken fried steak and pototoes and gravy and coleslaw and soup and I even had a margarita... Snow Bird Special every Tuesday at a local hangout.

So now, I have a more positive attitude. Tomorrow, I think we are going for a day of beach and fishing. More from the coast later.