Birding at White Rock Lake Park

Click here to see the list of all 16 different birds I saw today while killing some time at White Rock Lake Park. Rachel needed a ride there for her school field trip, and I loved having the chance to skip work and enjoy the day outside. The weather was great.

This handy sign helped identify some of the birds I was seeing, but not all.


What do you call a congregation of cormorants?



I especially enjoyed watching a pair of huge white pelicans.


But I might need a better camera, eh?

No Naked Men Allowed

My daughter insists that some MKs have seen a naked man jogging on the trails behind the center. Well, it must be true or why would there be these signs posted along the trails??

Prairie Paintbrush

Click on the photo to see a larger, nicer version.

Gary and I gobbled our dinner down and then drove to Cedar Hill State Park for a lovely walk. The place was pretty much deserted. We went to the south end of the park where we knew there to be a patch of tall grass prairie left, and we found this beauty. It's cousin, Indian Paintbrush, is in bloom now too, along the highways we see them mixed in with the bluebonnets.

In other news, it looks like April will be the month for a physical overhaul--I've got appointments with eye doctor, dentist, and have scheduled my annual physical (which I missed last year due to being too busy with a wedding and a grandbaby). Yep, I'm getting old.

An Afternoon Stroll at the Park

I had a nice lunch and quick grocery shopping trip with Rachel today, then decided I had enough time to run over to Cedar Hill State Park for a walk and to do a bit of bird watching. I wasn't as lucky as David at Birdstack, but I did see quite a few birds. Also, I nearly ran over one!

Total observations: 18

1. Dark-eyed Junco
2. Fox Sparrow
3. Ring-billed Gull
4. Common Grackle
5. House Wren
6. American Crow
7. Turkey Vulture
8. Muscovy Duck
9. Eastern Bluebird
10. Great Blue Heron
11. Western Great Egret
12. Killdeer
13. Downy Woodpecker
14. Red-bellied Woodpecker
15. American Coot
16. Mallard
17. Northern Cardinal
18. Wild Turkey

Spring Road Trip

Gary used a very crummy disposable camera to take Flat Stanley photos in Hawaii, but even that poor equipment caught this whale's tail.

Shortly after he returned, we made an overnight road trip to Houston. If you want to see photos of the trip, you can check my family blog.

We stopped for a little hike along the way at a couple parks north of Houston.
We saw no alligators.

We saw no red-cockaded woodpeckers.

But we did see sorrel
and phlox wildflowers

Disappointing Birds of the Equinox

Today was the day I planned to observe a bunch of birds so I could participate in Birdstack's "Birds of the Equinox." I did participate, but I was very disappointed in that it seemed like all the birds were just hiding from me. I could hear them, but I couldn't see them. I know I've come to this conclusion before, and it seems true today: birdwatching is better done in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees. Spring has come to Dallas, and the trees are all budding out, obscuring the birds.

There was one bird of interest, which I saw twice, but I don't know what it was. I'll see if David from Birdstack can help me figure this one out with this sketchy description:

• location - back yard, near the forest edge
• size - small to medium, but not as small as a sparrow
• tail - notched
• bill - black and thin, not cone shaped
• colors - kind of hard to tell, but I think white breast and gray body
• behavior - swooped to snatch up flying insects in mid-flight

Tomorrow I'm hoping for better luck with bird watching. We're driving to Houston for a short visit and plan to stop at W.Goodrich Jones State Forest and see if we can find an endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker.

A Trip to the Trinity River Audubon Center

Today was the third Thursday of the month, so that means it was free admission to the Trinity River Audubon Center. This was our first visit. It was an interesting place, built it an eco-green style (recycled blue jeans for insulation, solar panels for electricity, etc.) and some nice hands-on displays that kids love, as well as some classrooms and research places. The building was, in general, more impressive than the hiking trails, which were so short we did them all in slow motion in less than three hours.

There were way too many noisy people there to do see many birds (it is spring break, so lots of kids were there enjoying the place), but I did get a very cool photo of a killdeer scolding us for getting too close:


I don't know what kind of sparrow this is, but I think it is a sparrow. Anybody know?

Can't Sleep

It is 2:09am and I can't sleep. So I'm trying to find things to do to make myself sleepy.

I've already had some milk.

I've cleaned off my desk, paid some bills, tried to call Hawai'i, and written a blog. Maybe I'll go fold a basket of laundry--that should put anyone to sleep.

Lazy Saturday

Gary is gone, and it's Saturday, so I've had a slow and lazy day. I talked to Gary this morning via Skype, and he's doing well.

My day wasn't entirely unproductive. I continue to scan my old slides. The colors are a bit faded, and there are definite dust specks, but didn't we live in a beautiful place all those years ago?

Rachel got her hair cut a couple of days ago, but she didn't like the cut very much, so I recut it this morning. I think the results were satisfactory.


In exchange for a haircut, she agreed to go for a walk with me at the local park. We fed the ducks stale burned bread I'd been saving in the freezer. There were lots of "local" ducks (I guess they are just odd looking domestic breeds) but here are a couple "real" ducks to add to my Birdstack life list, Lesser Scaup and Gadwall:

Rain

We really need the rain, so it is very good we're getting it. That said, three days in a row of gray make me feel blue.

Hardship Duty

This photo is over 30 years old. I dug it out for two reasons--mainly to remind myself that as far as Hawai'i goes, I've been there and done that. No need to do it again, just because Gary is there for a week without me, is there? The second reason is to get going again with my slide scanning project. I set it aside several months ago, but I want to get going on it again.

Changing Churches

A couple months ago we left the local church we had been attending for several years. Deciding to leave was a fairly traumatic process to go through, and telling people that we were leaving was even harder, partly because we decided it would be unproductive to go into the details of our reason for leaving. We made an email announcement about our departure to those who needed to know, and many people were kind and wished us well as we started looking for a new church.

We've started the process of church hunting, but I wouldn't say we are any where near settling down anywhere just yet. As background, Gary and I come from somewhat different church traditions, and we work in an interdenominational Christian mission, so we don't have strong denominational loyalties. We've personally experienced a variety of worship styles and intellectually note with some sadness that the body of Christ is so fractured by denominationalism. We know that churches come and go based on music styles, location, and leadership personalities as much as they do on specific points of theology.

Ah, so much to think about when church hunting.

The First Bluebonnets

Today I got someone to go to the park with me for just a short walk. I was happy to find the first bluebonnets of the season. It seemed to me they were in an odd place--on the swimming beach at Joe Pool Lake--the beach that shouldn't be there but is because the lake water level is so low. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so this shot will have to do. I afraid we aren't going to have a very good crop of wildflowers this spring because we've had so little rain.

What Bird?

I recently happened upon a bird identification website that I found really helpful called www.whatbird.com. The thing I liked the most about it was the way the search thing worked by process of elimination based on a number of different features like location, bill shape, habitat, bill size, etc. That seems like a good approach for an amateur like me.

For instance, it starts with 891 total birds. Then if you use the location feature and choose Arizona, it goes down to 366 birds. Then if you further refine it by choosing desert habitat, it goes down to 42. And so on, making further refinements based on other features until you have just a few choices. At that point you can click on up to five choices and it the Compare button and it brings up a display of those 5 birds with a bit of explanation about the features of each.

But, I did find at least once case where the search thing led me astray. I was observing birds in the desert, but when I chose desert habitat it eliminated the bird I saw (at least, I think it did!).

The other thing is that it is only for North America birds.

Birding in Arizona

I'm cheating a little to use this photo because really my son, Andrew, took the photo. We were both chasing this cactus wren in the Desert Botanical Gardens near Phoenix, AZ, but his camera did a better job than mine. I was able to add 5-6 new birds to my life list, which you can see on Birdstack, if you are interested. Here's the ones I just added, all seen in the Arizona desert:

• Anna's Hummingbird
• Ladder-backed woodpecker
• Verdin
• Black-tailed gnatcatcher
• Curve-billed thrasher
• Abert's towhee

I also saw Gambel's quail, a very obvious bird, and several others that I'd already had on my life list from a previous visit.

Thirsty?

They just don't make oases like they used to.


We returned late last night from a 4-day trip to Arizona to have a quick visit with our son and his family who were here in the States for a business trip. Well, that isn't really quite true. We really went to see the world's most beautiful grandbaby:



I have a lot of photos to sort through and post over the next few days. In the mean time, I've got to recover from this trip and get Gary off on the next.

Poor Old ...

Last Sunday we visited a small Episcopal church out of town. During Sunday school the priest started telling an OT story and said, "Poor Old Elijah..." Bing! That song was suddenly stuck in my poor old wooden head!

No Name

I have no name and no special meaning for this photo, but I did think it looked kind of cool. We had a nice visit to Granbury this past weekend; check out my family blog if you are interested in photos, including the gravestone of Mrs. Davy Crockett.

Now I need to get to bed and get ready for a new week.

The Ethnologue Went to Press

It has been a good week. It started with an enjoyable dinner theater on Sunday and ended with the official announcement that the 16th edition of the Ethnologue finally went to press (the link is to the 15th edition). I'll no doubt post about it again when the book arrives, but I'll just say now that it is an amazing task to see to completion--for many reasons, not the least of which is how much work it is for SO MANY people. It is a good thing the work is done for love, because there isn't enough money in the world to make it happen for pay!

My Sweet Valentine

After lunch Gary said to me, "If you want, I'll take you to Taco Bueno for dinner and then go buy you some half-priced chocolate at the grocery store."

Who could pass up an offer like that?

1001 Posts on Valentine Weekend

As I was logging in to post today's photos, Blogger informed me that my last post was the 1000th in the history of The Empty Nest. Wow, much ado about not much, I reckon. But the subtitle still goes: my nest is empty, so I talk to myself. I like other people to read it, but this blog is mostly written for myself. This blog started in April 2004, so it is nearly 5 years old. Blogs are measured in dog-years, you know. That makes this blog nearly ancient.

Anyway, today we had another fun time with food and music for Valentine's weekend. This time we attend dinner theater put on by Waxahachie Community Theater and held at Park Meadows Baptist church. We drove to Waxahachie (about 30 minutes south) after church, and a nice dinner served by the church youth group, and then enjoyed a music review of love songs ranging from country to Broadway and a few odds and ends thrown in too.My camera isn't that great, and we were seated in the back table, but you get the idea. These three men sang a song my dad used to sing to me: Kaw Liga. Anybody reading this blog old enough to remember that?? It was #1 on the country songs hit parade the year I was born.


Our friend and colleague David, who invited us to the show, sang several solos and duets and perfomed in the Abbott and Costello Who's On First? David apparently has many talents; not only can he sing, he also is the co-author of Birdstack software/website and is a photographer for his day job.

Pre-Valentine's Dinner

Tonight we attended what is affectionately known as the Wyco Valentine's Dinner at the dining hall. We tried to dress up a little, with resulting non-coordinated shades of red. But with the lights down low, table cloths, and good friends around, it wasn't half bad. We enjoyed some classical guitar and then some fun songs by our colleague Brian. Some were serious, some were silly. Try to decide which this was:

Final Proof

No, I don't mean final proof that there is a God or that we have monkey ancestors or that washing machines do eat single socks.

I mean final proof, as in, the last round of copy editing is done on the next Ethnologue. I just saw those words on a tiny post-it note written by our chief editor slapped on the top page of a giant pile of dog-eared pages.

It may go to the printer next week, and then in 6-8 weeks we'll have the 16th edition. It seems like just yesterday we went through this process, but, thanks to my blogging memory/history, it was indeed four years ago.

Reviewing Receipts

It is that time of year when I have to go through all the financial records from the previous calendar year and get ready to do the taxes. I fastidiously save every receipt and check carbon, but sometimes I wonder why.

Today I took all those credit/debit card receipts and put them into a tidy pile so I can pack them away. One thing I observed was that receipts printed on that thermal paper fade within a year. It was an interesting experience to quickly review how I spent my money last year.

• We went out to eat quite a bit (I blame Andrew and Laura for that :-)
• Walmart and Taco Bueno are my favorite places.
• I had forgotten I loaned someone $1000!
• I had hired someone to do some yardwork and I still notice their work every day when I walk to work.
• I bought a lot of stuff to celebrate David and Sarah's wedding--money well spent.

Now I have a big confession to make. Even though I keep all my receipts, I've fallen off the wagon when it comes to balancing my checkbook. For years I hassled my kids for not balancing theirs, but now I've given in to their slovenly ways. I don't write anything in my paper check register any more, and I just frequently look on line to make sure everything basically looks right. This step into laziness happened in November when I tried and tried and tried but could not find a 10 cent error in my checkbook. So, I gave up. Then I decided if my kids don't need to balance their checkbooks, why should I???

Out For a Walk

The weather was nice today and I was feeling cooped up, so I went for a walk at Joe Pool Lake. I tried to get my daugher to go with me, but she declined. So I went alone. I guess it is safe enough and I never stop to worry about it being unsafe, even though I was alone and some parts of the park are a bit isolated. The mallards and coots walked up to me hoping for a handout, but, alas, I left the bread at home.

I saw a killdeer feeding in the mud--first one I've seen up close and personal for a while. I remember hearing them all the time in the fields in Michigan. (This is not my photo--my camera isn't that good!)

Getting Rid of the Trash

Good thing Janet and I didn't chat for long.

Trash Talk

If you find yourself in a pile of trash, it helps to have a good friend to talk to.

Cleaning Fool

I feel like I've been cleaning house for six months. Last June I worked hard to get the apartment ready for occupancy, and no matter how hard I worked, there were still cat fleas to deal with. (For some reason, they never bite me, but they do bite others. The opposite is true when it comes to mosquitoes.)

Then there was a lot of cleaning to do in August to help Rachel when she moved into her apartment. It was "clean," but we tried everything, to no avail, to get rid of the smoke smell. The guy downstairs smokes a lot and it just constantly pours into Rachel's apartment.

Then there was a medium amount of cleaning to do to prepare for visitors and parties in the fall.

Then there was cleaning to do after Andrew and Laura left for Ethiopia.

Then there was the post-Christmas cleaning.

Then there was the month of January. Construction dust, muddy footprints, etc. I've already been cleaning like a fool, but it will be some time yet before all the carpet stains are removed.

Then most recently I cleaned to prepare for renters. My first inclination was to not really clean very well and just say, "You can come clean it to your specs, and then then take it off the rent." But I thought better and we cleaned and cleaned. Then, the cat snuck back in and left some poop behind the TV which didn't make the new Mrs. very happy--understandably so, since she is pregnant. So now, because of the cat poop and because of the dust behind the furniture that they moved, they are now completely cleaning it all again. And washing the carpet. Sigh. I should have just gone with my first inclination and saved myself a lot of effort and a little bit of hurt feelings.

And that's not all. I've still got to get my house cleaned and back together to make it at least passable for tomorrow's Superbowl party.

I think I'm beginning to understand why people hire people to clean. It is less work, it is an opportunity to spread the wealth, and it gives a person someone else to blame if it isn't done well.

At least I have two very new and very clean bathrooms.

My How the World Has Changed

Last night Rachel and a bunch of her friends went downtown to a Mavericks' game. While she was there, I got an email from Andrew, in Ethiopia, telling me the Mavericks were winning.

Things That Go Wrong

Little things, really.

I got an email from the credit union saying my check card, which I use on a daily basis, was in a batch of cards that a merchant said were potentially compromised and they had canceled it, thank you very much. Expect a new one in about 10 days.

I asked the lady at Target to replace my watch battery, but she couldn't get it open either. And then I dropped the watch on the floor and one of the pins fell out from the band and fell apart. Next time, just buy a new watch.

My car is making a strange squeaking.

My hallway carpet is getting really dirty during this remodel.

The cat is still confused as to where her litter box is now located since the bathroom is still missing. (Lots of good progress there--we expect it finished this week some time.)

Baby Isabella was rejected from residency in her current country because there weren't enough stamps, raised seals, and signatures on her birth certificate. So we're working to secure same.

It seems like I had a few more of these things to add, but I see that none of these things is all that serious, now that I've written them down.

Wasn't That Sweet?

I got a sweet gift (apron and matching potholder) from the little girl next door. She's not so little anymore, but she still knows who is her mom #2.

Speaking of Sarah, I was sad to hear that her mom #1 is having surgery next month. Sigh. We are getting old, aren't we?

Applaud for Baby Isabella!

That sweet and smart grandbaby of mine has just learned to clap!

Repairs Of the Day

I always feel so self-righteous when I fix something. Today I finished putting bathroom #3 back together by finishing the vanity and replacing the sink, fixing to toilet so it doesn't wobble, and patching two little holes in the fiberglass shower/tub. Then I fixed a dresser drawer, too.

*happy dance*

We Are Officially Old

The president of these United States is younger than us.

The Neighborhood Zoo

I finally remembered to take my camera when I walked down to the mailbox.

I'm no expert on llamas, but I think this might be one.

Are the sheep supposed to be on the right or the left? I guess this is both.

Which Is Worse?

A dirty spot on the carpet, or a clean spot? :-(

Marshmallow Art

Most of my blogging lately has been about our home remodeling projects (did I mention I ripped the vanity our of our 3rd bathroom today, so now we have three torn up bathrooms?), but I thought I should post these photos of how to make marshmallow art:

The ink is edible so these pens can be used to decorate cookies and marshmallows. They worked perfectly for writing birthday greetings to our colleague Cyndi at her 50th birthday party tonight.

Remotes

Which one does not belong?