Finally There

Yesterday morning we went to JoAnn Fabrics in Pharr and I found the case for my Halo Go light. I was surprised at its price, $24.99, but I had a 50% off coupon so that softened the blow somewhat. I also bought some crochet cotton to make some snowflakes and some scented dishcloth cotton to make another dishcloth for the condo.

The ballband is in English, French, and Spanish. The yarn was made in Canada by SpinRite in Listowel ON. I've never seen scented dishcloth cotton in Canada.

We then drove to the National Butterfly Center in Mission.

A group calling itself "We Build the Wall, Inc." which was funded by a 'Go Fund Me' program attempted to build a wall on private property on the banks of the Rio Grande River.

From the NBC website:
" The government’s planned border wall in the Rio Grande Valley would not be built on the banks of the river in the floodplain but would follow the path of an existing inland earthen levee. The ... Build the Wall project would be a freestanding structure that does not connect to any of the barriers authorized and funded by Congress and overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

We Build the Wall began as a Go Fund Me campaign to help fund the Government’s proposed border wall.  After discovering that the raised funds could not be donated to the United States Government, We Build the Wall decided to construct its own wall on private property along the southwestern border. Even though the not-for-profit entity has been in existence for less than a year, it has already come under criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Services, which has oversight of nonprofits and charities in the state."

The NBC has been granted a restraining order to stop the illegal construction.

Many species of animals live in the area and migrate through the area, many of which would not be able to traverse a solid wall.

The first critters we saw were these chachalacas. They're noisy and run around like chickens.

They can fly up into the trees.

This one thought I was going to feed it.

An African Spurred tortoise named 'Spike' also resides in an enclosure where it is protected.

In the back corner of the center property is a feeding station for birds. We spotted many of the 'usual suspects' while we sat on benches nearby. Many of these are found in the US only in south Texas.

One of my favourite is the Green Jay.

I can't not take tons of pictures of them.

The long-billed thrasher is one of three species of thrasher found in the area.

There were a bunch of cardinals.

The white-tipped dove wasn't bothered by other inhabitants of the area.

Orange-crowned warbler.

Great kiskadee.

I heard the golden-fronted woodpecker before I saw him. The male has the red spot on the top of his head.

The female does not.

There is at least one of these squirrels in the area.

One of the staff pointed out the screech owl that was snoozing up in the rafters of one of the pavilions. That was a life-bird for me.

I also took a bunch of pics of butterflies but I need to do some research about naming them. Some were only about 1cm in size. This blue one was particularly pretty. It was one of the 1cm ones.

We were hungry by now so decided to head for Nana's taquería in Weslaco. We eat there every time we visit the state park nearby (Estero Llano Grande).

After lunch we finally drove to South Padre Island to occupy our rental condo. I had been in communication with the property manager and she informed me that the door would be unlocked and the key would be on the counter. She and her husband were going out of town so it was all arranged for us in their absence.  The place is spacious, has 2 HDTVs with cable channels, 2 bedrooms (one with a king bed and the other with 2 queens), a washer and dryer, private parking, a small swimming pool (probably unheated), a full kitchen (but no dishwasher), 2 bathrooms (one for each of us), and we're 1/2 block from the main street one way and the Gulf the other way. We are very comfortable here.

Today we got a second key cut at Ace Hardware on the island and then did a massive grocery shopping at the HEB in Port Isabel (the town just over the causeway from the island).

Skip napped in preparation for SuperBowl LIV and I got some stitching done. I want to have the project for Teresa done by the end of this week so I can get it mailed off to her in Michigan.

Once we're somewhat rested up we'll go birding at the Birding Centre, Convention Centre, and wooded lot here on the island.

Being in the Central Time zone, Skip is pleased to be able to stay awake enough to watch NCAA basketball and other sports that are televised at night without nodding off. I will be doing a lot of stitching. Once I get the project done for Teresa, I'll have lots of other things to keep me entertained.