The Early Bird(er)...

After springing forward, we got up early to go birding at the convention centre just after sunrise. The conditions were perfect - low tide, gentle breeze and the water was like glass in places.

I took lots of photos.

The first bird of note (we don't get excited about gulls) was a black-crowned night-heron (nycticorax nycticorax).


















Then we saw a plover of some kind. We're still debating whether it's a Wilson's plover or a juvenile black-bellied plover. (any suggestions?) When we get home I'll confirm what it was when I have a good look at the Sibley.



































A lesser yellowlegs (tringa flavipes).

















A male mottled duck (anas fulvigula).












The 'bird of the day' was definitely the black-necked stilt (himantopus mexicanus), probably because it is not a bird we would ever see at home. Its legs really are bright pink.

KnitPicking

I finished the Maikell scarf yesterday. I'm pleased with it and know it will look great once it's blocked.

















I cast on another Lily of the Valley scarf in KnitPicks Gloss Lace in Mango. I thought it would be a bit pinker but it actually looks more like the colour of a creamsicle. I added an extra stitch to each side's border and when I block it will pull points on the edges.

















I decided to order all the different kinds of laceweight yarn in various colours from KnitPicks.

The Gloss Lace yarn colours are:

Chipotle - it's more of a cinnamon colour than the picture shows

Cypress and

Port




The Shimmer yarn colour is Turquoise Splendor.

It is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk.













The Alpaca Cloud (100% baby alpaca) colours are:

Raspberry (which is more purple than the photo shows)

and Bermuda.










I ordered 2 skeins of the Bermuda to do a scarf with a lace border which is knit separately and attached later.

I love, love, LOVE Nancy Bush's "Knitted Lace of Estonia" book.

I sure am going to have a lot of blocking to do when I get home.

Birding and Golfing and Birding

We went golfing on Tuesday as it was the only day that there wasn't going to be very windy. As we teed of on the first hole, we spotted a long-billed curlew by the adjacent pond. We also saw snowy and great egrets and a couch's kingbird.

Wednesday morning we had our escorted birding tour at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Our driver wasn't a hardcore birding expert but he did take us to some spots where we were likely to see some species.

At the park office, they set out food first thing in the morning. This is one of the saw three javelinas or collared peccaries literally 'pigging out'.

















Some of the birds we saw were roseate spoonbills on the wing,

















a Couch's kingbird



















northern bobwhites















a belted kingfisher,













some type of hawk,
















crested caracara,


















yellow-crowned night-herons,






















white-faced ibis,






















and a gator sizing up a great egret.













Back at the birding centre in the photo blind, we saw Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal,













a chachalaca,

















a song sparrow,


















and a long-billed thrasher.

In Like a Lion

On Saturday we attended the first annual Texas Independence Day celebration in San Benito. Unfortunately is was really cold and windy. When we left the island the temperatures were in the high 70s and by the time we got to San Benito it was in the low 50s and drizzly. The organizers were having a heck of a time getting the replica of the Alamo to stay upright in the wind.

















Skip and I were in shorts and wouldn't venture out of the car. The local people were in parkas. The parade was supposed to be at 11am but at noon when we drove by the marshalling area the horses were still all there.

















Dejectedly, we admitted defeat and went for lunch and shopping instead.

Yesterday we packed things up in preparation to move to the condo we had rented for March - with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Just as we were finishing loading the car, Viviana (the property manager we work with) drove up to give us the keys. We made a last check for items and then drove over to Las Palmas, Unit 7. It is in much better condition than the Gulfview II unit and cleaner, although there really isn't that much more living space if you don't count the 2nd bathroom and bedroom.

We have subscribed to dial-up service for the month. Altho' it is a bit slower (and almost impossible to upload photos) it is about the same speed as a 'good' connection with high speed internet. We will survive.

It got very cold last night - into the 40s F but we refused to put on the heat. Instead we bundled up in our winter clothes and piled on extra sweaters, wooly socks, etc.

Today it is a bit warmer and thankfully there is NO WIND. We went birding at the convention centre where the water was like glass.

Tricolour Heron
















Semipalmated Plover















Eastern Mockingbird














The temperature today is about 70F but by the weekend the highs will be in the 80s. Of course the wind is going to pick up as well.

Tomorrow, we'll golf 9 holes in the early afternoon in Brownsville. There's good birding there as well. Last year I saw a vermilion flycatcher and blue-winged teal there.

On Wednesday we are scheduled to go on an escorted birding tour at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge about 30km from here. It's supposed to be warm but windy.

Remembering Freddie - Fender, that is

Today we went to look at the 2 bedroom condo we're moving into on Sunday. We had originally wanted it for the last half of March but were informed that we had to take it for the entire month. It is very nice, had granite countertops, mostly new appliances and a washer and dryer in the unit. But IT DOESN'T HAVE INTERNET!! We are going to take a laptop over there tomorrow and see if someone nearby has an unsecured signal we can pirate. If not, we'll need to explore our alternatives and see if we can find an internet provider for a month.

We then drove to San Benito to visit the Freddy Fender Museum - actually a section of the San Benito Community Centre. It also shares the space with the Texas Conjunto Music Museum (basically music with guitars, drums and accordion) and the San Benito Historical Museum.

Freddy Fender (nee Baldemar G. Huerta) first became famous by taking well known rock and roll hits and translating them into Spanish and recording them. He took the name from the guitar and amplifier, and Freddy because the alliteration sounded good to him and it would,"...sell better with Gringos!" He even did three years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Two of his most famous hits were "When the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".


















We were made aware that he was a native son of San Benito by seeing his face emblazoned on the San Benito water tower adjacent to the main highway.





















His Grammy awards were on display won from his work with two bands, " The Texas Tornados" and "Los Super Seven".
















as well as his Tejano Walk of Fame star,

















his ALMA (American Latin Musician Award)






















proclamation for the Texas Walk of Fame from the then Gov. George W. Bush


















and a commendation for his exemplary musical talent and ability.























Also of note was a honkin' belt buckle

















and a jar of Freddy Fender "King of Tex-Mex" picante sauce.

















We were also informed that this Saturday will be the 1st Annual celebration of Texas Independence.

Taped in the front window of the community centre was this unusual poster about "The Big Squeeze - Accordion Throwdown". We weren't too sure about the outfit the accordionist was wearing.






















Signs like this are ubiquitous and certainly nothing we customarily see in the True North.






















While Skip was perusing a free map of San Benito, he noted an advertisement for Vicky's Restaurant, specializing in Mexican cuisine. We programmed the GPS and went there for comida (lunch).

















Growing like a weed in front of our car was this

a tomato plant - in bloom! It's freaking February 26th for Pete's sake!

Did I mention it was over 90F today as well?







After lunch I reprogrammed the GPS for Judy's Stitchery Nook, just a couple of kilometres to the north. Wow! What an amazing stitchery store! I have never seen so many colours of cotton perle floss! There was a hardanger class going on so the 'man chairs' were occupied - Skip stood outside in the heat and chatted with a retired Gr. 6 teacher (36 years in the classroom!) from Chicoutimi, Quebec whose wife and friend were in the store with me. Another Canadian was also visiting the store from Winnipeg. Basically, half of the customers at that moment (excluding the hardanger students) were from Canada. I did look through their extensive hardanger pattern complement and noted that she did stock some patterns from X's and Oh's. I exercised a tremendous amount of self-restraint and only bought three things:

Hardanger for the Holidays,

Heart and Hand "Summer Alphabet" sampler kit and

Victoria Sampler "Hearts of America - Texas" kit

This and That - Lots o' Pics

We haven't done much that is terribly blogworthy lately - just some local birding and hanging out.

Yesterday we braved the brisk north wind, packed a lunch and went to the SPI convention centre to see what we could see. We saw lots of gulls, terns, egrets (white, snowy and reddish), tricolour and great blue herons, a killdeer and a semipalmated plover. We also saw the resident alligator for our first time this year. We figure he's at least 6 feet long.

















Returning from Port Isabel yesterday, I took a photo of the area where we are staying south of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway. Ours is the building under the asterisk (I didn't know how to put an arrow on the photo).

It's a 6-storey building, one of two identical ones built in the 80s and the southernmost condos on the island. It's not right on the beach but pretty close.





Today we wandered around Port Isabel. Skip posed by the lighthouse before our lunch of enchiladas and tostadas.























I posed by a pirate.

This was the only day I've worn jeans since our arrival on Feb. 1. I should have worn capris because it was quite warm without the usual stiff breeze.






There was an osprey sitting atop the world's largest fly fishing rod (80 ft. tall). He was looking right at us.



















We then went to Laguna Madre 10km away and saw another osprey that had just caught a fish. We made him nervous so he flew around looking for a safe place to land















but he ended up on top of a telephone pole with the fish firmly grasped in one of his talons.

















I finished the Peacock Tail and Leaf scarf and started a scarf using the Maikell's Shawl pattern from "Knitted Lace of Estonia" with KnitPicks Shadow 100% merino wool yarn in the Juniper colourway.