A busy week of Cousins, Birds, The Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Show, and another great day of fishing

As we were getting ready our first big show of the year, our cousin Angie texted us and asked if it was ok if they came down and visited us. They were particularly interested in the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Show and were worried that they would bother us. Family and friends never bothers us, and we looked forward to seeing them!

They arrived on Friday, after we had set up for the show, and after catching up on old times, we took them on a birding tour of Lamar. It’s a short drive and we were rewarded with just what we hoped for, whooping cranes and rosette spoon bills, While Pete had seen them before, Angie never had and so it was a special day as we got to share one of our favorite birding spots.

We also visited Big Tree, the largest tree in Texas, and took the standard image of them posing proudly in front of the giant live oak. The next day they joined us at the show, and we were able to visit some more before we got slammed! It was the busiest we have ever been, for a two-day show, and it wasn’t until Sunday morning that we were able to take a little time to see the member displays.

It was another record show, we have been so blessed, and we are so thankful that our work is so well received! At times Renita and I both had to wait to record sales and make change! Of course, we talked and shared the geology of the rocks and we almost sold out of the ammonites we had brought here from the Cody collection, (just a few, we still have hundreds more).

The weather here has been particularly nasty and so the opportunities to go fishing have been limited. Still we had a rare nice day, and Bob invited us to go fishing. Waiting for the fog to lift we didn’t cross the bay until noon, but we did manage to arrive in time for a short but great bite.

Bob caught the first and second black drum and I pitched in catching another myself. Roy was along, but the fish seemed to ignore his hook, although he did have bites. Within several hours we had six blacks on the stringer.

The fish quit biting, or so it seemed, until I had a big fish on that seemed unconcerned as it pulled me into the posts, before breaking off. A little later Bob hooked the same fish only to have it break his line on a hard run. The fish didn’t seem to mind and again it bit Bob’s bait, again breaking his line on the first run. Its pretty obvious the spawning run has started. The record black drum in Texas is over seventy pounds).

Yesterday we attended a lecture from Dr Elizabeth Smith, the head of the International Crane Foundation. She told us that there were only two cranes in the western hemisphere, sandhills and whooping cranes, and only fifteen species worldwide.

Giving a brief history of the birds, at one time their numbers were down to ten birds, she talked of their recovery and even mentioned that in twenty to forty years they may reach a wild population of over a thousand and then be relisted as threatened instead of their current endangered species status.

(the above chart is from her presentation, be sure to visit the International Crane Foundations website and support crane recovery) This year’s count is still on going, but the numbers are now up to over five hundred! She talked about the habitat needed for whooping cranes, new counting methods, their food sources, cooperation in conserving wetlands, and the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Luckily the birds weren’t in Texas when the hurricane hit, and they greatly benefitted from the increase in fresh water flow and reduced salinity. That means more crabs, one of their main diet items. She also showed us videos of whoopers killing and eating snakes!

So, its been a busy an tiring week! Thanks Angie and Pete for visiting us, thank Bob for the great fishing, and thank you Doctor Smith for the great lecture! We have been truly blessed! Clear skies