Fishing, Birding, and A Rock Show: What could be better?

 

It has been a busy last two weeks, so busy that I have not taken the time to update the blog. The fish are biting, and we have eaten fresh fish. Added to that we made a trip to Lamar, looking for the whoopers, and even though they have not arrived there I got some good images of other birds. I also bought a new camera, a Canon 90D, dslr and so far we are happy with our results. Finally, we also traveled to Houston to the Houston Gem and Mineral Show where we got great new rocks!

Dave and I went to a spot along our shoreline, and we caught fish. Actually quite a few, as I caught four redfish in five casts. None were keeper size, but it was a fun. As I watched my bobber, I saw a huge sheep head swim past me, but I could not get it to bite.

We decided to go to our rv parks fishing pier and there we caught three keeper sheep head. Here a keeper must be over fifteen inches, and these were larger! Dave and I shared the fish and we both ended up with enough for a meal of beer battered fish! It was so nice eat fresh fish.

I have been saving up for a new camera, ours is pretty old, and finally I had enough to buy a new Canon 90D. While our old camera took great images, the far away ones lacked the resolution I wanted. The pictures here were all taken at a distance and the birds are,

an eastern bluebird,

three sandhill cranes, and a scissors tail fly catcher.

If you read our blog, be prepared to see lots of bird pictures. Our friends Barb and Dan also bought the same camera, and we look forward to seeing them to compare notes and images. All of our lens fit so we now have two cameras, one for Renita and one for me. We will still use the old waterproof camera when we are kayaking.

This last weekend we traveled to Houston where we stayed with Angie and Pete. He is a retired geologist and loves rocks as much as we do. The dealers were the same ones we had seen two years ago, and we found most of the rocks we were after. Now we need to limp by for the rest of the month as we spent more than we had planned. The time to buy something is when you see it and not regret ever making the purchase.

It has been a busy two weeks. A front is moving through this week and there will not be any fishing for a while. We have two meals of the fish in the freezer, as Dave and I went out and caught two black drum, one keeper red, and three sheep head.

Clear skies

 

 

Kayaking St Charles Bay, Fall 2021

 

We finally got a day with low winds and so we hooked up the kayak trailer and headed to the bay. After buying some live shrimp we crossed Copano Bay and found a spot to park near Big Tree, (it is the oldest live oak tree in the state of Texas).

It took us a little while to get the kayaks ready to launch but it was our first time out and we were making sure we did not forget anything. Our first stop was at a place where Renita had caught two keeper black drums. Anchoring we baited up and cast out. It took a while before I had a bite and setting the hook, I reeled in a hardhead catfish.

Of all the fish to catch, the hardhead is an oily fish, and no one keeps them. Releasing it I soon caught another and then another. Renita also caught one and so we decided to try another spot further up the bay.

After another short paddle we fished a spot where we had caught quite a few redfish, but this time the only bites were more hardheads. Our third paddle brought us to a spot further north, but this place was no difference, more hardheads.

Talking it over we had a few more spots to try. One was a new spot where game and fish had been trying to establish new oyster beds. Anchoring we both cast out and this time I caught a small black drum. Hopeful again, the next cast resulted in another hardhead. What gives? Shaking our heads, we headed to our last spot where we decided to eat lunch.

As we entered the back channel, we spooked up a night crowned heron. An osprey called from the top of a light pole before flying away and a little further a great blue heron watched us before it too took off with a loud squawk of disgust.

Reaching our lunch spot, we anchored and then started to eat lunch. This usually results in fish disturbing our meal and this time it was no different. You guessed it; it was more hardheads. At least we were catching fish and so we continued eating and releasing more catfish.

Deciding to head back to our first spot we were greeted with whitecaps. The wind had picked up and as our yaks have low sides, we started to take water into the boats. We usually fish in shallow water but we still decided the wisest choice was to head back to shore and call it a day.

It had been our first day out and it had been a good day of watching birds, paddling, and even catching fish. To top it off we had not come across any alligators, (they usually leave us alone and rarely chase after us looking for handouts or fish on a stringer). Next time we hope to try a spot we have never kayaked before. Until then,

 Clear skies!

A Visit with Friends

 

It had been thirty years since we had last seen our friends Mary and Dennis. Life had happened and while we were living in Wyoming, they had moved to Minnesota. We were both a little nervous, but we need not have worried. Our friendship quickly rekindled as we walked and talked. It was just as if we had seen them yesterday.

They had flown into Houston, driven to San Antonio to see the sights and then drove to Corpus Christi. We had agreed to meet them and tour the Texas Aquarium. The aquarium was pricey, for us, but it turned out to be worth the price of admission.

Upon entering we first walked through the Gulf Coast exhibits, which of course included fish, reptiles, and invertebrates of the Gulf Coast. One held sea turtles. One display was of a megalodon jaw, and the girls posed inside it, (I call them girls as they were acting like best friends would, they had been friends since elementary school).

The next day we met them in Port Aransas. We met them at our favorite restaurant, Virginia’s, and had lunch. We all had our favorite, the garlic fish, and as usual, it was the best fish we had eaten all week!

Of course, we had to take them to the Turnbull Birding center where we showed them the huge alligator. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction and the smell was bad, but we did see quite a few nice birds.

No whooper’s have yet arrived, but we did take an image of a duck that confused us. It turned out it was a molting Green Winged teal, (thank you Facebooks Bird Id group).

From there we drove to Charley’s Pasture, another birding spot but nothing was happening, so we then drove to the South Jetty. Taking out lawn chairs we set them up and watched for Dolphins. Corpus Christi is the second busiest port in the USA, and it was not long before an oil tanker approached.

Dolphins were riding he bow wave and we were able to watch them, and they played, body surfed and leaped into the air.

Four large tankers passed by, and we got many shots of the marine mammals.

Several green sea turtles paddled nearby, and a ruddy turnstone begged for a handout, (we do not feed wild animals). It was a good day, and the ladies took a walk on the beach.

The third day Dennis and Mary moved to a hotel in Rockport and after we met, we took them over to Lamar and Goose Island State Park,

Dennis wanted to fish and no license is required in Texas State Parks. It did not take long before he was out fishing me catching two speckled trout, three white trout, and even a mass of oysters! He even had a big fish on that took the drag, but it pulled the hook during its run.

Dennis had wanted to learn how to wire wrap and so we spent a couple of hours at our fifth wheel as I taught him how to make a nice copper pendant. He was a fast learner, and he made a fine piece. I told him how much I would price it for, and then gave him enough square and half round copper wire to wrap more pieces.

We went out to dinner before we all went to our home and the hotel. It had been a busy three days and we agreed that we needed to see each other again. We said it had to be sooner as we did not think we could make it another thirty years. 

As they left, we told them to travel safely and that we would see them down the road.

Clear skies, and love to all our friends and family.

From Star Valley to South Texas

 

We left Star Valley in early October and headed south to our friend, Val’s ranch. It is a hay ranch, but this year’s drought was so bad that she only got twenty-three bales, (she normally gets four hundred). This of course presents a huge problem, as she has two rescue donkeys, two rescue horses, her horse and deer.

She also has many bird feeders which bring in flocks of doves, scrub jays, and red wing blackbirds. The scrub jays land and empty her feeder onto the ground which brings in wild turkeys, and others. She even has a skunk that comes in but luckily, we never saw it, (did I mention she loses cats to an annoying mountain lion)?

You never know what you are going to see, and when you walk around after dark you want to take along a bright flashlight!

From Val’s, we headed further south and west and went to Surprise, Arizona. We stayed there for two hours, which was long enough for us to select and order a park model for our place in Wyoming, (The manufacturer is so far behind that out delivery date is in the spring of 2023). Jumping back in the car we next headed to Tucson, across New Mexico and into Texas. As we crossed the Hopi and Navaho Reservations, we did see Monument Valley in the distance and were lucky enough to get involved with a snowstorm, (we bought snow tires this year, so it was not a problem).

We ended up driving over twenty-three hundred miles in five days, which is way too much for us. Hopefully never again. Clear skies

So now we are in south Texas where the temperature is in the upper eighties with a high humidity. I miss the mountains already. We went birding to Lamar and did spot a red tailed hawk hiding it's kill. Clear skies

 

 

A last 2021 trip to Grand Teton National Park

It’s about time for us to head south, but before we do, we decided to take another trip to Grand Teton National Park. The hope was that we would see some more wildlife than when we had a few days before. ( we only saw a squirrel, one elk, and the usual cow moose).

Our friends Fred and Becky also wanted to take a last look before they headed to their home in Texas, and they followed us in their truck. We took two vehicles as they had to head back before we did. Turning off at Moose Junction we drove past the headquarters and then took the Moose Wilson Road.

Cresting the first hill, we saw a huge crowd, but we were able to find a parking spot and grabbing our cameras, quickly headed to the pond, (Fred and Becky are in this picture).

As we neared the edge of the steep cliff I couldn’t find the moose in the water, because they were resting right at the bottom of the hill, right below me!

There were three moose, a cow and her calf, and a huge bull. Its rutting season and he had been attracted by the cow moose. People referred the trio as a family, but the bull moose had recently showed up and there was no way to determining if he had sired the calf.

Didn’t matter anyway as he was a huge bull and by moving around, we were able to get some great shots. As we watched some people tried to get too close and a park person yelled at them to get back, (we later learned that early that morning the bull had charged a female photographer who had been within the twenty-five-yard safety margin required by the park.

We took quite a few images before we left to drive to Pilgrim Creek. We didn’t see much and at Pilgrim and so we turned around and drove to the Oxbow.

Two swans swam towards us, but they were still to far away for any great shots. We told Fred and Becky about the road to the Kayak Launch, and as they had never been there we decided it was a great spot to eat lunch.

There were only a couple of other vehicles, and we grabbed our lunch and found a couple of nice-looking fallen tree trunks to sit down on as we ate. After lunch we hiked up the Snake River and spotted a whole flock of hooded mergansers splashing along the far shore. Trying to get closer Renita spotted fresh moose tracks and we headed further upriver to see if we could find any moose.

A guided boat went by and as we watched them fly fish, (they were using nymphs and strike indicators), they caught and released two fish. One was good sized, but they didn’t hold it up for us to see. Across the Snake we also watched as a flock of hooded mergansers chased each other and dove for fish.

Continuing upriver Renita spotted more moose tracks and then a large black bear front paw print, (its as large as my hand).

It was very fresh, and we realized we had left our bear spray in the car. Feeling stupid we decided to head back to the car!

Next, we drove across Willow Flats where I spotted an elk and then a coyote,

I didn’t get a shot of the elk and the coyote pictures were pretty poor, but at least we had spotted it. We then headed back to the Wilson Road and decided to take some more images of the bull moose. It was a great idea as they had moved to the south end of the pond.

The bull emerged from the brush and paused to smell the female’s scent. You could see he stuck his tongue out to further test her scent and he moved quickly behind her.

She did not want any more of his advances and she trotted to the water with her calf.

The calf, (pictured above), started nursing which means that she was not ready to breed yet and the bull turned his attention to all the people on top of the hill.

He climbed up to the halfway point and I thought he was going to charge the crowd, so I moved sideways to increase my distance.

As I looked back at the crowd, I saw that Renita was taking more images, hmm, the pioneer woman sometimes tends to be fearless, (I had mentioned to her that we should move, but at least she had several photographers in front of her).

The bull stared at the crowd for a bit and then decided the cow needed his attention.

Most of the people were pretty good and shared good spots by letting others take turns, but there were some that tried to bully their way to the front.

Someone said that they had seen a bear down the road and so we drove further south. At a place past the Lawrence Rockefeller Center, three park bear specialists motioned us past a brown bear in a tree. It was right on the road and as most bears do it ignored us as food was its main concern. We turned around only to find the bear had moved and was no longer visible.

Making another u turn we discovered the bear had crossed the road and as we passed by, I was able to get six shots of the bear. One was actually a good shot and I got most of its face. Deciding it was time to get back home we turned south. The rest of the drive was uneventful.

Next year the road we were on will undergo a major reconstruction and so it will be closed for the season. So, we look forward to springtime when the grizzlies are near the roads. Grizzly 399 and her cub should make an appearance before she pushes them away. Its their third year and as subadults they will be on their own. Grizzlies bears should be everywhere!  Clear skies