Our Thanksgiving trip was perfect.
We've done it so many years, now, that there is very little that can go wrong! I always manage to forget something, and Dave goes back to town and gets it before the store closes.
This year, it was the orange juice.
I took lots of great pictures, but the time it takes to get them from where they are to where I can put them HERE for you to see is something I don't have right now.
We didn't get our errands done yesterday, so we have to do them today, and then I have to do my cooking projects.
It's cold and extremely unpleasant outside today. The wind is whipping up to 50 mph, and the temp has already hit the high for the day at 8 this morning. It will be in the 20s by the time we finish our errands, so we need to get going.
I can only hope that I can hang on to some of the renewal I gain from this trip every year. My job sucks the very life out of me, and I need to find a way to stop that.
NOW.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Thanksgiving is almost here!
Our crane spotting trip was a mixed bag.
We arrived at Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge a couple of hours later than anticipated, partly because I could not get Dave moving to get us out the door when I wanted us to leave.
When we finally got there, it was only open for another half hour. There was a visitor center, but it was locked up tight, and not staffed. There was a lone port o potty set up outside of it.
No, thanks.
We took the auto loop first, and saw lots of ducks, but no cranes. I opened my car window and could hear them, though.
The auto loop lets you out back on the highway, with those spikes in the road so you can't back up and go back in.
We went around and found the entrance again. There were no other humans anywhere around, which was kind of nice, but also a little uncomfortable, since it's deer rutting season.
We went back in, and drove to where there was a trail head. We got out, and put on our parkas and touques. It was 35 degrees and windy,but at least it wasn't raining. (it had been 60 the weekend before when we had first wanted to go but had too much to do and forgot!)
As we walked along the trail, which eventually led to an elevated blind at the edge of the shallow lake, we started hearing cranes, and seeing them flying overhead, in the direction we were walking.
Sadly, they kept going, and were landing on the far side of the lake.
The blind had a distance viewing device set up, though, and I was able to watch several birds drop down into landing position before they disappeared behind the distant brush.
While we were watching and listening in the utter silence (other than the lovely cranes calling), Dave heard something approaching the blind.
It was a magnificent 8 point buck. He was unaware of us at first, and I was able to get video of him passing below us. Unfortunately, as I moved from one side of the blind to the other to track his movements, my boot made the smallest of sounds, and he bounded off.
It was still really cool!!
Dave was getting anxious to leave, as the posted closing time was 4:00 and it was 4:00, and he had messaged our Air BnB host that we would arrive around 4:30. She had previously said that she would meet us at the house to let us in when we notified her.
We trekked out and left for our lodgings. We were cold, and tired, and I sure had to pee!
Dave checked his phone, and he had not heard from the host. We sat in the driveway for 30 minutes while he texted her and emailed her, and heard nothing. He tried to call the phone number, and got a message that it was not in service. WHAT? It had worked the day before....
He got out and knocked on the door.
Nothing.
A little while later, he somehow found a different phone number, called it, and the host's husband answered. "She's at choir practice. Is the door unlocked?"
Dave and I looked at each other.
He went back to the door, and it was unlocked. He explained that we had been sitting there waiting, not hearing anything, and that SHE DIDN'T TELL US that the door would be unlocked...only that she would meet us there and let us in!!!
Anyway, we got in, and the host's husband came to the back door. Apparently, they live next door, and the properties are joined.
He told us the only place in town to get dinner was Pizza Hut.
Ugh.
So, we went and ate (no low carb options for us!), stopped at a grocery store and got some wine, and came back to settle in.
The Air BnB was nice enough. A beautiful old house with nice plank flooring and woodwork, but really crappy WiFi. We were not able to enjoy the hot tub because the wind was vicious and cold.
Dave was eventually able to pull up the Google Earth images of the wildlife refuge, and figure out where we needed to go the next day to possibly get a better view of the crane flocks.
The next morning dawned to snow and ice, and 25 degrees with 40 mile per hour winds. It was BRUTAL.
Needless to say, we were unsuccessful, and were headed home by 8:30 am.
The roads were treacherous, with blizzard conditions and low visibility. Our GPS sent us down country road after country road, bypassing every town, and going west, then south, then east, then south....it made NO SENSE... and there was nowhere to stop to rest or pee.
It sucked, basically, but we made it home in about 4 hours.
SO, that was that. I messaged the refuge on facebook, and they told us where the cranes are, and that there is no access to viewing them any better than that blind.
We still think that we could have possibly seen some if the weather had not been so much of an issue, but we would have had to have hiked into the park, down the trail past the barricade we found on the road when we got there in the blizzard.
Nope. Next year, we will know.
I am glad that I got to see several flocks in the air, and that buck... so it wasn't a total waste, but it was not nearly as great as we had hoped it would be.
In other news, this is Thanksgiving week, and I can't wait for our annual cabin camping trip! Our house sitters are all set, and the groceries are purchased.
We got stuck in a cycle of aggravating dead ends yesterday on our errand trip (the dead ends having to do with the fact that it is nigh unto impossible to find women's hiking boots in this town), and it took almost 5 hours out of our day, but we got all of that done, so today, we can clean house and start throwing stuff into boxes.
I wish anyone who might be reading this (I know there is at least one person), a happy Thanksgiving!
We arrived at Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge a couple of hours later than anticipated, partly because I could not get Dave moving to get us out the door when I wanted us to leave.
When we finally got there, it was only open for another half hour. There was a visitor center, but it was locked up tight, and not staffed. There was a lone port o potty set up outside of it.
No, thanks.
We took the auto loop first, and saw lots of ducks, but no cranes. I opened my car window and could hear them, though.
The auto loop lets you out back on the highway, with those spikes in the road so you can't back up and go back in.
We went around and found the entrance again. There were no other humans anywhere around, which was kind of nice, but also a little uncomfortable, since it's deer rutting season.
We went back in, and drove to where there was a trail head. We got out, and put on our parkas and touques. It was 35 degrees and windy,but at least it wasn't raining. (it had been 60 the weekend before when we had first wanted to go but had too much to do and forgot!)
As we walked along the trail, which eventually led to an elevated blind at the edge of the shallow lake, we started hearing cranes, and seeing them flying overhead, in the direction we were walking.
Sadly, they kept going, and were landing on the far side of the lake.
The blind had a distance viewing device set up, though, and I was able to watch several birds drop down into landing position before they disappeared behind the distant brush.
While we were watching and listening in the utter silence (other than the lovely cranes calling), Dave heard something approaching the blind.
It was a magnificent 8 point buck. He was unaware of us at first, and I was able to get video of him passing below us. Unfortunately, as I moved from one side of the blind to the other to track his movements, my boot made the smallest of sounds, and he bounded off.
It was still really cool!!
Dave was getting anxious to leave, as the posted closing time was 4:00 and it was 4:00, and he had messaged our Air BnB host that we would arrive around 4:30. She had previously said that she would meet us at the house to let us in when we notified her.
We trekked out and left for our lodgings. We were cold, and tired, and I sure had to pee!
Dave checked his phone, and he had not heard from the host. We sat in the driveway for 30 minutes while he texted her and emailed her, and heard nothing. He tried to call the phone number, and got a message that it was not in service. WHAT? It had worked the day before....
He got out and knocked on the door.
Nothing.
A little while later, he somehow found a different phone number, called it, and the host's husband answered. "She's at choir practice. Is the door unlocked?"
Dave and I looked at each other.
He went back to the door, and it was unlocked. He explained that we had been sitting there waiting, not hearing anything, and that SHE DIDN'T TELL US that the door would be unlocked...only that she would meet us there and let us in!!!
Anyway, we got in, and the host's husband came to the back door. Apparently, they live next door, and the properties are joined.
He told us the only place in town to get dinner was Pizza Hut.
Ugh.
So, we went and ate (no low carb options for us!), stopped at a grocery store and got some wine, and came back to settle in.
The Air BnB was nice enough. A beautiful old house with nice plank flooring and woodwork, but really crappy WiFi. We were not able to enjoy the hot tub because the wind was vicious and cold.
Dave was eventually able to pull up the Google Earth images of the wildlife refuge, and figure out where we needed to go the next day to possibly get a better view of the crane flocks.
The next morning dawned to snow and ice, and 25 degrees with 40 mile per hour winds. It was BRUTAL.
Needless to say, we were unsuccessful, and were headed home by 8:30 am.
The roads were treacherous, with blizzard conditions and low visibility. Our GPS sent us down country road after country road, bypassing every town, and going west, then south, then east, then south....it made NO SENSE... and there was nowhere to stop to rest or pee.
It sucked, basically, but we made it home in about 4 hours.
SO, that was that. I messaged the refuge on facebook, and they told us where the cranes are, and that there is no access to viewing them any better than that blind.
We still think that we could have possibly seen some if the weather had not been so much of an issue, but we would have had to have hiked into the park, down the trail past the barricade we found on the road when we got there in the blizzard.
Nope. Next year, we will know.
I am glad that I got to see several flocks in the air, and that buck... so it wasn't a total waste, but it was not nearly as great as we had hoped it would be.
In other news, this is Thanksgiving week, and I can't wait for our annual cabin camping trip! Our house sitters are all set, and the groceries are purchased.
We got stuck in a cycle of aggravating dead ends yesterday on our errand trip (the dead ends having to do with the fact that it is nigh unto impossible to find women's hiking boots in this town), and it took almost 5 hours out of our day, but we got all of that done, so today, we can clean house and start throwing stuff into boxes.
I wish anyone who might be reading this (I know there is at least one person), a happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Crane Spotting
I've lived in Oklahoma for 9 years. 9 years NOT KNOWING that there is a nature preserve and wildlife refuge 2 short hours away, in northern Oklahoma, where cranes flock during the fall migration.
They DO NOT fly over OKC, so, naturally, I never thought that they would flock up 2 hours directly north of here....
I have not seen any cranes in the air since I left Illinois, and this has been a little bit heart breaking for me.
Crane Medicine is a big deal for me.... Always has been. I remember being quite young, and being awe struck by the small flocks of then-at-risk migrating sand hill cranes flying over Wheaton, Illinois in the spring and fall.
My mother made fun of me, and warned me about looking at the sky while driving to my job at the burger joint when I was in high school.
As the years went by, and the flocks started to recover their numbers, and I grew up and moved out of my parents' house, but I still watched the skies spring and fall, and listened for the haunting rattle of the migrating cranes.
One of the first poems I ever wrote was about cranes. (if you are interested, you can find some of my poetry at www.triskele.deviantart.com)
SO... despite a weather forecast that calls for cold and actual snow, we are going Crane Spotting today!
We will make the drive up north of Enid to Jet, OK, where lies the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. They have been logging Sandhill crane census numbers in the 20K range, and they have seen several Whooping cranes as well.
I have only ever seen one Whooping crane in the wild. They are still highly endangered, and I would dearly love to see some today!
We are taking our warm winter coats, gloves, hats, boots, and we are going. Binoculars and field glasses and monocular packed and ready to go.
We had hoped to go last weekend, when it was 60 degrees and dry out, but we didn't make it.
My office is closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans' Day, so Dave took it off, too, and we will stay at an Air BnB tonight, and come back in the morning. That way, we have TWO chances, afternoon today and morning tomorrow, to view the flocks on the ground, as well as taking off and landing.
I am beyond excited.... Off to the shower!
They DO NOT fly over OKC, so, naturally, I never thought that they would flock up 2 hours directly north of here....
I have not seen any cranes in the air since I left Illinois, and this has been a little bit heart breaking for me.
Crane Medicine is a big deal for me.... Always has been. I remember being quite young, and being awe struck by the small flocks of then-at-risk migrating sand hill cranes flying over Wheaton, Illinois in the spring and fall.
My mother made fun of me, and warned me about looking at the sky while driving to my job at the burger joint when I was in high school.
As the years went by, and the flocks started to recover their numbers, and I grew up and moved out of my parents' house, but I still watched the skies spring and fall, and listened for the haunting rattle of the migrating cranes.
One of the first poems I ever wrote was about cranes. (if you are interested, you can find some of my poetry at www.triskele.deviantart.com)
SO... despite a weather forecast that calls for cold and actual snow, we are going Crane Spotting today!
We will make the drive up north of Enid to Jet, OK, where lies the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. They have been logging Sandhill crane census numbers in the 20K range, and they have seen several Whooping cranes as well.
I have only ever seen one Whooping crane in the wild. They are still highly endangered, and I would dearly love to see some today!
We are taking our warm winter coats, gloves, hats, boots, and we are going. Binoculars and field glasses and monocular packed and ready to go.
We had hoped to go last weekend, when it was 60 degrees and dry out, but we didn't make it.
My office is closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans' Day, so Dave took it off, too, and we will stay at an Air BnB tonight, and come back in the morning. That way, we have TWO chances, afternoon today and morning tomorrow, to view the flocks on the ground, as well as taking off and landing.
I am beyond excited.... Off to the shower!
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Interesting times
There's a supposedly-ancient Chinese curse... "May you live in interesting times."
We certainly do, and I am beyond weary of it.
White male Christian racist bigots murdering people who are different from them is back on the rise.
The current administration has made hate acceptable again. This country has taken a step backward over 100 years.
I really make an effort to NOT post anything in social media about political topics, and this topic isn't entirely political, but it stems from dirty, corrupt politics, and it's utterly poisonous.
We attended a rally at the state capitol yesterday in defense of the rights of a particular group of marginalized Americans. It's disgusting that these people are facing being erased from this country's civil rights protections.
This is not my America.
SO, today, we will go on line and pull up the ballot for Tuesday. Whatever we can do to try to steer things back to sanity, we will do.
Nothing much else to report. I finally got out and did some mowing in the back yard. It felt good to be able to do that kind of work again.
My traveling tendon pains from the hormone blocker are getting more intense now that the weather is changing.
My wrists hurt the other night, and that really scared me. They've been pain free since spring.
Thankfully, I have that appointment with the podiatrist to have my heel tendon looked at a week from tomorrow. That foot is really sore this morning from being on my feet all day yesterday. We went from doing errands in the morning, to going to the rally, to coming home and doing chores indoors and out.
Before chemo stopped, I never had aches and pains like this. Younger friends say stuff about getting old, but this all happened in the space of a few months, since chemo stopped, and I know it's the medication, not my age.
Sigh....
Nothing much else to report. I finally got out and did some mowing in the back yard. It felt good to be able to do that kind of work again.
My traveling tendon pains from the hormone blocker are getting more intense now that the weather is changing.
My wrists hurt the other night, and that really scared me. They've been pain free since spring.
Thankfully, I have that appointment with the podiatrist to have my heel tendon looked at a week from tomorrow. That foot is really sore this morning from being on my feet all day yesterday. We went from doing errands in the morning, to going to the rally, to coming home and doing chores indoors and out.
Before chemo stopped, I never had aches and pains like this. Younger friends say stuff about getting old, but this all happened in the space of a few months, since chemo stopped, and I know it's the medication, not my age.
Sigh....
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