Javalinas, Green Jays and Roadrunners, Oh My!

OK, kids...we are now in a part of Texas that I truly love...Not just because it is pretty warm most of the winter, but it is like living in a wildlife sanctuary, and some of the "wildlife" is really WILD!! Here is what strolled through our campsite last night during our restful cocktail hour about 5PM...

If the picture looks a little blurry it is because those critters were getting pretty close and eyeballing our sneakers as a snack..Right after I took this, Dennis stomped on the ground and they turned back and into the brush. It is for moments like this that I keep my camera by my side when we are sitting outside.
We arrived here at Falcon Lake State Park yesterday at 12:30PM, having left Canyon Lake about7:30AM (that's official Dump Station time). It was just getting light when we left our campsite, which explains why we forgot our double hose connector and water regulator..It is still screwed onto the faucet at site 48, Canyon Lake..Or maybe the next people who pull in will get a little present. Oh well, we usually forget SOMETHING along our travels..one time it was our satellite dish. As you can imaging, Dennis was not a pleasant traveler when he went to set up our TV and couldn't find the dish..not one of our better days, to say the least, which makes a hose connecter and pressure regulator a small loss...Enough of our stupid moves....
When we pulled in here it was 80 wonderful degrees and sunny. We checked in and found our campsite. After positioning satellite dishes, candles, picnic tableclothes, rope lights, bird feeders, cooler(priority item), bikes and chairs all outside, we settled into our chairs to relax...this is where our "porky" friends entered the picture...and quickly fled.
Here is a photo of our campsite here on the Rio Grande...That would be Dennis, my "slayer of pigs" relaxing after a good day's drive....

We sat outside listening to our I-Tunes. Let me explain that we downloaded all of our CD's onto I-Tunes in the laptop, then Dennis crafted a way we can play the music on our surround sound speakers in the RV..and WALAH!!!(I need to spellcheck that with a magician.) We have all of our music with us without hauling our CD's..and we can sit outside and hear them...Hmmmm..maybe the campers next to us can hear them too. I hope they like "Here Come The Mummys"..a group Chris introduced me to from Indianapolis.
Here is another photo of our camp area...Dennis is checking out the little opening in the brush...always exploring, that man!!


About 6PM a cool breeze came up and turned out of the North..It cooled down to about60, so we took our party inside. After a dinner of grilled pork chops, we hit the sack..Before it got too dark, I stuck my head out the door and took a photo of the natural gas well here at the park..

Here is another I took with the zoom lens..


I have to mention the "night noises' here in the desert..Just at dusk you start hearing a cricket/tree frog/locust-like symphony coming from the just outside your campsite area in the underbrush..I have no idea what kind of critters they are, but the sound is so calming..like a concert from the desert nightlife..Once in a while you may get a pack of coyotes joining in, which I love...there is something so forlorn about the howl of a coyote..(Now I am waxing sentimental..)
This morning we got up and took our walk, going to the Rec Hall to sign up to use their washers and dryers tomorrow..one of the perks of this state park. Of course it costs the same as a laundromat, but without the hastle of driving into town. Weather today slightly different than yesterday...cloudy and cooler..about 57 degrees..Heck, I'm not scared..I'm from Illinois!! (please don't make me get out my winter coat,please don't make me get out my winter coat)..my prayer to the desert gods...
We settled into our recliners after breakfast to watch some TV, and I immediately got excited by the site of a Green Jay in our birdfeeder just outside the big rear window of our camper...Of course, I had my camera nearby...and here he is...

Green Jays are related to our midwestern Blue Jays, but these are tropical birds, indiginous only to far South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley ( where we are), or also the tropics..I love the colors of them. They eat our sunflower seeds and also like corn. Last year we only saw them ONCE while we were here..I sure hope they stay around. I haven't seen a roadrunner yet, but I know I will. I just LOVE the roadrunners...(I read that they eat snakes, so I encourage them to feel free to wander through our campsite at will.) I just don't want that "wiley" coyote to catch him...
Well, I have bored you enough for today..It is almost "wine o'clock" in the desert..I wonder if our friend David has a recipe for Javelina appetizers..hmmmm,I must ask him...I will blog more later, hopefully with more desert photos...