“Ohh the weather outside is frightful..”

  …But not as bad as back home in Illinois!!  Dennis and I have been hunkered down inside the Hiker for the past couple days with all day/night shades pulled down.  Actually, I forgot…we did go do our laundry and groceries yesterday…( I try to forget the laundry trips..Date of the magazine I leafed through on this trip was August, 1997..I KID YOU NOT!) Being the caring, concerned wonderful wife I am, I have been finding meals to make inside so  MacGyver doesn’t have to freeze his cojones  fingers off cooking our dinner.  I have also discovered that a sweet Brandy Manhattan can be a good alternative to Rum and Coke, although ONE drink is more than enough to warm your gizzard!

Good news, though….a much nicer weekend is in store!  I really haven’t ridden my “old lady bike” much on this trip, and I am going crazy NOT getting any good water bird photos.  I also have a special mission to see if I can find the elusive Whooping Birds…If I ever do see them, MOI will be the one doing all the whooping!

MacGyver and I have been taking separate walks these “arctic” days, too.  He seems to be drawn to the beach area for his walks…With this wind and cold, I am becoming a “tree hugger” and stay in the shelter of the Live Oaks…I found that if I take one of the trails in this park, the wind isn’t an issue at all.

While Den was walking backwards on the beach, I decided to take Turk’s Trail through the trees.  This trail is made mostly of oyster shells…thus, it isn’t muddy if we get rain.  I love the winding and bending trees on this trail…GET READY..HERE COMES A LIVE OAK COLLAGE!!

 

This trail took me past one of the biggest Live Oak trees in the park…

Notice that they have prepared a brace for that low hanging branch on the left…I decided to try to give you an idea of just how long some of these branches are..

..OK, it was a feeble attempt, but you can get the main idea…extremely LONG limbs, with long fingers sometimes touching the ground…amazing, these trees.

  Above, we have the bird feeding area on Warbler Lane…The park keeps this area truly “for the birds”….

There are two designated areas with a water reservoir and they have a constant dripping in each little pool which keeps ice from forming…yes, I did say ICE..Plus, they say that birds enjoy the water if it has a dripping  feature…When I say the word “they”, I mean the REAL birders out there…NOT me..I am a birder “wanna be”..I have the camera, cap and map, but don’t know what the Heck I am really doing…I do LOOK the part though.

Before the crappy weather took over, MacGyver and I caught a great sunset…I think it was made great because the ominous clouds (sign of things to come) were moving in…

That first left side photo I took from my chair by the fire..too lazy to get up..The second one, Den took. He had the withal to actually get up and take the photo. (FYI, I am not sure “withal” is a word, but this is how Google spells it , if it is! insert winking face)…I REALLY HAVE TO GET MY COOL EMOTIONS FACES WORKING AGAIN…SHEESH!

LAZY ME…