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Borrego Springs, CA

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Yahoo! The sun returned.

There was fog when I woke up this morning, but the power of the sun with no clouds in the sky soon burned it off.  Hot dog!  I hung out a load of laundry, and then got ready to greet my morning visitors.

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Bridget and John of Travels of John and Bridget….and Fred, finished their camp host volunteer assignment in North Dakota and stopped by for a visit while spending some time in Detroit Lakes.  What a beautiful morning we had for a tour of the refuge.

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My friend, the young bald eagle, was perched as if on cue by the Chippewa Picnic Area.  I parked the refuge truck, and we were able to walk right under its favorite perch without it spooking off.  It only screamed at us a few times.  We even witnessed a small kettle of northern harriers catching a thermal to spiral up over the Otter Tail River so they could attain altitude to continue their migration south. 

IMG_9458It was a stellar morning to be out and about.  We could hear the far off guns of the waterfowl hunters, but we stayed in areas that were closed to hunting.  The trees are just beginning to turn their fall colors, the Chippewa rice harvest is over, and it just felt good to enjoy the scenes without overcast skies and sprinkles.

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I was hoping to see the brilliant reds and oranges of fall leaves before I headed south, but I’m not sure that will happen in the next several days.  I’m scheduled to pull out on Thursday, but tonight I’m a little nervous about my refrigerator.  Even though the freezer says it’s –2*, it doesn’t seem that cold to me, and I’ve suddenly been having trouble with the ice maker.  It’s reminding me of the troubles I had in 2011. 

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During out tour, I spotted this caterpillar.  Isn’t this the one that predicts how long the winter is going to be?   I think the size and place of the brown is supposed to tell the length and severity of the winter, but I just can’t remember.  Can anybody help me with this?

I did want to announce that there was a winner to last night’s little bird identification contest.  While three people came close to identifying the ten species, one person got them all correct.  That person is Brigitta!  She got all ten species correct by guessing white-throated sparrow, ruffed grouse, black-billed cuckoo, brown thrasher, indigo bunting, rose-breasted grosbeak, golden-winged warbler, woodcock, veery, and mourning warbler.  I think Brigitta writes a wonderful blog, but viewing it is by invitation only.  I’ll be getting in contact with her about the little prize.

Tomorrow, I’ll be checking to see how my freezer is doing, and continuing to get ready for departure.  I sure did have a nice visit with John and Bridget, and they are thinking about volunteering here at Tamarac next summer.  Perhaps we’ll meet again?

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                                                                               THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

19 comments:

  1. We got to meet John and Bridget..they are great people...and Fred the dog is a hoot...Travel safe..Hope the fridge is oK

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  2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!!! Even with Mr. Sun!!! Hope your fridge is not going to give you more problems!

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  3. Wow, sun! Did you get burned? It's been so long without it I bet you forgot how to put on sun screen... :c)

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  4. What a lovely day...

    Hope the fridge is OK...

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  5. I sure hope you aren't going to have fridge trouble again. Maybe the ice maker needs a new filter. Of course I don't have a clue since I have never had an ice maker not even in my house. Try to avoid problem things.

    What a great day you had and with visitors to boot.

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  6. It's amazing how much the sun can lift your spirits after it's been hiding for awhile. Did you get to visit with Fred too? Great folks. . . and dog! :-)

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  7. Hope things go O.K. with the fridge. Your photos are lovely.

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  8. I don't know whether to wish the leaves turn for you or not. They usually peak mid October. So, while I'd like to you see our full color display, I'm not ready for departure so, personally, I'd rather have not enough cold nights yet to bring out the full color. Selfish of me, I know.

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  9. Wooly Bear Caterpillars, did you know there is a Wooly Bear Society? The brown section predicts the severity of the winter, the more brown the warmer it will be ..according to folklore! Congrats to your bird ID winner! I guess I will have to go through the refuge when the leaves peak and take some photos for you! It was so good to see the sunshine today! You are leaving already on Thursday..I had hoped to get away one day to meetyou maybe next year! :)

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  10. Mom always said "the fuzzier the caterpillar, the longer the winter." Don't know if she was talking about this caterpillar or another one! :)

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  11. How did I miss this contest? Not sure I could have identified them all but I'd like to have tried. Congrats to the winner! What's the prize??? :-)) What a gorgeous morning. Sure hope the refrig doesn't give you problems.

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  12. What, no booby prize? I count on that to win something. You are turning into a wonderful blogger's tour guide of the preserve.

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  13. Yahoo!! I won! I'm so thrilled, I never win anything you know! Aside from the winning part (yoohoo!!), I really enjoyed researching and learning about some of the birds I didn't know too well, so thank you Judy for a great afternoon! :-)))

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  14. Nothing like good ole sunshine to make your day - at least after so many days of not seeing it. Hard to believe it's time for you to pull out already. Good luck with that fridge thing. I hate it when stuff doesn't work right. So frustrating.

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  15. I don't mind a day or two of rain once in a while, but the sun can make things seem magical.

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  16. Glad you had sun! Your park seems like a real nice place to visit. Maybe I'll get up that way next summer. I need a road trip!

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  17. Nice that you got sun for your visit and the bald eagle cooperated. Fingers crossed your fridge straightens out.

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  18. Good luck on your fridge, hope we don't have the problems with our new Samsung that you've had.

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