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At 5:30 it was 37 degrees outside. We were snug in our little motor home at about 69 degrees. It was too early to get up. Finally at about 6:30 we couldn't stay in bed longer.
We made a fine breakfast of a cinnamon roll and muffin donated to us by our friends--a lovely change from our ever-handy-and-easy instant oatmeal and recent motel breakfasts.
We took a bird-finding walk with Ginger to the lake, where we scoped out many Western Grebes, very many Ruddy Ducks, Ring-necked Duck, and Coots on the lake. An Osprey flew over and we heard a Sandhill Crane in the distance.
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Home was calling to us when we left at 10 am. The temp was 59; the elevation about 4200 ft. We drove down the valley along the Powder River, where somebody had an immodest ranch house.
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Again we enjoyed the stunning mountains around of Baker City
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but did not appreciate the recently installed wind turbines
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Birders to the end, and not wanting a bird to escape our list, we stopped at Ladd Marsh, south of La Grande. We enjoyed watching the Canada Geese take their new family for a swim in a spectacular setting
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This Great Blue Heron was well camouflaged across the pond as were the 2 Canada Geese
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A Marsh Wren sang at the top of his lungs and a colorful Northern Shoveler swam by
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Barn Swallows paused in their fluttering flights and Yellow-headed Blackbirds added their deeper "squarky" call to the mix
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With the bluest blue sky above Rodger and Ginger soon joined us for a look with their new camper
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A Ruddy Duck put on a show for his lady
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The lady Ruddy Duck took it all in
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Still enjoying the show
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Ginger and Rodger told us we had missed the Great-horned Owls, so we went back to the entrance to see them--CUTE! They were watching us closely, with mom in the next tree.
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Our next stop was home. The first thing Sofie did was run into the bedroom and try out her own bed!!!!! HAPPY DOG AT LAST! and HAPPY TREMANS!
When we realized our 50th wedding anniversary was coming up in December this year, we thought about how we wanted to celebrate it. We decided instead of a party we would celebrate it all year long.
Our Texas birding trip was the kick-off on our year-long celebration of our 50 years together. And we thought it would be fun to keep a record of our adventure and share it with our friends and family. We hope you have enjoyed being part of our celebration!
Today Our Eyes Were On
A safe ending to our perfectly wonderful birdy travel adventure
The welcoming comfort of Home, Sweet Home
A bit of misty eyes that this big Texas birding trip is over
And our eyes on future adventures to celebrate and enjoy our 50th year together.
Statistical Summary
Life birds--73
Texas birds--201
Miles travelled--5972
41 days and 40 nights
Four nights in motels, all others in our motor home
Whew!!
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