Wednesday, September 18, 2013

It’s been a dreary five days

Some rain, some brisk winds, and overcast skies have prevailed for the last five days.  Makes for pretty boring days here.  I worked on the computer for the refuge on Monday, and then spent the last two days doing not much of anything.  It’s a string of days like this that makes me wonder why I write this blog.  There’s really nothing interesting or exciting to report.

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In desperation early this evening, I decided to gather the trash and take it to the dumpster.  Exciting, right?  Well, when I pulled the garbage can out from underneath the sink, I noticed a puddle of water.  Nuts!  So I bent over to check the trap fittings under the kitchen sink.  One was wet, so I tried to tighten it.  I have always had trouble with that ‘Lefty-Loosey, Righty-Tighty’ thing.  Seeing as I was essentially standing up side down, of course I loosened it instead of tightening it. Disappointed smile  You can guess what happened to that little leak.

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                                                                  “She’s spying on us again!”

After taking care of the trash and recyclables, I headed back to the rig to upload a few pictures that I took in back along Flat Lake.  In this pic, I wanted to put the subtitle in a speech bubble emitting out of the mouth of one of the swans.  As some of you know, you can’t do that anymore with Picasa 3.9, so I tried to go to Google+ to edit the picture.  OMG!  That sure didn’t work.  I couldn’t figure out how to even find this picture since it wasn’t in any of the folders that Google+ had decided I had.  It was another one of those tear your hair out situations for me.  Those improved editing options must be there somewhere, but I sure couldn’t find them.  I’m hoping that maybe Rick will do a tutorial on how to get all your pictures into Google+, and tell me how the heck I get pictures there that I want.

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You can see in these photos just how dull and dreary it has been around here.  Tomorrow I’m off to get some new shoes for the toad, and take care of other errands in Detroit Lakes.  The weather guessers have been forecasting sunny skies for several days, but it hasn’t happened yet.  I sure hope they get it right soon.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Transitioning to a New Home-Our Lives Are An Open Blog

Hello! Right about now we're probably eating some fresh sushi, indulging in some Okonomiyaki drinking some Asahi and enjoying Japan with Jeremy's family...I can't complain. This is Jeremy and I's second time to Japan and we've loved this opportunity to explore the country a little more!

So filling in for me today is the sweet Alex from Our Lives Are An Open Blog. I love hearing from other expats and their transition to their new home. We all have such unique stories and perceptions and I feel that so much can be learned from each other about this experience. So whether you're moving to a new country, or just visiting a new place, I know that these lessons will come in handy!

Go check out Alex's blog where she talks about life, love and the ever changing life of an expat. 

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Aloha to all the lovely readers of Lost in Travels! I am so excited to be taking over Chelsea's piece of the web while she is off exploring for the week. My husband and I write the blog Our Lives Are An Open Blog {emphasis I write and he inputs}. 

Since this is an expat blog and we are recent expats, I wanted to talk about our transition from  Georgia to Hawaii and now South Korea. Throughout our journey, Matt and I have learned a few things that I thought would be good to share for those looking to start traveling, or maybe just curious to see the process we went through.

{Matt and I on our honeymoon in Vancouver} 

Make Travel A Priority: If travel is what you want to do then try to find a way to do it. When Matt and I were dating we constantly talked about our future, and traveling was part of that future. After we got married, we decided to move back to Hawaii to finish our undergrad degrees. This was a huge step for us because we were newlyweds, and we were moving so far away from our families. Plus, Hawaii is really expensive and we were really poor. But it was this sense of adventure that kept our priorities straight. I feel like if we had stayed in Georgia, close to our comfort zone, our desire to travel would have been put on the back-burner. Matt and I are constantly trying to take advantage of every opportunity we have to travel. It's easy for life to take over, and we get to busy to remember to travel. But if you love to travel- go do it! Even if it's a quick day trip down the road- travel is travel.

{At our college graduations

Forget The Timeline: One thing I have learned over the last few years is that everyone is on a timeline. Every timeline is different, and that is okay. I used to stress myself out because I would compare myself to my friends and what they were currently doing in their lives. I have a close friend that just finished her master's degree from Columbia, another just had her first baby, and don't get me started on my old lacrosse coach that spent a year traveling around the world with her husband! 

What is important is that you are comfortable with your timeline. Try not to compare yourself with others. If you want to take a year to travel- do it. If you want to do a study abroad, but you're afraid of pushing back graduation- do it! In 2009, I pushed back my graduation to go to London to study abroad.  In 2010, I did it again when my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and I wanted to stay and help with her chemo. I graduated about a year and a half off schedule, but in that time period I started dating Matt and we were married at the end of 2010. If I had been worried about sticking to the so called 'standard timeline' who knows where I would be now. Timelines are important, but they need to be your timeline- not your parent's or friend's or society's.

{Laie Point - Our backyard in Hawaii} 

Be Careful Of Advice: Parents and friends really have our best interests in mind. (Or so I hope.) When Matt and I were planning to move to South Korea we got tons of differing pieces of 'advice'. We had people that supported us completely {thanks parents}, and others that thought we were completely crazy. I had a doctor straight up tell me I was probably going to get bombed while in Korea. {Thanks Doctor... exactly what I want to hear right before I move to a foreign country.} 

This is what I have to say about advice- take it lightly. Matt and I always try to listen to what everyone has to say and then we make our final decision based on all the evidence that we have researched, what we feel is right, and then maybe what others say. I can honestly say never in my adult life have I just blindly listened to what my parents told me to do just because they said so. That is part of being an adult! So when you are thinking about travel and you're throwing ideas around- listen to what others are saying, but make sure it's just added information. Don't let others decide for you.

{Suwon Fortress} 

Go With A Contact: This was the number one factor with us ending up in Korea. When Matt and I started researching teaching overseas, we read horror story upon horror story about people getting pretty much screwed over by employers/ landlords/ ticket agents/ you name it we read it. When we were in our last semester of school, some good friends of ours were going through the process to teach here in Korea. They had put a $1000 deposit on a place when they got news that school was shutting down and taking their money. This really freaked us out because we wanted to teach overseas, but we didn't want to get taken advantage of. {I mean who does?} 

So we started reaching out to friends of ours that could help us. We were pretty lucky because we went to an international school. We had neighbors from Samoa, Tonga, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea, and Tahiti just to name a few. A good friend of ours from South Korea talked to one of his friends and within the next month we both had signed contracts. It is because of our friend that we have the jobs we have now. We picked Korea because we trusted our friend and the person he set us up with. If this is possible for you I would totally encourage it. Many universities have programs set up for you to look into. I know our school of education was always looking for teachers to go overseas. Our advice is to try to find a program like that before you try anything else. 
* Note: Don't do anything without a signed contract! 

Don't Be Afraid Of Change: This is a big one for me. It was hard for me to leave my teaching job in Hawaii. I had a pretty a good set up and if I stayed another year I would have had tenure! But every time I've had a major change in my life it's been worth it. Getting married was a huge change, but that worked out great :) Moving to Hawaii was just as good. Change is scary, but it doesn't mean it has to be bad.

{At Seoul Grand Park visiting the zoo} 

Last little tidbit- Do Your Research: This has been key with any trip Matt and I have taken. Become mini-experts in the place you are planning on going to. This will help with the big and the small things. It will help keep you safe, and it will things run a bit more smoothly. I find that Matt and I fight bicker less when we have researched more. Plus, the research will help you sort through all the 'good' advice that is being thrown your way.

I really hope these pieces of information give you a little more insight into our journey, and maybe even helped a few of you out. Travel is an exciting experience, but it is not one that everyone always understands. But I firmly believe, if you are true to yourself everything will be okay.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you over at our little home. I would love to hear from y'all.

Thanks again Chelsea.

Much Love- Alex

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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

This Man of Mine

I have to take a moment and give credit where credit is due. Because this man of mine does a whole lot more than I could ever ask or give him credit for. 

So in celebration of what he calls his 'funeral' of turning 30 (even though we all know he'll forever act like he's in his 20's) I am making this post an ode to the birthday boy. The man behind the blog who doesn't get the spotlight nearly enough. 

So here's to the the man who....

has awesome photos like this from when he was little. Seriously, anytime I'm having a bad day, this photo instantly makes me feel better. 
forever changed my mind about redheads. I mean come on, how can you not think that red headed little cowboy is adorable?!

is patient with me in working on my fears. He's actually holding my hand so I don't go back up!
edits and shoots all of our photos. That's right. Every photo on here that doesn't look like it was taken with a phone (I take full credit for those) was produced by him. I couldn't ask for a better blogging partner.
always knows just how to make me smile.
gets up early every.single.morning to make us breakfast so I can take my time getting ready for work.

lets kids dress him up and who made my heart melt when we were kindi teachers and he would make up stories and tell them everyday in class.

is a daredevil extraordinaire. And even though I have had to close up, clean up and take care of more wounds than I care to count, I can never say that life with him is boring.
So, to the man who is above and beyond what I ever could have hope for...
30 has never looked so good.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Travel Tuesdays-Nepal

Just a little something to spark your wanderlust for the week.
via
“A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Lessons Learned From Traveling With Your Man

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." - Mark Twain
Thankfully through traveling to three continents and eleven different countries together, my husband and I have fallen more in love with each other (and traveling) than the dreaded latter of the quote above. But through our world galavanting, we've not only learned more about ourselves, but we've also learned some priceless lessons about each other. So I've compiled a list of five things that you can expect to learn when traveling with your man.

1. Bathroom language just can't be avoided. Especially when you spend every day for two weeks chowing down on some Thai green curry and a bathroom break is required within 10 minutes of finishing. Check out this post to see what are must haves in your medicine kit

2. Hanger is real...and ugly. I truly believe that all things said out of hunger should immediately be forgiven and forgotten. End of story. Oh and always carry snacks with you when traveling...always. 

3. Your fights while traveling will most likely become hilarious stories...later on. Keep that in mind while traveling. My favorite happened while on our honeymoon in Fiji. We decided to take a hobie cat and sail to a nearby island about a mile away. I had warned my new husband that it may be the wrong time to do this since the wind was dying down; but we went anyway and made it there in no time. Well when we were heading back, the wind died. I'm not just saying, it died down, I mean, there was zip zero zilch wind coming our way. We were stuck about half a mile from either island, in the blazing heat of the sun and for some reason we made the wise decision not to put on sunscreen that day. Being stuck, with no sun screen, and no way back does not make for a fun day of sailing. Of course at the time it wasn't funny but it didn't take long for us to laugh about it later. 


4. Their true side will be shown quicker while traveling than in day to day life. Combine unfamiliar territory, different languages and cultures and you've got yourself a mix dangerous enough to send the most calm and collected guy into a panic. And rightfully so. Thankfully, I've found a guy that stays cool even in the midst of canceled flights, being lost in an unfamiliar city or worst of all, trying to find the nearest bathroom after the aforementioned green curry outings. Because let's be honest, those are the times that I panic the most.

5. One will always be more adventurous than the other. I'd like to think of myself as a fairly adventurous person but that doesn't even come close to what my husband likes to do. This inevitably means that we make compromises when we travel. My husband's life long dream is the go cage diving with great white sharks in Cape Town, South Africa. This is a perfect example of when I'm definitely not as adventurous as he is. Cuddling up with tigers? Yes. Zip lining in the jungle? Why not? Swimming with whale sharks? Do you even have to ask? But Great White Sharks? I'll be in the boat documenting it all, thank you very much. Fair compromise right?

Needless to say; everyday is a new challenge, a new adventure, and a new story to be told. And we can't wait to see what happens next! If you liked this piece, check out my post about How to Travel Without Killing Each Other.

*this post was originally used as a guest post on The Nectar Collective

A good weekend for growing grass

It was a dreary and overcast day when I woke up yesterday with temps in the 40’s, so I waited a while for things to warm up a bit before heading over to the Visitors Center and offices to take care of my watering chores.

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This building has been closed for about a year, totally gutted, and retrofitted for energy efficiency.  This is most of the sod that was laid on Friday.  There’s a lot more sod arriving tomorrow.  My job this week is to soak the sod daily so it gets off to a good start.

_MG_9457If you look closely, you may be able to see one of the two sprinklers that I have.  I’ve been cautioned several times to not allow any of the water to get on the rocks on the side of the building.  The well water around here is very high in iron, and would make all of the rock fascia turn a rusty color.  So, I have to be very careful in the placement of the sprinklers, and move them often.  I didn’t even get too wet trying to dash up and move them as they made their circular spray.

I think you can notice how dismal the sky was.  After a few hours, those skies opened up with rain.  I had brought Emma with me for company, and she doesn’t like rain.  So I gathered her back up and sat in the car with her to see if it was just a passing shower.  Eventually, I headed back to the rig to check the radar. 

It turned out that the rain never stopped until almost 10:00 at night.  As near as I can figure, we had about 2”.   Good for the grass, but pretty boring for me and Emma. 

Eventually the skies cleared this afternoon, but fall temperatures have prevailed.  I was pretty much a lazy bum today, and spent the day in sweats and a tee shirt with the heat on for the morning.

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I did put on shoes and socks of course, because I seldom do anything without them.  Emma spent the afternoon stalking another ground squirrel.  As usual, she was entertained, but unsuccessful.  Can you notice the purple finch that is even closer to her than the squirrel?

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The birds have come to ignore her, and she ignores them.  This is one reason I think she is part terrier rather than a lab.  If it isn’t a hawk or turkey vulture up in the sky, she doesn’t give two craps about birds.  This is the only dog I’ve ever had that regularly watches the sky. 

I’ll be attending the staff meeting tomorrow to see what they want me to do this week.  I’m guessing I’ll be on grass duty until I leave in 11 days.  It’s easier on my shoulder than painting posts, so I’m happy with that.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Overseas Packing

When packing up to live overseas, there is a weird balance of what to pack. You never know exactly what you'll need and you never know if you'll be able to find certain things where you're moving. We were allowed two 50 pound bags each but when you think of the clothes and housing items that you need to bring with, those 50 pounds might as well been 10. Also, we were told that the washers are not exactly the most gentle machines (I have the holy clothes to prove it). So we shouldn't bring out highest quality or most expensive clothes with.
What I did want to bring that was more expensive and high quality were hair appliances. I brought with me my hair straightener because even the cheaply made ones here are expensive and my curling iron; because those are just about impossible to come by where we live. I bought good brands because I wasn't sure that if they did break, if I would be able to replace them easily. I didn't want to chance it. So, needless to say that after almost three years of living abroad with the same straightener, I am long overdue for an upgrade and thankfully the people at Missiko agreed and sent me their Hanna Pro Flat Iron to try out.
And I have to say, this flat iron was rated so high for a reason! I'm not sure if it is because my old flat iron was so old, or maybe this thing really is just that good; but my hair has never felt better after using it. It straightened my slightly wavy hair easily and quickly without having to go over the same area twice like I have been doing with my previous appliance. And it left my hair silky and shiny, a rarity for my usual dry hair. One of my favorite parts about it though is how light it is! When we travel, every ounce counts and I have things like hair appliances talking up more weight and room than we have.

If you're in the market for anything from hair straighteners to blowdryers, then Missiko has got you covered. Check out their full selection here.

*product was given in exchange for a review however, all opinions are my own

Friday, September 13, 2013

A matter of priorities

Well I was off this morning to Fargo to take care of several items on my list.  First up was the Breadsmith store where I purchased three loaves as planned.  This time I got the French Peasant Bread (cracked wheat), the regular Rustic Rye (as opposed to the sweeter and darker molasses rye), and another loaf of Patriotic Bread (white bread with blueberries and cranberries).  Making use of my nice big freezer, I’m set in the bread department for about six weeks.  I cut each of the loaves in half, wrap, and freeze.  These loaves are so hearty that a half a loaf generally lasts me a week.

Then it was on to Carol Widman’s Candy Co.  You know I was there to get one pound of sponge candy.  As they box up each order by hand, they make the offer to you to try any other of their candies in the case while you wait.  So, I decided to try their dark chocolate “Chippers”.  I guess they’re kind of famous for their chocolate covered Red River Valley potato chips.  Now I know why.  Couldn’t leave without a half pound of those either.  I’m just doing my part in supporting locally grown and made products!  Winking smile

I made a couple of other stops, and then headed for home.  Along the way, I made a couple of slight detours.  One was to:

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I stopped here sometime in July, and it was jam packed with campers and picnickers for the weekend that were enjoying the trails and swimming available.  It was a lot quieter today.  I stopped at the office to ask about the prairie chicken picture on their entrance sign.  I’ve never seen a greater prairie chicken, and I was wondering if I might have a chance of seeing one next spring when I return.  Prairie chickens establish leks in the spring where the males puff up and display their stuff for the females.  A lot of ‘booming’ by the males goes along with the display.  I’d love to see that!

IMG_9449The prairie within the park and the adjoining state scientific and natural area is judged to be one of the finest and largest remaining tall grass prairie tracts in Minnesota.  I was able to get the phone number for the Bluestem Prairie Scientific and Natural Area that is owned by the Nature Conservancy.  They have blinds that you can reserve a spot at in the spring to observe the prairie chicken leks, or booming grounds.  Sounds like a good possibility for me next spring.

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These prairie/plains areas in Minnesota and the Dakotas are known as the pothole region.  Small pothole lakes provide nesting areas for waterfowl.  I stopped at an example of one of these potholes on my way home.

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The pictures really don’t do justice to the beauty of the colors in this landscape.  Before the white man came along, these potholes would have been surrounded by a sea of tall grass prairie.  Now it’s a sea of soy beans, but the September colors were spectacular none the less.

I also stopped for a chocolate malt on the way home.  This time, I asked them to skip the maraschino (sp?) cherry on top, and give me an extra scoop of malt instead.  Yummy!  I also stopped at a local vegetable stand and purchased a spaghetti squash.  I’ve heard they’re very tasty, but I really am not sure what to do with it.  Guess I’ll have to look up some recipes.

As I was pulling back into my site, I got a phone call from a staff member asking if I was available this weekend.  It seems a whole lot of sod was installed at the renovated visitors center today, and would need to be sprinkled this weekend.  I said, “Sure.”  Well, it turned out to be more involved than they first thought.  It will take me several hours each day to accomplish this, and another huge load of sod will be put down on Monday.  It will need to be heavily watered for the next week so it doesn’t die in this dry weather.

So, priorities have changed.  After painting 200 posts, that chore has been put on a back burner.  I’m not exactly sad about that. Thinking smile  I think I’ll take Emma with me tomorrow for my watering duties.  New things to sniff and all that, and no one else will be around since it’s a weekend.  On an even more positive note, I’ll have more time off next week, and a new addition to my resume will be “watching the grass grow!”

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Thursday, September 12, 2013

14 days and counting

That’s right.  I’ve only got two more weeks at Tamarac NWR before I hit the road for more southern climes.  This is about the time I start making lists of things I need to accomplish before heading out.  After mowing the weeds all around headquarters and the volunteer rig sites today (the grass is just beginning to green up after such a dry August), I headed to town to take care of some items on my list. 

Town means Detroit Lakes (DL to those in the know Winking smile).  After being here four months, I consider myself one of “those” in the know…  It seems I’m needing some new tires for the toad, so I asked Larry, one of the maintenance guys on the refuge, where he would go for tires.  He sent me to Schultz Garage and Bus Company in DL for an honest evaluation of my needs.  I now have an appointment for getting four new Firestone Tires installed next Thursday.

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While in town, I stopped at the Central Market grocery store for another must have item for my travels.  I’ve recently become enamored by these tasty ginger thins.

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They’re a very thin, crispy ginger cookie that just melts in your mouth as you eat them.  One serving is supposed to be six cookies for only a total of 133 calories.  I’ve always like gingersnaps, but I like these even better.

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There’s also some fun involved in eating them.  “Anna’s Pepperkakor are also known as Swedish wish cookies.  To make a wish, place a cookie on the palm of your hand and tap it gently with your index finger.  If it breaks into three pieces, your wish will come true.  Lycka till!”  Hmm… seems like my journey to Louisiana will be an easy one.  That’s a relief!

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I also decided to live on the wild side, and try some of their chocolate mint thins.  I’ll have to let you know if they’re as tasty as the ginger thins later.

As I’m finishing up this post, the sandhill cranes are giving their wonderful calls outside my rig window.  I don’t see them often here, but I love to listen to them.  I bet they’re roosting in the shallow waters of Flat Lake this evening.

Tomorrow, I’m off for a final trip to Fargo for this year.  On my list, of course, is to get about three loaves of wonderful bread for the freezer from the Breadsmith, a last pound of sponge candy, and maybe, if I time it just right, one last chocolate malt on my way back to the rig.  Culinary delights for sure!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Letters/67

Dear Korean Wedding, my husband officially survived his first wedding as a couple. I can't believe that it took almost three years to even attend a wedding together. You were so fun to go to even though I couldn't wrap my head around certain aspects of the ceremony like the smoke machine and bubbles while they said their vows. Dear Apartment, I'm grateful for the amount of room that we have and for just Jeremy and I, it's more than enough. But six people staying in a 700 square for apartment this next week might be pushing it.. Dear Grapefruits, I bought eight of you this weekend for $10. It's times like these that I miss my grandpa's house where he had a whole grove full of oranges, grapefruits and tangerines. Since moving abroad it's my mission to have a lime tree, grapefruit tree and avocado tree when we move back to the states. Dear Korea, thank you so much for having Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) it's a great excuse for yet another vacation. And this time we're heading out of town with Jeremy's family to Japan! For the first time I'll be wishing the weekend goes by fast so we can go already! Dear Students, you instantly get worried when I tell you that we're going to Japan next week because of another issue with a nuclear plant there. I tell you that it's ok and we'll pack our radioactive mask and suit....I think some of you actually believed me.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I took your advice

I was out this morning to paint another 20 or so posts, but I didn’t use my right arm at all.  I’ll be giving it a rest from painting.  Of course, using my left arm only had its own results.  Using your not dominate arm and hand to do things can be a little awkward.  At one point, vigorously slathering on the paint with my left hand resulted in a huge blob of paint flying through the air and landing directly on my glasses and nose.  Uf-dah!  I’m sure glad I’ve dedicated an old pair of jeans and one shirt to this painting assignment.  It took me a while to get things cleaned up so I could see to continue.  Smile with tongue out

In the afternoon, it was time to experience a new assignment.  I sure would like to report that it was something very exciting like capturing and banding waterfowl, but I’m afraid it was rather mundane.  So sorry to those of you that said you couldn’t wait to hear what I would be doing.

IMG_9441This refuge, like many others, supports recycling paper, glass, tin, batteries, cardboard, and plastics.  I think Steve made the last recycling run in June, so the garage that is dedicated to recyclables was close to overflowing.  I figured it would take several trips to the recycling center in Detroit Lakes to empty that garage.

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What a job it was to clean all of that up, but somehow loading the bed of the truck and the back seat, we got everything stuffed in for only one trip.  We had over 90 pounds of glass alone, so you know I had to have some help getting everything into the truck bed.  The recycling place is an experience in itself, but I didn’t take any pictures of that noisy place.  I was happy to support recycling rather than just filling up our landfills with all of this stuff.

Word has gotten around that I was thinking of returning here next year, so I was asked if I could help with the bird festival in May, 2014.  I was also assured that I would be leading bird tours in May and June.  It hasn’t been a snap decision for me to return to Tamarac next year.  I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time.  I’ve weighed all the pros and cons, and think this is a good fit for me.  It’s a beautiful RV site, I’ll be doing bird stuff, most of my kids and grandkids are within a day’s drive, and then there’s the bread, malts, and sponge candy in the area.  What’s not to love about all of that?  Maybe next year I’ll get a chance to get a picture of one of those wolves.

Tomorrow I’ll be doing some mowing since the rain over the weekend has helped the burnt out grass come back to life.  Neil, the refuge manager, is rather picky about the weeds surrounding the temporary headquarters that grow no matter if it rains or not, so I’ll be mowing those down to make him happy.  Time to get those steel-toed boots on again.  Winking smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Catching up

The last couple of days haven’t been very exciting, so I’ve taken a little break from blogging.  Didn’t do much of anything besides laundry on Sunday because of the rain, it rained a good share of the day an Monday, and today it was back to painting posts. 

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Notched 21 more posts on my paintbrush this foggy overcast morning, which brought me up to a total of 180 posts so far.  It was pleasantly cool, but muggy, this morning, and I enjoyed seeing my friend the young bald eagle as I stroked along.  Little chickadees, nuthatches, and American goldfinches were flitting about, with a background music of honking Canada geese and trumpeting swans.  There was also the winnowing of the common snipes, and the screech of a red-tailed hawk.  A symphony of natural sounds so much better than a blasting radio.

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Fall may be approaching, but there are still some asters and Canada thistles in bloom to keep the bees busy.  I’m sure my friend Marilyn could tell me what kind of bees these are, but I sure don’t know.

By noon, I was done with painting for the day.  My right shoulder has been bothering me some, and I asked my doctor about it while I had my physical a couple of weeks ago at Mayo.  I suspected bursitis.  The Doc agreed, and asked if I’d been doing any repetitive activity with my arm.  Duh!  Painting 180 posts might qualify?I don't know smile   So, I’ve been doing some arm exercises, and mostly painting with my left arm.  I guess I’m not too old to become ambidextrous. 

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In the afternoon, I decided to restock all the kiosks with refuge pamphlets, and found this bunch of red dragonflies.  There are lots of different kinds of dragonflies, but this is the first time I’ve seen a red one.  I like those red and blue tags on its wings.

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“Emma the Hunter” was on duty this evening as we sat outside.  Notice the thirteen lined ground squirrel in the bottom right of the photo.

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It was stuffing its cheeks with seeds that had fallen from the Hard Rock Bird CafĂ©.  If you remember, Emma had actually finally caught one of these guys last week.

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      With a renewed sense of victory, Emma remained as still as a statue as the interloper came closer.

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Can you see how stock still Emma remained as the ground squirrel got closer and closer?  All that moved was her head a bit.  Kind of reminded me of a stalking cat.  Don’t worry, the squirrel finally got smart and ran away… just in the nick of time.  I’m sure my vigilant companion will be back on duty again tomorrow.

As for me, I’ll paint a few more posts in the morning and then do a new chore in the afternoon.  I’m sure you can’t wait to hear what that will be.  Winking smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy