Rockin’ to Rockport

Aransas Bay

It’s been a warm winter in Texas, but we needed a couple of days out of town so we headed for one of our favorite places on the coast, Rockport. This little city is on Live Oak Peninsula between Copano and Aransas bays. It got its name from the rock ledge beneath its shore and has spent most of its history as a commercial seaport. Founded just after the Civil War and incorporated as a city in 1871, it originally supported beef packing plants, but with the withdrawing of rail service to move these products, companies failed leaving only the fishing industry to support the population. However, boatbuilding, fishing and tourism, once rail service returned to the area, developed as important industries in Rockport. In the late 1800s, residents began investigations into the feasibility of a deep-water harbor that required a channel through the sand bar at Aransas Pass. This plan didn’t come to fruition until 1922 with the harbor finally completed in 1926. Rockport, the seat of Aransas County finally completed the courthouse, designed by James Riely Gordon, in 1889. Downtown Rockport still has some of the buildings from the early days; most of these house art galleries and shops. The owners are friendly and helpful, even if you don’t buy anything. Since we’d come down for the Rockport Clay Expo and Bountiful Bowl Pottery Fair, we also spent some time wandering the shops looking for treasures. The pottery fair benefits the local Meals on Wheels Program and happily Cindy the Potter as one of the exhibitors. Not only do I like her work, but it’s good to be able to support the Meals on Wheels Program.

Ankling It to Aubrey

Railroad at Aubrey

Onega came into being in 1867 when Lemuel Noah Edwards, a Civil War veteran, built his house. The town grew as he gave each of his ten children lots on which to build their homes when they married. Although dancing was not allowed, the family and others who had come to the community gathered in the Edwards home to sing and to listen to organ music. By 1881 the Texas and Pacific Railway built a station house, completed the tracks, and began operations. Evidently townsfolks didn’t care for the name ‘Onega’, so alternate names were placed in a hat and the name ‘Aubrey’ was drawn. Very shortly, a post office, one-room school and churches were established along with several businesses.

Cold Mountains, Sliding Trees and a Lot of Hot Water - Part 1

Rafters on the Snake River

Jackson is a town in Jackson Hole valley; both are incredibly scenic. Although we visited in the middle of the summer, the nights in this area are a bit cool. Walking around the town was a study in international affairs in that we met travelers from all over the world and all were trying to see the sights, get something to eat and/or do some shopping. Jackson is the closest entrance to the National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. This area is almost as crowded in the winter because Jackson is also near to several ski resorts. If you’re into art, there are galleries in town as well as the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Center for the Arts. The landmarks in town that tourists flock to are the large arches of shed elk antlers at the four entrances to the town square; these were put in place in 1953 and were restored in 2015. The only group allowed to collect antlers is the Boy Scouts. They go out onto the Elk Refuge, pick up the antlers, donate some to the city, and sell the rest to artists and folks interested in using them in folk remedies. Jackson Hole was visited at least 11,000 years, when the first hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region looking for food and supplies. It was originally populated by the Shoshoni, Crow, Blackfeet, Bannock, and Gros Ventre who used this lush valley as a place to hunt, fish and camp. Trappers and explorers traveled through the area in the early 1800s, and in the late 1800s William Henry Jackson was so taken with the scenery that he photographed Teton Mountains and Yellowstone. The first permanent white settlers began arriving in the 1880s; the Town of Jackson was established in 1894 and some of the early buildings can still be found in the Town Square area. In 1920 Jackson made history by electing the first all-woman city council. U.S. Government expeditions to the region started in the mid-19th century as a result of Yellowstone exploration. Although photographs taken by William Jackson and the sketches by Tom Moran were used as evidence to convince Congress to protect

Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, it wasn’t until 1929 that Grand Teton National Park was created. In the 1930s, conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. started buying land in Jackson Hole which could be added to the existing national park. However, public opinion and Congressional efforts were against these efforts. The conservationists prevailed and Jackson Hole National Monument was established in 1943. In 1950 the monument was abolished but 30,000 acres of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park.

Cold Mountains, Sliding Trees and a Lot of Hot Water - Part 2

We left Jackson and the Tetons behind (although we did stop for several more pictures of

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River

those grand mountains) and headed on up the Teton Park Road into our oldest national park. Yellowstone National Park is located mostly in Wyoming, but it also spreads into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. This park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser. It has a variety of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is most common. Yellowstone is named for the igneous, volcanic rock rhyolite that changes to a yellow color as it ages and is exposed to the weather. When I was a geology student, our professor called this yellow rock ‘rotten rhyolite’ and I suppose I will always think of it as such. There are also other igneous rocks to be found in the park, including obsidian, a natural glass that the Clovis culture used to make cutting tools and weapons. In the 1950s, an obsidian projectile point of Clovis origin dating from about 11,000 years ago was found near Gardiner, Montana (the northern entrance to Yellowstone). Early explorers told stories of the existence of an area of ‘fire and brimstone’, boiling mud, steaming rivers, spouting water, a mountain of glass and yellow rock and petrified trees were dismissed as the result of either delirium or over-active imagination. Bad weather and the American Civil War prevented any exploration of the area until 1869 when the privately funded Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition finally made it from the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake and began a detailed study of the area. With the evidence of this and subsequent expeditions, as well as the photographs by William Henry Jackson and paintings by Thomas Moran, Yellowstone was given the protection of National Park status. However, poaching and destruction of natural resources continued until the U.S. Army came to Mammoth Hot Springs in 1886 and built Camp Sheridan. Eventually there was enough funding and manpower to maintain protection of the park’s wildlife and natural resources. These policies and regulations formed the basis of the management principles adopted by National Park Service when it was created in 1916.

Colorful Colorado

Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak

Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs are two of my favorite cities and I’ve written about them previously, so if you want to know more about the area take a look at Springing to Manitou. From Capulin National Monument it’s a short drive (about 244 miles or 393 kilometers) to Colorado Springs giving us just enough time to plan our attack on the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. The Garden of the Gods is actually a public park that was designated a National Natural Landmark (NNL) in 1971. The NNL Program is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership. The program supports voluntary preservation of sites that strengthen the public's appreciation of the country's natural heritage. The National Park Service administers the NNL Program and may assist NNL owners with the conservation of these sites. At the Garden of the Gods there is a Visitor’s Center with lots of information about the geology and ecology of the park; there is also a restaurant and a gift shop.

Pausing in Paris

Bridge over Seine River

Paris is one of my all-time favorite cities! Perhaps the only thing I don’t like is the number of tourists. As we wandered the streets, renewing old acquaintances with landmarks and eateries, it dawned on me that I’ve never been to Paris without a jacket and without needing a raincoat. This trip was no exception; we got damp and chilly, but it didn’t dull our enthusiasm. I was surprised, however, at the increase in the number of people who spoke to us in English. This doesn’t mean that you don’t need any French to travel in France. Having a few phrases (please, thank you, where is, I would like, what does it cost, etc.) are always helpful, particularly if the person with whom you are dealing has the same level of English as you do of French. And being polite goes a long way toward getting folks to communicate with you. Although the French have a reputation for being surly and rude, I have not found this to be the case; rude people are everywhere and there are no more in France than in the US. As a population, they are more likely to speak more than one language and are much more tolerant of poorly spoken French than Americans are of poorly spoken English.

Meandering in Miltenberg

Top L to R: Duck, Swans
Bottom L to R: Walking couple, Camp

It’s a scenic trip from Würzburg to Miltenberg along the Main River, so we spent some time watching the world go by. Mallard-type ducks seem to be common around the world with their iridescent green heads and their wiggly tails. There were also a variety of wading birds that looked a good deal like our own blue herons, but what we don’t see a lot of in the US are wild swans. Those large, white, elegant birds seemed to be around every turn as we sailed down the river. People out for a stroll are not uncommon on the trails along the river and we did see a couple, who could have posed for Grant Woods’s American Gothic, pause to watch our ship. Not far from the walkers were very neatly arranged campgrounds. In the summer, families camp in certain areas and spend their time on the river. Some of the spots have been used by the same groups for years, but most of these folks aren’t ‘roughing it’; the camping trailers look very comfortable.

Rolling on the River

Forest along Caves Road

If you have all day to do it, the drive from Perth along Caves Road (Hwy 10 and 250) through the karri forest and then along the coast is a gorgeous. One of our detours took us out to Eagle Bay to look for a whale or two, but all we saw were beautiful beaches and people soaking up some sunshine. When the weather warms, this will be a great place to enjoy snorkeling and other water sports. Yallingup, another scenic town, is where the smaller waves come in and nearly every day you can see people trying to catch a wave or two. Farther along the road the forests and open areas allow native animals to roam, treating us to mobs of kangaroos and wallabies with a few emus thrown in. These are not animals in wildlife parks, but those that still inhabit the bush. Margaret River is an area much like the hill country in Texas in that there are oodles of wineries, lots of tall trees, and loads of hilly roads. They call the climate Mediterranean, since we’re near the coastline, but it's cooler than what we expected. The warmest temperature was in the low 70s (20s centigrade) with

Top L to R: Pirate cow, Golden cow, Cow with mailbox
Bottom L to R: Wine store, Social Club, Cow with helmet

on and off sunny skies. Caves are also found in this area ranging from completely guided to ‘Here’s a helmet and a torch, see you later’. One of my favorite sites on our drive was the small town of Cowaramup. Normally you’ll see all sorts of life-sized cow statues in this town, but during our visit there was a bicycle rally so the statues wore bicycle helmets!

Hopping to Perth

Top to Bottom: Kangaroo with joey in pouch,
Child and joey, Cynthia feeding kangaroo

Caversham Wildlife Park is great fun simply because you hand-feed the kangaroos and wallabies, whisper in the ears of the dozing koalas, and chirp with the birds in the aviaries. This is a well maintained park with lots of area for the animals to roam. Many of the birds are housed in aviaries, but some are still maintained in cages. My favorite part is feeding the kangaroos and wallabies. There are signs that warn you not to touch the joeys in their mothers’ pouches, but in nearly every case, the joeys are happy to come hopping up to you reaching for a mouthful of food from your hand.  As with years past, there were several mamas with babies in their pouches; sometimes all you could see of the joey was a foot or a tail. The grass is really green where the kangaroos and wallabies are, and our shoes really needed scraping once we were finished in the enclosure. There is also a 'farm animal' exhibit that we had to experience. We got chewed on by kids (they particularly liked Dave’s shoelaces), rubbed on by the nannies, and ignored by the chickens. I did get to scratch some rabbits, but the park personnel wouldn't let me in

Top L to R: Bustard, Dave and kid
Bottom L to R: Barking owl, Koala and Dave

the stalls with them. It seems you have to be no older than five to actually get in the pens. The birds in the aviaries weren’t too thrilled about being visited, particularly since it is spring. The males were downright hostile and the females were grumpy. As we walked through one area, we heard a dog barking. We followed the ‘woof, woof’ and found that it was not a dog at all, but a barking owl. And if that wasn’t strange enough, the lion’s roar we thought we heard was actually a bustard. Caversham hasn’t changed substantially I visited about 15 years ago, but Whiteman Park, which surrounds it, has added a several other things to do, including a train ride and a place to eat.

King's Park and Botanic Gardens is a great place to while away a day. In the spring the  

flowers are gorgeous and the temperature isn’t too so warm as to keep you from walking

L to R: Banksia, Yellow flowers,
Kangaroo paws

through the entire park. The first place to go is to the Visitor’s Center for a good map and to find out if there are any areas that are restricted. This year there were all sorts of areas, both parking and touring, blocked off because two celebrities were visiting. England’s Prince Edward had come to Perth, as had Katy Perry; it was hard to tell just who park visitors were trying to spot. Such excitement and all we wanted to see were some native plants! The park has added a ‘tall trees’ walk that, much like what we experienced in Tasmania, takes you up near the top of the trees and provides some great views of the city. Spring means that the flowers were in bloom and the bees were zooming around them. My favorite flowers were the banksia with their spiky blooms and leaves. Although I should have expected it, there were sections with plants from around the world, including a group of cacti from California.

L to R: Bee on flower, DNA Tower, Gala

Eventually we made our way to the Firefighters’ Memorial and to the DNA Tower. The tower resembles its namesake. At the bottom are signs telling about the characteristics and function of DNA; platforms half-way to the top have information about the flora and fauna in surrounding area. Once on top of the tower, there are more views of Perth and the nearby mountains.

Qute Quokkas

Cargo Pods awaiting shipping

One of the ways to get to Rottnest Island is by ferry, and there are places to catch the ferry in Perth and in Freemantle. We chose to go to Freemantle, leave our car in the new, secure car park and catch the ferry at Rous Head. Finding the dock presented more of a challenge than we had expected because it’s hidden in an industrial area among a giant stacks of cargo pods that are either awaiting shipment or pick-up. The roads in the area are so new that the GPS didn’t have any idea where we were. Luckily there were signs that helped us get the last few miles. Once we got to the dock, we were greeted by a huge group of Year 3 children on an educational outing. They were bouncing off the walls because this was their first overnight trip; they all had a bicycle as well as their overnight bags. Parents were everywhere taking pictures, and teachers were trying to keep the children from pitching off the jetty into the sea. Once we were on the ferry it was almost standing room only; evidently picking a weekday over a weekend to go to Rotto didn’t make one bit of difference.

Rottnest Ferry

Raining with a Chance of Sheep

Tasmanian bay and sailboats 

Tasmania was not at all what I expected. While there are ‘mountains’ that ring the coast, the interior of the island is rolling hills covered in lush green grass and herds of sheep. The mountains do get touched with snow, but the foothills host redolent, temperate rainforest plants. The wind-swept beaches and hills reminded me of Scotland, but without the castles; the weather lived up to the best traditions of Scotland, however. It takes no more than six hours to get anywhere in Tasmania, and the roads are good, so we rented a car. Our seven day road trip took us to most of the island, but there are still many sites we didn’t see and events we didn’t experience. This is one of those places in the world we want to visit again.

Hobart to Launceston

It’s a lovely drive from Hobart to Launceston, with opportunities to pop over to the beaches to touch the sand and to find that the water is, indeed, very cold. The Tasmanian Wool

Raw Wool and Wool on the Hoof

Centre in Ross affords an opportunity to learn about the wool industry, tour their small but substantial museum, learn about the town, and do a bit of shopping. Local artists sell finished wool garments, as well as hand spun and dyed yarns.  I’d never seen or touched raw wool directly from shearing and didn’t know how it was graded; I still wonder how the grading was done before the advent of technology since the wool fibers are measured in microns. The wool from a black sheep isn’t black, but a muddy brown; wool texture changes based on fiber size, but also on the variety, gender and age of the sheep. The raw wool feels oily.

All around the Rock

Uluru

We left Sydney in 60^oF (15.5^oC) weather, with a bit of mist and came to Ayres Rock Resort in 104^oF (40^oC) and bright sunshine. All of our bags arrived and the porters had them in the room before we actually got checked into Sails in the Desert, one of the several hotels that make up the resort area. The purpose of the self-contained township of Yulara is to cater to tourists. Along with the hotels, the resort has a town center with a variety of shops and eateries, a small museum, art galleries, a grocery store and the only grass for a hundred miles. Looming large on the horizon is the reason anyone visits this area: Uluru. This red giant and its companion, Kata Tjuta, are part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and a religious center for Aṉangu (Aboriginal) culture. Although the area has been used by the native peoples for as long as 10,000 years, it didn’t make it into the atlas of the Europeans until the 1800s and tourism didn’t begin until the mid-1930s. Development started literally at the foot of Uluru, ignoring the status it held as a sacred reserve to the Pitjantjatjara people. It wasn’t until 1970 that its religious significance was recognized and tourist services were moved out of the national park. In 1985 the ownership of Uluru was returned to the local Pitjantjatjara Aborigines with the understanding that they would lease it back to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Agency for 99 years and that it would be jointly managed; an agreement that the climb to the top of Uluru by tourists would be stopped was later broken. Climbing Uluru is a sacred Aṉangu rite, performed by men during certain ceremonies and in association with their stories explaining the creation of the world, which is why tourists are asked not to make the climb. Another reason tourists are cautioned about this climb is that it is very difficult; a steep, slick grade, strong winds, rain, and high heat have contributed to at least 35 deaths.

'City Center' seating area

Ayres Rock Resort is well away from the National Park, but from several high dunes within the grounds you can see Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Although you can walk from the any of the five accommodation areas to any other along trails through the dunes, there is a free bus that will take you all the way around the resort. Visitors to the area can stay in the luxury of Desert Gardens Hotel or ‘rough it’ in the Ayers Rock Campground, or choose lodging that is between these two extremes at the Outback Hotel and Lodge, the Emu Walks Apartments or the Sails in the Desert. The hotels have interesting architecture that blends into the landscape and are worth a look, as is the Visitor’s Center with its small museum display of indigenous wildlife.  There are also self-guided garden walks associated with the Desert Gardens Hotel and the Sails in the Desert Hotel that are fun to do. Whatever you do outside, plan on doing it very early in the morning or after 4:00 in the afternoon. Unless you are used to temperatures of 100^oF+ (38^oC+), hiking, or even sauntering, is not only exhausting but dehydrating. Since Yulara and the resort are so isolated, you’ll see that great care is taken to preserve and conserve resources. You’ll notice solar heaters for water, recycling areas, and drip irrigation; twice a week truck caravans deliver food along with other supplies from Adelaide, 1,663 km (1,033 mi) away, while other caravans make the daily trip of 433 km (269 mi) to Alice Springs.

Visits to the art galleries are also interesting, particularly if you take time to talk to the ‘artist

Dingo, wallaby, rabbit, lizard
and human tracks

in residence’. One of the things we learned from an artist is that the symbols they use, while similar to symbols other artists have used for centuries, are not strictly interpreted. For instance, dots set in a circle may symbolize a waterhole in one painting while in another they may indicate a reserve of honey ants. There may be actual images of animals, or just their tracks leading to hunting areas. The pictures are reminders of stories told by the elders to instruct the group about how to live with the desert and each other. During our short walks around the resort, we noticed a wealth of animal tracks in the red sand. Some we could identify easily, others not so much. As might be expected in a desert, there were oodles of lizard tracks; but there were also a myriad of bird tracks. Birds, like the other animals in this area, prefer to make their appearance in the early morning or early evening when the heat isn’t quite so oppressive. Besides the ravens that are ubiquitous in Australia (see Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Note), there are magpies, honey eaters, and a number of

Honey Eater

raptors. It took us a while to identify some of the other tracks, but a jaunt to the Visitor Center museum helped us spot what we think were mole tracks and quite possibly tracks of a dingo. We did quickly find rabbit tracks, and while these critters are not welcome most anywhere on the continent, they are still surviving wherever there is a bit of green grass and some water.

There is plenty of transportation out to the National Park through formal tours or the scheduled shuttle service. While the tours give you lots of information and take you to particular places, the shuttle service basically provides pick up and drop off spots, allowing you to spend an extended amount of time doing as you please. On this trip we opted to rent a car. To get into the Uluru and Kata Tjuta areas you have to have a National Parks Pass, so we took a drive out to the National Park, got the three-day pass, then went to the Cultural Center. Riding around in 104^oF+ (40^oC+) temperatures is a whole lot more fun than walking. It’s an interesting place, the Cultural Center, and a bit different than what I remember from previous trips. They have more about the Aboriginal culture of Uluru/Kata Tjuta and a lot fewer cheesy souvenirs than they did previously. All along the walls of the entry area are paintings that tell the story of the beginnings of the Aṉangu, accompanied by further

Blooming plants and
a praying mantis

explanations of aboriginal history and culture. There is a small area to sit and watch a movie that has many of the local residents telling their family histories and how they now live and raise their children. There are two art galleries with authentic paintings by local artists; we saw a couple of paintings we liked but were, unfortunately, out of our price range. Also sold in the art center are carved wooden sticks used by the Aṉangu to accompany their singing. These carvings, like their paintings, tell stories of living in the desert, celebrations, creation of the world, and so forth.

Ride ‘Em Cowboy!

Cattle Drive in Fort Worth Stockyards

Every once in a while someone from out of state (or country) comes to visit us. They expect to see ‘real’ cowboys in boots, spurs and hats riding horses and herding cattle. It’s fun for us to show visitors around simply because we forget about the plethora of culture (both high and low) available to us in the DFW area. Much of what people visualize when they think of things typically Texan can only be experienced in the great out of doors.

Tarrant County Courthouse

In 1849 Fort Worth was established near the confluence of the West Fork and Clear Fork of the Trinity River. It was one in a line of forts that marked the beginning of the western US (hence the moniker, ‘Gateway to the West’). Years later it became a county seat and the Tarrant County Courthouse was built. Constructed from pink Texas granite, it looks much like the state capital in Austin. The county courthouse is still in use; there are other buildings for family, criminal, civil, city and federal courts. Near the courthouse is Sundance Square with its traditional western to modern architecture, places to eat, and shops.

Pyramid Power

Galveston, Texas has a lot of things going for it: beaches, swimming, boating, fishing, lying in the sun, great places to eat and varied cultural attractions. However, we didn’t expect to meet Real Pirates on their ship, the Whydah, inside a bronze pyramid. The Whydah had been a

Aboard the Whydah

slave ship but because of its speed and responsive handling, Captain Sam Bellamy seized it making it his personal flagship. Interestingly, slaves on ships captured by pirates were given the choice of becoming part of the crew or being released in sight of land; many preferred the freedom of the open seas to the possible return to slavery on land. Later, loaded with treasure, the Whydah sank during a terrible storm off of Cape Cod. Legend has it that Captain Bellamy was returning to the woman he loved, planning to take her away with him. When we boarded no one was conscripting sailors or firing cannons, but we did get to tie knots in lines and play with authentic pirate treasure.

Monkeys? La La!

Tropical Flower

There’s more to do in Roatan than just diving. On one of the days we didn’t spend underwater, we explored the area including Gumbalimba Park. The park has spectacular flowers, a nice area to sit with a cold drink, a cave with historical relics, and tropical animals. You can get to the park by walking in, hiring a taxi, or you can zip in. We chose the latter.

Once we got to South Shore Zip-Line Adventures, we found we were all too old for the ride. However, with a bit of discussion we convinced the owner that we were all in good shape and wouldn’t do anything

Clockwise from upper left: David, Andi, Steve, Cynthia

stupid (or at least act Near-Normal). He did admit that they had strapped a 90 year old woman in with one of the guys and taken her down the zip line; she’d had the ride of her life! We had a great time, too. The trick is not to slow down too soon or you have to use one of the overhead ropes to drag yourself along. Besides, slowing down isn’t nearly as much fun a barreling along screaming ‘Whee’ at the top of your lungs. Some of the staff were adept at hanging upside down from their zip-lines, but since none of us were quite that good we stayed upright. A couple more practice runs and I’d be willing to give upside down zipping a try! There are 16 levels, so it’s quite a trip from the top of the canopy to the final stop at Gumbalimba Park.

The Invasion

Sometimes things that happen while I’m gone rambling are more entertaining than what I’m experiencing. Here’s what the NearNormal-Traveler, DM, reports:

Chittering squirrel

I was in my research laboratory yesterday afternoon, doing manly things, and realized I was hearing the chitter/barking of an upset squirrel. Having had two hawks fly just over my head recently I surmised one had made itself at home in a tree in the backyard and the local denizens were not appreciative of the incursion. Not an unusual occurrence.  I poked my head rather cautiously out of the doorway so as not to influence the balance of nature and discovered the complaining party was on the rain gutter of CL’s studio, staring my way. Upon seeing me the wronged party increased the volume and venom level as it started shaking its whole body to further project its impatience at my negligent attitude towards keeping it supplied with sunflower seeds.

Squirrel after sunflower seeds

Being a sensitive and caring individual I proceeded to see to the well-being of our local fauna. Within seconds three of the little buggers were at the business of putting on fat for the coming winter. A little early perhaps, but putting it away they were. I obtained a small dollop of a certain amber colored adult beverage and assumed a supervisory position on the patio. The temperature hovered around 68^oF and all was well and peaceful once more.

And then from the west came the invasion. They were spread out in a skirmish line at first – well spaced and devilishly organized, ransacking every hiding place for their prey. Then they started imitating Brownian movement personified, flitting in first one direction and then another at a speed which defied description. They would rustle through the plants, then bounce off a tree and then leap over one another, reversing direction or jumping straight up in the air seemingly at random, but one knew just watching them that every movement was a calculated step in the complete annihilation of something, but only they knew what.

Carolina Wren

They reached the eastern fence and upon an unseen/heard signal doubled back into the midst of the squirrels (and me) where they continued their chaotic pursuit of, well, I still have no idea what they were after. This was the largest concentration of Troglodytes I have yet to witness. There were at least eight of them. Whether it was a family group or a seldom observed example of speed dating, I have no idea. They hung around for a good five minutes totally ignoring the squirrels and me. As quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

Then I went inside knowing things were NearNormal.

Four hungry squirrels

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