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The Falcon

 We reported that Aplomado Falcon up by Houston on eBird.  We heard back the very next day from the moderator of bird sightings in that area wanting to know exactly where it was so other people could go see it.  That’s a very rare bird for that area and Judy and I just stumbled onto it.  We did what we could to help them find it and so far several other people have been able to locate it and record their sightings.  That’s fun. Here is the original picture. Here is the bird blown up a little. Can’t see his facial features as well as we could with binoculars though.  If you zoom in with your viewer you can get a good look at him. I know.  I’ll send it as an attachment too. 
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Right now

 You’re probably asking yourself “How much fun would it be if I could have a neck collar like Steve has?” Well, let me help you with that.  I can tell you: You’ll get a lot of sympathy.  People make way when you’re walking through a crowd and apologize for getting in your way.  They stop and hold the door for you.  You get waited on a lot.  If you’re around Judy, she takes care of everything for you.  And if you’re around little children; you’ll be the most fascinating person in the room. Want to spend some time alone?  Sit and watch some television.  You can’t see anything except what you’re pointed at.  You can’t even tell if there is someone there in the room with you. You’ll learn how adaptable you are.  Sleeping can be a challenge, but after the first few nights sleep deprivation kicks in and you’ll start to sleep through anything. Your feet get a chance to show you how much they know.  You can’t look down, so when it’s time to go down stairs, you have to back up, look down as much as you can by bending over, locate the top step and then just go for it.  Once you get your feet on the steps they know what to do. If the place you live is having a goofy tan-line contest, spend some time in the sun.  I guarantee you’ll win. If you enjoy a really warm neck, take a walk on a warm day.  The collar makes an awesome muffler. If you want a lot of practice swallowing, put this collar on.  You get to spend a lot of time thinking about swallowing. If you want to practice being blind, go for a road trip in the car; you can essentially be blind from the waist down.  You can’t look down, so you’ll find yourself feeling all about to locate your coffee cup, bottle of water, binoculars, camera, telephone, or digital recorder.  As best you can, you put everything back where it’s supposed to go, but better remember where the right place for everything is, because it’s all by touch. But I have to warn you.  It’s not all fun and games.  When you have to go to the bathroom and you’re not sitting down; the best you can do is point and hope. 
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Role reversal

 I always drive.  Judy always tells me where to go. This time we’ve turned it around.  I get to tell her where to go and that’s great fun.  It’s only 300 miles from Houston to home; a six hour drive.  There are a couple wildlife refuges south of Houston we’ve never been to and they’re “almost” on the route home.  All we need to do is swing over by the coast on our way. Brazoria NWR.  It’s only an hour and a half southeast.  Coastal marsh.  Lots of birds.  Got an Aplomado Falcon; a surprise this far north. A driving loop tour.  It’s only 7 miles.  That shouldn’t take too long… Okay.  That took a couple hours to get through.  On to San Bernard NWR.  About 20 miles south of Brazoria.  Another coastal marsh.  This is nice too. Another driving loop.  This one is 9 miles.  That’s not very far either. Done with both the refuges.  How far are we from home?  Oops.  Nine hours of driving today and we’re still 250 miles away.  It’s getting late.  We stopped at Port Lavaca to spend the night.  We’ll have to focus a little more on the target tomorrow.