Yellow-headed blackbird at St. David Arizona

We spent a few day at St. David Arizona and one day on a ride back to town Dick came to a screeching halt and pulled a U-turn all from 55 miles per hour.  There in the middle of a field was a flock of birds several hundred thick.  Out comes the cameras again just in time to get some shots of what turned out to be a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds.

This is one blog posting that you need to click on some of the pictures and see them in a larger format.

Just lifting off.

Starting to spread out and turn.

What a sight against the beautiful blue sky with the clouds in the background.

As they circled, what Dick calls a butt shot, they lost all color and now they just look like blackbirds.

From the side you got a good look at the yellow heads and the white on the wings.

 

Still in the air and all bunched together was really a great sight to see.  Can't figure out how they kept from knocking each other down.



 

To be continued...

Nuevo Progreso, Mexico shopping

We finally made it to Harlingen Texas just a few miles North of the Mexican boarder and have made two trips to Nuevo Progreso just across the Rio Grande river.  You pay $2.00 parking, 50 cents to walk across the boarder and then 30 cents to get back out of Mexico.  On every street corner you can find several people who will be happy to lead you to a great Dentist, Doctor, get new glasses or fill just about any type of prescription drug you need.  Or you can just walk up and down the streets and purchase just about anything made in Mexico or China from hundreds of street venders.


  We found several huge stores with row after row of pottery of every kind, clothing, horse tack, and the list goes on and on.  We went up to the third floor of one building and started to be concerned if we were going to drop through the floor.  Here are a few pictures of what we found in the bigger buildings.  Great prices, cheaper than WalMart but too heavy to carry across the boarder.  Even if we did , what would we do with them?

Love all the bright colors.

These ladies stand over 4' tall.

A big smile from one of them.

Just for fun, we found an artist's work in an ally.

In a Antique store on this side of the boarder we found these being restored.  Cute but what could they be?

Bar stools, what a great idea, NOT says Jackie.

Sorry to say these are all cell phone pictures.

To be continued...

Goose Island State Park Rockport and Aransas Pass Texas

 

We spent last week at Goose Island State Park in Rockport Texas where we have been trying to get back since our visit in 2009.  You park with the front of the rig about 15' from the waters edge where you can fish without a license.   Each site has a concrete shelter with a picnic table and power and water. 



 

 

 

Part of the facility is a boat launch with a fish cleaning station.  The Pelicans are patiently waiting for another fish to be cleaned.

 

 

"Oh yeah, that's it just toss it over here so I can get it."

"Get back it's mine, no get away so I can get it."

Someone did a great, and bright, paint job on the side of the building.

Look out Jackie the big blue crab is going to get you.

I think it got her, help, help, help.

I love to play with the colors with Photoshop.

This boy went sailing by in front of our coach looking for some dinner.

Gliding down for the catch.

 

Is this what you call a head stand.  Statue at the port of Aransas Pass Texas.

 

 

 We are now in Harlingen Texas and hope to get some more pictures to share on another blog.  We hope the weather will be better as it's warm here but lots of clouds, 70s during the day and 60s and night.

 

 To be continued..



Birthplace of Helen Keller for our Granddaughter Daisy

 

 

In early November we took a trip to Tuscumbia, Alabama to visit IVY GREEN the birthplace of Helen Keller.  Come to find out that at about the same time our Granddaughter was reading a book about Helen Keller.  The day she finished the book at school she came home to find a postcard from us from that we sent from our trip there.  She was excited so this blog posting is for her.

 

The main house was built on 640 acres of land in 1820 by Helen's grandparents, David and Mary Fairfax Moore Keller.  Helen was not born in this house but in the cottage next to it.  

 

She was raised in the main house and was totally uncontrollable because her parents had no way to communicate with her, being deaf and blind.

This is the parlor of the home with most of the original furniture still in the home.  Most of the rooms in the home had a fireplace as this was the only heating in the house.

They shared their meals in the dining room next to the parlor.  The chest to the right of the fireplace held silver, linens and beverages.  Sugar chest to the left.  Usually only two shipments of sugar arrived in a year, so sugar was kept under lock and key.

Upstairs was Helen's bedroom that she shared with her teacher Anne Sullivan.  The larger of the two beds in the room was Helen's and the...

smaller bed across the room was Anne's.

Because it was just too hot in the house during the summer the kitchen was in a small building just behind the house.  The left side is the kitchen and the right door was where the cook lived.

This picture is looking through the door into the kitchen area.

All the water for the house came from a well between the home and the kitchen.  There was not any running water in the house.  This is the hand pump that Anne Sullivan was using to try and make Helen understand that everything had a name and could be spelled out using sign language and it finally worked.  Anne said that night "she has learned that everything has a name, and that the manual alphabet is the key to everything she wants to know."

Next to the main house is the cottage where Helen was born.
Since Helen's parents catered to her every whim, Teacher soon realized she would have to get Helen away from her parents in order to be able to control her tantrums and teach her, so the cottage served as the school house.

 

 

 

Looking at the back yard of the main home with the cottage to the left.

 

For a little fun.
Across the street and also found around town mounted on  telephone poles was what we call portable libraries.  Each one had about 20 books in it with the sign reading "take one give one".  Great idea to share books with your neighbors..

 

 

 

To be continued...

Sunset at Ft. Pickens and Pensacola FL lighthouse



Last week we spent the time camping with good friends, Dick and Joan Izzi and we all headed to the beach on the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Pickens National Park to watch the sunset. 

 

Pure white sand and warm sun waiting for it to set for the evening

 

 

We got there there a little early to watch the sun try and drop through the clouds on the beach with sea oats in the dunes.

A ship sailing under the setting sun.

We watched the sun set into the clouds on the horizon and decided to head back to the camp for an evening fire until...

we turned around to catch it just under the clouds and sinking into the Gulf.

 

 

On another day we headed to Naval Air Station Pensacola and visited Pensacola lighthouse 



 

 

Found this guy wandering around the grounds at Fort Pickens.

Just had to add a title to it.

To be continued...