Saturday, January 7, 2012

Final touches

I had a few things left to do today to finish my set up here on the refuge.  Most important was getting some bird seed for my feeders.  Mice really like birdseed, so I haven’t had any on board for a while because of the mouse problem at Anahuac.

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I headed for Ocean Springs and the Rouses Grocery store.  I was a tad bit hungry when I arrived there, so you know what that can do to your shopping cart.  Smile  They had a huge display of King’s Cakes with free samples so I was sucked right in.  Yesterday was King’s Day, and, I believe, the beginning of the Mardi Gras season.  Traditionally, King’s Cakes have a little baby baked inside, and the person getting the piece with the baby will have good luck for the year.  Since the baby was on top, I decided to choose a piece to eat with it on it.  Had enough bad luck last year, so hope this will help.

That cake is more than one person can eat, so I shared it with my fellow volunteers this afternoon.  The cakes come in many varieties, but all are adorned with green, yellow, and purple sprinkles, the traditional colors of Mardi Gras.  I chose the Bavarian cake because of the chocolate.  It was stuffed with Bavarian crème.

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As I was unloading my groceries, I noticed this pileated woodpecker working the pine trees around the rigs.  Hello Woody!

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In the afternoon, Emma and I took a hike around the Dees Nature Trail on the refuge.  This was the area that had the prescribed burn last April.  Fire has brought needed life back to the under story.

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The remains of last year’s pitcher plants were evident.  Can’t wait to see this year’s crop.

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The trail goes through the pine savannah and along Bayou Castille.  It was a gorgeous afternoon for a walk.

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There are several benches along the trail where you can sit and enjoy the solitude and nature’s geometry. (A=Pi r squared) Surprised smile  You can take the teacher out of the math classroom, but you can’t take the math out of the teacher…

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Emma, of course, doesn’t give a crap about math.  She just craps when and where she wants to, and sniffs her way through life.  Phew!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy