Northern Cardinal

 

 

 

 

And Mrs. Cardinal

 

 

 

 

 

Can you spot the sand crab in this picture?

 

 

 

He looks like another clump of sand, but there is a giveaway.

 

That menacing claw.  It looks big on him, but the entire crab is maybe 2 inches wide, so it’s not too scary.

 

Sign of the day

 

 

Noticed while walking through a South Texas industrial area, packed with small businesses building and repairing things.

 

The sign read:

 

Dirty hands.

Clean money.

 

 

It doesn’t exactly describe the life of an accountant, but we recognize and admire the sentiment.

 

 

 

I haven’t mentioned gators lately

 

 

But there are plenty of them at the Birding and Nature Center on South Padre Island.  They’re a rescue center for alligators that cause trouble with people.  The problem lies mostly with the people, not the gators.  If a gator gets fed, it learns from that experience and becomes a “nuisance” and has to be removed.  Or maybe it shows up on a dock or in a swimming pool.

 

There are small ones in tanks.

 

 

To larger ones in ponds.

 

All the way up to Big Padre.

 

Twelve feet of gator!

 

A vegetable cooler

 

 

Freshened up our camping meals on the road.

 

We pack a little Coleman stove and a nonstick pan.  Judy has upped our camping dinner game.

 

 

I just can’t get enough of these tangled oak branches.

 

 

Made a day trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area.

 

To everyone’s delight on a warm day.

 

 

 

Now we’re home.

 

Have I mentioned the Altamira Oriole lately?

 

 

 

 

Perfecting the process

 

 

The upgraded office.  A fold-up portable table, just the right size.  A second screen for the laptop that doesn’t add to the footprint on the tabletop.

 

Just enough room for a mouse on the right.  I’ll put the 10-key pad on the right side as well, but didn’t bring it this trip.

 

The second monitor attaches magnetically to the back of the laptop.  It rotates and folds around the back when the laptop is closed.  They stay together and fit inside the laptop sleeve of my knapsack.  (I had a two extra screen setup, but it was cumbersome and complicated to get all the cords plugged in right.  It required its own power.  This one is simple.  One C to C cord plugged into an outlet on the computer.  Done.)

 

 

Very handy.

 

For internet, Starlink is working great.  Sometime there is too much tree cover for it to work right at the van, so we stretch out a long cord to reach a clear view of the sky.