kissalostsoul

Today was the big day to have my pre-surgery physical exam and testing to determine if I really would get a new hip next week.  It’s been about two months in the planning, but I’m happy to report that I passed!  Because of the doctor changing hospitals and all of the delays, I was feeling the surgery was never going to happen.  I hate these kind of days. Tonight’s photos are from my roving time yesterday on the refuge.  Dew on a young longleaf pine. I was pretty calm until I got about five miles away from my first appointment.  I could feel my blood pressure rising as I neared the orthopedic office.  I’m sure some of you know that feeling in the pit of your stomach when dealing with doctors and nurses.  I wish it wasn’t so. It took about an hour to go through that initial exam, and then I was sent off to the Mayo hospital for further testing.  Each person I talked to asked the same questions, but I was prepa...

I set my alarm last night, and was up before the crack of dawn this morning to prepare for my umpteenth Christmas Bird Count (CBC) this morning. I opted out of driving to Folkston for a pre-count meeting at 6:15, and just met the group I would be counting with on the refuge a little after 7:00.  This would be the first time I would do a CBC from a boat rather than by car or on foot.  (on foot was out for me this year) Before we headed out into the real swamp, we had a few stops to make to try to find some red-cockaded woodpeckers.  Even though it was raining, we were able to find nine of these rare little birds between two  locations.  Cool beans!  There were four members in our group today.  Our leader was Art, a supervisory ranger, who was spending his last day before retirement getting paid to watch and count birds.  What a way to end a career!  He would be piloting our boat.  Besides the two of us, there was a woman who had don...

The Wedding celebrations of Archduke Christoph of Austria and Adélaide Drapé-Frisch took place the last 2 days at Nancy. Yesterday moring the couple with their parents paid an Visit to the Église des Cordeliers where a private Mass took place and the couple visited the graves of the Dukes of Lorraine. In this Church the Dukes of Lorrane are buried and in the same the the grooms great-uncle, the late Archduke Otto married Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen in 1951. http://www.estrepublicain.fr/actualite/2012/12/28/mariage-princier-a-nancy-un-bouquet-de-roses-a-la-chapelle-des-cordeliers?image=AEC0AB53-A9AC-4438-94C0-B23F91D5176E#jimage=4CCB3659-6106-48F4-B0B6-F3A1A0F6CD09 At 17h00 local time the civil Ceremony at the Hôtel de Villa at Place Stanislas took place. The Ceremony was perfomed by the Mayor of Nancy. Aftewards the couple appeared on the balcony of the Hôtel de Ville. The grooms withnesses where his brother Archduke Imre and his cousin, Prince Louis of Luxembourg. Tagblatt S...

                                                         My oldest, Daniel, and his dog, Buddy. Forty years ago today, I welcomed my first bundle of joy into this world.  It was a struggle getting him birthed for a tax deduction as 1972 drew to a close, but I got it done.    At that time, they kept new mothers and their babies in the hospital for several days, and I even had a dinner with Champagne on New Year’s Eve that year. Where in the world does the time go?  I can’t believe that I have a child that is 40 years old.  Seems that it confirms that I really am an old fart.    How did that happen??  I need a few minutes to recuperate from that realization… Thanks f...

There are two experiences looming on my horizon, and my day off today was spent getting ready for both.  As usual, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish for the day and I actually got most of them done.  Most immediately, I will be participating in the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Saturday.  I have been email corresponding with the local organizer, and verified that the only counting I could do this year is from the seat of a boat.  Hikes on trails are out for me right now.  Tonight’s photos are from a recent visit to the ‘secret’ pond on a chilly morning.  Instead of finding three sandhill cranes in the field around the pond, there were eight.  They were all trumpeting away while feeding as I approached and shut off the motor. There are forms to fill out, and others to take along for this official bird count.  I’m actually quite thrilled to be doing the count out on the water.  Any time I can get out on the swamp is a bonus e...

Didn’t really sleep in on Christmas Day.  I was providing the baked ham for our Volunteer Village Christmas Dinner here at Okefenokee.  I got the ham ready by scoring it to put in the cloves, and pat the brown sugar on it Monday afternoon, so it was easy to just slide it into the oven in the morning.  The holiday dinner would be shared by 12 volunteers, staff, and friends.  Santa’s gift to me on this day was a visit from two folks that many of you may know and follow. Fellow recent fulltimers and bloggers, Erin and Mui joined us for our meal.  Erin writes the Two to Travel Phaeton’s Journey.   Since they were spending some time near Jacksonville, Florida, I emailed her and invited them to join us.  Knowing that they were early risers, I suggested they arrive at the refuge in the morning so I could give them a tour before dinner.  The refuge was closed for the holiday, so we had the whole place to ourselves.  I believe they had a good time...

Most of us are familiar with the holiday tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.  You know the one with the 12 Drummers drumming, 11 Pipers piping, 10 Lords-a-leaping, 9 Ladies dancing, 8 Maids-a-milking, 7 Swans-a-swimming, 6 Geese-a-laying, 5 Golden Rings…, 4 Calling birds, 3 French hens, 2 Turtle doves, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.  Well, as I’ve been doing my roving time on the refuge, this tune popped into my head and my mind went-a-whirling.  So, for this special night, I give you my rendition.  Most of the photos were taken on Okefenokee NWR, but I had to beef up some pics with photos from Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR, Malheur NWR, and Balcones Canyonlands NWR.  If I were techie enough, I’d provide the music in the background, but you know I’m not.  So, I hope you’ll sing along with me on the last verse of the song, and have as much fun as I did composing it.              ...

It was a chilly 29* this morning as I took Emma for her first outs.  I was sure glad I had dumped the tanks last night and left the grey water valve open so I could leave the kitchen water faucet dripping overnight so the water hose wouldn’t freeze up my water supply.  That worked, and I’ll be doing the same thing tonight as it is forecasted to be even colder. My workday today consisted of roving in the morning, and working the VC in the afternoon.  I had the refuge vehicle heat pumping away as I slowly drove the Swamp Island Wildlife Drive first thing.  I keep the windows down as I move along so I can hear as well as see what might be out and about along the drive.  As you might guess, there weren’t any visitors to talk to, but being the first one on the drive for the day does increase the chances of seeing wildlife in my opinion. I heard that familiar ‘chip’ that made me step on the brakes and turn the engine off.  Sure enough, an endangered red-coc...

The year 2012 ist not over yet and so are not the Royal and noble Weddings in 2012 as on 28./29.12 Nancy will see a big Imperial Wedding. Then Archduke Christoph of Austira, the second son and third child of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and his wife Marie Astird, née Princess of Luxemburg, will there marry his finacée Adélaide Drapé-Frisch. Recently the couple visited Nancy and gave an Interview to the Newspaper´"Le Republiain Lorraine". They told that on the search for the place for their Wedding they looked on Cities like Paris or Brussels but none of this according to their wishes. Then a Family member suggested Nancy and they both liked the Idea very much as the Habsburgs have historic ties to the City. Also the late Archduke Otto married there in 1951. Archduke Christoph also told that they want that the people can share their Wedding and that the doors of the Church will remain open so that people can come in. Adelaide is hoping for a little bit snow for the Weddi...

Yesterday morning it was sunny and warm, but a storm was forecasted to arrive in the late afternoon/early evening.  Oddly enough, the weather guessers were right for a change.  At 2:00, all the volunteers and several staff members loaded up into the big van and headed for Waycross, GA.  That’s where the north entrance to the Okefenokee NWR is.  That entrance is run by a private concessionaire, and we were visiting to experience their holiday lighting.  Tonight’s photos are from that visit. To begin with, we all started down the swamp boardwalk on the way to the elevated observation tower.  The folks in the entrance store said it was a quarter mile walk to the tower.  I figured if I took my time, I could do it, and I sure wanted to see the views from up in the air of the swamp. Well I’m here to tell you that it is more than a quarter mile walk down a boardwalk.  See those stairs at the end of the bridge over the water?  I think just ge...