Shark Valley

As I mentioned in my last post, we recently took a vacation, and it was to a warm spot. Looking out the window at many inches of snow and thinking about a temperature that freezes your nose hairs by the time you get into the truck makes me want to go back to that warm spot. So here's the return, at least a visit of the memories. After a day and a half of travel that included two planes, we arrived in Miami, Florida.

The next day we gathered with family and headed to the Everglades. We wanted to visit Shark Valley, which is in the middle of the river of grass. It is also known for having a lot of alligators, and bicycle riding is a good way to see them up close.

I think this alligator is grinning at my brother, daring him to get closer! Alligators can move at 25-30 mph for short distances. I'm not sure how fast my brother can move.

Some of our group took the two-hour tram ride on the 15-mile loop. The rest of us biked seven miles to the tower and back. It was very warm and humid, but it was flat, so that made the riding relatively easy.

The Everglades is known for its birds. It used to have even more birds, but although the numbers are fewer today, birds are still a frequent sight. Above is an anhinga, also called a snake bird because when it's swimming its body is mostly underwater and its protruding head looks like a snake. After it has been in the water, it often spreads its wings to dry.

We saw over a dozen gators right next to the paved path. Desert Girl was quite concerned, but she felt safe in the bike seat.

This trail near the tower was closed due to high water. A peek down it made it seem quite wild, with many gators hanging out, waiting for a tourist who didn't follow the signs.

We finally got to the tower (in about an hour), and it felt good to get off the bikes and stretch our legs.

A white ibis was busy eating in the wetlands.

The tower is quite high, giving a great vantage point to see more of the Everglades. Coming from a mountainous area, it felt really strange to be in such a flat place.

The sawgrass stretched out as far as the eye could see, with little islands of trees where the elevation gained a few inches. Lending more drama to the scene were big storm clouds, which built every day we were in Florida.

A very tame cormorant sat on the railing the whole time we were on the tower. It even stayed when the tram arrived, with about 50 people all coming up to the tower at the same time.

I'd say that the view was worth hanging out for!

The way back was rather uneventful, with more beautiful birds and plenty of gators. We were fortunately spared mosquitoes--I didn't get a single bite the entire trip.

Even though it was winter, we still saw a few flowers blooming.

This tricolored heron (I think that's what it is) was not bothered by people and continued on its hunt for more food.

I had not been to the Everglades for 12 years, and it sure felt good to be back for a quick visit. I'd like to go back again some day and do some kayaking among the mangrove islands. It is such a fascinating place, and such a different ecosystem than anything else in the U.S.

Next up: more trip memories. Maybe they'll make you feel a little warmer too!

Welcome, Snow!

Sorry for the long hiatus. We went on vacation, and preparations sort of took over my life for the week before the trip, then we were gone for about a week, and now I'm starting to catch up. Just in time for the first major snowstorm of the year! While I was at work today, the vehicles out in the parking lot got dumped on. In fact, it was snowing more than 2 inches an hour at some points during the day.

This all means one thing: SLEDDING! We will be sure to have a sledding adventure soon. I think I might be almost as excited as the kids.

This was the view on my commute home. The snowplows never even reached the state highways near us, not even by 1 pm. I guess the mountain passes on the US highway must have been really bad. Fortunately the snow was light and fluffy, so I was able to plow the van through it. We postponed the Christmas Bird Count till tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to see a lot more birds then!

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

 We've had a very dry November, which means that we can still drive high into the mountains. With that thought in mind, we decided to get a white fir Christmas tree this year. They grow at higher elevations than the pinyon trees we usually get, but with the snow level above 9,000 feet, it wouldn't be  hard to reach them.

It was a really windy day, but we didn't have the rain (or snow) that California and western Nevada were getting. So we kept going up, up, up in the mountains till we saw lots and lots of white firs (Abies concolor). White firs often crowd out aspen trees, so cutting them down can help the health of aspen stands. Probably our one tree didn't do that much good, but it's nice to know that we're potentially providing a little ecosystem service. 

 We conveniently found our white fir along the side of the road. No--Henry isn't peeing on it, he's peeing on the next little white fir!

 Desert Boy agreed to pose next to it before he and his Dad cut it down.

 Meanwhile I walked up the road and saw a few ominous clouds. We would really like some moisture-- it's kind of dry around here, even for a desert!

 Desert Girl was not enjoying all the wind.

 But a few words and she was smiling.

 Timber!!!

 My husband was very happy that we found an easy tree to get. I told him I was okay with going up the road and checking out every single tree, but he said he was fine with this one.

The Christmas tree I remember most as a kid was when we went out to the tree farm close to Christmas. All the normal trees had been cut, so we wandered around until we found one of the strangest, most unloved trees. We declared it ours, and took our Charlie Brown Christmas tree home. It looked weird, but we all liked it.

 Desert Girl helped me tag it. We paid $4 for the Christmas tree tag.

 Ready to take it home!

 Fortunately we have a truck now, so we don't have to cram it into the van like last year. I'm still finding needles from last year's tree!

Then it was time to decorate, which the kids loved. One of the benefits of a white fir is that it is not as pokey as pinyon pines, so it's a lot kinder to the hands for decorating. The ornaments are spaced in clumps right now, but we all think it's the perfect tree!

A Big Leaf Pile

Most of the leaves fell off the trees in some wind storms, so we never got around to raking. Instead, most of the leaves were blown around, with quite a few stopping at the fence. So the other day, when it was relatively warm and calm, we started raking them into a big pile so the kids would have a chance to run and jump into the pile. I remember jumping into leaf piles as one of my favorite things to do as a kid. Desert Boy remembered it from last year and was very excited. He claimed the first jump into the pile.

All smiles!

Then it was Desert Girl's turn. She decided for a long run to build up speed.

Then it was time for the jump.

The kids got some really good exercise. I was content to sit and take photos.

Maybe we'll get another good day to do more jumping into big leaf piles. Then we need to haul the leaves out to the meadow for the cows to eat.

Christmas Wreaths

 Now that Thanksgiving is over (and it was awesome!), we've been decorating a little bit each day to get ready for Christmas. I am ready to see some festive colors, yet I feel like if I decorate all at once, I won't appreciate the decorations. So we started with a wreath. I bought this beauty at the local craft fair. It makes me smile every time I see it.

But that's not our only wreath. Here's the one we put up this afternoon:

 Henry's wreath on his new doghouse! I had the red wreath background, and we went out to one of our bushes that needed trimming and trimmed it, using the cuttings for the wreath. Desert Boy was delighted to staple them on. A nail pounded into the front of the doghouse, and voila, instant brightening.

 Who said a doghouse was only for dogs? Actually, Desert Boy and Desert Girl were busy decorating more of the interior for Henry.

 I convinced Henry to go into the doghouse so I could get a photo of him, but I don't think he liked sharing with two little kids.

Time will tell who will use the doghouse more...the kids or Henry?