new

new job - it starts today at 8am. 8 months of training. then several months spent on review and then finally, you're free. i am worried about a few things. will i find a parking spot. how much will the damn spot cost me? i really wanted to take the bus---but unfortunately the schedule just does not work out with the training hours. after class ends, perhaps. i worry about what to wear. i am so freakin' anal I actually have in my closet 8 outfits put together already to take me through the next 8 workdays. i worry to much about some stuff.

i haven't been sleeping well this weekend. nervous about what is to come, excited about what may happen in the future.

last night was a beauty. ran over to karen's to give her the Amish baby blankie i picked up in jamesport. they are all doing well. just a few short weeks and amelia will make her appearance into this world. a new person, a new life, a million possibilities. told brian he needed to be a park ranger and work for the MO dept of natural resources. it would just be fabulous if he thought he could live around here. like fixing the past. you can't ever reclaim what's gone, but you can make your present world the way you want it to be in many, many ways.

by the way, jordy drove all the way to karen and ricks. we almost slammed into somebody at a stoplight, but other than that she got 1-1/2 hours of driving time in, and did pretty well on the highway. we practiced parking in an empty parking lot.

i spent about an hour on the patio last night reading 'return of the king'. just all comfy and spread out on the new furniture out there, with my amaretto and seven and I read outside until darkness forced me back in. and, the neighbors were all behaving themselves! no crazy yelling going on.

movies we watched this week that i will have to watch again,
Gattaca
Othello

Loose Park

After I got back from Squaw Creek, then John and I headed over to Loose Park to see the last of the season's roses.
This shot of the trees needs a person in it. Oh well. I still like it.

Ducks and geese.

A quiet spot.

Okay, let me talk about these turtles (see the ducks in the bushes?). They would climb up on this little concrete ramp. Ducks would decide it was time to swim and just slide down, knocking some or all of the turtles off. Then the turtles would climb back! It was hilarious.

There were two weddings happening that we saw at the rose garden. The first had a bagpipe and guitar player. The second couple arrived as we were leaving, in a REAL ROLLS ROYCE - steering wheel on the right and everything. About 200 feet away, just walking away to our car, we heard a computerized voice that said "for security purposes you may not photograph this car.. please step away..." Something like that.

A Mini Road Trip up to Squaw Creek

Saturday I had a really great trip up north to Squaw Creek NWR. I was fully loaded with binocular in one hand, and camera in the other (plus Off bug spray and a water bottle!).

It was a fabulous day for it. The sky was clear blue and the temperature in the morning hours was still pretty cool. I spent about an hour and a half making the 12 mile loop around the refuge. I only ran into a very few people. I talked to an older gentleman from Nebraska who was wondering about eagles. I told him he'd have to come back in January or February for that. Told him I was hoping to see some migrating ducks. I did see one diving duck that I couldn't identify yet. Here are some of the pictures.

First we have an Eastern Wood Pewee. Isn't he cute? On the last leg of the 12 mile loop, the drive takes one through a wooded area. I heard some bird chirping noises, so I just stopped the car and turned off the motor to listen. Couldn't see anything with my binocular though. This little fellow, after about 10 minutes of just sitting there, decided he had to find out more. He flitted to a few different trees near my car to get a closer look. Or maybe he was just posing for me!


I was so amazed to see Great Egrets on our Louisiana trip in August and guess what! There were a few at Squaw Creek. I saw 3 for sure. Their summer range extends all the way up the plains. These are probably the last few around though. I am sure they wil be heading back south very soon!

Here we have an American Coot and some unidentified diving birds.

These are my favorite shots of the day. They are both of a Great Blue Heron I was observing from the loop. The second shot shows him taking off and I love the picture of the wings outstretched. What a gorgeous pattern.

So, all-in-all it was a very nice trip. I have to go up again in a week or two and see if there are more migrating birds. The Pewee and the Egret are summer birds, so I think the migrations are yet to come. I am looking forward to a trip out to Quivira NWR in October to hopefully catch sight of a whooping crane. At least the sandhill cranes if not the other.