Fishing on Granada / part 2

Rosie and I fished on lake Granada - in the wind again! However, I did manage to catch a 3 lb bass. Fun!

Pileated Woodpecker Visits Our Backyard

The biggest woodpecker in our area - the pileated woodpecker - has visited our backyard several times over the past week.  Maybe the colder weather has them looking more places for food.  Pileated really likes the peanut butter mixture in the log feeder - smart bird with good taste!  The pileated woodpecker is about 16.5" from head to end of his tail; a good sized bird.


Here he is on our log feeder.

By accident we got a picture of the pileated flying away from the log feeder.

This one is working on the pine tree.  Bark really starts flying when the pileated is hard at work hunting for food.  Don't you love his hair"do"!

Rosie got some good pictures with her phone camera of two pileated woodpeckers on a tree in the back.

Looks like they're playing "peek-a-boo" in this picture.

Pileated is an awesome looking bird; almost like something out of prehistoric times.  Glad they decided to visit our area.

20-JAN-2012 / Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge w/ the HSV Audubon Society

On Friday, 20-JAN, Rosie and I traveled with the HSV Audubon Society on a field trip led by Maury and Barbara Baker to the Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge.  Holla Bend is about 60 miles from HSV (up AR Hwy 7) and near Petit Jean State Park.  The weather was rather overcast/foggy and cool; we expected the fog to burn-off, but it never did.  However, in spite of the weather, we had a pretty good birding day.  We saw 47 species of birds.

We saw a lot (est. of 1000+) of double-crested cormorants on the Arkansas river.  They formed up in a V-shape and flew close to the water.

In this picture, the cormorants are flying up and over the little peninsula that sticks out into the river.

It was also interesting to see a lot of white pelicans flying with the cormorants.

We also saw a lot of snow geese, mallard ducks, eastern meadowlarks and red-winged blackbirds.  One of our HSV members, Paul Winberg, got some good photos of a hawk and bald eagle.  Great job Paul!

Holla Bend seems to be hawk heaven.  We enjoyed watching them hunt.  We had a great day trip with the Audubon group.  Thanks to Maury and Barbara for leading the group!

GUS - Our Newest Grand Puppy

Meet Gus:

He's the latest addition to Doug and Ashley's house.  Gus, a yorkiepoo, is 4 pounds of ferocious according to Doug.  He's a real cutie and is already Mama's boy.

Fishing on Lake Granada

The temp was nice but the wind was chilly. Managed to catch one small bass.

Visitng the Karen and Family in Dickinson, TX / DEC 31 - JAN 03

Our drive from Ft. Hood over to Dickinson was easy - thanks to the EZ Pass from Chris.  We arrived in Dickinson before lunch.  We then jumped into their pickup and headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch.  We ate and the kids enjoyed playing.

That afternoon while Kayleigh had her nap, Logan, Karen, Gram and I enjoyed playing the game Mouse Trap.  We played several rounds and had a great time.

On Sunday morning we went to Magnolia Creek Baptist Church for morning worship services.  Karen sang with the praise team and had to leave early.  Gram and I had fun bathing Logan and Kayleigh and getting them ready for church.  Here they are all dressed up and looking good!

Good helper dog, Bug, was always in the kitchen when there was cooking in progress.  He didn't want to miss the action.  He's so big it's hard for him to maintain a "low profile."

That night we had an fun session of Uno Attack.  Logan won the first two hands!  I think the machine liked him.

The Flachmans got a trampoline for Christmas.  Logan and Kayleigh are enjoying bouncing around.

Hey, look guys - I can levitate!

Karen is catching some serious air under this leap.  Love that hair!

On Tuesday morning Gram and I got to take Logan and Kayleigh to school.  After dropping them off, we started the drive home to Arkansas.  On the way back to HSV, we stopped at Lufkin to eat lunch.  Across the road, Rosie saw an oil pumper decorated to look like a reindeer.  It was also pulling Santa in a sleigh which you can't see in the picture.  When we saw this we thought, "only in Texas."

Flachman clan - we had a great visit.  Hope to see all of you again soon!

Visiting Chris and Family at Ft. Hood / DEC 26-30

On the Monday after Christmas, we drove from HSV to Killeen, TX (Ft. Hood) to visit with Chris, Amy, Adam and Lottie.  Santa had come and the Christmas excitement (or frenzy) was winding down.  Since the after Christmas sales were in full swing, we headed to a local mall with Amy.  Rosie, Adam and Lottie are "chilling" in the mall.

 

Adam and Lottie enjoyed modeling their new PJs.  Looking good!

When Dad came home, Adam enjoyed wearing his hat.  Almost a good fit!

We went for a drive around Lake Belton to see the Christmas lights all around the lake.  It was a really fun drive with lots of lights.  Here are a few samples of the lights:

Amy is a great train track builder.  Here she is helping Adam put his train and city together.

On Friday we visited the Railroad and Heritage Museum in Temple, TX.  It was a neat place to visit.  Inside they had a lot of history about trains and a Christmas model train display.

Outside, there were real trains to look at and climb on.  Adam and Lottie are on the engine.

They even got to climb inside the engine.  "Lookout down the track!"

Gram enjoyed her trip through the engine.

The Museum also has a playground attached.  It was very popular with the kids.  Chris is pushing Adam and Lottie (plus another unidentified kid) on the tire swing.

After the Museum we drove down to Austin and had lunch at Chuy's - delicious!  The kids got ice cream push-ups for dessert as part of their meal.  Lottie is enjoying her push-up.

Thanks for the fun visit!  Now it's on to Dickinson and the Flachman clan.