NATURE/NURTURE

About a week ago my friend Jane picked me up to take a little ride on SH 29, out past Buchanan Dam. We were going on that cold, gray morning to try to get a glimpse of the pair of nesting Bald Eagles who recently had been featured in the local newspapers. Jane had seen them several times, as they have been something of a tourist attraction since they first began trekking to Nesting Tree No. 5259 seven years ago. I took my camera and wished for a little sunshine. I didn't get my wish, but I took a few photos anyway. My camera does not have the zoom capability to get close shots, but if you look carefully, you can see the "papa" (my own gut feeling) doing watch duty as "mama" was off hunting for food. The little bumps sticking up out of the nest are the chicks, who were born in December... early due to the warmer weather we had back then.

After watching and talking to other bird watchers on the scene for a good little bit, we decided to get back into the warm car. I had placed my camera in the car when suddenly "look, look, look" -- we all got excited as the female returned to the nest. I could see something long dangling from her beak.. like a snake, but this is the wrong time of year for snakes, isn't it? As she settled into the huge nest, the male suddenly decided to go do a little hunting himself. He swooped over us as he headed toward the other side of the road. It was a wonderful experience. I was enchanted and couldn't stop thinking of them on the way home.

There are an estimated 1,000 Bald Eagles who overwinter in Texas now. Many are around the lakes, and there is even a river tour (the Vanishing River Cruise which travels on the Colorado River and into Lake Buchanan -- closed now due to last year's drought) that draws tourists from all over to glimpse these magnificent birds. I plan to go back to Nesting Tree No. 5259 in the next week or two as the chicks will begin to fledge (don't I sound knowledgeble?) and I would love to see their first attempts at flight.

As my thoughts are still so very full of the plight of the Haitian people, I couldn't help but think of the Bald Eagle as representing the United States, watching over Haiti and assisting her until she gets her wings and can fly on her own. We must not forget..

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My daughter Carajean and her family went to Oaxaca, Mexico the week before Christmas, along with one of Branch's sisters, Estelle and her family. This was an "adventure tour" carried out by the same tour company that planned and took them on their tour of the rainforests in Costa Rica a few years back. The tour included a hike up a 10,000 foot mountain, then bicycling down the mountain, a four hour kayaking trip, as well as lots of sightseeing and nights spent in different villages. Their accommodations left a lot to be desired in some of the locations. Carajean wrote the following:
"On Christmas Eve, we hiked 8 miles in 85 degree heat to a very small, primitive village (can't remember the name). Animals everywhere, dirt floors in all the houses, no windows, everything exposed. Our cabin for the night was concrete, no door to bathroom, so when you sat on the 'throne' you looked out upon your very lucky roomies. That was pure luxury compared to how the locals lived. After our hike, we spent the remainder of the day at the beach fighting the waves, playing volleyball and eating lots of hot sauce, guacamole and chips. This seemed to be a very bohemian style beach with cannibus aromas in the air and young adults setting up their pup tents for the night." The picture at right gives you an idea of their bathroom. When we spoke, Carrie told me of one place they stayed that was infested with big centipedes. You have to really want to have an adventure to put up with that. Branch's sister Estelle didn't sleep that night, I'm told.

They did lots of touristy things like watching woodcarvers and potters, visiting very old churches, ruins, and even a Mezcal distillery, where one of the kiddos decided to try a shot, followed by eating the worm on a slice of lime. Uggghh..

They took many great photographs of their trip, but my favorite ones (besides my grand-children, of course) were the ones they took on Christmas morning. This is what Carrie wrote about that morning:

"Our Christmas present from our guide was a very early morning turtle hatchling release. A local family has been rescuing turtle nests for years on a volunteer basis. They follow the turtle tracks, dig up the eggs (75 per nest), move them to their sanctuary (fenced and covered in palm leaves) and release them when the turtles are ready. The turtles were gray with little wrinkly necks and big black eyes. They would come so close to drifting off to sea only to get swept back to the beach getting their heads stuck in the sand. No wonder only one to two survive per nest. We all felt so privileged to have experienced such a glorious Christmas Morning."

These are the new hatchlings before being released.

And there they go, on their way to sea!
(with a little help from their friends)

I can only imagine the joy of my grandson Tanner during that experience, as he first became interested in "Save the Turtles" when he was seven years old. Big sister Audrey is majoring in environmental law at SMU, and is an animal rights activist as well. This will be in their memories until they are old and gray! What a wonderful family vacation.

How would you like to have an aloe vera plant the size of this one?? (On the left!) The girls are from left to right: Sterling (their cousin), and two of my granddaughters, Ashlyn and Audrey.

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My younger son Matthew knows how to have an adventure without ever leaving the state. He, wife Amy, and Travis and Kelly loaded up the camping gear and dirt bikes during a recent 4-day break from the kids' schools and headed to a campground near Marble Falls. Their friends and neighbors, Chris and Elizabeth and their son Collin joined them. The weather was much, much colder than the original forecast, but like hardy pioneers, they stayed the entire time. I ventured out on Sunday afternoon to join them. I nixed spending the night, though, as it was too cold for these achy bones! Matthew calls this "Camp Easy". Nothing "easy" about living like this, tho! I watched as Elizabeth built a good, hot fire, finding a big rock to place in it on which to cook their "beer butt" chickens. Seems you use a can filled with beer and spices to set in the chicken's tail side, stand them up on a grill and let cook. I don't know how long they had to cook, but I'll bet it was quite some time. Talk about roughing it!
While we women stayed warm by the fire (it was only 32 degrees), the guys were out riding. Chris on his bicycle and Matthew on a dirt bike. There are numerous trails throughout this site. Chris planned to ride a dirt bike the next day.

(Elizabeth at left.)

You can see one of Matt's dirt bikes in the rear of the picture of him and Amy below. She had just been for a ride on a 4-wheeler and had mud on her jacket. Matt was chilled from the ride he just made:
The wise ones in the whole crew were Kelly and Grandmommy. We snuggled in one of the bunks in their camper and read a book while warming our tootsies by the heater:
The boys, Travis and Collin, spent the time while I was there doing what boys do... They were throwing sticks for the Golden Retriever Luna to do what retrievers do, and testing their own strength by breaking (tree) limbs on a big pile of rocks. Collin's Lab, Tucker, was an enthusiastic puppy, while Amy's poodle, Sophie had to be confined to the camper most of the time. Her little white furry body didn't fare well in the muddy woods that trip. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Amy and Elizabeth sat by the fire and even knitted when things were calm.

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I want to share a photo of Anat. She and older son Craig have been an "item" for quite some time now. Although I have yet to meet her, I hear such glowing things about her from Craig that I really look forward to meeting her. She is from Israel, but has been here for over 20 years, and has a daughter who attends Texas Tech in Lubbock. As she and Craig both live in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, I don't believe I'll be getting any "nature" photos from them. However, "nurture" seems to fit these two. She is a real beauty (and Craig tells me she has as many or more "knick knacks" than I do!).. They both look very happy, don't they?

Before I close, a gentle reminder to please remember our Haitian neighbors -- either with your prayers or your pocketbooks or both. Efforts to raise more money for them now include Quincy Jones doing a new version of "We Are the World". I can't wait to hear it!

The good stuff in life truly is made up of nature and nurture!
Peace and love,
Marilyn