Day 43 Birding

ENT BIRDING
I planned to go to Sandhills NWR but I changed my mind and went to Lee County.  I wanted to see if the Eagles I have been keeping tabs on for four years rebuilt the nest since the tree it was in fell down...They didn't or if they did I sure never found it.  

There is this cemetery I enjoy going to cause it's by a lake and it's pretty birdy there.  There is a dirt shortcut road that I can take to cut a little bit off the trip to get to that cemetery...so I noticed a Northern Harrier flying over that road so I took the road he flew down the side for a while then darted down a tract of trees and disappeared...I had stopped to scan the trees thru my rolled down window with my binoculars and when I looked up to continue on I see this white truck coming right at me!! 

So I just sat there to see what the heck....and this man came so close to my van he nearly hit me!! He was basically trying to prevent me from moving forward at all...So I looked at him like..."really"? And he says 'What are you doing'? I dont know this man but so many people who own land with a road going thru think they own the road too!...If it's county maintained then it's open to the public...So I said "well if its any or your business Im looking for a hawk that just flew off that way..." So he says, "Well now I've heard it all." And then he does what all non birders do they try to tell me what they know about birds...he said "the ones you have to watch out for are those darters." I had no intention of making talk with this man so I pulled to the side then left...he was totally creepy. 

WHAT an ass.  I am so sick of rednecks who think they are in charge.  It's getting where you can't even do anything without somebody getting up in your business.  But in the end I did have a good day out birding.  The bird of the day was a Merlin.  I didn't get very good photos of him he was pretty far off the road, and even tho the sun was supposed to shine today it was basically overcast all day.  Not good light for photos.  Then later after checking for the Eagle nest I found a field with about 10,000 Blackbirds!! It was a mixed flock.  Some farmer had just dumped some manure on a couple of fields and the birds were after it. Take a look and this was only on one side of the road about as many again are on the other side of the road.  

I need to start using my tripod so I can get sharper images I can't hold the camera steady enough. 

Day Planner

HERE WILL I SLEEP TOMORROW? 

I decided I would go to the coast area and do some birding and hopefully some camping, but that part may be in a Walmart parking lot! We shall see, with all our parks on Reservation system anymore it's impossible to get a site....and they want $50 So there is a place where it's FCFS but will there be any available spots? I figure I can try...

But mostly I just want to go down and enjoy some leisurely birding, my son is gonna feed the dogs so I don't have to haul them down with me, GOOD because it's going to be 75 tomorrow.

IF I go to the FCFS place first I can bird then stay there overnight and then head north to the next stop on Thursday after I eat breakfast...and then head back home for Thursday night...so I think that will be my plan...AND If I don't get a spot there is a Walmart Superstore in Georgetown, Home Depot, Crackle Barrell, some Lowes, Camping World, all allow over night parking in their lots, I've used Walmart many times in the past on my cross country trips...I generally go to a day use area park, make my food stay till closing time and head out after dark, park and go to sleep.  

It doesn't bother me to not know where I will sleep tomorrow, because I know I will sleep and be safe in my van. 

If I get a spot...I will walk up to the birding areas it's not far in Santee Coastal Reserve, or I have a small tent I could pitch to save my spot IF I get a spot...so we'll see first I gotta get UP and drive 126 miles. So I've already packed the van gassed it up and all I have to do is toss in my overnight bag in the morning and turn the key! OH and I gotta eat breakfast.

I don't think it's gonna be too cold but I have my sleeping bag and a quilt...Maybe I will toss in a  My WOOL blanket JIC. 

So Im excited, this is my first overnight trip in such a long time...I really want to get back into camping BUT since the world went crazy everyone is camping; people who have never camped in their life are now camping and buying big rigs,..it's kinda insane.   I just don't agree with "bringing everything including the kitchen sink." and call that camping.  Its not.  What they have done is pushed the true "camper" out into the woods literally.  Public Lands are not very prevalent here in SC.  We depend on Parks, and Recreation Areas for camping, not it's all big rig friendly and the prices is outrageous. 

I won't rant about that anyways today was nice, I did some early birding, then I came home and made another one of the cages Im building to protect my fruit trees from the deer.  So Now I've got 2 finished,  but I need more of those free pallets to continue...4 pallets made 2 cages, almost I had to add some wood I had in my "stack" ...Next week maybe. 

So you probably won't get a post from me the next couple days...I will catch up when Im back home. 

TTFN. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A solid NINE.

Time well spent?

EDNESDAY already, 

I told my son just the other day, "I wish I could convey to you just how short our life time is."

There is no way to tell someone that they have to be able to compare it,,,but when I told him  his father was 2 yrs younger than he is when we met,,,His eyes opened up pretty dang wide. 

His father  has been  gone 28 months already.  Time just is not on our side, yet we spend so much of it doing what?  Living in fear, being in a bad relationship, addicted, lonely, poor, wearing an ego, with a fake personality, in the wrong job, the wrong town, the wrong time zone.  Some  in the wrong body, with the wrong sex with the wrong sex partner.  

Makes one wonder...by the time we discover who and what we are it's too damn late.  I guess it's that learning process that is our life.  Just when we get it all figured, have that one or two light bulb moments and then out out swift candle. 

Anyways, what would I have been?  I can't say to be honest.  I did find something that I was very good at and made a decent living doing it for nearly 30 yrs so there is that.  Somethings   I'd rather have spent more years being single on the front end of my life.  By the time I realized marriage was so confining I was committed.  

So today I went birding early it's cold so I bundled up almost like the kid in A Christmas Story.  Thank goodness I didn't fall down probably couldnt have gotten up...lol. 

Im home now but it's cold in here.  Ive gotten lazy and have not cut any wood for a while, so I pay by having cold feet.   

Lots of sparrow at the place where I went today, its a Wildlife Management Area, mostly kept  for hunters I think Im the only one who birds there...It's close by but it's hard getting around in there cause they plow the darn paths which means very uneven ground..so I was pretty worn out after 2 hrs of that.  

America's playing on the cd player.  So funny they all met and formed a band while in England with their American Army families. So that's why they called themselves America.  I loved them from day one. I did see them on stage, In 2000, I saw other big ticket bands, like the Eagles, John Denver, Tom Jones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a few more. 

Here's a photo of me meeting John Denver backstage in Lincoln Neb, in 1982. I can't recall what I was asking him. I think I would have enjoyed being a groupie running around in a VW van with flowers in my hair,   

Also met him backstage in Philadelphia in 1990's and mom was with me so she met him also we didn't get any photos of that one.  I met him about 5 times in all,  My sister worked at his Windstar foundation as a cook for 2 yrs...