Adventures of Melissa Wood ~~ Pet Sitter, Traveler, Nature & Animal Lover, Photographer

Well the property owners are set to leave for Europe in a week.  So I am really enjoying being here and “not working” yet!  Don’t have to walk the dog or do any cat-related duties yet.  So I’m not officially house or pet sitting yet; just enjoying the house and the grounds and hanging out by the river.  The time will come soon enough, that I will be BUSY!  So I’m enjoying the peacefulness of this place and so grateful to be here.

Well before the property owners leave on their trip, I decided that I would take one last final trip before I am tied-down to a house and unable to do any traveling.  So the last few days, went down to the Rio Grande Valley to see a friend.  Specifically, went to Weslaco, Mission, McAllen, South Padre Island, etc.

I left on Tuesday, April 21st and drove down.  Saw a few Red-Tail Hawks on telephone poles as I went.  Also, saw a Crested Cara Cara and a few Green Jays.  Made it to Weslaco, but then promptly left and drove down to South Padre Island.  I had never been before, but it sure is alot different than Port Aransas!  First of all the bridge you have to cross to get there is long and I’m not a fan of bridges!  But it worked out alright.  The beach was really beautiful and clean and the water very blue (again unlike Port Aransas).  But the island itself is VERY crowded.  Obviously lots of hotels and condos; I’m sure during Spring Break that place is crazy!  Very “touristy” and definitely not my kind of place.

But nevertheless, wanted to watch the ocean for awhile so first, went to a place called “Wanna Wanna” and had a beer and sat and watched a paraglider guy try to fight the wind.  He did pretty well, but in the end I think he just got tired of the wind and called it a day.

Next went to “Wahoo Saloon” which is on the inland side of the island.  It was an awesome place to sit and have a drink and watch the sun go down.  I highly recommend it, but be sure to get there early.  Here’s some pics I took while relaxing with a Bailey’s:

Sunset-South Padre Island

Sunset-South Padre Island

On the way back, stopped at Port Isabel Lighthouse.  Unfortunately, they were closed and it was close to dark and could not snap any pictures. But it looks like a very cool little place with ecclectic little shops and restaurants.  Definitely will have to go back there.

On Wednesday, I got up and went to the “World Birding Center-Estero Llano Grande” in Weslaco. 

Estero Llano Grande State Park

This was a bird lovers paradise.  Very lush lands, lots of water, covered deck for watching the wildlife and lots of trails.  I saw several “new” birds for me that I can now officially add to my list.  Overall, I logged 30 different species of birds, but I was only able to get two pictures of birds…..Couch’s Kingbird and Sora Rail:

Couch's Kingbird

Sora RailEstero Llano Grande State Park

In addition to the birds, also saw this Red-Eared Slider and Rabbit:

Red Eared Slider

Bunny

And for me, the coolest part about my visit to this park was this lizard, eating another lizard.  It took alot of digging and several emails to the park officials to identify this lizard.  But apparently it’s called a Rose-Bellied Lizard.  It was determined that it was a juvenile, but it’s still a cool looking lizard!  Be sure to click on the picture so that it zooms in; the detail on the lizard is pretty amazing!

Rose-Bellied Lizard

Wednesday, April 23rd I decided to visit the Harlingen Arroyo Colorado Refuge in Harlingen, Texas.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of any birds, but I enjoyed the walk which was partially on the Colorado River.  Then I went to “The Thicket” which apparently is a new place in Harlingen called the Harlingen Thicket Bird Sanctuary.  It’s still under some development, but there are lots of trails there too.  I had the 40 acres all to myself and roamed around alot, but didn’t see or hear much.  I did capture this cool picture of an old railroad bridge.

The Thicket

From there, I drove all the way back to McAllen and went to Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center in McAllen, Texas.  This was a gorgeous facility.  The building itself was beautiful, but the grounds were immaculate.  It wasn’t very large, but there were some great little trails and the birds were abundant. 

Chacalaca

Golden-Fronted Woodpecker

Great Kiskadee(s)

Well I’m finally all moved in; out of my apartment; everything (well almost everything) is in storage and I am finally feeling like I’m settled.  And I’m tired!  But I’ve been enjoying the wildlife around here.   There is a very large Pecan and Cypress tree out in the back of the house, right next to the San Antonio River.  The Egrets and Herons love to sleep in that tree, so I’ve been busily snapping some pictures around here:

Black Crowned Night Heron

Little Blue Heron

Well today is the day and already have a problem.  Movers were supposed to come at 10:00.  By 10:30 I started calling.  Looooonnnngggg story, but suffice it to say that someone finally called me back about 11:30 and said they weren’t coming.  Some BS story about a traffic accident.  Don’t use ACE Movers in San Antonio…they totally dropped the ball and what’s worse, no one ever called me back to apologize or anything.

So Plan B.  Fortunately, I had saved information from when I had called about getting a moving company several weeks ago.  So I frantically searched my list and called “All My Son’s Moving & Storage” (210) 225-8700.  I explained my story to Greg and he was able to get someone to come to my house within a few hours.  The moving guys came when they said (and in fact ended up being early) and moved all my belongings into Storage.  Overall, it was a great experience with them and I highly recommend them.

So I am all moved in and excited about the house and pet sitting opportunity here.  Here’s to a great summer!

After an exhausting day of moving things to storage and going back and forth between storage and my apartment, I’m finally at my new house.  Official moving day is in 2 days, but my bedding and everything is already packed up and in storage, which is the reason why I have moved into this house 2 days earlier.  I didn’t have anywhere to sleep!  It’s wonderful that my property owners have allowed me to move in a  few days early….it really helped me out! 

So I’m here and exhausted.  Decided to sit outside down on the overlook of the San Antonio River. 

Sitting on the San Antonio River

It’s  a very nice spot down here and I can watch various birds flitting about.  After awhile, I realized there were several large birds in the Cypress Tree.  Turns out they were lots of different species of Herons and Egrets:  Snowy Egrets, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, etc.  Also there were lots of warblers around, but I couldn’t see any of them well enough to identify!  I’m hope soon I’m able to get pictures of them.

Also, got to do one of my favorite things which is to feed the seagulls and walk on the beach and listen to the ocean.  Also, went to my favorite birding spot…..Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center.  Got some great pics:

Alligator

Pied-Billed Grebe

Tri-Colored Heron

Great Blue Heron

Roseate Spoonbill

Northern Shoveler