Sunday, March 9, 2014

LouTex Day 15

March 9, 2014

It rained all night and rained all morning, so we spent it warm inside with very fast Internet. Finally, after lunch, we set out for two treats (one for me).

The first, for me, was a trip to the Academy Sports Store (two pairs of capris ON SALE!).

The second was a trip to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary. The drive towards the Rio Grande location was interesting through a purely Mexican strip of shops, restaurants, churches and houses. Then there was a short drive among cabbage fields and acres of fencing north of the border:

1-DSCN66771-DSCN6678

We were also passed by a Border Patrol truck. Through a gate and then we were confronted by this lovely site:

1-DSCN6668

This is one of the last River Plantations and was supported by the Audubon Society for 30 years. Now, it is in the hands of the Gorgas Science Foundation which is in the throes of reviving the house as a Visitors Centre and maintaining a Butterfly Garden and those beautiful Sabal Palms:

1-DSCN6675

…and four miles of hiking trails. We didn’t hike since, surprise surprise, the time had changed and the centre was going to close soon.

BUT we got a real treat: a view of a Great Horned Owl nesting in one of the Sabals:

1-DSCN6671

So, a lazy, quiet and pretty cold (50F) day ended with that surprise! And the Parrots flew over as well.

Here’s another view from my chair (I cropped out the dumpsters right beside this little vignette):

1-DSCN6664

No comments:

Post a Comment