Inspiring Tour

Every tram tour we give at Santa Ana NWR is different--not because the refuge or the information we relate change but because the people we are talking to are different. Yesterday I had a challenging, and very rewarding, group for one tour. The nine riders included a group of seven from an outpatient pain management clinic and two serious birders. In addition, most of the folks from the clinic spoke only Spanish. I speak none.

To begin with, I asked the young woman who worked for the clinic to translate. That turned out to be a cumbersome proposition. I could tell that the people could understand at least some of what I said, so eventually, I decided to simplify what I said and let the environment speak for itself. We had a good time.

Since the folks from the clinic were all Valley residents, they shared some of their own experiences with the plants of the refuge. I pointed out the mistletoe and explained that the white fruit is toxic to humans but the Cedar Waxwing birds eat it and get drunk, but recover. One woman told me, through the interpreter, that on her ranch they would make a tea from that fruit and give it to their horses as a pain medicine after the mares gave birth.

I learned that the beans from the Texas Ebony tree, when green, taste a lot like garbanzo beans. I also learned that locals eat the armadillo and the javelina. The javelina or collared peccary tastes like pork or chicken, they said.

One man was very familiar with the plants that grow here. He would tell me their Spanish name, often crushing a leaf to smell it before telling me what it was. At the Rio Grande, he told the interpreter to explain to me that "his belly button was buried on the other side of the river." Everyone laughed and I asked, "Does that mean he was born in Mexico?" "Yes, that means his umbilical cord was buried there."

Most of those patients were dealing with back injuries, one with a knee injury. But every one of them took both walks on the tour. I'm not sure they were that interested in the refuge but they were very interested in living life while managing their pain. They were a real inspiration.

In addition, the two birders, seniors citizens like we are, were also inspired.

Foggy Morning

Monday morning it was foggy as we did our 3-mile run at the Santa Ana Refuge. Dew clung to everything. We especially enjoyed these spider webs, two among many along the Wildlife Drive.





I don't care for spiders, but their webs are sure part of the beauty of God's creation.

The Chachalacas were sure noisy along both sides of the road. We didn't see any till we were almost back to our truck, but there were really loud as the talked to their friends along the way. This bird is large and brown and lives from the Rio Grande Valley south into Costa Rica.

Finally, we spotted this group of 7 in a tree. It isn't a very good photo.



Look here for some better photos of these birds.

End of the Year

We really enjoyed the folks we ate with Christmas Day at the VDO Christmas dinner.



We had chosen a table in a small side room off the main ballroom, hoping it wouldn't be quite so loud and John (with his hearing aides) could hear better. And it worked.



Thursday we picked up my new glasses. Since we arrived during the lunch hour and they were closed, we spent some time looking at airplanes nearby. The optometrist's office is next to Falcon Field, a small-plane airport. This old plane looks like it might have been from World War II.



There also was a company that manufactures and repairs helicopters. Tthis one won't be going anywhere soon.



We watched this chopper land and refuel.



We felt like we were in a time warp when we saw this restored Ford convertible. Is it a 1955 model?



Friday we took one last hike in the Sonoran Desert at Usery Mountain Regional Park. The desert is so pretty there.



The cholla and saguaro are great.



Most trails in the park are multi-use, so in addition to other hikers, we encountered people on horseback.



And mountain bikers.



When it was quiet, John tried out the binoculars we bought ourselves for Christmas. We will be doing a lot of bird watching at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, so we needed a second pair. They give a better view than our old, smaller pair.