Not a wasted morning, after all

 Since mid-August my right knee has been hurting--not bad enough to go to urgent care somewhere, but enough that when we got settled here in Arizona, I  made an appointment with our doctor to see what is wrong.  With orders for an MRI, this morning we drove to the Banner Gilbert Imaging facility.  Guess what?  I forgot to bring the doctor's orders and since it is Saturday, they weren't able to get it directly from that office.  I have rescheduled for Monday.

We decided to try and make the best of the situation so we went walking at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, a place we have been many times.

The preserve was packed with families with children and others but we still saw a lot of birds.  With no wind, I was able to capture some amazing reflections.  

The biggest surprise was seeing this roseate spoonbill.  Since it likes to feed in salt marshes, Arizona is not it's normal habitat.  We weren't sure how it got here.  A couple of women birdwatchers said it must have gotten lost.  It belongs in Florida or along the Texas Gulf Coast.

We saw many black-necked stilts.  They look like they are wearing a tuxedo, don't they.  

There are three stilts in this photo--or is it 6?

We also saw Canada geese and some egrets.

Could you ask for a more perfect reflection photo?

We enjoyed our morning walk, that is for sure.

There was more to see at St. Vrain State Park than reflections. Of course bird watching is always rich with all that water around. At first I thought this might be an otter or muskrat. What do you think?

As we walked a little further it went underwater. When it appeared again we were looking at a cormorant. It had been looking underwater for something to eat. You could have fooled me at first glance.

We also saw pelicans.

As we walked around Bald Eagle Pond, we thought we might be looking at eagles.

But nearby there was a nest platform. When I checked it out with my zoom lens I realized it was an osprey nest.

On the far side of the park, we saw some old abandoned ranch buildings.

It was a great place to spend a few days.

Cindy Comes to Visit

John's sister Cindy arrived Monday afternoon for a week-long visit. We want her to see how we live in our winter home and experience life in a "55+ Active Adult" community. She flew into the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport, coming from the Colorado Springs airport. We were delighted her tickets were to this airport, which is much closer to our place than Sky Harbor in central Phoenix.

We checked the arrival board and saw her plane was on it's way. So we sat down to wait.

We saw her walking into the terminal area.

Tuesday, we showed her around our resort.

Then we were off to Best Buy so Cindy could buy her very first iPad! She and John opened all the packages on our dining room table.

Then John began to set up the tablet, with Cindy watching the process.

We were all exhausted after all that concentration, so we all went to bed early.

Today, we spent time at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, checking out the birds.

Cindy brought warm,sunny  weather--finally. We are enjoying the weather snowbirds come to Arizona to enjoy. And it was fun to see all the ducks and other water birds. We have all walked over 3 and 1/2 miles, so we will probably be tired this evening, as well.

Birds Galore

Arizona is a hot spot of birds and we have found lots of places to go bird watching. However, the communities were we stay while here are not usually a good place to see them. We are surrounded by people and vehicles. Last week was an exception, however.

During my morning walk one day, I saw a whole flock of Gamble's quail scurrying across the road.

On another day, John and I saw a veritable convention of doves. They seen to prefer looking down on us.

Memphis

We've been exploring some pretty serious stuff recently, so Sunday we went to downtown Memphis to just relax and see the sights. We enjoyed the time. As we walked down main street, we saw lots of pretty and interesting things, like this alley or courtyard.



Many signs were interesting or colorful, like this one for a New Orleans restaurant.



How about this sign on a store that sold exercise balls?



How do you write with this pencil?



We walked to Court Square, a little oasis in the middle of downtown that reminded us a little to Savannah, Georgia.



There was a nice fountain in the center.



We saw a number of city dwellers taking their daily run on downtown sidewalks and one man was laying on the lawn in the square, doing his exercises.

The Main Street Trolley ran on tracks in the middle of the street. There were many different kinds and colors of trollies. You can click on the collage to see them better.



On the way from Main Street to Beale Street, we saw The King, Elvis himself--or at least a good statue of him.



Memphis calls itself the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. Beale street is where much of that music was developed. It is quite an experience, even late Sunday morning. There are lots neon signs and memorabilia of the 1950s and 1960s.













How about a toilet seat with a pink Cadillac  on the cover?



Or a Chevy Bel Air pink and white convertible?



Memphis barbeque is all about pork. The Pig is a Beale Street restaurant and they have won lots of BBQ contests.





We walked a couple of blocks along Beale to the Mississippi River, where John got ready to beat his feet in the Mississippi mud.



We even went bird watching in Memphis---indoors! We went to see the Peabody ducks.



And we weren't the only people watching.



The ducks spend their day in the beautiful lobby of the grand old Peabody Hotel.



To learn more about the ducks, click on Peabody Ducks.