No Moose In North Alabama

We spent the New Year's weekend with Joel and Anna. There were no moose to be found .

Joel and I went to Wheeler Refuge to see what sort of water fowl might be wintering there. We got an eye full. There were very few opportunities to take any meaningful pictures. Ducks and geese are generally a long way out from the shore. We did see several hundred, if not more than a thousand, Sandhill Cranes. Here are two shots. The first is a close view of 3 Sandhills.

This picture shows several cranes in flight. Because I was using a zoom lens I could only get a few in the frame compared to the hundreds that were flying overhead.

Here is a furry friend we saw along the way. I'm not certain what sort of squirrel this is. His belly is quite yellowish-orange.


After going through the refuge we ended up in Decatur, Alabama, a place where I lived between ages 6 and 7 or so. I called mom and dad to see how they were doing and told them what street I was on. It turned out that I was only a few blocks from my old house. They gave me the address and we drove by it. Here is a picture.

I have lots of memories from our time at this house. If I am not mistaken, my room was the window on the right. Dad showed me how to cut grass in the front yard and a nut, probably a hickory nut, flew out and hit me in the leg on my second or third attempt to cut a straight row. I believe I quit cutting after that until a few years later. In the back was an alley where I rode my bike. One day I was riding, fell, and cut my head open which required stitches. Come to think of it, it is probably good that we moved from here. I was getting injured all the time!

Finally, I have to show off the dessert tray that Nan prepared for a get together. I thought it was really pretty. The cheesecake around the edge is Nan's mom's speciality. This dessert was gone pretty quickly.

Not sure when the next moose quest will occur. Stay tuned and Happy New Year to all our good friends and family - even to those of you who just happen by.