I Live in a Beautiful Part of the Country!

I have a confession to make. Yesterday, I posted that hubby and I had gone fishing. Well, the plan was to go fishing, but we ended up not going. There was a slight problem in my obtaining a fishing license. I didn't realize that our town office was closed on Mondays and I couldn't get one until later. So, we opted to do something different with our day.

One of the nice things about an unplanned vacation (meaning we don't have definite plans, basically we're winging it) is that you can change your mind on the spur of the moment. It doesn't matter, it's all fun!

One thing I do know is that I am blessed that I live in a beautiful part of the country.

Since fishing was out of the question hubby and I went to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We've been there before, but this trip was well worth it. In the past, we've seemed to visit this wonderful refuge in the midst of a summer heat wave. There isn't too much wildlife milling around in hot and humid weather.

We saw our share of thriving wildlife at every turn of the wheels on the van. It was so exciting and thrilling.

Ospreys build their nests on top of telephone poles, or maybe even a power line. From where I was viewing them, I would say the nests are large enough for a human to stand upright in them.

Before we entered the park, hubby and I pulled the van over by the side of the road and waited. We were watching the huge nest on top of a particular power line, because we could make out (with binoculars) the tippy top of an osprey's head just over the lip of the nest. I finally decided to snap a picture and the osprey just happened to take flight right at that moment.





They are an amazing bird of prey. Their wing span can reach up to five feet. I believe this particular specimen probably meets that footage or even surpasses it.

Once we entered the park, we fiested our eyes upon several Canadian geese. They are everywhere within the refuge's boundaries. There is a wide assortment of ducks that float, dive and swim across the main pond.

As we were driving along the trail (you can only drive, not walk), we saw numerous Great Blue Herons making their way down the refuge's canal-way towards the big pond. They are another amazing bird. They look a bit queer with their long, skinny legs and large bills, but they are fun to watch. They cautiously walk in the water by lifting one foot ever so slowly, then very slowly they place their foot one step ahead in the water.

I got a great shot of one as he was meandering down the reedy waterway.





We saw numerous Great Blue Herons during the day, but I spooked one that took off and I got a great picture of him.





Further down the roadway, we came across a woodchuck. Woodchucks are hubby's favorite target practice, but he didn't have his gun, and they don't allow firearms within the boundaries of the refuge. Awwww, shucks!

We drove right up on Mr. Woodchuck and I'm not so sure he was aware that we were there.





Just as we were about to leave the park, we saw a baby muskrat sitting in the roadside puddle gnawing on a reed. We both got out of the van and walked right up to him (okay, shhhh, we weren't supposed to be out of the van). He didn't take a moments rest from his meal. He never once looked at hubby and I, so we watched him for quite awhile.




For an unplanned day, we found it to be an incredible day!