by Jeff Schmidt DVM
Really good. I’ve read a lot of these veterinarian memoirs and this is right up at the top of them. He had some crazy clients, some weird dogs (like the one who was brought in for eating strange things), and some nutcase cats. Including one that savaged the vet repeatedly. How did he stand it?
The trip posting is all done and it's time to get back to gardening! I'm just having a little garden this year, but it's going to keep me busy.
A few tomatoes are in the ground,
Friday, March 5
I got up at 6:30 from a weird dream about planning to
take my mom to Joann to get Christmas present craft kits for Bob’s kids because
she wanted to get out of the house away from Ed’s mom who was also visiting.
Following on a weird dream about DJ and a phone upgrade guy
I’m beginning to wonder about my brain.
The one thing that has threatened to ruin this trip (but didn't!) Is that damn
television. It’s loud and it’s constant. Ed doesn't even suggest that he might
use headphones. I guess I'm going to have to ask.
Short drive home. Only three hours.
All said, it was a great trip. Although the things I thought were going to be
so cool (aquarium & space center) weren't, and the things that I'd taken
for granted (wildlife refuge & boardwalk) were awesome. But it evened out
pretty well.
Molly and I had some really nice walks. I ate way too much candy. The meals
were mostly not great with one huge exception—the oatmeal. The spinach and
precooked veg for breakfast was good but the oatmeal was great. I had too many
fish days. Maybe when Ed fixes me fish I need to give half to Molly instead of saving
half and eating it another day. We MUST find a better source for red snapper.
Lesson learned:
1. State Parks are always worth the aggravation. They may be hard to find and hard to get into sometimes--although usually not--and they don’t often have FHU--although two of them did--but they usually have trails and quiet and scenic vistas. I love them.
2. When planning a walking visit to a city, make sure you have a paper copy of an enlarged map in hand, so you don’t get lost and waste a lot of time going by google maps routes.
3. Next time in Florida, check out camping at Manatee Springs SP.
4. When you go on a morning bird watching trip and expect to see stuff, put in contact lenses first.
5. More oatmeal!
Thursday, March 5
Add to trip lessons learned: on multi-night stays, always empty the coffeepot
while doing dishes. Put it in Ed's cup if needed. I forgot and it overflowed,
but only a little.
Our last stop for the trip was the Shreveport/Bossier City KOA. It was okay, for a KOA. A little litter cleanup would have helped. The dog parks were okay; there was a very nice playground.
It wasn’t crowded at all, on a Thursday of course. There was a small section of what appeared to be seasonal or permanent resident sites. But we had site 34, a nice, big pull-thru site with a patio. I’m sure I paid through the nose for it. Starlink reception was good. The sites were very close together, as usual.
Are those people in the window?
They had a little pond (mosquito breeding facility) in the back with promise of some good birding in season. At the time, it was mostly robins and a thrasher. There were lots of big pines back there, too.
They had a double dog park—big and small with a connecting gate. Molly was not in mood for ball at first. We took a walk, then she had to check out the small dog section, so I opened the connecting gate and let her through. Then she played ball. Good girl!
If I ever plan on stopping here on the way out, remember to check on charcoal grill fires. They don’t allow campfires, at all, but we didn’t ask about our charcoal grill.
I did notice that Bossier City’s Murrell’s restaurant closed about 7 years ago.
Sad.
Georgia on my…Magnus? Day 22
One of my favorite places to be--sitting at a picnic table beside a lake on a
spring morning. Coolish air blowing but the promise of warming up later.
If only the summer birds were here!
After pancakes and my breaking the kitchen drawer slide, we went in search of
the Natchez Trace Parkway and the Cypress Swamp walk. The drive down Natchez
Trace Parkway was glorious with wide curves and huge trees lining the broad
roadway. I'd love to do the whole thing, end to end, someday. Or walk it!
The Swamp Walk wasn't where Google said it was but not far off from that, either. People should have warned us that it wasn't a swamp but rather a former swamp, slowly filling itself in after the Pearl River diverted and left it behind. It wasn’t very large nor very interesting. Oh, well.
Later, back at camp, Molly and I took a deliciously long walk along the something-or-other trail and then the Beaver Dam trail (named creatively—nowhere near any water) and then the little Persimmon trail. I heard something cool I never dreamed existed. A couple of Bald Eagles were circling overhead and talking to each other, in gentle tones. Kind of like a soft version of the Greater Yellowlegs call. Not something you'd expect from a big, fierce predator.
It was a great walk although it did take us close to
the edge of the park and the back fields of some farm houses. I was worried
that some territorial farm dogs might hear us. None did, and we finished the
walk back at the lovely lake.
And so the sun went down on our last real day of camping this trip. (We have
one more night but that's at a KOA--not a real campground. They try, but
there's only so much nature they can provide and still cater to the 45'
monstrosity motorhomes.)
But this is a very nice place. Geese honking like lost baby seals. Kingfisher
having his final say. We will have a peaceful night.
Tuesday, March 3
Molly and I went for a morning boardwalk bird watch. Add to trip notes: I
need to put in my contact lenses the next time we do something like this!
The Merlin App heard both a Clapper Rail and a King Rail there, but no rails
appeared to my human vision. Bah. Also Yellowthroat and Brown-headed Nuthatch.
I saw Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, White Ibis, American Alligator, Laughing
Gull, Bluebird, and doves, all of the Mourning Dove persuasion.
I'd definitely go back there for another trip, and next time take the boat out around the lagoon. It looks lovely other than the occasional alligator. Gorgeous weather. 76/57 today.
But it was time to head toward home. After a shortish drive we ended up at Roosevelt State Park. It was absolutely gorgeous. Our campsite had a concrete pad with patio, grill, and a nice big picnic table. FHU. Seems brand new. The site was right on the lake, with a water slide across from us. When the sun set (later) it was behind us, so I hoped the sunrise might be over the lake. But more likely it would be behind the trees on the opposite shore.
For our walk, Molly and I took the wrong trail (our map
was black and white but the trail markers were colored) and all it did was wind
around a bit and dump us back out at the campground next to us, near the
bathroom.
So we went on along the road and drew the attention of an unleashed dog, who
headed our way and was joined by another one. I had to call Ed to come get us
just in case. Even if they were friendly Molly would have had a fight to pick.
