Edward went back to work and we were on our own. In a way that made things easier, since we didn't have to worry about his sunburned legs getting even more sun exposure. But it was kind of lonesome.
The agenda for the day was fishing, of course, and switching campsites. The site we were occupying had turned out to be much nicer than we expected, especially since no one ever moved into the site behind us (behind relative to the lake). We hadn't picked it out for its lake view--we'd chosen it because it was the best one available for the weekend. It was a little bit shady but didn't feel closed in, and there was an excellent view of hunting roadrunners, lizards perched vertically on tree trunks, and deer walking through in the early evening.
A lake view wouldn't have helped me see birds, because there weren't very many shorebirds. I did see a couple of Great Blues and a Great Egret, and one night I saw three long-necked birds by the boat ramp just after dark. If I had to guess, I'd say two of them were Yellow-Crowned Night Herons and the other one something smaller, like a Green Egret. But I didn't get a good enough look.
The campground had cleared out a little when we crept away. Ed dumped the tanks while I walked up to the entry station to get a new site sticker for the truck. When I was walking back, I was surprised to see Mammoth coming back away from the new site. Was the site I'd reserved too short? Occupied? Missing in action?
But before he reached me, he turned to the left and went back toward the campsites. I guessed the answer--the one-way road didn't connect up to the boat ramp road. When I'm walking I tend to ignore little details like "one way" signs.
Mollydog and I hurried along to help and soon caught up to him backing into the site. It was the second site from the courtesy dock and boat ramp, right on the water with a lovely view. We'd gone walking earlier to check out the sites, and in my opinion the two sites at the top of the hill--same 'loop' but farther from the boat ramp--were prettier. But this site lets me walk the dogs right down to the water without going past anyone else's dogs. (The site closest to the lake was empty)
Before we'd finished hooking up, we were serenaded by a Bewick's wren. I didn't get a photo, which was dumb. But the thing wouldn't stay still long enough for a picture anyway.
Then on to the lake, where I got a second look at the Canyon Wrens I'd been watching the day before. They're all over this place! New bird for me! I saw the white throat clearly and the rich rusty brown color, and on the second day I saw the beak well enough to verify the curve. They really do hop along cliff faces energetically, and they also vanish into holes in the cliffs when they feel like it.
I also had a glance at a departing hawk. It was large, about the size of a red-shouldered hawk, but it had a very marked pattern on the face. So either Peregrine Falcon or Prairie Falcon. A Peregrine was reported in July 2018 on a cliff face at this lake. They are not "supposed" to be this far south in the summertime, but then Prairie Falcons are not likely to be so far east. So take your pick.
But I soon quit bird watching because we'd gotten into a mess of crappie. I ended up catching seven, two of which were about 13". (That's a very decent size for a crappie) I even caught one of them on a lure. And of course for every fish I caught, there were two or three that I missed. We were running out of minnows by the time we stopped.
And now a few observations on a delicate subject--
Toilets. In particular, RV toilets. To be more specific, our RV toilet. We've learned that you can use it for about three days and then it starts to smell. They make chemicals you put in, but the cheap "red" stuff from Walmart doesn't work. We finished off what we had, but we were happy to get back using the good "blue" stuff. But even with the chemicals, after dumping the tank (which never gets it all) and then sloshing things around, the toilet stinks to high heavens. We're beginning to wonder if there is an exhaust vent which is supposed to divert the smell but is currently blocked by something.
LATER NOTE: the exhaust vent is at the top of the RV, and the wind blowing helps to exhaust it. But those days had very little wind at all.
But after our day of fishing, when we returned we found that the chemicals and an air freshener had tamed the raging odors. Mammoth was good again.
But I wasn't allowed to rest in Mammoth's air-conditioned comfort. The dogs had been cooped up far too long. We went walking.
An awful lot of deer live here and my suspicion is that people have been feeding them. For example, Molly and I were walking along and saw a deer about fifty yards away. It was medium-sized, not a baby but probably not a breeding adult. And it came towards us. At first I thought I was dreaming, but no--it was clearly looking at me and very obviously stepping in my direction. Only when Mollydog barked did it turn and bound away.
Strange. We did see one very interesting behavior on our walk. We saw a mother with fawn in the field by the playground. The mother ran back into the woods--the fawn ran for a patch of tall grass and lay down in it. To my eyes, it totally vanished. I'm assuming that the biologists are correct in saying that baby deer have no scent, so if I'd let Molly try to find it she wouldn't have been able to. But of course I'd not try such a fooling thing. If I'd been alone I might have tried sneaking up for a peek, but not with a crazy-ass dog jerking my leash.
We had a lovely long walk, all around the cliffs by the old campsite. The setting sun on the water made it sparkle like ice crystals after a winter storm. Dazzling. If the temperature had been ten degrees cooler our walk would have been two hours longer. But I can't complain--July in Texas--I'm lucky to be out walking at all.
And that's about it for the evening.
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