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Backyard Birding in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas:
Surrounded by great birding destinations, our favorite patch is still the backyard (or the front), where we've seen more than 270 species of birds. Sit awhile, and watch the river and yard with us!




Friday, May 21, 2010

Crash

When we returned home last weekend from a  vacation trip to my sister's home in Florida and a fishing/birding trip to the Florida Everglades, I planned to write all about it and post a few of the hundreds of photos I had taken.

We had paddled and trolled quietly past several rookeries (VERY quietly, I promise, and not so closely--not one bird was disturbed by our presence; if it had been, we would not have approached).  I had managed to get  photos of birds I love and a few I had never seen before.  A Wurdemann's Heron worked on its nest just as dawn was breaking; a Bald Eagle perched on a treetop silhouetted against the rising sun; a Green Heron froze on its nest but remained calm, watching as we watched.  There were also jumping tarpon (I unsuccessfully battled one as big as I am for over half an hour until it took one more magnificent leap and broke the line), and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles bubbling up to the water's surface  to look around, and Spotted Eagle Rays that leaped and soared as we fished in the early morning.   It was a wonderful experience.

Each evening after we  returned to the cabin,  I transferred photos from my camera to my powerbook.  As I always do now that I am blogging, I went over in my head just which pictures I would post and what I would write about so that friends and grandchildren could share the good time.  But since we were leaving the dock by 5 AM each day, I went to bed early and postponed posting until we returned home.

The problem occurred on the night we got home:  my computer crashed.  Maybe it was with a bang or maybe a whimper--but it was gone when I found it the next morning and I haven't been able to revive it.  It died with a new battery I had installed and a new power cord that had been waiting in the mail at home.  I don't know how exactly, but I killed it-- and somehow, along with it, my backup exterior disk. When it crashed (Macs aren't supposed to crash!  Mine had been a jewel for seven years), I was letting the newly charged  battery discharge while I backed up everything.  If you know the painting of Van Gogh's Scream, you know how I look and feel.

Of course I am still in mourning and trying to find a solution.  I can manage small posts with my iphone (I think--this is a test), but that explains why there's been no word from me in two weeks (my last post consisted on a few photos from home and two from the trip; I wrote it in Florida but decided not to mention that we were away from home).

Anyway, that's the depressing story of why I'm not blogging.  The yard is full of birds with the end of migration, the beginning of feeding young in the nest, and the joy of fledglings that noisily follow their parents around.  I will try a post later today using the photos I've taken this week.  (If my iphone doesn't work well for posting, I'll  try my husband's computer if he will quit playing poker for a while.)

The few photos here were among the ten or so still on my camera.  Don't you love the dragon flies that were in my sister's yard?

 Just blogging about the horrible death of my computer and disappearance of my photos makes me feel better. (That's what friends are for.)

I think I'll go see if I can find out what kinds of  dragonflies these are.  Or stroll up the driveway to look for late warblers.  Or listen for the baby Brown-crested Flycatchers in the bird house beside the driveway.  Or catch a glimpse of the Altamira Orioles as they slip out of their swaying nest.

I can always take more pictures.

6 comments:

KaHolly said...

Oh, Kay, I'm so sorry. Maybe a computer guru can, at the very least, retrieve your files. Sometimes they work magic! Enjoy the remainder of your trip!~karen

denapple said...

Like you, I download photos from camera to laptop every night while on vacation. I would absolutely DIE if my computer gave up the ghost then! My sincere sympathies...but at least you get to buy a new computer now :)

FAB said...

Kay, I think we all live in fear of losing all our stored data. I'm now keeping a 2nd backup copy of all files (nuts and bolts). Worth seeking out a company to see if your data can be recovered from the hard & backup disc. In the meantime thanks for posting by whatever means are available. FAB.

Kay Baughman said...

Thanks, friends, for the encouragent. I hope readers excuse the typos in the meanwhile. I'm getting better at hitting these little iPhone pads.
A pair of Ladderback Woodpeckers are busy on every piece of dead wood on the yard. My goal for the day is to discover ttheir nesting place. maybe I'll
have pictures later today
--Kay

ramblingwoods said...

Oh no..that happened to me...now I use an automatic backup storage thing online and back my photos to a disk drive..Losing photos is to hard, I am so sorry Kay... and thank you for the lovely comment about my macro shot....Michelle

ramblingwoods said...

I forgot to say that I saw my first dragon today..no photos..but I think it was a green darner and this is earlier than usual ..I need to get out with the camera, but unless they land, I am hopeless getting a photo.....Michelle