Living Currently Normal Lives

With over a decade of walking with people through their grief, I have used the phrase "New Normal" repeatedly to help people find hope for their future. But life on the road has helped me see into that phrase's emptiness. I could frame every day as a new normal on the road. But such a phrase only makes sense when the old normal felt permanent. But our lives on the road are anything but permanent. We have our routines, but they change and evolve as our situations and circumstances change. They rarely last long enough to feel like a real "Normal." The last 18 months have taught me a new phrase, "Currently Normal." By this, I mean a temporary, currently normal state and a normal with currents of experiences that come and go with our situation. This week is an excellent example of our currently normal lives on the road.

The weather was a bit windy on Monday, so we headed inland for birding at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. It was one of our most fruitful birding days since we have been in the Valley. There are a few pics to give you an idea of how productive the day was. However, we broke some of our "rules for the road" routines by eating at two chain restaurants. We spent a very long weekend watching movies in Koko. The Currently Normal of the last few days (lousy weather, eating through our groceries, needing some fresh air, and cabin fever) drove us to want something different. So, we flipped over on our figurative backs, floated through the currents of a temporary normal, and enjoyed some old-fashioned comfort food: Whataburger and Cheddars.

Plain Chachalaca

Wilson's Warbler

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

A Chachalaca in a tree

Orange-crowned Warbler

Tropical Parula

Lesser Scaup

Spotted Sandpiper

Least Grebe

Male Shoveler

A Pouty Shoveler

Chachalacas on the move.

Inca Dove

Prothonotary Warbler

 

Tuesday brought much better birding weather. We packed the camera and binoculars and headed to La Feria Nature Center and Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. The Rio Grande Valley stretches from Brownsville in the east to McAllen in the west. IH 2 and US 281 string together this bustling urban area that includes some of the finest birding spots in the world. 

Our First stop was the La Feria Nature Center. Like many birding spots, these were once settling ponds for a wastewater treatment plant. A Vermillion Flycatcher greeted us at the head of the trail, along with many of our usual suspects of waterfowl. The trail offered several surprises, including a White-tailed Kit and a Northern Harrier looking for mice in the grasslands. We also met with a very cooperative Meadowlark as he sang for supper in the small trees. It was a good start to the day, and we returned to Nakai, ready to chow down on our picnic lunch. Unfortunately, the backpack that held our lunch was still sitting on the couch in Koko, ready for us to pick up on our way out the door. The normal we had expected was now 25 miles away, so we headed into town for some Mexican Food in La Feria. As Bert the Chimneysweep in Mary Poppins would have remarked, "We had ourselves a fortuitous circumstance" and enjoyed an excellent meal at Los Leones Restaurant.

 

Vermillion Flycatcher

Loggerhead Shrike

Skipper

Meadowlark singing his song!

Common Goldeneye

White-tailed Kite

A White-tailed Kite kiting for food.

Vermillion Flycatcher

 

After lunch, we headed to Weslaco and the Estero Llano Grande State Park. Estero Llano Grande means a large estuarial flatland. We were greeted by a Northern Harrier hunting for mice outside the Visitor Center. Along with the well-groomed trails, we were delighted to find one of the most unique bird blinds we have ever seen. Instead of holes cut in a wall, this one had row upon row of small doors the birder could open to provide access to the drip and feeding stations. Unused doors were closed, hiding the birders from the birds. We spent quite a bit of time undercover with excellent access to the birds. While the trails were not all that fruitful, it was a good day to be out enjoying them. Somedays, the currents of fortune bring us a lot of birds, and sometimes, they simply offer up a nice day to enjoy being out and about. By giving up the need to direct our normal, we can enjoy a day in our Currently Normal without frustration. 

Red wing Blackbird

White-tipped Dove

Great Kiskadee

"O Lord, It's Hard To Be Humble..."

Female Cardinal

Turkey Vulture

Young Male Cardinal

 

Wednesday offered us a “Chill and Chore Day.” The laundry hamper was spilling over, several maintenance items were nagging me, and an Amazon delivery provided the means to address them. “Taking Care of Business” is an essential routine for life on the road. Failing to keep up with the details of life on the road can have unfortunate consequences, mainly when those details include routine and not-so-routine maintenance on Koko or Nakai. There is little to be gained in delaying them. After all, the trails will still be there after the chores are done.

 

Male Altamira Oriole

After a day of chores, we had one remaining chore for the next day. Recycling on the road is always a challenge. Some cities have excellent recycling facilities, while others only offer them to residents. In the Valley, we have found that the only reliable place to drop off our plastic, metal, and cardboard is at Resaca de la Palma State Park, the home of those rare birds that have eluded us twice. We bundled up our birding gear and recycling bag on Thursday and headed out to see the Becards and the Roadside Hawk again! Yep, we got skunked a third time. But the currents of fortuitous circumstances flowed around us anyway. We saw some truly remarkable birds and a very photogenic Javelina and Squirrel. When we returned from our expedition, we enjoyed a cookout and an evening by the fire pit watching the sunset. This Currently Normal, while unpredictable, is working out well, even though it is a bit unpredictable. 

Green Jay

Female Altamira Oriole

Javelina on a mission.

The Mission!

An Excited Javelina

Mourning Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler (Taiga)

Olive Sparrow

The Collared Peccary (Javelina)

A Most Cooperative Squirrel

Olive Sparrow Closeup

Male Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Female Ladderbacked Woodpecker

Black Crested Titmouse

A Thankful Titmouse

One of the facts of life for me is that I grow bored with the same old, same old. I enjoy photography and birding. But, after 1,000+ bird pictures in the last week, I was ready for a break. Not all of the Currently Normal currents are from outside ourselves. Sometimes, the inner currents are as strong or stronger. I needed a change, so on Friday, I packed my bird lens away and attached my walk-around lens, and we headed to South Padre Island and Sea Turtle Inc., a sea turtle rescue center that has been around for nearly 50 years. It was started by the Turtle Lady, Ila Loetscher, an Iowa Native who began rescuing Ridley Kemp Sea Turtles from her home on South Padre Island. She became the sea turtles' greatest advocate, and her popularity led to creating a non-profit dedicated to rescuing all sea turtles that arrive on the shores of South Padre Island in need of care. They have saved thousands of these creatures. In 2001, they collected over 5,000 that had been cold-stunned and returned them to the Gulf Waters when they recovered. A few weeks ago, three pickups spent three days moving 875 Turtles after they had been injured or cold-stunned. The facility maintains room for rescues and has a few permanent homes for turtles that cannot be returned to the wild. Here are a few shots from our day with the turtles!

Meet Gerry, the Television Star

Atlantic Green Sea Turtle

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

Tweety, the rescue heading home in a few weeks.

 

It has been a week of rapidly changing weather patterns and inner, conflicting, and confusing currents. They have pushed us along and made some lasting memories during an enjoyable week on the road. We continue to ride the waves in our Currently Normal knowing that it is not permanent. It will change! How? I have no idea! But, as long as I can stay realistic about the future and embrace the present while learning from the past, I can look forward to life on the road with Marlene in Koko and Nakai! Life is good in the Currently Normal!

See you on the road!

Bob

The Winds of Opportunity

Last week's weather was fabulous, and we took full advantage of it. I shot hundreds of pictures at several birding sites. We enjoyed grilling some chicken breasts for supper and for the freezer. We did lots of walking and exploring. But, while it may be the subtropics, it is still Texas. So, this week, we took full advantage of a significant change in weather: three days of winter. The RV experience includes learning how to live the good life in 150 sq. ft. on wheels. A major part of this learning revolves around discovering how to take advantage of the various situations that find us and then claim the gifts they bring daily. This week, we had ample opportunities to discover, learn, and claim the gifts of winter along the Mexican Border.

 

A Collared Dove

On Sunday, we knew that we were in for a stretch of wet, windy, and cold weather, so we took advantage of the last of the warm weather and headed back to Resaca de la Palma State Park for another try at seeing the rare birds that were still in residence. We tried earlier in the week and struck out after missing the Roadside Hawk by a few minutes. We likely heard but did not see the Becards in the trees. Birding is often as much about luck as skill. We arrived and hedged our bets for a fruitful day by bringing our overflowing recycling bag to empty in the recycling bin at the park. After dumping the paper, plastic, and glass, we registered and started searching for the birds. Once again, we missed the Roadside Hawk by a minute or two. The beaches also proved to be elusive. The only glimmer we saw of them was in the eyes of our fellow birders, who also sought them in vain. We took advantage of the large birding blind at the park, and I got some decent shots of our usual suspects. Those shots are below. Once again, Full-time RV life is about taking the opportunities that present themselves as you live your life. Today, we got some exercise before the cold set in, emptied our recycling, and got a few shots of some of our favorite feathered friends. Overall, it was not a bad day that could have been filled with frustration if life had not taught us to claim the gifts that present themselves rather than the ones we wish we had. 

A brilliant Northern Cardinal

Green Jay

 

The next day, the temperatures plummeted into the 20s with a north wind blowing at 20+ mph. This front would last through most of the coming week. So, you might be wondering what gifts cold weather RVing offers. This is where life must do the teaching. Anti-life would whine and complain about the situation. But life allows us to be creative if we can overcome our disappointment and frustration. This is more than making the best of a lousy situation. It is transforming the lousiness into something worthwhile. In this case, there are several movies that we have wanted to see. The internet and electricity were still working, so we bundled up and watched several movies. Typically, we do not waste good weather sitting inside Koko. This was the perfect opportunity. We claimed the gift of the moment and found joy with good movies, cups of tea, and hanging out together. The cold, nasty weather gave us several gifts, and we did our best to unwrap and enjoy them.

According to the long-range forecast, Thursday was the last day for the next week with good temps, light winds, and no rain, so we headed out to Hugh Ramsay Nature Park in Harlingen. This is an excellent reserve within the elbow of a resaca, Arroyo Colorado. We walked the two main loops, picked up one lifer, the Hooded Warbler, and missed another by a few minutes. I got a few pics, a selection of which is below. This park is part of the World Birding Center and has well-maintained trails, drips, and feeders scattered along the trails. They have done an excellent job protecting and making viable habitats accessible to birders. 

House Sparrow

Inca Dove

Red Eared Turtle

Least Grebe

Green Kingfisher

Kingfisher in flight

A Skittering Grebe

Green Heron

Green Heron Tossing Back a Morsel

white Egret

Curved Bill Thrasher

House Sparrow

Great-Tailed Grackle

Curved Billed Thrasher

Southern Dog Faced Butterfly

Altamira Oriole

Bathing Tufted Titmouse

Queen Butterfly

Javelina

White Peacock

 

Life on the road offers a steady diet of challenges. One of the more persistent challenges is to stay connected with family and friends so that we can stay informed about the important events in their lives. I am familiar with the eye roll that generally accompanies my declaration that I like Facebook. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" I stay in touch through my FB page, email, Zoom, and messaging apps. In fact, I am now in touch and up-to-date with more people than I was before our traveling days. My screen time is not a waste of time. I am retired! I am involved in the lives of our kids, grandkids, long-time friends, and new friends. My weekly Zoom with my self-proclaimed-with-tongue-in-cheek Council of Sages and our monthly Zoom with long-time friends called "It's 5 0'Clock Somewhere" offer precious connections and community. Facetime with grandkids, where we discuss dinosaurs and the latest video games, also enriches our time on the road. Phone calls and emails with the kids and older grandkids remind us that we are family. Texting with long-time friends and regular emails about the blog are links to people who would likely drift apart in the currents of daily living. Indeed, I wonder if I would be as engaged with the number of people via FB and all these other sources if I were busy being part of a local community with the same level of intensity. Nope, life on the road allows me to share with as many people as I feel I can handle. I will continue to take advantage of these opportunities as long as they prove meaningful to the tribe of which I am part.

 

Last week, a friend remarked after hearing me describe how we handle life on the road, “The more I hear you talk about RV life, the more it sounds really complicated!” It is more complicated than living in the same house for over twenty years like we did in Baytown. This picture is our water, sewer, and power connections for Koko. All of this was buried underground and in the walls of our house. We never thought about the services until they stopped working. Life in one place allowed habits and routines to develop. I spent most of my time following familiar paths and had very few surprises. (When these surprises happened, they were generally beyond our control.) But, as I have written before, full-time RV life is all about change. I have habits and routines, but they are limited to the 150 sq. ft. of living space in Koko. Within that space, we have had to learn many things, like hooking up, maintaining, and disconnecting our water, sewer, and electricity. We are constantly learning, unlearning, and re-learning. Which may be complicated, but it is also interesting and, at times, entertaining. This is not unlike changing out the toys in the Chimpanzee zoo habitat to keep the critters from becoming bored. Our lives may be more complicated than life in the house or apartment, but it is seldom dull! There is a lot to learn, and this truly is part of the journey! I hope it is keeping the brain young and agile!

Our week finished on a wet and cold note, much like it began. Though, it is not as damp nor as cold. Our great challenge during the next 5-7 days of wet weather is to find places to explore and ways to stay entertained when we are in Koko. (The more significant challenge is to stay away from the snacks.) I have my writing projects and love to watch TV. Marlene reads and watches TV. I have a couple of books going as well. Plus, there is staying in touch with friends and family and doing our chores around Koko. It's not exciting, but it is our life on the road. It enables us to take advantage of opportunities as they come along as long as we are awake and aware enough to see them. Often, the complications keep the eyes open and the mind alert. Our lives abound, even on wet, windy, and cold days! Let me rephrase that. “Our lives abound, especially on wet, windy, and cold days!”

 

Travel well, my friends!

Bob