Hello Again!

I haven't abandoned the blog, I promise! After having such a big year (pun intended!) birding last year, we've been focusing on some other things in 2018. All that driving and taking trips to find birds was pretty exhausting! After the holidays, I was (and still am) busy working on the next book in my ongoing Razors Ice series and starting an exciting new series in a completely different genre. 2018 has become the year we try new things and I'm in love with my new panini maker after never experiencing the wonderfullness of a sandwich grilled to perfection before. Instead of birding every week (and sometimes two or three times), Hubby and I have been trying out new recipes in the kitchen (and saving on gas money to boot) and I discovered the joy of sculpting with polymer clay.

Anywho, with the obligatory recap out of the way, I can get down to some birding business. We finally went last week and it was so nice to get out and recapture the thrill of spotting our favorite birds! And we didn't just run down to our local refuge to snap pictures. Nope, we headed all the way up to the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge to get our fix.

The moon was so pretty that I snapped a pic of it posing over Mt. Shasta while we were driving...

And what do ya know, when we arrived at the refuge, fog--thick, pea soup kind of fog--foiled us again. Back in October, you might remember my post about that disappointing trip, but we did discover beautiful Juanita Lake to help make up for the birding bust.

Luckily, this trip wasn't a complete waste because, when we continued on to the Visitor's Center at nearby Tule Lake NWR, the fog cleared up enough to make the drive worthwhile. I'll post those pics tomorrow, but first, here is a look at what was waiting for us at Lower Klamath...

Yep, arriving to this kind of weather definitely takes the wind out of your sails...

What was heartbreaking was the fact that you could hear a ton of birds in the area, but there was no way to see them through the thick fog. We've been to this refuge lots of times, but lately it feels like Mother Nature sees our car comin' down the road and cranks up the ole fog machine!

Crummy weather or not, it's good to have something to post about again. (I've been having so much fun in the kitchen that I even thought about starting a food blog, but I know it would be too much work!) Tomorrow's bird pics are crystal clear and we were delighted at how many different birds we saw on the Discovery Marsh Trail. Springtime is a great time for birding when everyone is wearing their breeding best and trying to capture the attention of a future mate.

Come back tomorrow for some songbirds!