It was a beautiful weekend on the Texas Coastal Bend.
On Thursday evening a "Nor'easter" blew in, bringing strong winds and heavy rain during the night. In the morning, there were puddles like creeks running down the streets and sidewalks, but by noon the sun had come out and all the standing water was totally gone. This disappearing act never ceases to surprise us. (Because when it rains in Oregon, it stays wet and drizzly for days and days.)
Down here in Texas when this Spring weather condition happens, it forces all of the migrating birds to land and wait over until the weather clears. This condition is called a "fall-out" and it creates an incredible birding opportunity. So on Friday afternoon at Paradise Pond (in addition to the usual local birds) I was able to identify five varieties of warblers (this one is a prothonotary), a chat, hummingbirds, a cuckoo, and two kinds of vireo. There were others I can't remember right now and and, I'm sure, dozens of other species that the real experts found during the day. It was lovely to see and to hear. (UPDATE: Today's paper -- on the following Thursday -- says that 38 different species of songbirds were spotted at Paradise Pond on that day.)
On Saturday, we strolled to Roberts Park, next to the ferry landing, about 4 blocks from home. We hopped on a free shuttle (a school bus) to the beach. The annual Texas Sandfest was this weekend.
We had debated whether to go on Saturday in order to watch the sculptors at work or wait until Sunday to see the finished creations -- and decided it was more fun to watch people work. After quite a long and sandy walk viewing the sculpture area, we were happy to find a covered music tent where we listened to a fun Austin-based blues band called JT Coldfire. What a great place for a concert.
The dragon and castle was our favorite entry.
Sand artists come from all over to take part in the festival. The sand here is said to be ideal for sculpture. There is an internation circuit of similiar events. This entrant was from Portland, Oregon (see the state flag). Sponsoring businesses provide food and lodging for participants and prizes are awarded.
Lots of people were here to enjoy the lovely day on the beach as well as to see the festival. The Sunday paper said that thousands of cars were lined up for the ferry. Much better to be on the right side of the landing already as we are!
You can see the saragasso weed on the forebeach. It comes in this time of year and creates some controversy between the tourist people and the environmentalists. It's needed for erosion control and bird habitat. Most people just rake it away from the spot where they want to relax.
It was a great beach day. We had enjoyed visiting with the shuttle bus driver on our way. And when we came home, he wasn't very busy and delivered us right to our door. Nothing like having our own big yellow limousine ride.
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