Canyons, Babies and Fences

It's been a few. One day I will learn and just get a Mac, but in the meantime I am suffering the old fashioned way--with computer viruses. (And human viruses from travel...er um, I have completely lost my voice.) Thank goodness dear IT man was able to clear the nasty infection from its new life on my PC without me losing anything.  So at long last, here are some pics as I blog in voiceless silence at 2:30 a.m. (courtesy of Flanders' wee morning pee run).

The Texas babe was a treasure. Just beginning to smile, every now and then she would flash a quick one for us. She loves her hands and is very expressive using them in dramatic poses on her face as she sleeps.

Bro took me out on Lake Amistad, an enormous 66,000 acre, duck-filled wonder, produced from daming the Rio Grande River.  Coots, green winged teal, white pelicans (9 foot wing span), an American wood cock, and my personal fave--the dramatic-in-red scarlet tanager--were seen in various spots along our journey. We stopped the boat to get out and walk and found a charming dry creek bed filled with deer tracks, cacti and sounds from birdies we don't have in this part of the states.  More photos are on the Flickr stream (see right), but here are a few to give you a taste:

Now the terrain in and around Del Rio was pretty freaking crispy. Not too much vegetation with a dull grayish-brown pervading the color wheel on all sides. But there were treasures in the morning fog and in small things that maintain a beauty of their own:

Sis-in-law, baby and I went on a 45 minute drive to the canyons near the intersection of the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers. Here I spoke with a sweet local fisherman, met my first ever canyon wren and heard goats calling from a cave within the canyon where, apparently, they stay during the night to avoid a grim fate induced by mountain lion capture.

Here's the infamous border fence, keeping our America safe from pot, people and...hmmm....wait? What's it for?  It was quite different than I imagined. This was taken near a station just outside of Del Rio.

And to end on a high note, Del Rio and surrounding area have fabulous sunsets. A special thank you to my family hosts. They were the best and I miss them already.