March 3, 2017 - Here we are in March, some would say, "Finally!!" The sap is running at home, my friend Ed Taylor will have the pails out on the trees soon if not already, and although there may be more winter stuff before the end of the month, we can at least feel spring is around the corner.

We are now in San Antonio, in an excellent R.V. Park. It's great because we're in the city, and can access the river trail directly from our site. We're somewhat centrally located, so we can ride both north and south for several miles. South takes us out along the river to the areas where the old missions are located. North takes us to the central area. So I've been riding my little buns off, camera on my back. The pictures above are part of the results I've enjoyed. At the top, a pair or red-shouldered hawks, fresh from love-making right before my eyes. (Modesty prevents my showing the action. Besides, with the type of monitoring we're subject to, I might end up charged with distributing pornography.) The second is a black vulture, who was feeding on carrion beside the trail. He stood his ground, only 5 feet away from me, as he wasn't going to give up his lucky find.
The third picture is a beautiful red-tailed hawk, maybe even the one previously referred to, looking quite fresh. The fourth picture is a red-combed fluffy-winged foot scratcher, seen in a yard along the way. Our friend Marian Ellis, a formidable birder in her day, has challenged us to find an 'elegant troban'. We wonder if this fellow will do as a substitute.

An the down side, Gail contracted a bug, which knocked her low for a couple of days. On our first day here, we caught the bus downtown, wandered around the Alamo (third time, and it's always interesting to see), then went to the RiverWalk. First thing we saw was the Mad Dog Pub, same name as one of our favorite bars in Hong Kong. So we had to have a beer. Shortly after finishing it, Gail went to the washroom and was ill. Feeling okay, sort of, afterwards, we wandered along the river, and found a TexMex place for dinner. Part way through, G hustled to the washroom to be sick again. We managed to get back to the park, but just in time, for as soon as we got off the bus, G was sick in the bushes. (She'll love me for giving out these details...hope she doesn't read this posting.) After that, she was down for the count, and only today was more herself again. Thank goodness.

Friends Ron and Marilyn Harris sent us an email to let us know that mutual friends were coming to the same park here in San Antonio. So we've had some nice visits with Debbie and Ray since their arrival two days ago. They'll be here for a month, and have been here before, so know the ropes around the city. Nice to have some company for a change.

We extended our stay until Monday morning, and have booked 4 days in Austin. The R.V. park we have stayed in before, so again we can access good biking in the river valley from our site. Hope to catch some good Austin music as well. After that, we will point our noses north-east, and hope to be back in time to look after Dodger MacKay while his parents go back to Mexico. That's earlier than planned, but what the heck...we also want to be home in time for Gail's birthday on the 16th (a big one!) and for son Jeff's (another big one) on the 25th.

One other little note as to why people find places in Texas to stay for the winter. It's cheaper than Florida or Arizona. We stayed in the town of  Uvalde for a night, and parked next to a couple from Ontario who also had a Triple E rig purchased in Oshawa, where we got ours. Another coincidence! Chatted with them as to why Uvalde was their choice. Simple. It's a very nice park, small city of 15,000, and they get their site for $300 a month plus hydro, and join the local golf club for $200. for both of them, including cart. They have it figured out.

All for now. Hope our friends on the ailing list soon are better...or improving...Jimmy, Penny, Sandy Taylor, Ron Harris, Ken Marshall, sister Marilyn, and anyone else fighting the ravages of season and/or age. Stay tuned. More later.