MY BELATED NEW YEAR RESOLUTION is to keep this journal updated regularly, even though little of importance seems to have occurred. We spent the holidays quietly in Wilcox in the still unseasonably cold weather. We rang in the new year with the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count in (not so) nearby Portal. While the group of had a pretty robust list of species despite the cold, we johnny-come-latelies got a marginal territory to survey and had a less impressive count.
Our contribution to the Christmas Bird Count, ruby-crowned kinglet
Connie spent countless hours on the internet exploring birding trips, finally succeeding in booking one to Guyana with a Trinidad and Tobago extension in mid-February. We’re looking forward to the warm weather, some new species and a visit with Colorado friends Tim and Candace who will be in Trinidad at the same time. Co-incidentally, the trip was arranged by a company located in Portal, AZ. Small world. Connie also arranged for a birding trip to Costa Rica in October. We’ve been there on our own and seen many of their beautiful birds but this trip will focus on those hard to find species. Meanwhile I booked passage on the Academik Sergei Vavalov from Greenland through the Northwest Passage for August. This is the same company and the same ship we took on our Antarctic voyage and we are pretty excited.
The art of Lego, Tucson Botanic Garden
While Los Angelenos waited in line to see the premier of the new Star Wars film, we Wilcoxians were able to walk in without any fuss. In fact the small theater wasn’t even full. There are some benefits to small town life afterall. On one of our several trips to Tucson we stopped at the Botanic Gardens, a plethora of cacti and, surprisingly, giant Lego sculptures. What was once a kid’s toy has become an art form. Our other “excitement” was a visit from our Colorado friend Jim, who bought a “handyman’s dream” double-wide near Saguaro National Park. We’ve camped, skied and climbed with him and our late friend Cathy, so we knew he wouldn’t have a problem sleeping on the dinette/bed but I’m afraid others might find it less appealing. Potential guests be warned!
