Out and About with Jeff, Randi and Melinda

Melinda and I drove up to Dallas to the Arboretum. Melinda has seen all kinds of birds there in the past and I was really looking forward to seeing the common blue jay again. We just don't see those birds out here in the west. Stellars jays, Scrub jays, Gray jays but no plain beautiful Blue jays.

On the way there we saw:
House sparrows
Scissor-tailed flycatchers
Great tailed grackles
Common grackles
Chimney Swifts
Eurasian Collard Doves
Mourning Doves
Rock Doves
Turkey Vultures
Red Tailed Hawk
Great Egrets

We arrived a little early so we grabbed some breakfast from the local shop and sat at one on the outdoor tables to watch and wait. Right away we were greeted by a Baltimore Oriole and some Mockingbirds.

Jeff and Randi go there. They look so good, happy, healthy. I miss having them in Idaho! Anyway we went strolling through the gardens. It was just GORGEOUS! We didn't see a lot of birds but I did get to see some new ones and some old favorites. I just can't get enough of the Cardinals. We don't have them in Idaho either.

Baltimore Oriole
Mockingbirds
Blue Jays
House Wren
Eastern Phoebe
Starlings
Cardinals

Cottontail bunny

Plants of interest:
Red Yucca
Hibiscus Syriacus
Tanzania (native shrub)
Vitex Agnus-Castus

Leucophyllum frutescens
Chilopsis linearis
Citronella
Hydranga
Angel Lace (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Lavendula
St. Oechas

After wandering we decided to drive out to their house in Plano so I could see it. It's a beautiful ranch style home in a nice neighborhood. For lunch we went to a nearby Mexican place and made more plans

It began to rain a little, but not too bad

We thought we'd go back out to White Rock Lake (by the Arboretum) and see if we couldn't find the Monk Parakeets that nest there.

Only one problem with this plan. Rain. Lots of Rain. I've never seen a gullywasher before, but now I truly know what it means. We did not see any Monk Parakeets and Melinda is one of the best and bravest drivers I know.

We canceled our plans to go out to the zoo and drove back out to Plano and dropped Jeff and Randi off. It really was nice to see them.

I had every intention of getting together with them again. But that was not meant to be.

In any case, Melinda and I headed for home. Through rush hour traffic. We changed our mind and got off the wet, crowded freeway at this very Tony and upscale mall. We went into a Nordstroms the likes of which I had never seen. The necklaces on sale on the aisle filling tables were marked down to the low, low price of $247.00. The really cheap ones were around $78.00. EEEEEEEEEE

We went and looked at all of the gorgeous dishes. There were plain ones, and fancy ones; classy ones, and whimsical ones. There were dishes for every occasion and recipe. It was a wonderland of dishes!

It was a great day. I can't thank Melinda enough for coming and especially for driving.