Yes the Flying Scotsman II is still at the dealer in Katy. We called last Friday and they said to come down on Monday and pick it up as most of the work was done.

Well, after the hour and a half drive to Katy from Bryan, we got to Camping World and the RV was still in the stall. I checked the progress and several things hadn't even been started yet. In addition, the second satellite lead I had requested, was installed incorrectly. We did some shopping, had a nice lunch at TGI Friday's next door and came home. It's been so long now they might as well do everything right and get all the ordered parts installed. We need it running as designed for our April 20th departure to the North.

As bird lovers we always have some sort of feeder for our feathered friends but noticed the food disappearing rapidly this winter. So I set up a "critter cam" system to snap some of the culprits as it is motion sensitive. Here's a daytime raider caught in the act. This camera is a color one for daytime use, set about 3 feet from the feeder.




And then the light sensitive black and white camera which is about 10 feet from the feeder with a red spotlight. We've now noticed that this family of opossums comes many times during the night to graze on the goodies ... no wonder the birds don't have anything left!

When the red light went off for the opossum one night last week we went out to watch and were surprised to see both the opossum and a raccoon sharing the feeder. They were absoutely compatible and quietly sharing the food ... then the opossum slowly wandered off ... buddies in the night.

OK, now that Spring has sort-of sprung in Texas (81 today) it is time to start thinking of the new year. Part of that thinking is that ... now that Dad and Mom are in The St Joseph Manor ... and that Leigh and Brooks have just had our first grandkiddo in Dallas ... might be the time to make the formal home move to the big "D".

So here it is. Last weekend we put the garden home on the block and had an open house on Sunday. A couple of folks showed up and we will advertise for the next three weeks. We would like to sell the place here in Bryan and then be able to buy a condo in the Uptown area of Dallas in the Fall. Being realistic, we have waited way too late in this slow market to sell in the next few weeks ... but what the heck we'll see what the market is up to.

Our plan is still, like in previous years, to hit the road in the Flying Scotsman on the 20th of April or so and head towards Canada. This year we will be heading generally toward Duluth and around the north of Lake Superior just to see different territory.

Snow Daze!

On the 4th of February we had a snowfall of about a half inch. While this is probably not a big deal if you live in Boston, where you measure snowfall in feet, any snow here is neat. Above is the house on a very cold and wintery looking day.




Bandit kept demanding that we let him out as we do in the afternoons on sunny days. Hah! Here he is saying, "Where did all this cold white stuff come from and why are my toes freezing to the ground?" He howled a bit more and then made a bee-line for the door and warmth.

The normal crowd at the backyard feeder including finches, bluejays, cardinals, and sparrows ... and our special friend ...

... a little Downy Woodpecker hammering away on his snow capped block.