00 - A1 - A day on the Fennessey

More adventures-The Fennessey Ranch, it's been awhile.....I went out to the Fennessey Ranch in Refugio Texas on Friday 02/05/10....and had a WOW day!!!. It was really overcast when I was driving out there but cleared as I got to the gate. I talked to Sally Crofutt the General Manager of the ranch on the phone, she explained to me that the ranch was flooded out in some areas due to recent rains....I told her I'd stay on the main road...Mog, the Ranch Foreman was on the ranch and she called to let him know I was coming in. I drove "carefully" to the Camp House and met with Mog, explaining what I was doing there. He showed me on the ranch map that the eagles were "currently" in no man's land...I was very disappointed, but he said he could try to drive me out in the Pinzgauer, a high mobility all terrain vehicle that the Fennessey uses to transport folks in areas that are hard to get to. I told Mog that wasn't necessary, that'd I'd come back...he was busy and I didn't want to mess up his day. He told me it'd be okay, he'd meet the folks he was waiting for when they came in....So he fired up the Pinzgauer, loaded my stuff and away we went.....Wow!! I'm glad we went in the Pinzgauer, my car would never have made it....We headed up a road that's not too far from the main gate, it was extremely hard to get thru, but we made it to where a creek was flowing and it was swollen with water, there was no way I would be able to hike thru that. Mog then suggested we go in thru the Flats, I said sure, it was bad, but we made it to within a half mile of the nest. The eagles are nesting on a Power Tower, so we stopped at one that was about a half mile from the nest. The road looked so bad, I suggested hiking. I got my camera and tripod and Mog & I started hiking and passed the first tower. It was bad folks, if anyone has ever tried to hike thru coastal wetlands grasses, you will know, if you haven't, don't try it unless you are good at hiking long distances, it's extremely difficult, especially wearing waders and carrying gear. Mog suggested I wear waders instead of mud boots, I'm glad he talked me into it. We went about 15 minutes when Mog had to leave. It was 9:45am. I suggested he go ahead and meet the folks, I would get as close as I could and then hike back meeting him along the Flats road....he was hesitant not wanting to leave me alone, but he figured I could handle myself. There aren't any snakes this time of year, alligators maybe, but no snakes. The road was hard to use, cause of the ruts the cows make in them, if you walk into a rut, your pretty much stuck in the mud, so I stayed in the wetlands grass, which was almost as hard, but I made it to 1/4 mile from the first tower and took shots, the eagle that had spotted us had been there and took off when it saw me get closer. I kept at it until I got close to the nest, then both parents took off trying to draw me away from the chick....they were not happy campers. I was near the river, so I checked it out, folks it was bank to bank and flowing hard, but thank goodness it wasn't over bank yet, or I wouldn't have been where I was. I hiked past the nesting tower and half way to the next tower where the parents were at, they both flew off and decided to perch at the tower on the north side of the nest. They were just drawing me away from the chick, so I decided to head back. I got some "speck" shots of them and they weren't great, cause the clouds came in when Mog & I got to the first tower, so the pixs aren't fantastic, but I got to see the birds and wanted to share with you too.....about 10:45am, on the way back, I saw the Pinzgauer coming up to the first tower, Mog said he couldn't see me, the grasses are tall, but finally made me out. I was close to the second tower and he drove up (if you can call it that) as close as he could. I was trying to walk on the side of the "road" but caught my right wader in a cow hole and I was in trouble. I attempted to pull up and lost my balance, falling "gracefully" into a wetlands grass pile, I had a firm hold of my tripod, so the camera wouldn't hit hard...it didn't, thank goodness, it landed on the grass pile....but I landed in the mud and lost my whole wader....sure was cold....I started laughing as I usually do when I fall and Mog came up in the Pinzgauer and helped me get my "rig" to the vehicle. I then got my left wader stuck in another mud hole and it went deep....I had to get my left foot out of the wader somehow, finding a bare, thorny wetlands tree next to me. I carefully held on to it as I took the wader off and tried to pull it out of the hole. By then, Mog came up and helped me get the boot back on....it was interesting trying to get out of there afterwards....you really can't make out the terrain in the photos I'm sending, but believe me....it was an extreme morning.....I laughed all the way back I had soooo much fun....Mog was laughing at me saying, "You know, I use to think it was just getting a camera and taking the photos of animals, but you photographers really work hard to get the photo." What we go thru to get "that shot", right???....What an awesomely blessed day....folks, never pass up an opportunity to enjoy God's blessings.....thank you Sally and Mog for a great experience. Sylvia