A youngster pestered one adult until she took off after him. They played chase all around the rock structures on their island.  When the little one caught up he grabbed and bit until the adult hugged him tight then took off again for more keep away.  They were great fun to watch and so human-like in their interaction.

The Gladys Porter Zoo houses lots of tropical habitat animals and participates is a number of breeding plans for endangered species. It is impressive for a smallish town zoo.

Sunny with a breeze from the north created a perfect morning for a stroll on the beach. I can’t even remember how long it has been since I had bare toes in the sand.

Waves crash all along the beach as the winds from the south whip the Gulf frothy. The forecast is for calmer seas over the next few days so we hope to get our toes wet one day soon.  We might even get the kayaks in the water.  We shall see.

At least he’s the longest time resident at Sea Turtle Inc and is quite the ham. Most of his buddies there have a missing flipper or two, maybe even three as a result of run-ins with predators or ocean trash (boo).  One even has a prosthetic; a rudder to allow her to swim straight and come up to breathe powered with just one flipper.  There are not exactly cuddly critters but something about them makes one want to be sure they are around for the next generation to see.

Fresh caught Gulf shrimp.  Jumbos for shrimp cocktail and salad.  Tiny ones blackened and served with wonderful Cajun seasoning atop nachos, melty cheese and a smattering of jalapeño. We got some good advice from a multi-season Winter Texan, lunch at Daddy’s on South Padre

Neither the long, hot, sticky walk through Resaca de la Palma State Park nor a lightly sprinkled upon stroll along the boardwalk of the South Padre Island Birding Center netted any new birds for us but they gave us a bit more taste of this south Texas coast. We watched pelicans dive, an alligator loll in the sun, stealthy rails and bitterns moving among the wetland reeds, and spotted the bright white dots of kingfishers perched along the resaca (Spanish for oxbow lake).

Row upon row of plain brown bags criss-cross an open meadow at Palo Alto Battlefield NHP. A wave of 100s of teenagers passes among them intent on the immediate task, lighting thousands of candles one by one.  The sun is low in the sky but still throwing enough light to outshine the bits of firelight.  We all wait.  Some sit quietly among the carefully placed bags.  Some run wildly, stomping out the occasional flameout as wind presses paper into flame.  The sun slides lower in the sky and the luminaries begin to glow.  First a pale yellow then a bright orange as the rows begin to stand out against the darkening sky.  From the center it both reaches far and wraps around me.  It is a beautiful tribute and memorial to those who died on both sides in the Mexican American War.

Earlier in the day we walked through The National Historical Park that preserves the site and tells the story of the first battle of the Mexican American War. It is another bit of history I can’t recall having studied.  They do a nice job telling the story.  Check it out.

Our home for a week.

It is a peaceful and beautiful stroll along trails overlooking the Hidalgo Canal.  Huge steam driven irrigation pumps are silent now and the rustic brick structure of the pumphouse provides a popular backdrop for photography of the native plant gardens.  A green striped border control vehicle rolls by.  No surprise, we are just ½ mile from the Rio Grande.  We relax watching the Kingfishers.  Another green stripe goes by then a flock of Parakeets.  Stroll the dike, another rolls by.  Hmm, even busier than we expected.  Down by the canal one of the border police guys is out of the car.  A green pickup carrying more uniforms.  Radios squawking and more striped cars both sides of the canal.  Our stroll is briefly interrupted by “There are new immigrants down there.  Be careful.”  Officers exit cars and we divert our walk just a block further into town.  The sounds of barking dogs, a helicopter overhead, and loud voices in English and Spanish reach our ears.  Just another day in border Texas I guess.  The canal-side encounter didn’t even make the local news.

The McAllen Symphonic Band concert included some unique selections. There were Sousa marches of course and the familiar Armed Forces Salute that is played to honor each of the branches of the service.   It was an enjoyable concert with a fresh program that nicely lived up to its billing; “Celebrating America”.

Bullets and Bayonets, a Sousa march written to commemorate WWI veterans

American Anthem – from the movie “The War”

God’s Country – a musical landscape of great American places

To Those Who Serve – a tribute to firefighters and police

Powhatan’s Daughter – a Sousa march written to honor and recognize first nations peoples, specifically Pocahontas

Winged Victory

The Armed Forces Salute – nearly half the audience had stood to be recognized by the time this piece was over.

Stars and Stripes Forever – Sousa – piccolos of course

Fun stuff thrown in

Woodwind Polka (a re-arrangement of clarinet polka)

What’s up at the Orchestra? – tunes from loony tunes cartons. Its amazing how those long ago viewed images leap to life with just a few bars of music.