Today I drove north to visit the San Jacinto National Monument that I read about in the Texas Historical Commission travel guide. The monument was a 30 minute drive and I found it easily. The monument was tall and the top was shrouded in fog. I walked up a series of twenty stone steps and looked up I immediately felt dizzy. I walked around the monument and read the words. I walked down the steps on the far side and saw a map that said there was a 3 mile nature trail. It was 11 a.m. I figured I could walk 3 miles before lunch so I took off walking. The path was asphalt followed by a board walk. I scanned the pond from an elevated platform and saw some ducks. I kept walking. The platform ended and now I was to walk on sand. I heard some rustling in the grass under a tree right there and out of the grass came a little piggy, a black one. Aloud I say, "A little piggy?" Out comes a brown and white piggy followed by another black piggy. Three little piggies! Then I think back to the sharp teeth of the feral pigs that I saw at the Houston Botanical Garden and decide to head back to my car and exchange my sandals for boots. After putting on my boots and exchanging my wool plaid shirt for a rain coat, I come back to the same spot. As I get there I see a middle aged couple and the man is carrying a 30 pound bag of dog food. I tell them about the three little piggies. He says he is there to feed the pigs and the coyotes. He throws a handful of dog food at the base of the tree. These people come here all the time to feed the pigs and the coyotes. What an unusual hobby! He is angry that people shoot the pigs and coyotes. I agree about the coyotes. We keep walking and see little piggy foot prints in the mud. We talk about nature. He says he was at work when the tornado hit last week. He was in a small metal shack holding onto a pipe. He felt the shack lift up. He called his wife and said he loved her and would she please raise their son? He was uninjured. They stopped by a bench. I said I was going the three miles. He said sometimes that path is blocked but it is pretty. He has seen bobcats in here too. I walked to the end and the path was blocked. So I walked back to my car again. But then I saw a large pond to the side of the monument so I thought I would walk around that. I pulled my sandwich out of my fanny pack and proceeded down the hill to the pond. Swamp sparrows were tweeting and I heard a white winged dove (a first for me). Pelicans and herons flew by. I got to the far side and took a picture of the monument again. I saw a man walk down to the pond from his car and put a remote controlled sailboat in the water. His boat costs nine hundred dollars. He suggests that if I buy one, I should buy a RTR (ready to run). Behind us we hear music playing. A lady in a sleeveless dress is going to have a photo shoot. I keep walking to my car and drive off taking the prairie drive. I think about flying my kite. I check the weather. Now we have too little wind, for Pete's sake. I drive to the Park Headquarters. I push the doorbell. A woman answers. I ask about the museum. She said it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and that this is only the administrative building. Oh, well, thanks anyways I say. I see a sign for a ferry. I think about taking the ferry. Their website talks about fees. I really don't want to pay a fee so I park at the park and walk around this historic place. I look up the price of the ferry again and it is free. Free is my favorite price. I take the ferry with 7 other cars. From my seat and in the comfort of my own car I see dolphins jumping. Holy cow! The ride is over in 8 minutes and off I go to another nature center. When I get there the woman says the price is four dollars. I lie and tell her I didn't mean to come in. She allows me to drive out. Now it is rush hour. Why am I always driving around during rush hour? I stop at a MacDonald's to use the restroom. When did MacDonalds start having televisions on the wall? I am very near a branch of the University of Houston. I use the restroom and come out and turn the wrong way. I am going into the men's room? Woah, wrong way I say and I laugh. The man walking in laughs too. I find a Nature Conservancy park that is mostly on my way home. I drive there. Golly, this place is beautiful. I see a flock of foot high, totally white birds pecking in the grass. What are these? Egrets? No. Herons? No. They are all over the place pecking at the grass. I see twenty white birds. I take too many pictures. I start walking around this large pond. I see ducks in the grass. I take their picture. I see a heron in the lake. I take a picture. I see ducks flying over head and take too many pictures. I keep walking. I am a little cold walking in my sandals and shorts so I try to go faster by taking smaller steps. I am not supposed to run but I am kind of jogging. I keep taking pictures. A lady with a dog walks by. She is walking but she is way faster than me. I go back to walking normally. I use my bird guide book in my car and cannot find those white birds. I use the Audubon app on my phone and I can't find those white birds. I don't know what the white birds are. Maybe the others are right. I should join INaturalist. I make it home by 5:30. The pictures are not loading for me today. Tomorrow is laundry day and then I will go to the library again. Or else I might try again in the morning. I get better service in the mornings.
