Severe Problem

 I am having severe internet connection problems here. Not only can I not download the pictures from the Texas City museum, I can't even get the great pictures from today. I arrived at the end of the Texas City Dike around 11 a.m. I was talking to my BFF on the phone for over two hours. As we talked I got an message from Offspring #2 saying I got mail. The message included a picture of the inside of the thank you card from Offspring #1's family. Golly, the card was so cute and adorable. We were laughing about that when I look up to see a dolphin jump in the air right in front of my car. Then I saw four dolphins jumping. It was so incredible! By the time we hung up it was after 1 p.m. Golly, those outhouses are nasty! Good thing I brought baby wipes with me. Ugh! I brought a lawn chair from my rental place and set it up next to my car so as to block the wind. I sat down to enjoy my salad. The van next to me had 3 grackles begging for food. I should have guessed. Soon enough the older man tosses a French fry out the window. Suddenly the sky above me is filled with gulls and grackles. I cover my head and yell, "I got a salad!" The man gets out of the van and throws more French fries on the far side of his van and the birds are going nuts over the junk food. Later his wife greets me so I start talking with them. He worked at the oil refinery across the bay. I asked if there were any venomous snakes I needed to worry about. He tells me yes, diamond back rattlers and water moccasins, and cotton mouth snakes. He said they were common where he worked. He said if I was to walk across that patch of grass I should wear rubber or heavy boots. I look down at my bare toes in my sandals. I tell him I already walked through that grass. He says I should be more careful. I tell him about the Texas City museum. He says he has never been there. He tells me his aunt was a nurse in the Red Cross during that disaster. So I tell him her picture is probably on the wall in that museum and he should go and look. After they left I finished my lunch, put on socks and rubber boots and went off walking. I set my timer on my phone for 45 minutes and headed to the other side of the dike. I walked through the grass singing songs so the snakes could hear me coming. I walked down a steep hill and got to the sand. I do enjoy walking in the water so I walked in the water. Once in a while I would stop to point my binoculars at a bird or a ship. I hoped to see a loon but I did see several red breasted mergansers. I saw sanderlings and they are the most adorable birds dashing in and out of the waves on their skinny little legs. I saw herring gulls and white pelicans and brown pelicans. I wanted to see an American oystercatcher but I did see a Dunlin. I told myself I wasn't going to look at the phone because I should trust the phone to tell me when 45 minutes was up. Yeah, I checked the phone with only 3 minutes left to go. I turned around and the walk back was easier because I didn't have to hold onto my sun hat to keep the sun off my face. I want to find a shark tooth so I kept my eyes down. A young couple was taking their boat out of the water so I asked if they caught anything. They caught two large fish that completely filled their cooler. They said the water was rough today. Then she threw a bag of bait up in the air and the gulls and grackles came running. A snowy heron came in and got a pretty big fish. I got an excellent picture of the heron trying to swallow that fish before a gull stole it away. Then I kept walking back to my car. When I got to the grass I kept singing. Something did move in the grass and I screamed a little. I never did see what that was. I identified a Royal tern by the sound on my BirdNet app. That is a first for me which is cool. When I got back to my car I took one last look through the binoculars before taking off the rubber boots and wool socks and slipping into my sandals. I stopped at the Kroger's hoping to buy coffee and a kite. They had no kites and I bought coffee, jicama, a poblano pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini and a bag of less than perfect peaches. On the way back I stopped at the Dollar Store near my place but they don't have kites either. Oh, well, maybe I won't go kite flying tomorrow. Or will I? For sure I will make a peach cobbler. I don't have the oatmeal that I usually use (I only have stone ground) but maybe I can substitute granola for the oatmeal. Now my friend and coworker just sent me a picture of me on my motorcycle at work. Can this day get any better? I think not.