Sandhill Cranes…and a Wimp

Yes, the wimp would be me. (and yes, I did NOT proof my title…the missing ‘d’ has been found and replaced in ‘Sandhill’)

After reading an ad about a local (well, sort of local) Crane-fest, I’d planned to go on Saturday to get some totally cool pictures for my blog. I knew it would be chilly, but I hadn’t counted on it actually raining. There’s no way to tell you how many times the wet stuff has been forecast for this area…and we haven’t had a drop. Except it was spot on that day.

Okay, so I have a pretty umbrella – black, with multi-color polka dots. Best of all, it’s big enough to keep an entire football team (and even a few of their fans)  dry, so I figured I was good to go.

First let me say that Im not really familiar with the area the conservation park is located in, but it didn’t look like it would be hard to find. And it wasn’t. But it was way out in the country. On a narrow, curvy, wet road…that my daughter was driving on like she was preparing to try out for the Indy 500. I tried to talk her into letting me take over, but no go there. All I got to do was nag at her to slow down, and remind her that ‘Slippery When Wet’ signs were made for a reason.

Anyway, we finally arrive…and see the back of this thing as we pull into the temporary pit-stop for the cranes-

Do you see the word ‘please’ on there anywhere? Neither did I. When they word the sign like that, and attach it to a favorite horror movie weapon, yeah, you better believe I’ll be happy to fill the survey out and give it back.

Isn’t that just what you want to see when you pull into a drive…a long, winding, unpaved bog of a drive, smack in the middle of a forest…in the back of the beyond? In October. Halloween month. A pitchfork driven into the ground…

As we traveled, at a snail’s pace, this is what we saw on the way…

This is a two-way ‘road’ through the woods. Uh-huh.

There was some sort of pond through the trees, filled with logs. I wish the picture had come out better.

Yup, more trees.

Finally, after an interesting journey, we’re there! Yes, we’ve reached the sanctuary, and I’m ready to put my photography skills to good use.

Pulling up to the slime pit from hell parking area, we stop to ask the attendants if the birds are actually out in this rain. Their response? Well, we can hear them. Okay. I can hear them, too. But can we actually see them? They hoped we could.

I’m looking around at all the mud, and the puddles, and watching water dripping from the trees (trees the birds have been in), then at my white sneakers, and I think to myself…YouTube! YouTube should have Sandhill Cranes. And I was right! It does.

So if you’ve ever wondered what a Sandhill Crane looks like, there ya go.

As for me, my shoes are still white, my clothes stayed dry, and no surprises fell from soiled leaves to land on my pretty umbrella…or my freshly washed, still damp hair (which was the real reason I didn’t want to go traipsing through the drippy trees. Washing it twice in one afternoon? Not happening.).

Yes…I’m a wimp. I don’t ‘do’ mud. Or bird poop.

Now for the highlight of the trip. It made me giggle anyway.

This was in the yard on one of the country roads. Out back, I could see a bunch of rusted out old cars. Edsel’s, I presume.

 

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6 Responses to Sandhill Cranes…and a Wimp

  1. Debra Kristi says:

    I kind of wish I had been there. I’d love to have seen the old Edsels. And what fun you had. The Cranes look like the big bird that stops at my house twice a year and hangs out at my pond for a day. Crazy bastard. I think he wants to eat my fish.

  2. Reminds me of our annual trek in March for fresh maple syrup at the sugar bush. Mud up to your knees, usually it’s raining – and cold. But if you’re prepared and dressed for it, it’s actually a lot of fun. (and the sugar high makes it all seem worth it 🙂

  3. HAHAHA…sounds like one big adventure!!! Even if you missed out on seeing and photographing the cranes, what a great story and love the pics along the way…
    Gotta luv country road finds…LOL!!

    • Kristy K. James...Living, Loving, Laughing says:

      It was actually a lot of fun. Especially the whole Edsel thing. Okay, I have to admit that the narrow road in the sanctuary wasn’t as much fun. Talk about mud…and it was nowhere near wide enough two cars to pass. It was barely wide enough for one…but it gave my daughter a new experience in driving. 🙂

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