May 27 - Memorial Day

I woke to a warm 78º humid and overcast morning.  I banged out two weeks-old Blog posts, and ate one of the motel’s waffles for breakfast.  Today, I'm not birding, but rather am taking the morning for a more important item.  At around 10 a.m., I went down to the West Hill Cemetery in town and visited my brother Paul’s grave site.  Paul passed away just about a year ago, from a fungal lung infection that wasn’t correctly diagnosed, and he was treated for ‘bronchitis’ and ‘pneumonia’ until he died.  Paul was the third person I’ve known in the last 10 years who had suffered the same fate.  I wish that the medical community paid a bit more attention to the possibility of fungal infections, rather than just saying "oh, it's pneumonia" . . .

Rest In Peace, my brother

I’d called the Waldo Funeral Home, and the gentleman who answered looked up the location for me.  Many thanks to Funeral Home staff who work on the weekends!  There is still just a Funeral Home marker at the grave, and it seems to me that this Veteran deserves better.  I stopped by the house, and noted that there was no one home, so I left a note for Paul’s widow.   I later heard from my Sister-In-Law that she was visiting family in the Philippines, and that they were still working on getting a headstone.

I continued on down the road, pretty much angling toward Marble Falls, Texas, as I want to search tomorrow for the Golden-cheeked Warbler at Balcones Canyon National Wildlife Refuge.  This would be a “Life Bird” for me, so it’s worth putting a few miles in today.  I pulled into the Motel 6 on Highway 281, gassed up at the Stripes and settled in for the evening.  The only bird-related thing I did today was to note a Guinea Hen in the motel’s parking lot on my way back from the Stripes.

Marble Falls eBird Checklist is Here