Boaz

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As we got in the truck to drive back to Bob's in Boaz, we heard the lion roaring again. We met Bob at his house and then went to eat breakfast. We had pecan waffles. MMMMM! Then Bob drove us all over the Boaz area. There was corn stubble in the fields. People's vegetable gardens were still growing, especially cabbages. We're still amazed that so many places have vegetable gardens without fences around them. I guess the deer and the rabbits have plenty of other food of their own! We picked up Bob's grandson from pre-school and continued our tour. The outlet mall closed, but there are a few outlet stores in a strip on another street nearby. We went by two chicken processing plants, Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride (the Pilgrim family started it). The towns in the area have rundown areas and nice subdivisions with large homes. We had a very good visit with Bob. Too bad Helen was taking a class in another town while we were there!
We left Bob's to go to Lake Guntersville because Nancy's bird book said there might be bald eagles and slews of waterbirds. There were blow-up Christmas decorations in yards, including one of a Nativity scene, which we had never seen before. We passed a corn mill and grain elevators. They were either loading or unloading corn from a barge. When we got to the park, there was a sewage treatment plant with a chain link fence around it. Inside the fence, were four rheas. We couldn't see how they got in, they couldn't fly out because they can't fly, and we didn't understand WHY they were in there! We wanted to see some interesting birds, but that sure wasn't what we expected! Down by the lake, we saw big flocks of coots (mudhens). This must be what they mean when they say "there's a whole raft" of something. We sat at a specified location to watch for eagles at dusk. We thought we saw two sail into trees, but they were too far away to tell. There was an absolutely splendiferous sunset. As we passed the grain elevator on the way back, Nancy looked at the barge. It was emptier, not fuller, so the tube was sucking the corn up into the plant. We went to O'Charley's for dinner. Rich ordered clam chowder because it's Friday. Believe it or not, he actually rated it as a delicious 6! When we got back to the park, all the lights were on and the little train was running. We debated about riding the train to see the lights and to possibly catch a glimpse of the lion, but we wimped out because it's cold! It's supposed to go below freezing tonight. In the campground, a lot more campers had arrived for the weekend. Many of them were decorated with strings of lights for Christmas. We never would have thought of it!
When we slept, we were dreaming of going into the Deep South where it will be warm!

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Photos

Heron
Look at the orange of the sunset on its legs and back!