2021 Feb 8, Day Trip to Huntsville, Alabama

Hubby and I rode to Huntsville today for my entomologist appointment. You know the drill by now. Stay in your car, and call the office to let them know you are there; they will call you back when you can come inside. Once inside the building, they take your temperature; you are given a sticker to place on your shirt or blouse that says you are okay to enter the building. Once inside, I checked in; after a short wait, I was called back to the waiting room. The pressure in both my eyes was checked, and both registered 15; the optic nerve in both eyes was checked, and nothing changed. I had taken my big camera with me; I wanted to get a few pictures of the waterfowl and colorful fish that swam at Big Spring Park, so that was our next stop. On our way to Huntsville, the thermometer on the car read 35 and showed snow, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining; not much wind, with a little chill in the air. I took my coat but never had to put it on.

Canadian Geese 

We then rode to Braham Spring Park, where we saw Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, and a few starlings eating and swimming at the park. I said it's such a beautiful day. Let's go to the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in Decatur, so we entered I-565, and not far past the airport, the traffic was bumper to bumper because they were working on the road and were merging into one lane. We then turned onto I-65 only to find out they were working on the interstate and merging into one lane. We finally made it to our turn-off, and Hubby said what do you think about getting lunch at Libby's in Priceville. I said that sounded good, for I love old fried catfish. I was not disappointed; I ordered one piece of fillet with coleslaw, hush puppies, onion, baked potato, and iced tea. I could not eat it. I also got a to-go box.

Catfish plate @Libby's in Priceville, Alabama

We then rode to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge to see what was left of the Sandhill Cranes, and to my disappointment, there were just a few. The visitor center was closed, and so was the observation building. There was a wooden wall with holes cut out to view the fields, but no birds. We stopped at Jack's in Decatur for a diet Coke and two strawberry Cheesecake pies. Our last stop was a Wheeler Dam to see the waterfowl. Saw a few White Pelicans, so we didn't stop. When we got home, I went outside and filled both bird feeders and saw more birds at home than I did at all the places where we had stopped. We have Cardinals, Wrens, Finch, Tuff Titmouse, Mourning Doves, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Downy Woodpeckers, just to name a few of our backyard birds.

2021 Feb 2, Day trip to Guntersville, Alabama & Ground Hog Day

Hubby and I rode to Guntersville via Hartselle. We were in Muscle Shoals, so we took 72 to 157 through Moulton, turning 36 into Hartselle. We saw Oh! Bryans is my hubby's favorite place to eat. We had planned to eat at Libby's in Priceville, but since we had taken a different route and would not go past Libby's, we decided to stop in Hartselle. The food was great at a reasonable price. We like to take the back roads when traveling because you never know what treasures you may find. I loved the way that they had decorated Oh! Bryans. At the front where you check out was the front of an old car(57' Chevy), and not far away was the backend of two other cars used for waiting benches. If you ever are in Hartselle, you need to check out OH! Bryans.

 O'Bryan's Hartselle 

Eating steak, sweet potato, and toast

Salad Bar food

I ordered the sirloin steak with sweet potato and a glass of water with lemon. Hubby ordered a Delmonico steak and baked potato with salad. After lunch, we rode to Guntersville State Park, where we saw several deer. Stopped at the pier in Guntersville, where we saw hundreds of Double-crested Comomorants and Sea Gulls. We stopped at Ollie's in Madison and bought a couple scissors. We stopped at Russell Stovers in Athens, where hubby and I both ordered a small waffle cone with ice cream. (Rockie Road). Then on to Aldi for a few groceries, then home. The sun came out, but the temperature hung around 42 degrees all day. After a long cold outing, I was ready to warm up, so I climbed into my warm bed and fell asleep.

flock of birds

Deer