Sunday, December 7, 2014

Gus

1. gus 10-20-2014

December 7, 2014: Today is Gus’ birthday. I’ve been married to this man for 37 years and I have never appreciated him more. He doesn’t like birthday cards and I can’t bake him a 1a. me in ER 12-5-14cake or buy him a present this year, because Thursday night as I was walking across the yard I heard my knee pop and my leg gave out. I managed to walk into the house just fine but as the night wore on my knee got worse and by morning I could not walk. Gus took me to the emergency room at 5:30 AM where they x-rayed my knee and told me I have arthritis. The doctor thinks I may have torn a ligament and I am currently hobbling around on crutches while we wait for my next doctor’s appointment.  This means I cannot fill my bird feeders. But, my husband has graciously taken up the task, even though I know it is more work than he wants to do. I have about 8 feeders in my yard, not counting suet feeders. One of them holds meal worms, which the chickadees just love. Of course, the woodpeckers love the suet and I am getting Downys, Hairys, and a single female Red-headed Woodpecker now.

2. bird feeder-kab I am sure that after today he thinks I am nuts, but he knows that if he doesn’t do it, I will be out in the snow with my crutches trying to do it myself! Still, one of my feeders really had him stumped, but he finally figured it out!

3. Gus filling feeders 12-6-2014

4. cedar waxwings oklahoma-gusto

We are quite the pair, the two of us. And we have had lots of adventures together. Because of Gus, I have had the opportunity to travel all over the United States. This has allowed me to see so many birds in so many different places. Gus is not into birds like I am, but he does love nature and he does love adventure and he does love me. Gus use to love photography as well, and so, while I was photographing birds, he use to photograph whatever interested him. But a few years ago his vision started to deteriorate and he can no longer see the fine details enough to make photography fun for him. So, today’s post is a tribute to my husband and his patience with me and my birds. It is my way of thinking him. It is my online birthday card for him. Almost all the following photographs were taken by him when he could see better. It is his view of the world and of me. And yes, there are birds!

Phoenix January 2010

In January of 2010 Gus and I drove into Phoenix to see a performance of Riverdance, which was a Christmas Gift from my son and his wife. After the matinee we drove to the Rio Saludo Project just a few miles south where Gus and I took a walk and counted and photographed birds. I just realized I never posted these photos as my computer crashed at that time. These are Gus’ pictures from that day.

5. Phoenix Jan 2010-gustoMe on the trail at the Rio Saludo Project along the Salt River

6. coot toes Jan 2010-gustoCoot Toes

6a. rio saludo-gustoTrail along the river

 

6b. rio saludo-gustoTree trunks and grasses

 

6c. verdin-gustoVerdin 

6d. blackandwhite warbler-gustoBlack and White Warbler

This is the one that got away from me. Gus kept telling me he saw a different warbler, but I ignored him, thinking it was yet another yellow-rumped warbler. It wasn’t until we offloaded his photos that I saw the bird he was talking about. By then it was too late and I missed my opportunity to see and record a Back and White Warbler in Maricopa County!

6e. cormorants-gustoDouble-crested Cormorants

 

6f. the salt river-gustoThe Salt River 

  6g. rio saludo pond-gusto

Oklahoma, March 2010 

7. Harris sparrow March 2010-gustoHarris Sparrow

Bosque del Apache, NM March 2010 

8. bosque del apache-gusto 

9. gbhe bosque del apache-gusto Great Blue Heron

10. western bluebird Bosque-gustoWestern Bluebird

 

11. roadrunner Bosque del apache-gustoGreater Roadrunner

 

12. GBHE Bosque-gusto Great Blue Heron

Roosevelt Lake, AZ June 2010

13. bridge Roosevelt Lake June 2010-gusto Looking through the bridge

14. Roosevelt Lake June 2010-gustoBridge over Roosevelt Lake

Cochise County, Arizona, August 2010 

15. Texas canyon-gusto Texas Canyon

16. Lake Cochise-gustoLake Cochise sunset

 

17. lake cochise-gusto Lake Cochise

Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts, January 2011

18. January 2011 Salisbury beach-gusto 

19. Salisbury beach-gusto 

20. salisbury beach-gusto

 

The Salton Sea, November 2012

21. Salton sea November 2012-gusto In November of 2012 Gus surprised me by planning a trip to the Salton Sea for Thanksgiving. We had just moved back to Tucson and I was looking forward to spending the holiday with our oldest son, but who could pass up a trip to the Salton Sea? Neither one of us knew what to expect, except we envisioned something a little more sophisticated. The Salton Sea is actually very remote and rural in a very depressed part of California. But oh, the BIRDS! There were so many and we had one of the best adventures of our lives! While I have posted my pictures and photos of this trip before, I just recently offloaded Gus’ pictures. All of these are his.

22. me at the salton sea-gustoMe trying out my new spotting scope at the Salton Sea

 

23. birds at the salton sea-gusto 

24. gull salton sea-gusto 

25. salton sea beach-gusto Too many birds to count!

Happy Birthday Gus!

26. grampa gus 2012-kab He’s a wonderful grandpa!

 

27. gus 2014-kab …and an old Maine-iac!

 

28. blossom-kab He loves his old dog, Blossom.

 

29. roads to travel-kabAnd, we still have so many roads to travel…

…before we sail off into the sunset!

30. pelicans-gusto  Pelicans at the Salton Sea, November 23, 2012

34 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Gus, this is one phenomenal birthday card, better than any you can buy at the store. I am so sorry you hurt your knee Kathie and I hope it isn't long before you are back on your feet again. You have a sweet husband taking care of you and of all those beautiful birds you love. Now I am going to go back and look at all of your photos. They truly are amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Denise, thank you! He really is a great guy! And he is still so handsome, too!

      Delete
    2. I am going to try this again Not thinking too clearly at almost 2:00 am :-). I started out saying that yes, Gus certainly is a handsome guy, I did notice, lol, but didn't want to sound too forward, lol. I am back to apologies for not being too clear on my gull and duck post. I will have to do something about that tomorrow when I am not so tired. We were in the southern part of Norway back in June at a lake. I THINK this is a black- headed gull, although his head is actually a chocolate color but looks black from a distance. There is some info about him here and I would be very interested in what you think. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-headed_gull

      Have a great day tomorrow and speedy healing.

      Delete
  2. Happy birthday, Gus. Let's go Red Sox!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug, Gus smiled when I read this to him! He will always be a Red Sox Fan! Thank you!

      Delete
  3. WOW! Well that is the BEST birthday card i am sure anyone has EVER had and such a wonderful tribute you gave your very handsome husband. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUS. I am sorry to hearing about your knew but i hop e it will not be long before you are more mobile. The photographs is this post are fantastic. I hope you have a great week ahead to you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Birthday, Gus! Kathie, this post is a lovely tribute to your hubby.. The birds and scenic photos are all wonderful. I hope your knee feels better soon! Have a happy Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eileen, thank you for your kind thoughts and well wishes. I am feeling a bit better, but still need to use the crutches.

      Delete
  5. What a beautiful tribute to your wonderful husband! So sorry to hear you have hurt your knee. All the best for your recovery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Carole! I just want to be able to go outside and bird again and fill my bird feeders!

      Delete
  6. OK, so maybe he doesn't want us gushing all over him, but you certainly have a keeper. Handsome, talented photographer and loves you. What more could a woman ask for. Other than walking without crutches. Happy Birthday Gus!!!!! Big hug.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gaelyn, he doesn't mind me gushing. He just hates wasting money on a card! He loves this stuff (i.e., me writing about him)! His version of wrapping paper is the bag the clerk put the present in when you bought it! I once wrapped one of his presents in a plastic grocery bag and he was thrilled!

      and I hope I will soon be walking without crutches!

      Delete
  7. Hi Kathie. A super tribute to your loving husband. Hope your Knee recovers quickly.

    Many Happy Returns .. Gus.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy Birthday, Gus. I think you have worn out Kathie's knees by taking her to all those places. A wonderful tribute as well as a travelogue. Kathie, I hope you are up and running soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kenneth, I think you may be right! Thank you so much for your kind comments! I hope I am up and running again soon as well!

      Delete
  9. Kathie, what a lovely birthday card and tribute to your soul-mate of 37 years! May you both celebrate many more birthdays and years together. Sorry about your knee trouble, hope it heals fast!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hope you are much better soon! Knees with arthritis are not fun. I understand your joy in a helpful and loving husband. I've got that going here, too and have so appreciated Mike's willingness to fill the bird feeders when my back was too bad to do them. I know he doesn't care as much as I do, so the sacrifice is that much more. Happy Birthday to Gus and best wishes to you both.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary, thank you for your empathy and understanding. Filling the feeders means so much to me. I cannot stand to see the poor little birds looking for food and finding them empty!

      Delete
  11. Happy Birthday, Gus. Kathie what a beautiful post/tribute to him. How are you? Hope you are on the mend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy, thank you from Gus, and thank you for myself. I am trying to be on the mend, but it is slow going.

      Delete
  12. A great tribute. Dear Kathie I hate to think you are immobile for any length of time, so hope that doesn't last long. Good that you can see birds from the window. A lovely set of images as well, I particularly like the scenic landscape snow shot. You have a great partner in life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roy, it is very hard to be stuck at home. I had planned on taking one last birding adventure sometime before Christmas, but now I am stuck! Gus did have a very artistic eye and I am so sorry he cannot do his photography any more! I do agree that I have a great partner in life. He is a good man.

      Delete
  13. You and that great photographic eye need to come birding in Nebraska with me this spring! Kathie, get that knee healed up quick.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rick, now that would be a dream come true! I would love to do that. I may make that my goal! That would give me something to shoot for and look forward to!

      Delete
  14. Happy belated birthday Gus! And why isn't that guy doing more of this photography?? He's great! As for you, stop falling apart over there:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris, I sure wish he could. as for me, I will try. I don't want to fall apart anymore!

      Delete
  15. What a wonderful post, sharing the best that a good marriage can provide over the years. I hope Gus had a good birthday despite the lack of a cake, and that your knee is improving. Crutches must be difficult in snow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Wanderer, ice is even worse for crutches! I'm kind of missing Tucson right about now! Thanks for your visit and comment!

      Delete
  16. Kathie, this is a wonderful tribute to your dear Gus and thank you for posting his beautiful photos. A real joy, especially that cha-cha dancing great blue heron. You are such a lovely couple.
    Thank you for being my friend and sending me those sweet Christmas wishes. Since my husband died, I have been an intermittent blogger, not up to visiting much. Hope to see more of your work in the coming year though.
    I have finally my easel up and am going back to oil painting.
    Lots of love and A Happy Christmas to you both as well as your family.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.