23 Apr - Exploring North Dakota

I got an unexpected Saturday afternoon and Sunday off, and drove to the eastern part of the state, for a visit with my friend Birdie and her family, at their home out in the country. There was still snow in some of the ditches and fields, though much of it had melted. The flickertail woodpeckers (Northern Flickers) [right] and dark-eyed juncos [above]were migrating through, and I enjoyed watching many in her yard, and at the bird feeder. Their King Charles Spaniel Wally enjoyed watching the bird feeder too! :-) Her grandkids had had an Easter egg hunt that morning, and were still finding an occasional egg. They were also enjoying the kittens. How fortunate they are, to have such a wonderful place to go to, when they visit their grandparents.

I got a first-hand look at some of the flooding when I drove through Valley City on my way back to Bismarck.

My second weekend with some time off, I drove to Fargo and spent some time with my sister Joy and her husband. This was the one day that it was nice enough (around 60) that we got to sit outside on the deck at the restaurant. It was warm enough when the sun was shining that I felt comfortable; when the sun went behind a cloud, it was a little too chilly for me. Joy brought me some beautiful roses, for a (very) early birthday celebration for me.

While I was in Bismarck, the State of North Dakota requested that FEMA do a preliminary damage assessment for the program in which I work (Individual Assistance, which deals primarily with home repair and replacement), so I led one of several teams scattered in counties around the state for a few days, assessing the damage to homes and businesses. [Photo on left above - used to be a road.]I saw more first-hand damage, not only to real estate, but also extensive damage to roads, that made it very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get to where we needed to go. One of my assessment teammates thought that my rented SUV might be the dirtiest vehicle on the road, after driving all those back roads.
I got to spend one quiet evening driving around the countryside outside of Jamestown, and enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the marshes - often some of my favorite places. Also saw the Pipestem Dam, lots of water birds, and more evidence of flooding everywhere.

My last night in North Dakota, I made a second visit to my friend Birdie's. This time the juncos and flickers were gone, but the rose-breasted grosbeaks and goldfinches were migrating through. Once again, I enjoyed my time in North Dakota, but was very happy to be returning to the warm weather of the southwest. :-)