Several months ago I volunteered to write a one-act monologue on Connie Hagar, the famous Rockport birder of a time long past. It was at our Aransas Bird and Nature Club planning meeting. We were hosting the Texas Ornithological Society meet in mid-April. Finding someone to memorize and present this piece was a chore. I came up with the best possible person. She was Jennifer Edwards, drama teacher at Ingleside High School. Last night (Saturday) was the presentation to about 150 members and guests. It was superb! Jennifer was simply great. I could not have been more pleased. To discover more about this remarkable woman she portrayed simply type in ConnieHagar.com. That should do it. Our information came from the book by Kay McCracken.
Today I preached for the first time as Interim Pastor at Taft. It was kinda' neat, runny nose and all. Laura and her family were there. She and James married in this church. The congregation is very small. There is much to do, but I will do what I can to prepare them for a pastor in the future.
This Saturday our Roadrunners birding team of Olivia Smith, Savannah Rozacky, and Emily Duprie, will seek to defend their first place finish from last year against teams of their age, from the entire gulf coast of Texas. Last year these kids won by identifying eighty-seven different birds in an eight hour period. They can have NO help. I have to approve or reject their call. Yesterday, in a trial run of five hours these three super-good girls came up with ninety-four species. Our goal is ONE HUNDRED different birds in eight hours. It will be a REAL challenge. There are over 600 birds in the state. They are not all here, however. Some are here only in winter. Others like to hide. Our favorite bird yesterday was the crazy-looking least bittern. He likes to stretch up in reeds and look like a reed. He is good at it. Birds are fun.
