The Hermits' Rest

Who do I want to be?

If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week, who would it be and why?

You know, being famous doesn’t appeal to me very much. I’d like to be appreciated by those who matter to me, but being famous and surrounded by “fans” is not appealing. Maybe I could switch with someone who’s famous for being an anonymous benefactor would be okay. I’d enjoy benefacting.

I always feel magnanimous feeding the fish.

Nah, I’m all accustomed to being me. I’m used to my quirks, my personality, my pleasantly average looks, and the friends and family who can put up with me (and vice versa). Since there’s always something new to learn right here being me, I’ll just stick with it through all the ups and downs.

My nails are ready for the Master Naturalist annual meeting!

Here in the adequately interesting world of Suna, I found a few more butterflies for the Bioblitz, but I’m ready to blitz hard tomorrow in Waco.

The team at KCC Construction was at full strength today, which means the form for the big slab to hold the huge water tank now has buttresses to hold the weight of the concrete, an area all smoothed for the pad to hold pumps and filters, and the drains set up. Plus much rebar has been bent for more strength. That pad’s gonna be solid!

I tried to do two errands at lunch, but once again managed to hit the pharmacy during their lunch break. Sigh. However, Lee and I did manage to vote. It felt good to vote for people I actually know and like. I did have a bit of a panic attack when I was finished. I guess my internal angst about the outcome slipped out. I chatted with a friend and feel better now. I’ll deal with what happens later when it’s later.

Thanks for all the nice thoughts on what I share. I feel like I’m talking to very quiet people. Thanks, too, for your messages, texts, and calls.

Book Report: Carry Your Heart

This book gave me so much to think about that it’s taken me a while to share about it. Louis Busch is so transparent and open in his writing that you can’t help but admire him. Carry Your Heart: Indigenous Helping Wisdom and the Science of Psychological Flexibility is a challenging read in more than one way, but I’m very glad I stuck with it.

The first challenge for me was that I was unfamiliar with both the indigenous ways of thinking and the Western psychological framework that form the background for the teachings that Busch shares. I learned a great deal about both and came out of the book with some great perspectives on coping with life’s challenges.

Another challenge for me was that the book rambled a bit and changed focus suddenly from Busch and the people he interviews helping the reader to all of us hoping Busch can get the help he needs when his brother dies partway through the book. I was so concerned for Busch that I forgot all about trying to learn for myself. Of course, that probably taught me a lot about letting people deal with their own traumatic experiences in their own way (which I have needed to practice a lot lately, so it’s a very useful skill).

Nonetheless, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to learn about resilience from the elders Busch talks to, mostly from western Canada, but also from all over Turtle Island, as I’m getting accustomed to calling our part of the world. I had to think a lot about how these Native Americans view pain, suffering, and sadness. The idea of carrying your heart, not hiding it but treating it gently, opened my eyes to a different way of coping.

I learned the important lesson that pain and sorrow can be your teachers that don’t necessarily leave you. They help you move on and gain wisdom that you can share with others you encounter. This really made me look at how I’ve lived my life differently. I’ve spent so much effort to bury my pain, not show my hurt, and “feel good,” that I’ve missed out on some potential lessons and the chance to act more authentically.

Honestly, some of my ideas about mental health and resilience have been shifted so much that I need to continue to dwell on what I’ve found in this book. I may need to re-read parts. I’m not going to usurp any Native American practices, though I found many of them fascinating. That feels like appropriating other people’s cultures. I think I can find equivalents of being in ceremony, offering tobacco, or doing a sweat lodge within my own spiritual heritage. That feels appropriate to me.

I may not have made much sense here, and this is the best I can do after a few days of introspection. If you are interested in different perspectives on life’s struggles and willing to put in the effort to take in new ideas that aren’t spoon fed (you have to work!), this book can help you learn to carry your heart toward wisdom and compassion.

Take it from this canine elder, spiritual peace takes work.

Blitzing the biology

I’ve continued making observations for the 2026 Texas Pollinator Bioblitz this weekend. It’s like I went camping, only I stayed home, with all the walking, stalking and talking? No talking. I just took pictures but that does not rhyme.

I even climbed a hill, the only one around here.

After the incredibly windy day Friday, it was more pleasant to go look for pollinators and the plants they pollinate this weekend. But the wind had bashed a lot of the few plants that should still be blooming. For example, I’d really looked forward to getting pictures of Snow on the Mountain on my walk today, but I had a hard time finding any whose flowers hadn’t blown off.

Anyway, I’m doing okay finding things to contribute. Right now I (Sunasak) look like quite the little blitzer. However, the real hardcore participants include Texas Parks and Wildlife staff and people with good cameras who need to process their images. By the end, I’ll be more in the center.

Anyway, at least it’s gotten me out of the house. The only other stuff I’ve done is feed various animals. Spice messed up the water trough AGAIN and the rest of the horses have found the cockleburs. Apache feels it’s his duty to take over from Drew, so he requires daily work. I don’t think he minds the added attention!

The number of butterflies I’ve seen is larger than I expected. The Gulf Fritillary family is still busy laying eggs on passion vines, so they were easy to get good photos of.

There are many tiny Ceraunus Blue butterflies yesterday, but a good number of others, too.

Of course, butterflies aren’t the only pollinators. I found plenty of bees, wasps, and other insects (which may or may not be pollinators).

I did find a good number of plants, but not many great plant photos. This is not a good time of year for pretty plant images. It’s a good thing I know what a lot of plants look like when they’ve gone to seed!

I also have to report on birds, even if they aren’t part of the Bioblitz. On Friday, with all that wind, I only had 11 species, but it was a bit better yesterday with the arrival of much cooler weather and my little buddies the White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. Today has been quite good, with over 40 species so far (I’m writing in the early evening). The best part is that I got some photos, including a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that Merlin didn’t register.

I’ll spare you the dog adventures this weekend. They were sort of unpleasant, but in the end, they’re all fine. I hope you are, too, or at least heading that way.

Blown away!

It’s not hot anymore! The weather today would have been quite pleasant, except that the cold front literally blew in. Like a leaf blower on steroids.

Merlin only heard 8 bird species. Luckily my eyes saw three more, but 11 is a real low!

The mountain was gradually moved back to where the backhoe is, so the area could be smoothed down.

And the guys working on the forms for the cement pads had to be careful so pieces of wood wouldn’t blow them around. All the dirt moving also left a film of dust everywhere.

Worst: the cattle ranchers had spread fertilizer yesterday. Everything smells like poop. I was looking all over the house to see which dog had pooped, sprayed Lysol all over the house, and was totally baffled until I finally remembered that tractor pulling something behind it yesterday. Dogs are forgiven, but some horse is in Trouble for messing up yet another water trough float. (Spice)

I did manage to get out and snap some pollinator photos for the bioblitz, though the plants were very wiggly. I was surprised at how many butterflies and dragonflies stayed still long enough, and the workers found me a cool rabid wolf spider with eggs (not a pollinator, but interesting).

The wind had started to die down when we went to eat some Mexican food this evening. That bodes well for a chilly tomorrow!

Water, weather, welcome changes

Folks, I’m still thinking about the book I recently finished, so I’ll share some ranch updates that I’ve been observing and enjoying.

Someday this hill will be helping shape our drainage.

One thing that’s going on is that the project of setting up our huge water tanks to collect rainwater off the house and garage roofs is moving along, even though the least little bit of rain tries to fill the hole where the impressively deep concrete pad to hold the house’s tank is going to be.

Just a little rain started to make a new pond.

For example, it rained .04” yesterday, but because all the rain on the roof falls out of the same pipe, which of course is located on top of the hole, since eventually that’s where the tank will be. Even this morning’s heavy dew had a nice flow going. That bodes well for future dry spells, but not for setting up the forms to pour the concrete.

At least the amphibian population is happy.

This week my son and his helper have been getting things in line to create the forms for the big pad and a bunch of paths/sidewalks leading from our entry gate to the house, the pool, and the pool house. We will be SO fancy! Imagine not tracking in mud and stickers! Imagine not tripping on holes the dogs and visiting critters have dug! It’s so encouraging!

The guys have taken wood scraps we already have and cut or ripped them down to make stakes and holders for the plywood that will make the forms. As you can see, it involved a lot of sawing!

They’ve done a lot of other small jobs around the ranch, like trimming the willow trees beside the driveway, making the henhouse door larger so Darryl, the tom turkey can get in, and fixing two very vexing leaky pipes. Most important, the horses now have water again after the leaks got fixed. I’m so glad that our turn came!

Limbs no longer try to scratch vehicles.

Tomorrow should see lots more progress, and a very happy change in the weather! It’s going to cool off and be very pleasant, at last. I’m looking forward to more time in the birding hut before and after work, and a pleasant experience doing this year’s pollinator bio blitz, which starts tomorrow.

Maybe these mofos will get all sluggish or something.

I do hope the beautiful swallowtail and queen butterflies are still here for my intense iNaturalist activity over the next couple of weeks! And since the Master Naturalist annual meeting is next week in Waco, I’m in a nature-mania mode! Or more of these.

My new funnel weaver buddy, ***Barronopsis texana***

And that’s the news from the Hermits’ Rest.

Where to go?

What’s a country that’s at the top of your bucket list?

I think about this a lot, but more like where can I live safely and peacefully. First I’d like to see Scotland, because I’ve never been there in my trips to Great Britain and Ireland. A goodly percentage of ancestors were from there.

They have them there highland coos, you know. (photo from Pexels)

Besides, they don’t have rattlesnakes there, unlike my front porch.

It was encouraged to mosey on down the road before the pew pew brigade returns home. (Looks big, but is a juvenile)

I should be more chatty tomorrow. I’m still processing some stuff.

SEO? Huh?

What are your strategies for SEO?

I had SEO strategies once. I did earn $100 from ads in two years. Not worth torturing readers for.

I was up with the sun today! Final dentist appointment for 2026.

After a while I thought about why I want to blog and what outcomes I want. I write to help me process what’s going on around me and inside me. I write to stay in touch with friends and family. I write because I’ve journaled and blogged for so much of my life that it’s a part of me.

Perhaps photos of correctly constructed temperature blankets will generate engagement. It’s correct now, January through September.

So, my search engine optimization strategy is to hope those AI bots give me some stats and that a bunch of fake followers don’t suddenly disappear (I lost 900 followers one day earlier this year—pretty sure they weren’t real).

This Mediterranean gecko (***Hemidactylus turcicus)*** is real, however, and was chowing down on bugs on the porch.

I’m happy to get some interaction out of this blog and to be able to remember recent events through it. I know blogs aren’t forever. I’ve already lost two! It’s ok. It’s the process that counts for me.

Apparently the process is what’s important about the rainwater capture project, too. Hoping it only sprinkles tonight so they can keep prepping for cement tomorrow.

The year has gone fast, and hot

I have a book to write about, but I’m still thinking about it, so let’s talk about my annual craft project, the temperature blanket. I finally finished September, which had a lot of boring tan squares in it to fit the size of the other units. If you remember, the squares are set up like a monthly calendar.

Since September started on a Tuesday and ended on a Wednesday, there are ten tans to build out the six rows needed for other months, like August.

August is the middle unit here, and you can see it requires all six rows, though most months don’t. You can also see that is was extra hot this summer. Last year there was only one day over 100° (the bright pink). August only had two days with a high of less than 95! No wonder Lee wants a house in the mountains!

I was all happy to share this photo of the first 3/4 of the year until I looked at it. Dang. I attached the last row upside down. I guess I was too engaged in watching football to double check. You know what I’ll be doing tomorrow night! Looks like making progress on October will be delayed!

Here’s a distraction. Kathleen found this lady beetle larva in some plant litter that remained after I removed some annoying spurge.

It was a good day for looking at bugs and dead stuff around the swimming pool, I guess! More prep work got done for setting up the rainwater collection, so we were outside talking about it for quite a while.

She also found this velvet ant (really a flightless wasp).

I was a little slow all day today, I think. As I was listening to her spouse tell me stories, Kathleen snuck up behind me and started messing with my hair. I kept feeling around but didn’t find any bugs or anything. We just kept talking. Then Alfred surprised me when he snuck up and drooled on my foot, so I blamed the hair weirdness on him (how, I don’t know). I didn’t figure out it was actually Kathleen poking at me for way too long. At least we all got a good laugh out of it. Believe me, we needed it.

October Big Day

Today was the October Big Day for birders. Cornell Ornithology Lab was encouraging everyone to report all their bird sightings today on eBird or Merlin Bird ID. Of course, I was up for that, and because I had an upset tummy thing, I stayed close to home, making it a good day to observe.

Since its calving season, it was easy to spot Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, and Crested Caracaras.

There was a mama cow glaring at this Caracara who was enjoying a placenta snack (hey, it’s Nature’s cleaning service).

And House Sparrows were east to find, since they dominate the stump feeder.

Mostly, I enjoyed listening to birds. Mockingbirds are back to singing long and complicated songs, as are Carolina Wrens. (Bewick’s Wrens are still just buzzing.)

This Mockingbird was singing away on a high branch.

My favorite sight came late in the afternoon, when I went on a walk. Eastern Bluebirds were all over the pastures singing and diving for insects. They were pretty blue streaks against the brown grass.

All in all, I recorded 40 species today. That’s about average for this time of year. Below is the list, as checked off in the book Lee went to a lot of trouble to make me, only to find he forgot October. He’s making another one, and I’ll transfer these to the new book.

The list is birds I have seen before in November. It works for October. I just write in new species, and he will add them for next year. He likes to make books!

Good news: I’m feeling better mentally since coming home from New Mexico. I even had energy today to do all the chores and not feel exhausted. That made all the animals happy, because I hung out and played with them.

We were a little offended that you didn’t count us in the Big Day count, but we appreciated the romaine lettuce

I need to lose my post-horse-lesson depression weight, so my goal is to get back to my daily walks and horse stuff. It’s now cool enough in mornings and around sunset to walk without suffering, so I’m taking advantage of it. Besides, I get to enjoy flowers and sunsets!

The only hiccup in the day was putting the red border around September in my temperature blanket only to realize I’d omitted a row of blank squares. Oops. I should be able to show it tomorrow, though.

PS: more good news. I confirmed today that all three goldfish are still alive and swimming. There are still lots of the other fish, too, so Alfred is forgiven.

You asked, I’ll tell you about my mornings

Tell us about your morning routine.

Does anyone really care about this? If so, why? I’m happy to let all of you go about your mornings in peace and confidentiality. But, the Blog Prompter asked…

Leave now or be intrigued at the tedium.

I awaken most mornings at the civil hour of 7:15 am, which is possible because I work on the Pacific Coast but live in Texas, and have no commute.

Upon popping out of bed in an annoyingly non-grumpy manner, I pet some number of dogs, pee, then head to the closet and put on appropriate clothing for the day, usually jeans and some bird t-shirt.

In the bathroom I brush and floss my teeth (hoping to avoid future bridgework). I got a Waterpick today, so that will be added to the endless morning duties. Next, I take morning medications and supplements. It’s not that much.

Excitement builds as I wash my face with rose-scented micellar water, smooth on my serum, and apply my lotion with sunscreen over that. The only makeup I do is to pencil in credible eyebrows. Gray, to match my hair.

I brush my hair and figure some way of getting it out of my eyes, then comes the fun part. I decide what jewelry goes with the day’s outfit. Usually no one sees it but the family, but it’s fun for me.

Latest acquisition, pendant by Art Tafoya (Diné) — it has a snake! I won’t wear this too often since it’s pretty big.

Finally I go downstairs and start a cup of coffee, which is Folger’s, because it’s mild. While the coffee makes, I take the birding phone outside to catch the morning birds. I then take the coffee out on the screened porch and relax with Lee for a while. We catch up on news, Facebook, apps, etc. This is a great way to start the day!

The only photo I took today is this lovely rabid wolf spider.

On workdays, I head to my office, and on other days I’ll go for a walk or sit in my bird hut and watch birds, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, rabbits, and cattle. It’s new calf season, which is great.

Wow, that was a lot of detail. I did all those things today! Later in the afternoon Kathleen and I went to Temple (closest town with shopping centers) to look for a very specific outfit she needs to wear next week. We also had fun at Western store finding a couple of nice outfits that will fit her current size. I love Western stores.

We had dinner at Olive Garden, which was quite pleasant and laughed and talked about all the overwhelming “stuff” going on in our world right now. I think that helped our moods.