You haven’t heard from me for a couple of reasons. One is that I’ve had so much fun stuff to do that it’s been hard finding time to write. I had lots of guests last weekend, and my company has been busy buying houses and commercial buildings. That’s all good.
The other is that it has been “one of those weeks” in which one weird thing after another keeps happening. I’ve been losing things, had a near-miss accident, have said some really odd and atypical things to others, and more.
The good news is that I’ve managed to get all my work done and am ready for a mini-vacation in Fredericksburg, so there should be some good nature stuff come out of that.
In the woods
Last weekend, Justin (nephew of the ranch neighbors) was here, and he and I had a great time tromping through our woods with the dogs (it was the first real tromp for the two newest ones). He is very much like me, in that he really notices things.
We found a really big snakeskin, which I am pretty sure came from a snake I “know” from having seen it before, a very long rat snake.
And in addition to the beautiful tree fungus we saw (above), we found a jawbone of what we think is an opossum (at least according to my googling).
Sadly, the deceased cow we had been looking for was already removed by the people who lease the land. I feel bad that one of those pretty cows died. They called it “summer pneumonia.” Huh. No one we talked to had ever heard of that.
And in Austin…
Anita and I were walking yesterday and the dog, Pickle, found this very perturbed praying mantis. It has really cool wings and kept flapping them at Pickle to make her go away. I’d never gotten such a good view of their wings before. Not all the species apparently have such wings. I believe this one is an Arizona mantis. They are common in the area, along with another couple of types.
There, new knowledge for you. More soon!
I’m always on the lookout for snake skins, bones/skulls, cool rocks, etc. while on hikes. I’ve got a whole cabinet of curiosities … my family thinks I’m a weirdo, but I don’t care. I like nature. OH, and btw, the fungus photo was awesome! Happy hunting!
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Very cool!
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