It’s like I live in a zoo

One thing’s for certain, this part of the world (central Texas) is chock full of critters. It’s Ellie Mae Clampett’s dream ranch. Okay, hers would have more critters. Still, today was quite the zoo exhibition around here.

It started out simply, when I fed the fish and headed to turn the water off. There at the spigot was a mantid (probably Carolina mantis), just looking at me like I was interfering with its insect hunting. So I bade that specimen farewell.

I went back in for a set of meetings, the second of which had me quite frustrated. So I went outside to breathe for a few minutes. I was so grateful that the blue mist plant had attracted more butterflies than usual. There were three Queens and a Gulf Fritillary flitting around and completely ignoring me. They’d go right by me so close I could feel the breeze from their wings. Five minutes of that and I was ready to debrief.

My next outing/work break was extra fun. I fed the songbirds and noted a White-crowned Sparrow on the tree stump. Yay, those are what I put the food out for. As I was writing down the birds before leaving for lunch, I heard something. It was not a hawk. It was not an Osprey. It was a Bald Eagle! Merlin Bird ID had registered one a couple of days last week, but I hadn’t heard it with my own ears. This time I heard it! I hoped I’d see it when I was driving but I didn’t. I know they are found in this county, but we aren’t near the big lake near Rockdale where they nest.

The afternoon featured only domestic animals, but as I was turning the water to the horse tanks and turkeys I noticed it looked like we’d paid a landscaping company to aerate the lawn. An armadillo or armadillos had been on a grubbing spree. They even dug some pretty big holes. Well, that wouldn’t have happened on Goldie’s watch!

In the late afternoon, Lee and I sat out by the pool to enjoy the pleasant weather and share ideas for the house in Ruidoso. Suddenly, Lee pointed out something in the pool. It was a Banded Water Snake!

For a few minutes we thought it might be dead, but soon enough it started swimming around. It’s a salt-water pool (not very salty) so we weren’t worried about its safety. It can also easily exit via the “beach” area. I’m sure it will be back in the pond soon. Just hope it doesn’t find the goldfish.

The animal parade wasn’t over yet! As the sun was setting, the familiar sound heard in November and March got louder and louder, the unmistakable call of the Sandhill Cranes. I’ve gone on and on about how much I enjoy them before, perhaps as recently as last week. But it was fun to have someone with me to watch them this time. They were flying much higher than last time, and there were many more, with multiple Vs. And yes, I took a lot of pictures. Enjoy or skip, it’s all good with me.

Any lingering annoyance I felt dissipated with the passing of the cranes. Plus, I got to text with my only remaining friend from college, with whom I shared MANY adventures and spoke poorly in Japanese but got much more fluent after some drinks. Some people you just always feel connected to. She’s one of them!