arachnid sightings – The Hermits' Rest

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.

Watch them fly!

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!

Oh, travel, oh, drainage

What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?

My blog today has two topics, travel and drainage. They go together so well, right? So, let’s tackle that blog prompt.

The thing that makes my travel easier for me is to book seats near the front of the plane when I fly, even if it means paying a few extra dollars. It not only gets me more legroom, but gets me on the plane early enough that there’s plenty of space for my carry-on bag, then gets me off the plane quickly, which makes quick connections much less stressful. Less stress is good for me.

So many lines at airports! Get TSA Pre-check!

For car travel, I try very hard to go on days that are not Friday or Sunday, which avoids weekend travelers in a hurry. And don’t go to Buc-ees on a holiday weekend. It’s torture.

Not following my own advice, some years ago

And now for drainage. I’ve spent much of my time recently thinking about flooding, since I had five hours on the Texas Hill Country floods of last year during the Master Naturalist meeting and also since there is horrible flooding in the Navajo Nation right now. It’s especially hard there, with so little infrastructure and such scattered populations. Keep them in your thoughts!

Today I watched the drainage system for our rainwater collection system getting set up. It’s important to have a good plan for what will happen once the tanks are full and overflow (seems far fetched right now, but our pattern is drought followed by flooding).

The drainage pipes for the tank behind the garage will go to the field behind us down to the tank (pond) behind the house. That pond drains to a pond further downhill and then to the creek. I’ll have pictures of it later.

Currently the tank could use some water.

The tank next to the house will go into the pipes you see below. The idea is that the water will end up in the lowest part of the front yard, which flows nicely down to the creek. There will be a little retention wetland area to slow the flow a bit. It’s not all 100% worked out yet, so that will be a fun surprise.

The ditch for laying the pipe is very popular with the dogs, who think we’re building them a playground. They are so dirty! Might as well wait until all the yard is smoothed down again to bathe them!

I enjoyed checking on the construction work between meetings and I also did some searching for pollinators. One giant swallowtail was fascinated by my red shirt today and kept following me around. So pretty! This is such a great time of year here in central Texas!

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.

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.

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.

Fun times with black rocks

Ha ha. I must start with the fact that yesterday’s post about looking at houses has had WAY more views than anything I ever posted. Now, the number of visitors was normal, just everyone looked at all the house photos. I don’t blame any of you. I also love sneak peeks at houses.

Martha and Mike left this morning so they could take two days to get to Cameron. Lee stayed at the cabin to await real estate news. Anita and I took the opportunity to drive through the beautiful scenery between Ruidoso and Capitan, New Mexico on our way to see my favorite National Treasure, the Valley of Fire. I couldn’t take pictures from the car, since I had to drive, but we did stop at a viewing spot for some viewing and photography. it isn’t the most spectacular view, but I enjoyed looking at the scenery, and it was incredibly quiet in between the few passing cars.

After making sure I wouldn’t die from eating a barberry fruit, we continued on through Carrizozo to our amazing destination. I’ve written about the Malpais (badlands), which are an ancient lava flow, before, but I’m sure a refresher won’t hurt.

These “badlands” are a kind of rock formation where lava is right at the surface. The geological name for the area is the Carrizozo Volcanic Field. It’s the result of many years of flow from Little Black Peak, ten miles away. You can see this area from the air on some flights. If you see White Sands, look north. The following is from Wikipedia:

See how close it is to where the first atomic bomb was set off!

Okay, enough geology. The place is simply wonderful to see. There are many plants and animals adapted to the terrain. We saw a lizard, bees in a hole, and many birds. The Rock Wren was new to me and we heard it lots. The Green-tailed Towhee was also a new one.

As for plants, early autumn brings much color to the black landscape. There were yellows, pinks, and purples everywhere, along with cholla, sotol, and yuccas. These are a mere few.

I was able to stop looking through binoculars or the camera lens to enjoy the lava formations and mountains in the distance. It’s an impressive site. As Anita said so eloquently, “Nature, she crazy!” It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by awe as you look at the chutes, flows, caves, and crags. New Mexico has so many geological wonders!

We enjoyed talking to the park volunteer, who had been many fun places with the park service, and who also happened to be an expert on homosexuality/transexuals and the Bible. She’s one of those trans pioneers who educates others kindly and politely. That’s got to be so hard sometimes. you just never know who you’ll meet!

We were hungry, so ate in the diner in Carrizozo. It was American Mexican food, not even Tex Mex. Oh well, it was food!

The drive back was through different scenery, which is always fun. We briefly stopped in Ruidoso to get Anita a sweatshirt. I got one, too, and these cute Zuni dragonfly earrings that will match my bumblebee jasper pendant I got earlier. It will be fun to wear to the Master Naturalist meeting in a few weeks.

I guess we’re ready to go home. Lee has been assured that any real estate business he needs to do can be done electronically, so we can go home. Things have gone a bit haywire there, so I need to check on stuff! Kathleen has been handling stuff like a superhuman!

Checking out various climatic zones

I guess you call it climactic zones, or is it ecological regions? Anyhow, we did some driving around today, and managed to enjoy a desert complete with dunes, a scrubby lowland environment, a desert rain forest, and land above the tree zone. That’s easily done in various parts of New Mexico! I also got to hear a Pygmy Owl, which is an exciting lifer!

While everyone was enjoying a slow morning, I enjoyed a pleasant walk around the hillside neighborhood where we’re staying.

I saw some interesting new plants and got to watch many birds, especially kinglets, nuthatches, and various sparrows.

I didn’t see any elk, but the mule deer were out in full force. The fawns are getting pretty big. One fellow was showing off his first antlers. And I did see a cautious buck behind a fence.

I could see pretty views of mountains right in the neighborhood, which makes turning corners fun. New vistas await!

Eventually we all got ready and smooshed into one car to drive to White Sands National Park. I’d been there twice before, but some of us hadn’t. It’s always worth a visit, as is the place with the world’s largest pistachio, in Alamogordo.

It’s gotten fancier, serving ice cream and wine from their vineyards, but they still have the important things: flavored pistachios and a giant pistachio to take your picture with. Purchases were made and photos taken!

After this important visit, we were clear to head past an Air Force base and a missile base until we arrived to the largest gypsum deposit on earth’s surface. I always forget how much life there is in those dunes.

It was especially interesting this visit, because of all the recent rains. Playas (shallow lakes formed by rainfall) had filled up and the little plants were all plumped up. I’d never seen water at White Sands.

I found this spider that may be ***Asagena fulva***

After we got our fill of looking around, Mike and I went on a short trail to see a real playa (brilliantly named Playa Trail). We saw birds, insects, and plants of the area. There was a good amount of water in the playa!

We were hungry after all that sand, so we lucked out and found a great Mexican restaurant with the excellent New Mexican variations. My green chile pork was so good, and the beans had so much flavor. Everyone else’s food looked great, too. After that, we went the long way home through Cloudcroft, because some of our group had never been on that spectacular drive.

I was too busy looking to get any photos, but it’s really a surprise when the terrain suddenly switches from scrubby desert to huge pine and other trees. The drive through the National Forest is a bit tricky (glad Lee drove) but gorgeous. Here are a couple more photos from the early part of the drive.

Once we got home, we mostly collapsed, but Mike and I figured out a place we can work and not bother the others (and Martha’s visiting family) next week. I’ll show you tomorrow!

Thanks for sticking with me. I’m handling things pretty well, mentally.

Who wants to read this?

How do you write what people actually want to read?

What a good question! If I had set my sights on being a professional content creator or influencer, I’d probably think about this question more. I blog because I have a compulsion to write, and I enjoy connecting with others and getting feedback. I don’t feel authentic if I tailor everything I say to get people interested. On the other hand, I don’t want to alienate my friends and family who read my messages to them, so I don’t want to come off as rude or confrontational.

That doesn’t mean I don’t. I have heard enough feedback that I come through as condescending or think I’m better than others to know I can irritate folks. I’m grateful that my work in being okay with not being everyone’s cup of tea has paid off, and that I’m comfortable not pleasing people whose beliefs I disagree with. We do t all have to agree.

That being said, I enjoy sharing sweet snippets of rural life and quirky thoughts that might bring a smile to some readers’ faces. That works for me!

Cuteness did occur today, as some clever horse opened a gate and let everyone out to seek green grass. I think I saw it happen, just by luck, as I looked out the window.

I let them find the few places that are still green (near the septic field and where we water a tree), and they had quite a fun day. I really enjoy watching the horses having fun.

I’m taking a bit of a work break while some things get figured out, so I got to hang out with the birds and my garden spider friend for a while this morning.

I’m always surprised at how many plants are just fine in dry periods. The dove weed and snake weed keep going no matter what, which pleases the pollinators.

Much of the day was spent getting ready for a trip, so everything got watered, fed, and prepped for my absence. It should all be fine, since we have folks watching over the plants and animals. Of course the horses had to get their food. They were very good and all came back into the pens when I asked them to, except one.

Spice really wanted to help me dole out their rations. She tried to come in the feed shed, but didn’t like the step. Whew. She did a good job of cheering me up!