Bird Sightings – The Hermits' Rest

What DO I think about?

What are your thoughts about cryptocurrency?

As a matter of fact, I don’t think about cryptocurrency at all. I forget it exists for long stretches of time. I don’t bother it and hope it won’t bother me. This may be the longest span of time that I’ve ever dedicated to thinking about cryptocurrency.

I dislike regular currency, too, but I must interact with it.

Things I do like are free. Today was the last day of the Pollinator Bioblitz but all I did was enjoy butterflies. I’m sure glad I have the blue mist flower plant my Master Naturalist friend gave me, because it provides a free butterfly show every day.

Birds also take up a lot of my thinking time. I’m not ashamed about it. Observing how other forms of life behave is not a waste of time. It reminds me that I’m part of a bigger picture.

Our resident Great Blue Heron reminds me that there are advantages to drought: it’s a lot easier to fish for delicacies in a shallow pond.

Today I spent a long time watching dozens of Eastern Bluebirds sitting on our electric wire and taking turns dashing down for a bug, chewing a bit, then flying back up. There was plenty for all, so no need to fight. I’m thrilled to see so many of these beautiful birds with the haunting calls.

I thought they were starlings at first, since there were so many

I even dug in dirt today, mixing new compost into the raised bed and planting cheerful winter pansies and some leaf lettuce in where my pepper plants were. The peppers are perking back up after their wind damage, so I put them in leftover hanging baskets with some compost into case they want to produce more. Why not?

Yep, I’d rather be thinking about nice, green lettuce than cryptocurrency.

Sedate Samhain

There was very little spookiness for this year’s observance of the pagan new year (for some of us) or Halloween (for others). Tomorrow I’ll walk through the metaphorical door into the darkness/introspection/changes and we’ll see what happens next.

It’s vaguely autumnal now, with honey locust leaves turning.

Lee and I drove out to Temple to get me some bird feeders/seed at Wild Birds Unlimited, but it’s gone. So I managed to find substitutes at Lowe’s and Tractor Supply. Now that winter’s coming I want to supplement my stump feeder with a couple of hanging ones. All the winter sparrows and friends might enjoy variety. The House Sparrows won’t care.

We visited the antiques store area in downtown Temple, and I found two purple tea light holders from PartyLite, where I used to get a LOT of candles a few decades ago.

I got two for four dollars, and one is $14 on Etsy, so I did well.

We also went to a very fun kinda goth antique-ish shop that I’m pretty sure is where my kids hang out. Lots of macabre and odd items. We enjoyed it, other than the incense, which messed Lee up.

The day wasn’t entirely un-creepy, though. Everywhere we went today there were way too many Grackles way too close to me. I’d try to look at a cabbage plant, and out would pop a Grackle. Lee nearly stepped on one, too. Sure, Grackles are common near retail outlets, but these were extra! Then, when I complimented a sales person in one of the stores for her feather earrings, she explained that she was dressed to evoke the spirit of a Grackle. Black feather necklace, feather print wrap and even iridescent eyeshadow. Time to go back to the ranch, where more sedate Grackles live in reasonable numbers.

We’re just shiny, hungry, highly adaptable birds. Settle down, Suna, or I’ll peck you like a discarded French fry!

Then I scared myself. For context, we’ve just finished this season of the Scariest House in America show with the marvelous and sartorially splendid Retta.

In the show, people talked about hearing noises and invisible people talking in their haunted homes. This appeared to stick with me, because as I was walking back from horse feeding, I kept hearing sounds like a gate opening. Then I heard a woman’s voice, but couldn’t identify it. Eek! I even called out, “Hello!” As if that would help.

The horses often make the chains on the gates jingle.

Only when I scurried into the house did I realize my phone (in my back pocket) was playing an ad. My phone is usually on silent, but I’d turned it up to change Siri’s voice and forgotten to turn it down. I butt tuned something! Gee whiz. I set myself up for that!

I hope you had/have a good holiday weekend. El día de los muertes is tomorrow. I’m gonna ask my dad to watch out for me. it can’t hurt.

Photos? I always have photos

Share a few recent shots from your camera roll, no context needed.

Sure, I’ll do that. But first a quick update on the big rainwater collection project. Much of today was spent grading the area around the house to keep the drainage good. In addition, my son put together a very nice exit for the drain pipe, which will protect the PVC and look like a design feature. It’s now graded perfectly to flow well, and theoretically to not erode thanks to hidden barriers of a shower pan liner and a hunk of cement that formed at the end of our big pour. Very clever.

I’ll save other news for tomorrow and instead follow instructions and just share photos. It’s so hard not to describe them!

Lake Waco and what would Sue Ann post?

I’d planned to blog last night but I fell asleep uploading observations to iNaturalist. It didn’t help that I’d barely slept the previous night (no idea why). But yesterday was pretty good.

I worked until 1, managing to do so while driving to Waco, which worked out great. I was headed to Lacy Point on Lake Waco for another Bioblitz. I’m on a roll with those things! This was the first activity for the 2026 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting.

I hung out with a fellow Master Naturalist from College Station and did a nice 2-mile trail walk. There wasn’t a lot of variety of vegetation, but I ended up with 90 observations, so that was pretty good, plus all the pollinators counted for the other Bioblitz. Yes!

When I was done I chatted with my coworker next to this surprise. I sent it off to the coworker!

It’s a gar. I guess folk don’t eat them?

A good number of song birds were around, clumping around the trees for the most part. We enjoyed watching and hearing Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and multiple Ospreys.

When I was done I headed over to my friend Kathy’s house to see her family and her new Dalmatian (the previous one, Daisy passed away soon after our last visit). Sally came through Milam Touch of Love, and I’m so glad she got out of the Casa where she was being held. Whew.

She’s a lovely dog, still getting used to her home.

It was a nice evening talking and eating and telling stories. Her daughter was there, who I hadn’t seen since La Leche League days. Kathy’s husband is also doing well and fun to see.

I was telling Kathy what a good job she’s doing dealing with a bunch of challenges, how patient and kind she’s being. She laughed and said she wasn’t always that way. I responded that I feel the same, that it’s so hard not to show how upset I am in public forums (fora?). Kathy said I was her role model in moderation and that she often thinks, “What would Sue Ann post?” (WWSAP)

That was the highlight of my evening! Just to know someone notices how hard I try. She should know, since she was there when my outspokenness did me no good. Learning and growing is the best, and being noticed is a bonus.

Boy, did I sleep well last night, too!

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.

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.

Take me with you

If aliens arrived tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d ask them?

My friend and former housemate, Jeffrey Tveraas, wrote a song about encountering aliens that has always stayed with me. In the song, the narrator asks to go along with them: Take Me with You. (The song is quite catchy.) At this point in my life, I might take my chances and head on out into alien territory.

I figure, being eaten or enslaved by aliens would be preferable to watching my human rights erode. And they might be fun, who knows?

But, here I am at the Hermits’ Rest, wandering around looking for autumnal blossoms and hanging around with my dwindling collection of livestock buddies. I did find flowers!

And I enjoyed all the animals, too. Thanks to the hard work of the ranch family this year, the cocklebur problem in the horses’ manes and tails is manageable. The mowing got most of them. I was also happy to see the turkeys seem happy as they can be after the fox incident. My herbal treatment seems to have perked up their digestion, and all their lost feathers are growing back. Life goes on.