Bird Sightings – Page 18 – The Hermits' Rest

The Day Got Better, and Warmer

It got very cold last night and once again, the non-propane heater stopped heating. It was 44° in the bedroom this morning! Luckily I had lots of warm blankets, but getting dressed made me wonder how people who live in igloos do it. Brr.

Though its wintertime, the Blanco River is beautiful.

I went out in late morning and it was sunny, which helped. I took lots of pictures of things with ice crystals on them, and was relieved to finally hear a few birds here at Blanco State Park.

After my walk, Lee and I went out into the Texas Hill Country (the middle of it this time), ostensibly to get some space heaters. We first stopped at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park (also a National Park, to get our park passport stamped and a magnet for our collection, though we’d both been there before. I still really like this place, even in winter with no wildflowers. You could see birds, though, and I was delighted to observe a flock of Eastern Bluebirds in a nice leafless tree.

They looked to be one male and a lot of females/juveniles

We also saw a lot of Longhorn cattle, but no real bison. That was fine.

Since we were already nearby, we kept going and visited Fredericksburg, where I enjoyed my free glass of wine at the Becker Vineyards store and got a couple of bottles of types I’m out of.

Lee was hungry, so next we ate at the small German restaurant I enjoy the most in Fredericksburg, a town teeming with German restaurants. The food there is just perfect.

Finally, we did get the heaters, the kind that look like a radiator. I like those better than ones with visible heating elements. Of course, it won’t be so cold tonight.

The squirrel put down her acorn to tell me it would be warmer.

We got back to Blanco in time for me to take a short hike along the river to an old pump house. I like my photos of it.

There was also a very nice bird blind, but it only had Cardinals. I took their pictures anyway.

By the way, I thought it was sweet that Lee introduced a young couple camping near us to Merlin Bird ID. I then talked to them, and hooked them up with iNaturalist to help identify mushrooms, which is their hobby. I did my community outreach! And now, more pretty photos.

Just a Little Chilly

Our annual cold spell is here. It’s been windy, too, so you’ve got to be hardy or foolish to do outdoor activities. But that’s me. Both of those things.

Yesterday was honestly sort of nice. I enjoyed the weather other than the wind. The chickens would just go inside the hen house where the heat lamp is when they got cold. Connie just hunkers down. She’s so warm around her neck and loves her hugs and petting.

The horses love their shelter, especially Dusty. He’s coping fine with all his fuzz. Apache is fuzzier and seems to love getting his exercise and not sweating. Yesterday he was really perky and cantering around, though today at lessons he was a bit creaky. Still, he’s doing great.

I managed two horse lessons in the deep chill. I had my thermal shirt, extra warm riding pants and my huge ranch coat. I look like Queen Elizabeth all hunched over in her English riding outfit.

Drew did well today, and even let me get three quarters of his made de-burred! He was lots calmer and did very well with Tarrin riding him. We came up with some ideas to help him, and I hope we can.

Channeling the Queen as I longe my horse

Not much else is happening other than work. We are having the vet come check on Goldie and Harvey. Neither seems to be improving. At least they are having as good a life as possible.

Zoom, There Went Another Year

Years really do zip by the older you get. I like that they’re all a blur now. It makes living in the present easier.

Calendars are human inventions, but years happen regardless of whether people are around or not. Years are “real.” Since this is the time my culture marks the start of another year, then, I’ll go ahead and say that I wish you all the best possible 2025 that our combined positive perspectives can create.

Hey look, Gemini can’t spell. I love these AI things.

I’ll rely a lot on small acts of kindness to keep me going. For example, today I was taking my morning walk when a pickup truck approached from behind me. This happens about every ten minutes here. To my surprise, the truck slowed down and stopped beside me. A young-ish man leaned over and told me he’d just stopped to wish me a good day from him and his daughter. A little girl said, “Have a good day!” from her car seat. How kind! I told them happy new year, and the little girl thanked me and waved hard as they left. Ah. That started my day off well.

The day remained good, too. I remarked to Lee that it was the first day in a couple of months that I felt free of anxiety. I’ll take an occasional day like that!

I was so calm I didn’t scare this Mockingbird.

Just little things cheered me up. I got some work done, then I got my journal ready for next year and tallied my December bird sightings. I felt so organized.

Of course I sat and listened to birds. White-crowned Sparrow.

I even got to go out a little earlier to work with the horses, and ended up having one of the best sessions with Apache that I’ve ever had. The stuff we are learning is sinking in! We both had fun and got exercise.

Neither of us wanted to go back to the pens when we were finished, so Apache got to eat good grass and endure my hugs for a while.

Oh, and Connie and the chickens are doing well. I fed them some fresh chickweed and curly dock, and they even stood near each other. I turned on their heat lamp, since it’s finally cooling off tonight. They will keep each other warm.

This has been a hard blog to write, because it’s New Year’s Eve and the locals are compelled to shoot off fireworks. That means Penney is trying to merge herself with me. Luckily she eventually crawled under the bed, so I didn’t have to fake a sneeze to send her away. I love her anyway.

Thanks for being here.

A New Avian Relationship

What relationships have a positive impact on you?

Sure, my relationships with many people have had a positive impact on me. But I don’t know how well I’d be doing right now if I didn’t have my relationships with animals.

Many humans have forged strong positive bonds with their dogs and cats, as have I. Our animal companions give as well as take love and more. Just being with our pack and seeing them interact makes me happy.

Goldie’s relationship with us is very special.

And the horses also have had a huge positive effect on me, as well as leading to some angst and doubt. But no relationship is 100% positive! I’m just glad to have the chance to be a part of the lives of these very different animals.

I think I was under the impression that humans didn’t really have relationships with birds, at least for much of my life. Birds were (and wild birds still are) for observing and keeping my distance.

After getting chickens, I began to see their distinct personalities and let myself get attached to them, which is why losing all my flock but Bianca was so hard. I really was attached to Bertie Lee and her friends.

I’m enjoying Bianca’s new friends, especially Clint, who is the friendliest of the current chickens.

But I’m trying to not let myself get smitten by our newest bird, Connie 182 Gobbler. She’s a turkey, a white meat turkey. 182 was one of a dozen turkeys my friend Heather’s son raised for FFA this fall. She was always very friendly and cuddly, even as a chick (poult).

I told Heather I’d take her when show season was over, since she was too small to show, but so sweet.

Today was the day of delivery, which had to be very confusing for 182. She had never left the barn before, never seen grass, etc. then she rode in the back of a truck! Then she was in a weird place where people kept trying to make her eat and drink.

We wanted to be sure she was okay. Um, and pet her.

Heather explains that she will like it here.

After doting on 182 and telling her that her name was now Connie (in honor of my friend whose mother said her face looked like a turkey egg when she had the measles), we left her alone. The first time I checked she was still in the coop, but walking around and eating chicken seed.

When I went to feed the horses I looked over and saw something large and white in the chicken run. It was Connie! She was walking in the part that used to have a bunch of plants in it when we only had Bianca and she was outside. That turkey was taste testing everything. She discovered millet on the stalk, wild melons, and burs. It was so much fun seeing her act like a wild turkey.

The chickens aren’t acting too upset, but they stay on whatever side of the pen Connie is not pecking away in. I’ll be interested to see if they develop their own positive relationship.

I’m completely charmed by Connie, myself. She’s so soft and warm, and she has such big eyes. I hope she sticks around!

Timely Political Question

How have your political views changed over time?

My political views haven’t changed much, though as I learn new information, there have been slight moves one way or another. My basic point of view is that I’d like everyone to have meaningful work, live somewhere safe and comfortable, and to be their authentic selves. I want people to be free from violence and to practice whatever spiritual path is meaningful in their culture. Old hippie me.

Over the years I’ve grown less fond of wars and bigotry, though I didn’t like them from the start. I have, however, come to respect the rights of people who want to live differently from me. I just can’t figure out how those of us who want to eliminate other religions or political groups can live with the people who don’t. It’s that paradox of tolerance everyone was talking about not too long ago.

Makes me want to fly away, like this guy.

Since I’ve always enjoyed meeting people from different places, cultures, and backgrounds, I know that everyone believes they are correct, and I think it’s worthwhile to take the perspective of people who differ from me. That’s been my focus lately. So, my political views have not shifted much, I am gaining insight into how people come to such radically different conclusions from me.

Or I could move far south like these Sandhill Cranes. They’re running late.

Currently I’m figuring out what will keep me relatively stable as I observe how the USA and other countries handle things. I’ll continue to do what I actually can do to help when I can.

Laughing at this guy helps. He’s chowing down on the food he’d rejected two minutes earlier, after realizing another horse wanted it. All that cantering works up an appetite.

Anyway, the weather has been weird, hot to cold rain to sunny to calm to windy. We lucked out and missed the latest round of unseasonable tornadoes. It feels like I’m living in science fiction from my childhood.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

That’s humor directed at my son, who doesn’t read his mother’s Boomer ramblings, so he won’t laugh. Apparently, Sir Paul’s ode to the season is poked fun of by people in his age group. Good. We can all use a laugh that won’t harm the target of the humor.

Our sweet dog sitter sent us messages from the dogs this morning!

I can see why I don’t blog as much lately. I’m weirder than usual. The good news is that weird or just a bit kooky, I enjoyed spending time with my son and his partner for the last two days. They are funny, smart, and interesting people to hang out with.

No photos of them, so here’s the fiery sunset from yesterday.

Yesterday I went on a very long (for me) hike that got delayed by all my bird watching. It was beautiful to walk in woods between two canyons, then climb to the top of a hill to find a geological area I’d never seen before, karst, but with desert plants.

One plant there was a large group of, but I’m not sure what it is. I’m not sure if it was covered with fruit or galls. I tentatively have it down as sandpaper oak, which grows in the Chihuahuan Desert, of which I was at the northernmost edge.

Another plant looked like a fern, but was growing out of dry limestone. When I got home, I found out it’s Hybrid Cloakfern (Astrolepis integerrima), a fascinating and rare plant that has all the genetic material of two plants of which it is a hybrid. It only grows on rocky hillsides and rock clefts, which is where I found it.

The second half of my hike was spent power walking back to the car, because I’d somehow messed up my son’s reservation for the campsite across from us (no parking spaces were close). By the time we got to the park office we found out I hadn’t messed up; the system only lets you book same-day camping in person. I felt less foolish then.

I took our guests to the bird blinds, then we built a Yule fire and enjoyed the perfect weather. That was so pleasant.

This morning we went back to the bird blinds, which were restocked with food. It pleased me to share my hobby with them.

We then went on the Overlook Trail, which has steep parts. I hadn’t wanted to tackle that alone, in case I slipped. There were desert plants on this trail, once we got above a certain height, but here it was mostly sotol. The vistas of their stems with red oaks and junipers below were striking. At the highest point we reached we could see our RV way below us.

After a break, we trooped back out and wandered towards the river. We took a different path than I’d taken before, and were rewarded by many pecans, river views, and an osprey in a tree.

By that time we were hungry, so I made ham with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. It was adequate for what I can prepare in the RV. It felt festive eating outside with my flowers on the table and “real” dishes and flatware.

Just being with my little immediate family for Christmas in nature made for a fantastic holiday. I hope you got some pleasure out of whatever you celebrated today or will celebrate this week!

What a Year, with Armadillos

Share what you know about the year you were born.

I was born in 1958. That explains why I don’t have a trending blog and I’m not a social media influencer. I influenced social media when it was a baby.

When I was a baby, Eisenhower was US President. Much good music was being made, as rock music was also in its infancy. Cars were really huge. Most adults smoked cigarettes, including pregnant women, who would then feed their stunted babies home-made formula. Hmm. I’m lucky to be alive and not mentally stunted.

1950s giant car in Florida, it appears. Stock photo.

Other than that…many of my friends were also born in that year, mostly my high school friends. And of course, there were armadillos where I lived (Florida). They were introduced in the 1920s, the same time when my mother was introduced into Florida by birth. Coincidence? Maybe.

Since that’s all I know about 1958, being a semi-aged Boomer and therefore useless and all that, let’s discuss armadillos in Texas, where I find myself in late 2024. It turns out that they brought themselves here, migrating slowly northward from South America.

We’d have gone faster, but we only run in short bursts.

They are so popular here that they are the official state small mammal as of 1995. They are also very populous in some parts of Texas, including here in the Junction area. They don’t live in the Trans Pecos area to the west, though. Anyway. I’ve seen over a dozen since I got here, since they are out more in the daytime in winter.

Geez. So many little armored guys, all of whom were born as identical quintuplets. I saw some young ones playing last year at another state park. Darned cute.

But, did I see any birds today? Why, yes. Here’s one now.

The most exciting birds didn’t get photographed, but I did see as well as hear them on Merlin. They were a fine dark Canyon Towhee and a Western Bluebird. Yeah, I’d never spotted one of those before when I was out west!

The bird blinds still entrance me. I went to the fourth and final one today, which is where the new birds turned up (actually, in the nearby trees; the bird seed was all gone).

Cardinal wants Bewick’s Wren’s peanut butter.

I kept meeting friendly people and not judging them today. I enjoyed telling a woman from Florida about how the bird blinds work. She told me about messing up their Airstream on a narrow bridge. Eek.

No photos of the injured trailer, so enjoy my petunias.

And at a store we visited to get Christmas stuff, I talked to a woman who was cleaning the sink area. She said now she’d have to wash her hands again. I asked why, and she explained that she’d seen someone tidying up a sink area for the next pets, and decided to pass on the kindness. I told her now she’s passed it on to me! That’s the spirit of the season!

It’s also Dallas Cowboy spirit time. They played so hard last night that I put out their flag today.

I bet both those woman were born in 1958! They were cool, on first impression.

I’m Practicing Character Judgment

Are you a good judge of character?

I’m camping in a beautiful place and haven’t felt much like blogging, but this question intrigued me. I certainly get vibes from people. But I’ve learned that I’ll benefit from not making snap judgments, especially about character.

Too many times, I’ve gotten a bad impression about someone only to find out later that I was wrong. People are often awkward at first. Also, people are complex, and given a chance, people who come across poorly can end up lifelong friends. Conversely, I’ve met people who seemed wonderful upon first meeting, but who used me, hurt me, or were just misrepresenting themselves.

Plus, I know I’m often nervous when meeting new people and say/do awkward things. Since nowadays, the trend is to not give people second chances, I’ve made bad impressions with no chance of recovery. Sigh.

So, coincidentally, I’ve been meeting a lot of people since we arrived at South Llano River State Park. Camping aficionados tend to be friendly with supportive of each other. Mostly they don’t bring up controversial topics and just chat about their equipment, the park, and their travels.

For example, we laugh that our RV is under mistletoe.

I’ve had a bunch of fun conversations with fellow campers, and I’ve just assumed they are all nice folks. It’s been just great. I’ve had many conversations about dogs, birds (at the many well-maintained bird blinds), how crowded Round Rock has become, and why some of the trails close at 3 (turkey roosting). If any of these campers are secretly creepy, it doesn’t hurt to be nice to them. I’ll reserve judgement on their character and help make this a friendly place.

Because beauty and love are what we need.

Anyway. I’m having lots of adventures wandering around this diverse park, which has a river, an oak and pecan river bottom, higher areas with different oaks and Ashe Junipers. There are lots of yucca, cactus, and desert plants.

It’s teeming with wildlife. In one walk I saw 7 armadillos, at least that many deer, and evidence of abundant raccoons, opossums, and skunks. I think I saw ringtail poop, too.

And the birds, oh my. The bird blinds are obviously maintained daily. There’s food every morning. That’s let me photograph many beautiful birds with both cameras. My favorites are Fox Sparrows, Black-throated Sparrows, Scrub Jays, Spotted Towhees, and the big excitement, my first Pyrrhuloxia!

Even the common birds are gorgeous when they play in the fountains and eat from the homemade feeders. The volunteers do a super job here. I’ll be sure to donate!

I’m glad to have plenty of time to explore here. It’s funny that we were at the far northeast end of the Texas Hill Country last trip, and we’re at the far southwest end this week! Fun.

Solstice Blessings to all! Let’s go out and be careful when we judge people’s character as days lengthen.

Droodles and I Have Skills

What skills or lessons have you learned recently?

Ooh! Ooh! I know the answer to this one, and it involves a certain bur-headed gray gelding in my life, Andrew “Droodles” Kendall. I’ve alluded to having anxiety and concerns that have been weighing me down recently. One was Drew.

Since getting kicked in the head by Fiona the mini-donkey followed by unexplained pain on his right side, this horse has been a challenge. To be honest, I haven’t been up for the challenge, for a couple of reasons. One is that, even if he were my only horse, my schedule won’t let me work him consistently almost every day, which helps him hurt less. The other is that his aggressive behavior made me wary of him and want to work with him less, not more, even with all I’ve learned about horses and how pain affects them.

I need special stuff. Mabel says she does, too.

I’d discussed options with my trainer (Tarrin) and neighbor (Sara), who are wise and honest.

I could find him a new home with a more assertive rider with more available saddle time. I’d just hope to get the money back for his saddle, not all his training.
I could stop working with him and let him be a pasture friend like Mabel and Dusty. I’d cut down on all those supplements and medication though!
Or I’d hope to get him to a point where I’d enjoy working with him and he’d enjoy learning. I’d hope to ride, it maybe groundwork or liberty could happen.

In the meantime, I’ve let him rest and have been observing him. In the past couple of weeks, he has been friendly and let me pet him without biting at me. He’s let me remove his tail burs and some mane burs. This made me a little optimistic when our next scheduled lesson came up today.

Both Drew and Apache were filthy from rolling in mud, both covered in burs, etc. I realized that I’ve finally learned to just do what I can to get ready in the amount of time I have. Yay. A lesson learned. I got them brushed and removed all Apache’s latest burs (not too many) and Droodles’s tail burs. I only got half his mane. But he was great about it. Just let me pick them out and chat with him, just like Apache does! I was pleased.

When we got to the lessons, I realized I’d left Drew’s girth in the tack room. So I couldn’t try to ride, with nothing to hold the saddle on. Maybe that was good, because we had a wonderful ground lesson. He did not act like he hurt anywhere, and was calm and willing to do whatever we asked, with no tail swishing or foot stamping. I realized he was coming to me to be petted when he’d stop an exercise. Nice!

Then we worked on a new skill. Tarrin started it but I finished. It involved walking while straddling a wooden pole. I’d watched Sara and Aragorn work on this one. It is a bit challenging.

I’m encouraging him to put the left rear hoof on the correct side of the pole.

Drew was very calm throughout the training, and seemed intent on learning to keep the feet on the correct side. Besides that, he was friendly and sweet. He nuzzled us nicely and even licked Tarrin.

He seemed as pleased as we were when he made it all the way to the end of the pole. It was like working with him just before he got hurt. Wow.

We were all so pleased! Tarrin posited that he might have had a virus in addition to hurting his right ride and neck. There’s no way to know, since horses can’t talk. But it looks like Drew and I have things we can do together! We will try riding next.

Oh yes, Apache had a lesson, too. Having them more frequently has helped him get back in shape, and he’s been a champ about working with me at home, eating at least some of his food, and slurping his powdered medicine mixed with applesauce.

In lessons, he’s been gaining new skills with speeds of walk and trot, and with moving off my leg. Maybe cantering will happen next year. We say that every year.

But he makes us laugh by having to pee after a lot of trotting and getting all lathered up in sweat on unseasonably warm winter days. I’m so glad he’s healthy and his feet are doing so well (thanks to Tarrin’s gradual trims).

So, I’ve learned that I need to give my animals time to heal and learn, Apache with his feet, and Drew with whatever was causing his irritability. I want them both healthy and content. I’ll just keep trying and extend my patience.

It took a lot of patience to get this image of a titmouse snacking on an old wasp nest.

The best news is that sadness about feeling I’d failed Drew is no longer weighing on me. I have hope in at least this part of life!

Fun Up North

That’s north of Dallas, Texas. My pseudo-granddaughter had her third birthday party today, which provided an excellent excuse to visit her actual grandmother, my friend Pouri.

I drove up yesterday afternoon (still no fun driving through Dallas) and made it in time for a fabulous Persian meal. She overdid it as usual. I’m not complaining, of course. So many herbs, so much flavor. Saffron rice, salad with figs, nuts, and pomegranate…beef kebab and chicken with tasty potatoes. Wow. And there were persimmons for dessert.

Mostly this was a great chance to catch up and talk in a relaxed way. What a wonderful thing to do. That makes two nice talks with old friends in one week! This is the perfect thing to do in uncertain times, be with people you care about.

After a nice sleep in the cute guest room, Pouri gave me a “light” breakfast of many kinds of toast and exquisite preserves, like quince and sour cherries. Pouri is really a great hostess. I tried to take mental notes, but…

She put cute birds in the bathroom for me.

After breakfast, I took a walk around the neighborhood and heard 22 birds. There was a Great Horned Owl and a Cooper’s Hawk, and many overconfident crows.

Apparently this suburb is crawling with wildlife, including multiple bobcats. I saw enough squirrels to scare Anita for life, plus some rabbits, but no bobcats. I’m as intrigued with suburbs as I was last year.

The party was this afternoon at Ellie’s new house. It made me so happy to see how well she and Jimmy have done in their careers and with their daughter. I mean, Ellie just went with it when a vampire theme was requested for the party. All the dripping blood mixed well with the Christmas decor. So cute.

All the children were cute and I got to chat with the extended family some, too. Ellie and I plan to talk next week, when she’s relaxed.

Face painting went over very well. The painter was quite skilled. Pouri and I got flowers. Why not?

I drove back home this evening. So I’m pretty darned tired, especially since I hit a lot of rain. But I’m glad I went. I can’t wait for more catch-up sessions. I’ve been hiding too long.