Bird Sightings – Page 25 – The Hermits' Rest

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.

I didn’t miss the dogs, because Banjo was there. Such a well behaved dog.

Hiking with Someone Can Be Fun

To be truthful, I get irritated at people who talk and talk as they go down trails, ruining my precious silence and bird listening. That makes me a hypocrite, because given the chance to talk to someone I hadn’t talked to in a good number of years, I’ll talk my butt off, even on slippery rocks.

Yes! I went on a nice hike with a friend! Rebecca was the choir director when I sang at Live Oak UU Church, and we also sang together in other choral groups over the years. She’s one of the people I’d missed most when I left Round Rick for weekends at the ranch.

The gray sky made the red leaves more vivid.

After seeing each other again at the recent memorial service, we decided to do stuff together, and decided to hike at Cedar Breaks Park on Lake Georgetown. It took us the same amount of time to get there, coming different ways, so Rebecca made a good choice.

There is a lot of confusing construction around the park, but the trails weren’t very crowded, thanks to a misty drizzle. But it wasn’t too cold and the fall colors were striking. It WAS rather slippery on the limestone along the trail, but we were careful.

It was great catching up with each other and identifying plants. She’s a Master Gardener now, so we’re both all educated. I was surprised at how many plants were still blooming or budding out.

There weren’t very many birds in the oak/juniper forest, but hearing a Canyon Wren made up for it. That was only my second one. you need a canyon to find them, and we had them on the lake.

After we got back, we headed into Georgetown for a nice lunch at the Sweet Lemon Cafe. It was cute and the food was very nice. We wished it wasn’t rainy, so we could visit nearby shops, but maybe we can try again.

So, what caused this tree damage? It’s fresh.

We already have an idea for another adventure. I sure feel good about breaking out of hermit-hood a little. As a matter of fact, I’m going to keep trying! Tomorrow I drive up north and hope the rodeo traffic is confined to the west side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Wild Animals. OMG.

Do you ever see wild animals?

Dear Blog Prompt Writers,

Please remember that not all bloggers live in urban or suburban locations. Out here in a rural part of a very empty county in a state as big as many countries, we do see (more often hear) wild animals. We call them native wildlife.

Someone is tired from warding off wild animals.

Today’s count included 37 bird species, an unknown number of coyotes, around four pond cooters (who I thought might have dug a hole by now; it’s chilly), two very vocal squirrels, a large rat or mouse, two cottontails, and some number of swiftly moving deer.

It’s too cold for snakes right now, and the armadillo population is staying away from Goldie. I hope she and Alfred are also intimidated the feral hogs (I have seen little evidence lately).

Neighbors report hearing cats, which could be feral house cats (usually dispensed with by raptors), bobcats (plenty of those), or the big cat that was last seen by the farrier.

I often see opossums, skunks, and raccoons here, along with shrews and mice (ugh). Foxes have raised families next door at Sara’s!

A couple of times river otters have visited, and beavers live nearby, but I haven’t seen them. Oh, and pocket gophers, which are here, but not on the part of the property I hang out in.

So yes. I do see wild animals. Thanks for asking. I’ll do you a favor and not list the insects and arachnids. I do have lists on the blog site, though.

Your observant country reporter,

Suna

I’m Good at Things!

Share five things you’re good at.

Since I’ve had a rough day emotionally, I’ll share something somewhat fun today. Of course, I’m good at many things, less good at others, like we all are. That’s one thing that makes people so interesting!

Lee and Penney are very good at relaxing together.

Here are the requested five things I’m good at.

One. I’m good at empathy. That’s both a positive and a negative. Today I truly felt someone’s pain over a loss. That wasn’t fun, but I’m glad I can do it. Empathy is probably why I’m so good at reading tarot cards. Combine empathy with a mind that treasures metaphors and insights keep a-coming.

Empathy can trap you in a beautiful web, like these spider eggs. They know how to escape.

Two. I can name animals well. I enjoy my human-like names. Since I’m on the letter C in chicken names, the new rooster is now Clint White. Get it?

Three. I’m a reasonably good writer. I’m not polished or brilliant, but I love expressing myself in writing. I have done it my whole life!

Another chicken picture, since all my journals are downstairs.

Four. I’m good at knitting and crocheting. I used to be very good, but now I just do it yo relax, not show how fancy I can be. My favorite thing is teaching others these skills, to bring a lifetime of never being bored.

Working on one of the many blankets I made for friends and family a while back.

Five. I’m good at using my peripheral vision. That’s how I can spot birds and animals so well. I detect movement practically as well as the ever-vigilant Apache. We are both easily attracted to movement when we are working together. No wonder we get along.

What are you good at? Since I love how people differ, I’m interested!

PS: sorry if the red text is hard to read. I designed it for the blog interface.

What’s the Traditional Gift for Your Sixteenth Anniversary?

I didn’t look it up, so I’m not sure what the official gift is. But, according to my friends Tarrin and Teddy, the gift is a nice rooster ( as opposed to a mean one).

The rooster magically appeared on their property, where he tried to fit in, but was chased by cattle, horses, dogs, and the roosters who already live there. He was too nice to just dispose of, so I volunteered to take him, since I still miss Bruce, our previous very nice fellow.

I put him in the roost with Bianca, figuring they’ll sleep together and be more likely to get along. Maybe he will encourage the Cochins Cathy and Cindy to sleep indoors. I hope so, since it’s cooled off and rain is forecast.

More fowl news to come soon, so stay tuned.

In addition to a horse lesson and chicken pickup, I spent a little while with my friends Pamela and Linda Jo, doing a BioBlitz across the road from Pamela, where the landowner intends to clear all the plants to create a pasture. We recorded all we found, including a variety of native trees.

We found 78 species, which shows the diversity hiding in our Milam County landscape.

There may be more observations uploaded to our iNaturalist project, which I look forward to. I’m finding a bit more peace being around people who are good friends and love our plants and animals.

Home and Nature’s Glory

We made it home from Cleburne by going the back way. We saw towns we never heard of, and it was a lot less stressful than the Interstate.

I’ll miss the waterfowl. That’s a cormorant and a coot.

We were able to stay most of the day, so I got another nice hike around the lake. I disturbed many vultures, but they came back as soon as I left. Lots of flappy flappy wings going on.

The rest of the walk was filled with Robins rustling in the leaves. They were everywhere! Eventually I found the rest of the songbirds. I love the different titmice calling back and forth.

Most of my photos are of dried flowers and Shumard Red Oaks. But why not? They are beautiful.

The long weekend was very helpful for me. I made some decisions for the future that put me at ease at least a bit, and I look forward to being with friends and coworkers like normal.

Now, here are a few more photos, since I have bandwidth today.

Who Needs Sleep?

If you didn’t need sleep, what would you do with all the extra time?

Let’s all remember that resting is good for us, and sleep is important for a healthy brain. But, if I didn’t have to sleep I’d spend more time with the horses. I could ride the rideable ones and work with the others much more often.

I would be able to tell my equine friends how much I value them, just as they are. They don’t have to perform to be valued. I’d tell Drew that a lot. I don’t think he likes the stuff we ask him to do anymore.

I like eating and walking around with Suna.

Of course some of the time I’d spend with birds and other woodland folk. I could watch flowers grow or help restore native habitat.

If I could do birds AND horses it would be ideal. This photo at Tarrin’s also contains Robins and I think a Killdeer.

I would spend the dark hours knitting or crocheting, reading, and writing. Hanging out with Lee would get a chunk of time, too. Hey that’s not much different from today. I’d meditate a lot, too.

Perhaps I could work on something other than this project.

And maybe with more awake hours I could do better at keeping up with beloved friends and family. That’s important.

The horses and dogs also count as beloved friends

So, no, I would not save the world, but I’d relish my world and try to make my community a happier place

I’d watch cranes when they’re going south or north!

Point: I enjoy sleeping. I’d miss it.

Random Ranchy Observations

Since I’m not up to much deep thinking right note, I’ll share some things I’ve been seeing here at the Hermits’ Rest. None are stinky dead armadillos.

The cows are in full baby mode at this time. Every time I look out at the pasture I see more pretty calves. This year they are many different colors, which is fun. The one above may be black, but looks a very dark brown to me. There are shiny white ones that stay shiny until it rains and they get muddy, tan ones, red ones, etc. It’s fun to watch them running around.

We narrowly avoided another dead animal mess today when I saw an unexpected rock next to the fence. It’s a good thing I have the terrain memorized. Sure enough, the rock was a pond cooter or some such turtle. It was trying to exit through the good fencing. If Goldie had found it, that would be the end of the turtle. I was able to pick it up and put it safely on the other side, pointed toward the back pond. It didn’t even pee on me!

This is sort of funny to me. I finally SAW an American Robin on the ranch. I’ve heard them many times, but never saw them. I was thinking it was a Mockingbird imitating a Robin! But at last, yesterday, one flew to the top of a tree that had lost most of its leaves, and I saw the whole bird. Now if only the Blue Jay would pop into view. I’ve never had trouble finding them except here!

Birds continue to be noisy these days. Cranes are still flying over daily, but the crows are the instigators of most noise. They seem to really dislike sharing space with raptors. Two days in a rows the band of local crows were flying around and cawing away at the Red-shouldered Hawk family that also hands out here. I’ll see them fly back and forth as the hawks make enough screeches to make a dance recording.

Gemini made this. I like the red eyes on the top crow.

Another day the hawks were not out yet but the Great Horned Owl was. It had the nerve to want to nap near the crow’s spot. Once again the swirling crows went into action, this time matched by the hoots of one of the owls. I believe the owl headed back over to the other part of the woods.

And finally, let’s go back to turtles. The front pond is pretty low. In fact, it’s low enough that we found our missing water trough that disappeared in the bad wind event months ago. All the turtles are still in there, and since it’s been abnormally warm, they are out sunning themselves often. You’d expect to see them scattered around the edges of the pond. But, no, they line up like they are on a log, even though there are no longs. There are often five or six in a row. I can’t get a photo, because they dive in when they detect me, so I drew a picture.

But, hey, I got the turtles, bur plants, willow trees, the trough sticking up, a killdeer, and a horse. Art. Yes. I draw as well as I sing now. Very much out of practice.

The Owls’ Lesson

Owls are everywhere in my life now. You may recall that I saw the same Great Horned Owl (I assume) each time I walked through the woods on the prayer trail on Hilton Head. It would fly up a new branch where I could see and hear it but not photograph it.

Eternally grateful to this healing space.

Since I got back to the Hermits’ Rest on Sunday, owls have been calling morning and night. I’ve heard them occasionally before, but even the Merlin app has heart multiple Great Horned Owls calling back and forth.

Late yesterday afternoon, we were talking to the man who leases our property for his cattle and the owls were so loud we had to stop our conversation. I began to wonder if they were trying to get my attention.

Now, I doubt the owls give us humans a second thought. Still, this morning I heard them, as well as all dusk and into the night. Sometimes it was like owl stereo.

I have not been at all grounded since we got back to Texas. Yesterday I had that annoying buzzy head and feeling my blood rushing that I used to get often. Today I was in panic attack mode most of the morning, barely able to speak. Then my nervous stomach kicked in to where I couldn’t go to my horse lesson. I was feeling puny and powerless.

I was also prickly like this noseburn vine!

After feeding the horses, I sat down to try for the third time of the day to breathe and meditate. That’s when the owls went into heavy hooting mode. So I just listened. Finally, I was able to regulate my breathing and get back into the moment…just in time for flocks of Sandhill Cranes to clamor their way across the crisp afternoon sky.

I thought about what lesson I could draw from being surrounded by these apex predators. What could I take on for myself?

Owls aren’t in your face. They blend in with their surroundings and keep their power to themselves until they need it. That seems like a useful strategy to borrow.

Owls have their communities (hoot, hoot) and stay in touch with their beloved members. I need to do that better, especially with those not on social media. I’m thankful to those who prod me to keep in touch.

Most important to me is that owls know where they fit in with the grand scheme of things. They help keep prey populations from growing too large, but don’t take more than they need. They act as if the trees, meadows, mice, and birds are not less important than them. I think humans (me) could learn from this.

I’m grateful to the owls for reminding me to stay focused on the here and now and to hold on to my strength for when I’ll need it.

Grief comes in waves, and sometimes they push you under for a while. Today I let waves of grief and fear wash over me, though I’m not sure why it hit today. If you are one of those who struggled today, remember you’re not alone and can try to soar and swoop like the cranes and owls tomorrow.

Blessed be.