Creeks, Rivers, Streams – The Hermits' Rest

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!

Seeing old friends anew

Well, this title works in two ways, both of which are good news for me. First, I got to chat with a colleague from when I first moved to Texas and was volunteering with La Leche League. Jean was a fellow Leader I enjoyed working with and getting to know. We are still Facebook friends, but I hadn’t realized she’d become a Master Naturalist until I saw her name last night as achieving a milestone. It was great to find her this morning and get to catch up briefly. She’s still so gracious and lovely.

The only other highlight of the final morning of the Master Naturalist annual meeting was learning that our recertification pin will be a pecan tree. Everyone seemed fine with that choice.

After saying goodbye to everyone, I drove over to Mother Neff State Park for the final field trip. This park is another old friend, which I’ve visited for Master Naturalist trips and to go camping. What makes it new is that over ten years after a major flood, the lower parts of the park have reopened. I’d never seen all that area before!

This is the old entrance. They’ve moved the entrance and camping to higher ground.

The old buildings held up through the flooding very well. In face, the Rock Chapel, where we met, looks brand-new after being power washed.

I learned that so much silt was deposited that the mound the chapel building was constructed on is so longer there. The silt deposited by the flooding made it lower than ground level.

This silt with cool animal tracks is over the foundation. I guess they must keep sweeping after each rain.

After our learning, our group went on what was supposed to be a guided nature discovery walk. However, keeping Master Naturalists together is one of those cat herding situations. It doesn’t work. Still we learned some new plants and interesting historical tidbits from the leaders and participants.

The trail is called the Lost Trail, since they found it after flood cleanup. It was interesting to see that many large trees survived and are thriving. Different trees are in different parts of the trail, because the terrain changes. Here’s some scenery.

The tower is on the part that I’d seen before

Of course, I spent much of the time looking for plants and pollinators. Still, the woods were so pretty that I did remember to look at the whole woodland, too. I found many familiar flora and fauna, but there were a couple new ones for me.

Wahoo (*Euonymus atropurpureus)* also known as Hearts Bursting with Love

I grabbed a few nice images of more familiar plants, insects, and a mammal friend. I hope you enjoy them!

Before heading home I took a long and beautiful back road out of the old part of the park. It followed the Leon River, revealed the lush floodplain, then climbed a limestone hill. The road ended at a quarry. It was a wonderful way to wind up a nature weekend!

Now I’m back with the family and menagerie.

Happy to see me. Freshly treated for fleas!

Lots to learn as long as you’re awake

I’ve been enjoying the Texas Master Naturalist 2026 Annual Meeting for the most part. I learned many things that will stick with me. That’s a bonus.

Yesterday I attended a pre-conference session on efforts to mitigate future flooding and restore the Guadalupe River after last year’s horrific July flood. I now know so much more about how to deal with flood damage in ways that will help rivers heal themselves. For example, “trash” plants like sycamores and poverty weed that grow up after flooding are helping stabilize soil so important plants like cypress can establish themselves. I admit I got sad and had to leave after two hours, and spent time with friends.

The opening reception was at the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor University campus, which is sparkling clean and full of fancy buildings thanks to wealthy Baptists. The museum admitted that fossils are old, which was a relief. We enjoyed the exhibits very much, though the cold hamburger didn’t thrill me. My favorite parts were the Native American buildings and the wildlife.

Afterward, we retired to the bar at our hotel, and sat on the pleasant courtyard (by Mariott). Our buddy Mike Mitchell joined us as did the guy who was supposed to be playing music at the bar. He turned out to be a pathological liar, but his stories were so far-fetched that we kept listening to him. He was partially raised by JHW Bush and once owned a nuclear home. Examples. I hit a limit and left my friends to start asking him hard questions.

I had a hard time sleeping again last night which never bodes well for attending conferences. But I got through my morning session on iNaturalist data and how it correlates diversity data. It was led by a quirky fellow who made things hard to follow but was so unique and interesting that it was ok. He sure loved data. Here are some interesting tidbits.

Lunch was undercooked baked potatoes. We had to stand in long lines and they kept running out of toppings and such. No one was happy. It was freezing in the room. We did smile.

I was most interested in the next session, on digital photography. It was good, and the room was warm. Unfortunately, that warmth right after lunch put me to sleep. I’m very grateful that the presenter shared his notes online so I can read them. So embarrassing. I went back to my room and crashed.

I spent some time in the exhibit hall and bought a nice loupe that will be fun on hikes. Then, boom, it was time to eat again. The dinner was better and included edible chicken, cold broccolini, and really good crawfish empanadas. However, it was cold. We made it through a sad movie about the flooding last year and a few speakers but had to flee. Even with my new cuddly jacket I was cold.

We (minus Liz and Jackie) went to the Hilton bar, where we met a perfectly nice man from north Austin and a friendly woman, both Master Naturalists. Of course we also were with Mike M. We had very pleasant conversations. It was good to see the finished renovations after staying there in the midst of the work earlier this year.

My hope is to stay awake tomorrow. I may need caffeine.

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!

Catching up on the home front

Not too many pictures today, since all we did was drive from Ruidoso to Cameron. Lee did a great job driving, and we lucked out and hardly hit any rain.

I think we all had a good time on this trip. We got along quite well! I guess it helps that we’re old friends for the most part.

When we dropped Anita off at her house, we were surprised to be greeted by a very large fallen limb. It barely missed her car, which is a relief. I guess there was a pretty good storm in Cameron yesterday! No pics, because it was dark. We did get about an inch of rain, which is okay.

The dogs were very happy to see us, as were their fleas. Our pest control situation is messed up and needs to be fixed. Kathleen is on it!

Benito Burrito is too jumpy to photograph.

TW: bad ranch news. Catherine, go do something else.

While we were gone, Alfred got sick, wouldn’t eat, and barfed up green stuff. It turns out he was eating my dang goldfish. It’s really difficult to have nice things on a ranch with ranch animals. He seems better now, though Kathleen had to do a LOT of cleanup. Unpleasant cleanup. She said it smelled like a tropical island when she was done!

The next bit is worse. Somehow a fox family moved into our unused chicken roost, dug under, and ate/killed at three chickens. Kathleen valiantly tried to save them, and she had a big mess on her hands afterwards. There is one less fox.

I’m sad about it, but honestly, these guys lasted longer than most chickens I’ve tried to raise. The guys did a good job vermin-proofing the chicken area. And Kathleen reports that the turkeys seem pretty happy alone in their kingdom.

That’s enough bad news. The rain was good news, though it filled up the hole where the concrete is supposed to go for the rainwater collection tanks. I do wish that could have happened when it was dry for two months, but it didn’t work out.

Now I’m wearing face and foot pampering things from Rebecca the nail person. She always sends this stuff, so I should use it, especially on my sunburned face from yesterday. That will prepare me for work!

Never too much natural beauty, right?

Anyone other than me might have overloaded on nature today. I may have overdone walking, but not enjoying the sky, the trees, the water, and all the critters running around. It was great having the day off to explore the Ruidoso, New Mexico area on a pleasant autumn day!

Can’t beat a mountain lake for beauty! Grindstone Lake

Everyone has been relaxing in the mornings on this trip, but I wanted to GO while the weather was nice. I walked back to the National Forest trail near our cabin and was happy to learn the rain hadn’t made the trail impassable. It’s so peaceful in the mountain woods.

I thought I wouldn’t see any new plants, since I’d walked some of the path already. But no. There was one stretch of path that I found something new every few feet. it felt quite magical, like I was experiencing a gift.

Whole leaf paintbrush – ***Castilleja integra***

I had to rest when I got back from all that climbing. But soon enough Anita and Martha agreed to go with me to check out Grindstone Lake, a local reservoir, fishing, and swimming spot. It’s where it was so crowded last time that we couldn’t get in. Luckily, today was chilly for swimming, and the games of some kind that will be held at the lake aren’t until next week.

I have so many pretty pictures that it’s hard to choose from.

We had a blast wandering around looking at the plants, collecting rocks (not me), birding (me), and basking in the beauty. This made us very happy humans.

***Poecilanthrax californicus –*** a banded bee fly

Of course there were also flowers to see along Grindstone Lake. Here are just a few, I promise. I did leave some out.

We finally dragged ourselves away from the lake. Being me, I suggested we go to another lake, since we had time. This is Alto Lake, another reservoir, about 15 minutes away from Grindstone. It didn’t have such spectacular scenery, at least to the others, who didn’t like that there were houses on one side of the lake. It is also smaller but still popular with fans of fishing.

The reason I like this lake is that it’s teeming with birds. There were Coots and Mallards in the water, and so many tiny birds, goldfinches, bluebirds, and Bushtits, etc. The highlight for me was seeing and photographing a Townsend’s Warbler, one of my new lifers for this trip. It’s so beautiful!

After this, our legs were done, so we went to the store to get dinner stuff and sundries. I got myself some Old Fashioned in a bottle. After all that exercise, I was done for. I’m glad Martha made eggs and sausage that we could turn into dinner tacos (like breakfast ones, but at night).

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring other than real estate stuff. That should be fun.

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.

Enjoyment overload?

We were ready for fun and frolic today, well, what passes for it in people of our age and interests. I’m now quite zonked out, but it was all good. The Ruidoso, New Mexico area has seen us quite enough for one day.

We started out having breakfast, but not where we intended to have it, because that place was doing Oktoberfest (not my first experience with September as an Oktoberfest time). So we went to a different restaurant whose name I do not remember (how tired am I?) and had quite good food.

The men then went back to the cabin, so Anita, Martha, and I could look at shops. I remembered where to park and everything!

We looked in many places, but mostly stared at Native American jewelry in the trading post. I scored my desired bumblebee jasper and a silver beaded chain, plus a couple other items for reasonable prices. None of it is heirloom stuff, but I’ll enjoy wearing it. Everyone else also found a few treasures of their own, and I got Anita some earrings for her birthday on Tuesday.

We also enjoyed chatting with a young man in another shop with a lot of opals. I got a small Wild Horse stone ring (not turquoise but I like it). We enjoyed looking at soap that smelled really good. Then we had great conversation and purchased some beautiful herbal tea at a natural healing shop. The owner was such a helpful kindred spirit.

These ravens were also kindred spirits. The closest one had found a shiny piece of glass to treasure, much like our jewelry.

Of course I had to drag my friends to the Noisy Water member lounge to relax after all that shopping. I really enjoyed the vintage reds I sampled. I may have one of them waiting for me at home, if I remember right.

We dragged ourselves back to the cabin, and soon embarked on a property tour. Lee led this one, and Mike and Anita came along. We visited both houses we are still thinking about, as well as some others out near Alto and Nogal.

I took pictures to remember this one’s exterior.

The drives were lots of fun, since it’s so darned scenic and there are so many animals. In addition to wild horses and dozens of elk, we got to see a mule deer doe and twin fawns at the other house we are considering. I mostly took pictures of views from there.

After a lot of driving and looking, we needed a break, so we stopped at the Alto location of Noisy Water to sit outside and relax. I enjoyed the Bushtits flying around the pine trees. (The bird phone found 49 species at the cabin today!)

After enjoying views and searching for empty lots in a fancy and very remote neighborhood, we headed back, got groceries, and ate pizza. I didn’t help much with that, because I didn’t feel great (running around at high altitude will do it), so poor Lee wrangled the oven, with Mike’s help. It was fun comparing frozen pizzas. A very interesting thick-crust Detroit-style offering was deemed the best. No photos. We ate it all.

Instead, here’s a native southwestern cosmos flower.

Tomorrow I hope we can go find some nature. No need for more shopping!

There’s a lot of Louisiana in Louisiana, too

We didn’t do quite as much wandering as we headed home today, but we did take backroads through Louisiana after successfully navigating the big bridge across the big river.

I didn’t take as many photos out the car window today, because it’s love bug season. If you’ve never experienced it, give thanks. These things were so bad when I was in college that there were special stations on the Florida Turnpike where you could clean our windshield and radiator. So many cars overheated! You can see below why they are called love bugs. I remember my dad struggling to explain them to my brother and me as we played in our backyard kiddie pool.

Common love bug (***Plecia nearctica)***

We met no charming locals, but did get to see some interesting plants around our hotel and when we stopped at a ranger station somewhere along the way. We didn’t want to do more jungle exploration. We did see the scary jungle plant, kudzu. I didn’t know before today that it has pretty flowers that smell nice.

I had nightmares as a child that I’d wake up and kudzu had swallowed my house. I think I’d seen too many buildings covered in it on the roadside.

Today I learned that it’s a common ingredient in Asian food, as a thickener. The roots can be eaten like potatoes but are stringy. It was also used in Japan to make kuzufu, a traditional cloth. Huh!

It can be used for netting and baskets, too.

The first article I read said that it’s hard to decide if it’s invasive or not, since it’s also a crop. The claim is the best way to get rid of kudzu is to harvest it. Hmm. So many ideas.

Here are a few plants I found at the hotel and on our stops. I’m always impressed at the variety of plants you can find wherever you go!

One thing traveling through Louisiana will tell you is that it’s a very wet place. No matter when I looked at Apple Maps I could see water, whether a river, a creek, a bayou, or a lake. No wonder they call it sportsman’s paradise! I noticed we went by many lakes that appeared to be part of where a river once ran. I wish I had photos. Thanks, love bugs!

We’re home now. Other observations I can report are that there are fewer songbirds in Florida than farther west, at least right now. And I only saw two signs declaring allegiance to the current US President.

That will have to do! Thanks for traveling along with me.

There’s a lot of Mississippi in Mississippi

Today we set off from the edge of Florida, zipped through Alabama, and ended up in Lee’s favorite place to do bird watching, the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. He’s even come here without me.

I have never actually seen a crane here, though I see them often enough at home. My favorite part of this site is the nature trail, because it takes you through many fascinating plants that I’ve never seen elsewhere, including pitcher plants, my carnivorous favorites. Last time I was here I got great pictures of them, as well as flytraps (those weren’t blooming now).

I’m also fond of the bayou behind the trail, which is absolutely pristine and often has many water birds (not today). Photos don’t do it justice.

Rain held off for us, so we were able to go through the whole trail. I think I found new plants I didn’t see last time, which was a different season. It was extra humid, though. Whew. I’ve got some photos for you. I swear I omitted most tedious plant closeups.

I needed a cold drink, so we stopped at a gas station with an intriguing sign saying “We have deer burritos.” Well, that sounded interesting. We went in to find a shiny clean convenience store with people buying food that smelled really good. Everyone was extra friendly, and I enjoyed my conversation with the guy behind the counter about my love of boudin (it’s a Cajun rice sausage). He had, get this, boudin in an egg roll wrapper. That was my lunch, while Lee got deer burrito. Both were yummy.

Next, Lee said he had a surprise for me. He was going to the only “park” he could find between where we were and Laurel, the next stop. So we drove and drove. We saw a lot of tiny towns and trees.

We turned onto smaller and smaller roads, never seeing signs to any park. But the map software said there was a park!

We realized we were in a National Forest, but no sign said which one. We arrived at the park. It was a forest road not near any houses or anything.

Since we were there, we made the best of it and looked around. The woods were teeming with butterflies and native bees. They weren’t scared of us, so they zipped all around us. Magical! I found a few more plants, too.

On our way out, we kept going on the road to the “park” and saw that if we’d have come in that way, we’d have seen signs about numerous forests, preserves, trails and other places. At least we knew it was ok to be in there!

As we continued across Mississippi, which has lots and lots of tiny towns, lakes, and forests, we eventually made it to the edge of the state, Natchez. There was actually a hotel room available in the scenic River area. I was glad to see the Hampton Inn had been remodeled since I was last here.

We tried to go eat somewhere nice, but Lee got frustrated trying to find hidden historic areas. We ended up at Dairy Queen. It’s ok. We are tired from all the meanderings!

Home tomorrow.