Creeks, Rivers, Streams – The Hermits' Rest

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.

Crossing Florida through Cross City

Today I took the day off, so I could enjoy the drive across Florida the interesting way.

Rather than going up to Jacksonville and heading across Interstate 20, we went across the middle of Florida through the parts tourists don’t usually see. This route is for the nature lover—covered in forests, lakes, Thoroughbred farms, and springs.

There are National Forests, State Forests, wildlife preserves, and charming small towns that have not lost their 60s vibe. Even though it was mostly a rainy day, it was refreshing and a wonderful change from condo after condo.

I also enjoyed showing Lee places I loved as a child. Since we’ve already been to Silver Springs (ten years ago for high school reunion) we drove by that beautiful place. So instead, we went to a place where I used to go as a child with my parents and our dog Maggie, Fanning Springs.

This was the most pleasant outing in our hot Florida summers, because the water is pleasantly cool year round. And you could see so many fish (and the occasional manatee).

Much like with finding Mom’s grave, I remembered exactly where it was in the park. It looks so much like it used to! The view out to the Suwannee River was a total match to my memory. Wow, so I took a few pictures.

Even though it was rainy, we had a great time. All those mullets swimming around fascinated us and I had just as much fun on the lovely (but slick!) boardwalk by a smaller spring/seep.

After that fun, we kept driving across the state until I hit another family link, the deepest backwater of Florida, right in the armpit, Dixie County. Yes. That’s its name. The county seat is Cross City, where Mom spent her childhood as the one fancy little girl with big bows and long curls among the children of lumber mill workers. (My grandfather was a surveyor/big fish in a small pond at Putnam Lumber in the 1930s-1960s.)

I heard lots of stories about Cross City, at one time the poorest county in Florida, but I know Mom had some fond memories. She subscribed to the newspaper her whole life.

I was surprised at how little that place had changed. I was also surprised at how much visiting these places from my mother’s past affects me. It brings back memories of things that had been buried in my mushy brain for decades. I now have a lot more empathy for my anxiety-ridden mom and her parenting challenges.

I spent much of the rest of the drive through the panhandle asleep. I was awake for a couple bad accidents that we passed. Rain is scary.

But at least we didn’t hit a bear or deer. Why? Because Florida has these signs that blink when an animal is coming across the road. They are all through the National Forest. What a cool idea!

No photos of the signs, but we saw some great clouds!

Now we are in Pensacola, making Florida seem almost as wide as Texas! I hope it’s not too rainy tomorrow so we can see more nature stuff.

New hotel brand, LivSmart Suites. There were actual birds near here. I’ve missed birds.

Blessings abound

What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised?

Since I’ve been near the area where I spent my childhood, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how my nuclear family of origin worked. I’ve also been thinking what a blessing it was to spend time with my long-time friend, Vicki. Thus, the answer to the blog prompt jumped right out of my subconscious.

I do not say a blessing before every meal. However, our semi-non religious family felt the need to say these words.

God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed. Thank him for our daily bread. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Amen (including hand gestures).

This gave young Suna much to think about. I did attend Presbyterian Sunday School, so I knew who God was. But why did they try to rhyme “good” with “food?” and hey, we did not eat bread every day, just on weekends. And why the crossing of ourselves after the Protestant blessing? The answer was that Dad came from a Methodist family and Mom from a Catholic one, so we did both things from some loyalty or something. I didn’t get a good answer as to why we did the meal ritual if we weren’t religious. Nonetheless, this was done until Mom died, even though I was a tree-hugging atheist at that point. Even when Dad later became a Quaker we were exempt.

Anyway, no, I don’t do Christian rituals by rote anymore. I do send out good energy in thanks for animals and plants who nourish me, and I say a blessing when I see dead animals on the side of the road or whenever I experience awe. I do still count my blessings, though I think they come from Spirit, whatever that is.

The spirit in the sky! Where I’m gonna go when I die, or some kind of song lyric.

Well, I’m done with that topic now. Although I must warn you that tomorrow I will have more encounters with unholy ghosts of my mother’s past.

I need protective feathers! (This is from a Wild Turkey)

Today, though, was a vast improvement over yesterday. Lee kindly drove me back over the three state park loop again, so I could photograph the scenery. There was no negativity, complaining, or grumpiness. (He may have used it all up yesterday, which was a bad day for him).

I even made him look at the Fairchild Oak and the seeping creek.

We also enjoyed getting to watch the pool at the condos get repaired. It’s so much fun to watch guys pumping and smoothing the coating. Then they started filling it up! I guess if I’d waited a week, I could have gone swimming here.

Work was much more interesting today, too, and I enjoyed helping folks until we had a final dinner with Vicki, back at Angelina’s, across from the condo. I’m glad I made the trip.

Phone apps, or favorite activities

What are your favorite 5 apps on your phone?

Today featured a four-hour workshop with much complaining, so I’m not up for any deep thoughts. I’ll share some photos of a quick visit to watery areas of Tomoka State Park here in Ormond/Daytona/Orange Beaches in Florida, as well as beachy and river-y views from happier parts of the day as I list my five favorite phone apps. I bet you can guess some!

Little Blue Heron, a hint at two favorite apps.

One. The Camera app, especially the one on this iPhone 17. I love all the zooms, the lenses, the Live Photos, the grid that helps you crop, and the indicators that tell you if your image is level. I have a ridiculous amount of fun taking pictures wherever I go, documenting all the life forms I encounter.

Sunset looking at an island full of roosting White Ibises

Two. Merlin Bird ID. Merlin brings me so much joy. It’s given me something to focus on that’s positive and educational, even in these troubled times. Days when I don’t get to go out and look for birds (like yesterday) are few and far between, which is fine with me. Now if only they made apps for identifying frogs and cicadas.

Three. iNaturalist. So far, none of these surprise anyone who’s ever read this blog. Right? Anyway, I’ve always wanted to know what I am looking at when I’m out in nature. This fantastic app helps me learn about my surroundings and allows me to teach others. I am in awe at the variety of living things around me, large and small. And iNat lets me learn and contribute to scientific knowledge. So much fun.

Four. Finch. It’s a game kind of app where you and your “birb” friend explore new things, work on mental health, and interact with friends to cheer them up. It borders on silly, but it helps center me in the morning and before bed. It can be very helpful for people dealing with an anxiety and depression.

Ada is my birb. She currently has a pet corgi.

Five. Crossword Puzzle Redstone. Lee plays this a lot, so I’ve joined him. The Hard ones are just right to keep my brain active and keep me from thinking I’m in mental decline. There are many different authors to choose from. We both like the G. Johnson ones. One good thing about the Crossword app is it keeps me off Facebook so much!

Runners up: Facebook, JetPack/Wordpress (blog app), Clime (NOAA weather), Apple Maps, Google.

I’d love to know which apps you like! Because I’m feeling better, here are other photos from today. Love that phone app.

Final note. Lee went to dinner with me and Vicki, but wasn’t feeling well and only ate a sweet potato. The place we ate was Aunt Catfish’s, a perfect old Florida seafood place. I could eat there again!

Another day, another park

Vicki wasn’t up to going to the farmers market today, so I pivoted. I can always come up with something to do! So first I put in new nail polish. It didn’t go on very well, but it’s growing on me. I don’t think the magnetic ones are my favorites.

Then I got in the rental car (have I mentioned how much I have enjoyed this Honda? It’s a perfectly reasonable car). I drove straight up A1A for 26 miles. I enjoyed brightly colored beach houses and stretches of just plain beach. I saw Flagler Beach, which I’d never seen before. At the swanky town of Palm Bay, I found my destination, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.

The first thing I did was walk the nature trail, which included a half-mile stretch of the original A1A, the road built to get cars to South Florida. That was a fun piece of history.

You can see it was a road, returning to the earth.

It was pleasant to look at all the plants, and there was a good breeze. I was disappointed that there was hardly any view of the creek/intracoastal, but I did see some spiders. Focusing on spiders is not easy without manual focus.

I drank a lot of water (it’s humid) then walked around the formal gardens. I managed to find some insects for iNat along the way. There were many shady ponds, a sunny rose garden, and a place where they have planted Washington oaks from the trees owned by early settlers.

I enjoyed the rose garden, which had big, hardy roses in it, all of whom were blooming away.

After looking at the rest of the plantings, greenhouse, etc., I went in the gift shop, which was formerly the office of an early television pioneer. It was a cute place, and I enjoyed talking to the volunteers. I put signs in the photos, in case you want to read about the place.

I returned to Ormond Beach a different way, which took me through some fancy neighborhoods and a toll bridge. Then I drove down I-95, which was not bad, since it’s Sunday. I had time to go walk in the ocean a while. I got to watch some surfing, too.