fish sightings – The Hermits' Rest

I found the birds, at last!

Most of the week we’ve been in Myrtle Beach, we haven’t had much birding time, and not many birds have been around other than the classic pigeons and pelicans one can see from the condo balcony, Ospreys on the river, statues at Brookgreen Gardens. Today was different!

That’s right, I’m a bird! (Little Blue Heron)

We headed over to Huntington Beach State Park, right by where we were yesterday. I just love this place. Thank goodness Anita got excited by how many beautiful water birds were there. By the bridge were many White Ibises, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, a Tricolored Heron, an Osprey, and way in the back, Roseate Spoonbills.

Next we wandered over to the nature center, where there are always songbirds. We saw Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a female Painted Bunting, a hummingbird, and more. The boardwalk was closed, but that’s okay. We also enjoyed the fish, snakes, turtles, and other marsh life on exhibit.

We then headed over to the beach to check out Mallard Pond. There were lots of birds in the trees, but not many around the pond. It was full of dead fish. Because of the drought, the water has become too salty for them, I was told by a park worker. I did find some interesting flowers, and the elusive Seaside Sparrow (lifer).

There was one more stop at the state park, where the birder/sales guy told us to go. It’s a lovely walk between two ponds Mrs Huntington had built for shorebirds.

Were there birds in the ponds? Oh, yes. And beautiful American lotuses, too.

We had to walk very quietly, because there were many juvenile birds everywhere, darling Common Gallinules, White Ibis, and best of all, a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron! Look at all the cuteness!

I had a good talk with a park worker and his son who were working to create a rookery area. They were carrying water in buckets for new trees. It looked like they were succeeding, since dozens of Purple Martins were surrounding some pine snags in the area. I learned a lot from my conversation.

I managed to delete my Martin picture. Darn.

We were tired, so we stopped for a cold beverage at the park store. It was so relaxing to sit on a bench and enjoy our photos while cooling off. But, we did have another stop to make.

Yes, we returned to Brookgreen Gardens, because we had missed some of the glass art yesterday. Our passes lasted a week, so why not? Anita had left hers at the condo, as we hadn’t originally planned the stop, but the worker let us in. That pleased Anita a lot!

We quickly found the indoor exhibit, read about the artist, and enjoyed all the colored glass.

As we were leaving, we had to look at more glass art, as well as some cool bromeliads and unusual white flowers

This is a dandelion seed—they are hidden throughout the garden

What I did not expect to find were more birds, but they were lurking everywhere, unlike yesterday. The Little Blue Heron was right in front of us when we were looking at the glass water lilies.

Whew. We didn’t have energy to get pedicures or eat out. I miraculously managed to fit all my stuff in my luggage, too! Back home tomorrow.

How’s that river doing?

Yep, we have a twofer today. Lucky us. In today’s travel adventures in South Carolina, I felt compelled to show Anita the Waccamaw River and its glorious birds and gators. I’ve already shown you hundreds of photos of the river cruise, since this was my fourth trip, but of course there’s more!

For example, I’ve never showed you an alarmed Southern Toad before. The preteen girls who sat near us found it. They were really into the nature.

This year we saw many Ospreys and their nests, many with large juveniles about ready to fledge. I’m extra glad I brought the good binoculars with me! There was fish drama, feeding behavior, and much more.

We saw lots of other birds, some of which I photographed. There were also Purple Martins everywhere, and more Swallowtail Kites, too. There were plenty to satisfy me.

And of course there were alligators, many young ones and a few adults as well. It’s always fun spotting them.

I took my usual abundance of plant photos. Here are just a few.

It’s just so pretty floating down the tidal river that is still so natural in many places!

After we left the tour, we motored down past Murrell’s Inlet, Pawley’s Island, and such until we hit Georgetown, another place I have been to with Lee before. I knew Anita would like the old houses and cute downtown. We browsed the shops then had lunch at a pleasant bistro. It rained a while, so we stayed there until it stopped. They need the rain here! We enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Back at the condo we watched the beach come to life after the rain. We enjoyed some interesting wine from our travels, and ate pasta that Anita cooked. Mostly we laughed at odd internet stories like back in the old Austin days.

Little joys for girls and boys

Today was pretty darned pleasant. I got some items on my to-do list done, and enjoyed a day of less bad news surrounding me. Woo hoo!

The knockout roses Lee bought that I thought were doomed are both blooming. One little joy!

I went with Lee and Chris to Lowe’s to pick up supplies for the pool house project behind our house. I remembered to ask them to get a new air conditioner for my she shed, which will certainly improve horse feeding this summer.

I also finally remembered to get an American flag to go by our front gate. I’d been intending to do it for quite some e, but I rarely go anywhere that would have one these days. I want to be clear that everyone on our property has hopes for a better future here, no matter the details of our beliefs.

When we got home I hurried to do barn chores, and the flag was up by the time I got finished! What a joy.

I met an interesting man who builds furniture mostly out of 2x4s at the checkout line at Lowe’s. I enjoyed looking at his creative ideas and techniques. He reminded me very much of the creative builders in my family!

After Lowe’s Lee and I went to the pet store and got some “rosy red minnows” to put in the horses’ water troughs. That’s another to-do item I kept forgetting to do. I didn’t remember to take any pictures before I put them in. Let’s hope enough of them survive to do mosquito and algae control.

Apache and Spice always are fascinated by fish. Let’s hope these hide under their cement blocks well.

We got canna lilies to plant near the pool, too. The variety name cracked me up. My mother’s first name was Canova. Close. No humans by that name are authorized in this property, but innocent sale bin plants are.

Plus, I gave my nails a rainbow manicure and finished May on the temperature blanket. April and May were fairly pleasant. June is rather red so far. Red is over 90°, wine is over 95° and hot pink is over 100°. I’m hoping for very little hot pink this summer.

I wish you little moments of joy and much peace. Thanks for reading.

It’s My Favorite Week of the Year

What week is that? The week the Mexican plum and redbuds start to bloom in this part of Texas! This means a whole bunch of pretty flowers will be here any day now!

I saw many wild redbuds on the drive from Cameron to Milano.

I’d been afraid I’d miss those trees this year, since I no longer drive there three times a month. But, hooray, today was the day to go out to my friend Carolyn’s to make plans for a field trip to her place to look at the unique wildflowers they have.

Our fellow Master Naturalist, Terri, joined us. She’s been working on a map of the property and its trails and wanted to refine it. She’s also going to make signs to help navigate the trails. She’s so talented!

We had lots of fun looking at the plants that are coming up and finding places of interest to share with visitors, like where the puffball mushrooms are.

I always have so much fun with Carolyn. I promised I’d visit more this year.

We found more than plants! The resident armadillos were wandering around, we saw a deer, and we got to watch AD feed the big catfish in the ponds. Plus, the cattle followed us around hoping for treats for quite a while. They’re very friendly.

Note the petting going on in the background.

It was fun to find a wetland that’s developed between the fancy pond and the well. It should be beautiful in a few weeks, too.

I think the people who go on the picnic will have a great time exploring the property, and I know it will mean a lot to Carolyn to have us visit. Before that, we still have work to do to get ready! Here are some more photos.

What a great way to treat the first official week of wildflower season.

In other news, our much-needed new washer and dryer came and were successfully installed. That impressed me, because I didn’t think we had all the parts, but we did! Our menfolk can work miracles.

Sorry about yesterday’s downer post. I think I’m just rundown. My “glands” hurt and ears are sore. I’ll have to take it easy tomorrow!

Little Holiday Gifts

I promised some plant photos, and I’ll add them here, but first I wanted to share the gifts I received on this Christmas morning. Now, my family is only exchanging handmade gifts, which we will exchange later. So my gifts today were experiences.

I set out for a morning hike with just my binoculars (arms are tired from hoisting the telephoto lens). Of course, I later wished I’d brought one of the Canons. I just decided to enjoy what I saw without worrying about recording it. And I received so many beautiful gifts.

Three Queen and one Snout butterfly on Mexican Winged Crownbeard.

The butterflies were magical, especially around these nondescript plants with tiny blossoms, Narrowleaf Forestiera (Forestiera angustifolia). The blossoms may be tiny, but butterflies, bees, and even flies love this source of winter nectar.

I knew they were blooming because I heard a plant buzzing with pollinators, then I saw dozens of butterflies covering the bushes like ornaments. There were the Snouts I saw yesterday, joined by Queens, Monarchs, and Red Admirals. What a gift to see this reminder that something is blooming all year round here.

The other gifts of the morning occurred while I was at the bird blind area. First, I was able to help three families understand what they were seeing by pointing out the birds and telling about the plants. I enjoyed the thanks and getting to share some of what I’ve learned as a Master Naturalist and Merlin fan.

My reward was spending enough time at the blind to see fun bird behavior. For example, the birds decided it was bath time and I got to watch four Orange-crowned Warblers splashing and splashing in the puddle made by the drip waterer. They were then joined by Cardinals. The blurry photo shows where they were.

Right after that a chubby little Yellow-rumped Warbler took a bath right in front of me. It was so fluffy and scruffy and wiggly. If I had the good camera, there would be some charming photos. Instead you get this.

Geez. You can’t even see the bird. This phone camera is a mess.

But the thing is that I saw all this, which is what matters. Between all this fun and talking to my friends and family, Christmas morning was wonderful. I hope you can find beauty and joy wherever you are today. Who needs presents when you have nature and the meaning of the season.

Now, as my gift to you, here are a few of my favorite plant and scenery photos from yesterday and today!

Go enjoy your day!

It’s Cold So It Must Be December

I realize we had an earlier cold snap, but the front that came through last night (all the way to Rockport/Fulton) looks like it wants to stick around. I can’t complain, because we got at least a little rain at the ranch (I will know more tomorrow). It looks like maybe more rain is coming to replenish the water table.

It rained last night, but wasn’t as windy at Goose Island. I was able to take one fairly pleasant walk that was only moderately cold. Since the wind was less, I could use Merlin, and identified two more life list birds! One I saw pretty well, a White-tailed Kite. The other was a Short-Billed Dowitcher, which I can’t tell from a Dunlin or Long-billed Curlew. I need to go back to the sanctuary in Port Aransas where they are all together so I can compare.

All sorts of fun birds were out, even a Palm Warbler and a very persistent Yellowthroat, so while I waited on IT to fix something at work, I went back to the pier. It was getting colder, but I enjoyed seeing some cannonball jellies, oystercatchers, very loud Caspian Terns, and so many loons. The highlight, though, was when I realized the slapping noises I heard were dozens of fish jumping out of the water! I’ve always enjoyed it since I was a kid watching mullets jump in the canals in South Florida.

After I got some work done, we drove home with no major issues (hurray) in light rain. Ooh, on our way out of the park, a gorgeous fox crossed the road in front of us, turned to look for a few seconds, then quietly disappeared into the brush. What a great farewell!

I had time once we got home to do my beginning-of-the-month tasks, like tallying the birds at the ranch for November. We had 110 species, which I find pretty darned impressive. I’ve slowed down with new species, which was only one. Of course, my mind is a blank…but you can see the list right here.

I still have to tally up the bird sanctuary list, which I hope to do tomorrow or at least later this week. I did bring the porch plants inside, just in case it freezes. Ah. It’s December!

One More Good Day at the River

I’m not kidding. If I lived on one of these Texas Hill Country Rivers like the Blanco, you’d find me every day sitting under a huge bald cypress tree looking at the river life, marveling at the life within the moving water.

I spent a great deal of time this morning just watching fish being fish. It makes me miss my aquariums.

Look at these bluegill beside a cypress.

The morning was magical in many ways, from the light shining on grasses to meeting some interesting Master Naturalists and birders. That’s one reason I love visiting state parks! It’s so much. Fun to talk about what birds and plants we have on our land.

I did find birds farther down the pump house trail, where my binoculars let me enjoy the crown of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, who also sang his entire repertoire for me.

I also managed to find some palafox and skeleton flowers, which was a pleasant pink surprise.

After that walk, I uploaded everything to iNaturalist until I was invited to lead a nature walk by some fellow campers. We went on the trail that goes under the highway, and I showed them the things I found yesterday as well as finding new plants and a Greylag Goose.

Later in the day I practiced taking pictures with Lee’s newest camera, once I got some help with the settings. Another reason it’s nice to see old friends again. I’d share photos, but they aren’t showing up for me.

I also have no photos of the enjoyable potluck dinner this evening. I got to meet some very interesting newer members and their fun kids and dogs, and enjoyed catching up with others. I’m glad I was able to be more social and really get into some meaningful exchanges.

I’m really going to hate to leave tomorrow, but since the temperatures are going to drop I will need to go bring in some plants. I’ll miss the fish, though.

Bonus Post: Camping Photos

I had a request to share some of the plants and scenery from camping at Lake Bob Sandlin State Park this weekend, since posting them on Facebook doesn’t reach many of you. It has been a pleasant weekend with lots of peace and quiet and not as much heat as there could have been.

I spent a lot of time looking at water reflecting in the lake.

I did find some new plants, though no new birds. There were 35 different species, including a Black-and-White Warbler and a Great Horned Owl making a high-pitched call I hadn’t heard before (I heard it two different days, so Merlin mustn’t be lying).

This pond reflection looks too perfect to be real!

Most of the weekend I hiked paths and walked around all the campgrounds. The piney woods has many different hardwoods, including hickory, many oaks, buckeyes (if that counts as a tree), sweetgum, Osage orange, and no doubt more. Plus loblolly pine and red cedar.

For the time of year, I saw many flowers, some quite beautiful. Some of my favorites bloom in the fall, of course, like false foxgloves and asters.

I saw deer and squirrels and even a toad. The deer were not pleased that I separated them, hence the action shot. I have no squirrel photos—the ones here aren’t very tame. There was armadillo and raccoon evidence, but no sightings.

Here are more random pictures I liked. Mostly it’s a lot of green stuff here, but that’s fine with me.

View from the best campsite in the park. Private lake access

Back home tomorrow. I could stay here much longer.

Zoo Pictures

As I promised yesterday, Lee and I went to a zoo today. First we spent the night last night in a blissfully dark and quiet Home2 Suite in Waco. The hotel was a little odd in that their breakfast oatmeal was in reality gravy for biscuits. I’m sure glad I didn’t spoon it out and sprinkle brown sugar on it!

Still, I enjoyed a morning walk in the working class neighborhood, where I managed to hear some birds and met some dogs that didn’t particularly want me there. But, hey, I found some weeds to photograph, too. That let Lee have his morning alone time!

We eventually went to the Cameron Park Zoo, which is in a beautiful riverside location near downtown. It’s worth a visit. I’m sort of glad we didn’t go when we’d originally planned, because now we were able to see the new exhibit of African penguins. They were cute, though many were shy.

I had two exhibits I really liked. One was a lot of fish native to Texas, including paddlefish, gars, and extra cute rays. There was too much glare and too many kids running around to get photos. Those big fish were mighty majestic, though.

The other exhibit I enjoyed was the Texas shore birds. It was great to get close-up views of the birds I usually see at a distance. They’d just been fed, so many were eating fish. A couple others were carrying around sticks. Perhaps they were building nests. Forgive all the Roseate spoonbill pictures. They were so pretty.

There were many other birds to see. I was surprised how many I knew from watching nature shows. Some were spectacular, like the bustard. All were fun to watch.

Of course, there were other animals at this zoo. It’s a fairly good sized one. Here are a few that I enjoyed.

I also enjoyed the people, especially kids. We watched one boy, around 3, dragging his grandmother from exhibit to exhibit saying he wanted to see more animals. He was thrilled at each one and knew what they all were without being told. I just wanted to hug him.

Bald Eagle habitat, surrounded by vultures. .

There was also a little girl who bravely fed the giraffe, to her parents’ surprise. The best part was on her way out, she grabbed some of the romaine lettuce for herself. If it’s good enough for the giraffe…

Chinaberry tree. Lots of nonnative plants were around.

One thing I liked about the design of the Cameron Park Zoo was that it was quite shady, either additional shade canopies where needed. And it seemed like each area had an indoor air conditioned exhibit to cool down in. That was good planning. And wow, it was clean. It didn’t smell like poop, which many zoos do.

If you live around Waco or visit, be sure to go visit this zoo and maybe hit the mammoth dig site, too.

It’s Fun to Be Friendly

I’ve been a lot more chipper the past month or two, and it seems like being cheerful is contagious. I keep having such nice conversations with strangers as I wander around Hilton Head Island. It does a great job of counteracting the harsh reality of the world outside my fragile little bubble (the current US President really doesn’t think he’s qualified to be Pope, does he?).

Much of the day was spent in my usual meditative walking and birding, but Lee and I did go out for a bit of fun, though he was feeling poorly, so he mostly sat in the car while I did things…other than the shopping.

Cute catbird I saw getting a meal (deep shade so hard to photograph).

HE wanted to go to the outlet mall. Why? To get underwear. Like a stereotypical husband, he located the store he wanted to go to, and in fewer than five minutes had purchased his favorite underwear and was done. I, of course, had barely started enjoying the wonders of the Vera Bradley outlet. Oooh, aah. I got a change purse and a 70% off blanket that matches my purse. Then I had lovely chats with the staff at the other shops I visited. They were all friendly, and I hope a cheery customer made their days a little brighter (goodness, who is this chipper writer and where did Suna go?).

Maybe this beautiful Mabel Orchard Orbweaver bit me. *Leucauge argyrobapta*

After a lunch that was either delicious (me) or disgusting (Lee) we found Jarvis Creek Park, which we’d been by many times but hadn’t visited. What an ideal place for me to go!

The park was created to preserve huge oaks.

The first thing I did, naturally, was go explore the trails by the creek. An unexpected sight was a little headquarters for feral cats, with feeding stations, little shelters, and such. I hope they trap, neuter, and release them. The cat I saw was not thrilled to have its meal interrupted.

The trail is beautiful and was chock full of birds. I got to see many of them, not just hear them, too.

The only issue was that I came across an immense fallen oak tree across the path. This was not a tree you could just step over and keep going. No, I had to crawl under it in the only crawlable space. Naturally, it being nature and all that, there was poison ivy and greenbrier all around. But someone had cut the worst briars down, so I guess the obstacle is well known. I checked for snakes and successfully negotiated it. Fun!

But it was worth it. I enjoyed all the ferns and trees.

Once I finished looking at the creek, I went on the paved trail that circles a lake made from damming the creek. There I ran into many friendly people, including a couple with two adorable, portly dachshunds. We had a nice chat, then were startled by a big plopping noise in the lake. It was a very big fish. It turns out the lake is stocked, and is catch and release, so the inhabitants are super-sized. At least next time I was prepared.

I just chatted my way around the lake. When I heard a bluebird I saw a group of folks my age sitting and looking through binoculars. I asked if they’d heard it, and one guy immediately reached for his phone. Everybody has Merlin these days (making life with birds more interesting). They were grateful and told me they come often to look at the birds.

There were many birds to see, too. I saw a Double-crested Cormorant, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (they are so tiny), and yet another Red-shouldered Hawk that was not at all concerned about being near people. It flew right in front of me and landed on a nearby oak. I find it fascinating that the birds here are so much more comfortable around humans than the wilder ones at home. Of course, they encounter many more people on this very wooded but well populated island.

I’ll have to make this park a regular stop when I’m here again. I really enjoyed seeing the beauty. It’s next to the museum that I still haven’t gone to. You’d think I’d have seen everything here, but no, not really. I spend way too much time reading, resting, and crocheting. And it’s the end of the month! Time to finish April on the temperature blanket.

There were pink evening primroses in the wildflower area!

If you read this (and I’m back to being so boring that very few people read), go out and strike up a conversation with a stranger. There’s a good chance it will make you and the stranger have a better day!