Holidays – The Hermits' Rest

Earth Day Musings

All the rain has made it so green here. It’s so beautiful, like the Earth is celebrating herself.

Nature’s fickle, of course, or maybe just variable (I don’t think the planet is frowning or smiling on any part of herself). I was reminded a couple of times today by friends in North Florida, how dry it is there, and that fires are dotted all across the landscapes I frequented as I was a young girl and college student. As a Master Naturalist, I know that the pine forests of the region need fire occasionally, but you always worry about who fire displaces.

When we first arrived here, you could see wildfires on the horizon.

The lesson I have received from Earth Day in 2026 is that the planet can be in balance at a macro level but still swing back and forth from rain to fire, freeze to heat wave, extinction to replenishment. Our job is to observe and try not to push the Earth into unbalance. Humans aren’t in charge at the macro level. I just hope our small actions tilt the balance towards harmony overall.

And that’s the best I can do after pinging my way across projects and duties today. I was greatly assisted by my good fortune that I can step outside and breathe fresh air and enjoy my wild and domestic animal companions.

I hope you all get to step outside, unless you’re avoiding particulate matter, sand, or storms. Happy Earth Day!

Keep Moving On

That’s what I tell myself when I get overwhelmed or frustrated. Just keep moving. Sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other seems hard. I have a notion that we all feel like it’s hard to keep moving sometimes. I’m glad I’m to the point where it’s not too often.

There are always thorns or other obstacles on our paths! These are thistles.

Today was one of those days. I was just wondering why I was making so much effort. Maybe I was just coming down from all that self-help book energy. I stood on the porch and looked out at the nice, full pond, took a few deep breaths, and decided I’d get back to moving forward…tomorrow.

Today I mostly crocheted, watched a variety of television shows, ranging from the rather crude Ted (Seth McFarland humor at its crudest) to art history and a documentary about lobsters. Meanwhile, Kathleen cooked a fine traditional Easter dinner, and I provided wine. I’m not much of a helper.

I’d have had more blogging time if we hadn’t reached the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The final episode was very long, since it had to neatly end many story lines and “regale” us with endless battle scenes. That may have been the next-to-last episode. I get bored watching tiny model ships pretend to explode and shoot rays of various colors. Actually I knit, crochet, or read during battle scenes of all kinds. I like character development.

No reason for this photo except I still can’t believe the false dandelions this year.

On that tangent, I’ll take my leave so I can drive back down to the Austin suburbs for a visit with the dentist. That’s just the start of a long couple of weeks!

My New Weed-eater

Spring at last! Ostara greetings to all! Maybe no more freezes to kill our grass.

Since it was a pretty day, I took a walk at lunch and even read for a few minutes on the porch, next to my lovely petunias that smell so good (white petunias are impressive!).

After work and poultry and equine feeding, I enjoyed some time with Apache, just walking around. My son had come over to get some eggs, so we were chatting, when we noticed what Apache was munching on.

Was it grass? No! It was prickly sow-thistle. These plants are like ugly dandelions with big thorns on the leaves.

Yep, Apache was methodically mowing down all these non-native plants. I was impressed. After my son left, I watched Apache’s grazing pattern. Somehow he was able to avoid all the other wildflowers (other than field madder, which he also liked) and just focus on his favorite greenery. I wonder how they know? Scent? Feel? This is when I wish I could ask my former horse trainer. She’d know.

After we ran out of armored dandelions, Apache kindly switched to weed-eating around the garbage dumpster. He even provided fertilization services (not pictured). It turns out, my new lawn maintenance tool is pretty good! Too bad it costs so much to keep it up and running!

Excellent long grass around the dumpster to trim!

I helped him burn off the calories from all that snacking by getting some good exercise in before returning him to his herd. Our pleasant walk ended the week on a good note!

Enjoy your weekend!

Sixty-eight Feels Great

I think I’ve gained five pounds tonight, but it was sure fun! In fact, I woke up with a good mood and it lasted all day, which is an atypical way for me to spend a birthday.

Usually I set expectations low for these yearly events. I’m awful at doing things for other people on their birthday, and don’t expect anything for mine. But today I knew I was getting this great meal and Lee had brought me all those plants yesterday, so I was happy as I could be.

Forgot to show the fancy ginger plant yesterday.

I had to do a webinar this morning, but I was prepared and it all went fine. I even edited the recording, uploaded it, and shared it before lunchtime. What a worker, huh? That efficiency enabled me to take a nice walk at lunchtime, where I had a great time photographing all the new wildflowers. They were another gift!

The rest of the work day featured writing and writing, then problem-solving with my peers. A good challenge makes the day go faster! See, I really was in an uncharacteristically good mood.

Cheerful double dianthus blossom. Cultivar.

It was indeed a pleasure to get to run out and play with the animals after work. After feeding and exercising horses, Kathleen and I walked Dusty and Apache around the horse trails (newly mowed). Both behaved very well and seemed to have as much fun as we did. It’s ice to see Dusty getting out.

Yep, fun day. It was made more fun by all the nice people who texted, called, posted on Facebook, and otherwise sent kind birthday greetings. It’s always a highlight to hear from people I’ve know from all my wild and crazy (and boring and bitchy) stages of my life. I just kept smiling and having great memories.

I feel like I’ve crawled out of a deep hole and glimpsed the sun. Sure, I may have to duck back down, but having fewer concerns weighing on my mind is a welcome respite.

Yellow flowers always bring a smile, even simple wood sorrel.

Whatever you were doing today, I hope it had moments that made you smile.

Feeling Lighter

I said yesterday that the light was coming, and I really felt it today, and not just because we’re halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox! Not that I’m complaining that the sun is setting later, because I enjoyed the sunset and full moon tonight.

I just feel lighter and a little more positive after a few small pieces of good news, and I enjoyed good conversations with friends again. I need to keep this friendliness streak going! It’s hard when most of your friends trend towards the hermit lifestyle just like we do.

Our friends Martha and Mike, who often invite themselves to Sunday dinner, struggle like Lee and I do to make the effort, but we all praise Martha for making the rest of us spend time together. At least we admit our struggles to each other. You feel lots less alone when you figure out we all have challenges to push through.

Red hat. It fits. It’s warm. I’m trendy.

All in all I enjoyed my day of finishing my red solidarity hat, donning my Imbolc t-shirt, and gazing at the candles on my Brigid altar.

I was even able to spend a little time birding once it warmed up a little, since it was sunny and calm. A Belted Kingfisher flew right over my head! Now it has to warm up enough for me to sit out and see the Bald Eagle that’s hanging out here.

I can’t miss the turkeys though. Darryl Junior really wants to fly, and his legs pound the dirt like a herd of elephants as he runs and flaps his wings. Good exercise, I guess! Both the birds and horses seem glad for the slight warming trend. Tomorrow should be practically balmy, at least in the 60s.

And here’s January 2026 in its cooler glory.

Enough rambling for one day. I’m all rested and ready to tackle another work week.

Here’s my funky candle collection on the hearth. At least I decorated for a holiday!

Sometimes You Have to Do Chores

Today I did so many items on the to-do list, but at the end of the day, I didn’t feel very accomplished. I was trying to get my chores done so I could spend some time in contemplation, which is what I usually do for this time of year, Imbolc or Candlemas.

One of the things people did in the past was sweep out the house and clean the hearth, as the goddess/saint of this time of year is Brigid, patron saint of Ireland, fire, keeping house, and spinning. Among other things.

No wonder I’ve been in such a frenzy of tidying up (though it may not look like it everywhere In the house). I usually light a bunch of candles, but I will tomorrow night.

Commemorative rock. I’m making one for each sabbat this year.

Chores are things that repeat over and over, just like cleaning your living space, so it’s appropriate I spent so much time getting my journal ready for a new month, cataloging all the birds I’ve seen in January, getting food ready to cook…etc., all of which mostly matters to only me.

Kestrel was bird of the month. Photo by Adam Bowley.

The fowl were happy that one chore was buying a new supply of feed and scratch, along with new meal worms. I wish I could trust the local feed store, because I hate having to drive to the next town to get this stuff and horse feed. It took forever to organize the food, because somehow mice had gotten into my supposedly sealed food bin, so I had to chase them around and scoop them out. Plus there was a rather bold field rat who I had to chase out (not one of the cute cotton rats, a BIG one. I’m about tired of rats. Why don’t those cats I keep seeing eat them?

I also eat mice. And when I run, the earth moves beneath my feet.

And to top it off, lifting the heavy feed bags messed up a nail. Oh yeah, weekly manicure is also a chore, though fun.

At least I was able to get the horses fed and watered while it was above freezing. They are eating like, well, horses. I’m glad I have a lot of hay and that mice can’t get in their food bins.

When I finally got to be indoors, I had to do minutes of the Master Naturalist board meeting from Thursday and put up a blog post. By the time I was done with computer work, my contemplation time was no longer available. A bit of yarn work was all I could fit in. I was disappointed to not finish my hat tonight, but I’ll make it (and finishing January on the temperature blanket) a priority for tomorrow.

Chores never end. Still, stop and acknowledge the change of seasons when you can. The light is coming back!

New Year Accomplishments

I had another post about birds planned, but I’ll get to it tomorrow. I stayed up late watching The Residence, the show about the birder detective, which I saw on one of my solo trips, but am enjoying sharing with Lee. What happy elders we are so far this year.

I cooked all day, but it was fine. Every year I enjoy making our traditional family meal and watching the kids eat it. Having young adults who like collard greens and black-eyed peas brings me joy.

I also appreciate that my son made these sconces for me and hung them up. I’ll get a closer photo.

My accomplishment I wanted to mention is that I got the 2025 temperature blanket assembled into one piece on New Year’s Day, 2026. I’m so proud of myself. And it even looks good! Best of all, it’s functional. I can use it as a lap blanket.

Nice look with me holding it up with my mouth, huh.

It looks like a calendar and you can tell it’s hotter in the summer. I’ve added another row of blue on the outside to even it up, then comes an exciting rainbow border while I wait for my new border color, which I’ve already told you is tan. The blue outlines will be red—hoping there’s one not exactly like the reds that are for high temperatures.

I also painted more rocks today. These are the ones I finished yesterday.

All in all, a fun day, of which I will share more tomorrow.

Yo-yo Weather

If you live in the part of the world where I do, your head is probably still spinning from the rapid weather change from yesterday to today (hoping you didn’t spin out on any ice). You know it got cold fast when the day’s high temperature was yesterday’s low, all occurring just before and after midnight.

This picture depicts sleet on our windshield, which looks like rain.

And of course, the blustery wind also returned, merrily tossing things around. We just missed snow, which visited Waco. All animals seem unperturbed—the horses went into their nice shelter until the wind settled a bit, and the fowl went into their nice and out of their coop, which has a heat lamp. I rushed out to toss food at them all. Brr.

This is from yesterday. I was trying to capture the green sheen on the Cochins.

Since I can’t work again this week, I luxuriated in activities I usually don’t have time for. I put together my bullet journal so it will be ready for Thursday (I saved the fun of adding washi stickers for tomorrow. I came up with color themes for each month’s journal entries and color/pattern themes for my nails, which I may or may not adhere to, since I won’t berate myself for changing my mind. (Dang, I come across as Susie Housewife here, but I’m just artsy, that’s all.)

I even went to the Big City with Lee and did some in-person book shopping at Barnes & Noble. I bought myself my own dang Christmas gifts, a fiction book, a feminism book, and three fun bird items. Also on-sale coloring books. I felt like a kid with new toys when I got home and could play with my new things.

A very funny bird guide that makes a good gift for a birder with a sense of humor

I got all the New Year’s meal ingredients at the grocery store (fresh collards) and stuff to cook for dinner. I don’t mind cooking so much when I am not tired from working. Susie Housewife is not Super-woman.

But I do glow (photo from Saturday, when it was warm yet breezy)

By the way, I cooked our belated Christmas dinner last night for Anita and “the kids,” and was very happy with a turkey breast cooked in my Pampered Chef clay pot thing. I gave everyone their painted rocks, which seemed to go over ok. My son made me lovely candle stands for the wall. I’ll share a photo tomorrow. I do love handmade gifts.

Tomorrow should be fun. Closet clean-out day with my son’s partner for help.

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!

The Dead of Winter Is Not Dead

I had the loveliest day of bird and plant watching here at Lake Corpus Christi State Park! This is a great place in southern Texas, where many plants and animals native to northern Mexico mingle with organisms from farther north. This makes for fun observations!

An example of the beauty here. Pink cenizo (Texas sage) with gorgeous shrubby blue sage, both native to Texas and northern Mexico.

On my morning hike through a shrubby woodland I was delighted to see many blooming plants and others with interesting seed pods. It even smelled nice to walk through the misty woods listening to the “exotic” Great Kiskadees and Green Jays (plus an Audubon’s Oriole).

I even left some out. It was fun to see what grows down here, like palm trees and giant reed. I enjoyed the winter scenery.

After my long walk I came back so Lee and I could get vital supplies (coffee creamer and blackberry cobbler). We enjoyed looking at the town of Alice, Texas, then came back just in time for some rain showers. When they were over, I went out to the other part of the trail to enjoy the sunshine.

I looked at the very nice birding setup they have here, then made it to the CCC Rectory on the lake. It’s one of their nicest structures.

I discovered the volunteer who leads the bird walks waiting for someone to take out, so I said I’d go. Then a French-Canadian woman bicycled up and joined us. It was a challenge teaching her bird names in English, but she liked the Green Jays and shiny Great-tailed Grackles. I showed her some plants, then headed back to our campsite.