Master Naturalists – The Hermits' Rest

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!

Pollinators, trees, bagpipes and more

Lots of surprises and fun filled the last full day of the 2026 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting. I was rested enough to get through the whole day, but not enough for after-session activities. Believe me, the day was full!

It was great to see Craig Hensley, who retired last year, come back to present a very interesting session on the best plants to attract pollinators and who those pollinators are likely to be. I learned so much about how beetles, bees, wasps, and of course butterflies/moths pollinate plants. He had nifty data, too. I know what I’ll be planting!

The next session I attended was on the Heritage Trees of McClennan County. It was led by an impressive young Mexican American man who is both an arborist and a firefighter. We learned about this program to save local trees, then went on a field trip just down the road to see a few of them.

We visited the St Francis Oak, near a historic church and learned that it’s in the middle of a future road. Hector explained options for saving or preserving its heritage. I took a few acorns.

On the way back to the convention center, I took pictures of every plant I could find for the Pollinator Bioblitz. Might as well kill two birds with one stone (though I am not a bird killer). There were no exciting discoveries along the urban sidewalks.

Lunch was good but they ran out of pasta and carrots. The servers were all very nice, though. Afterwards, I went to a session on who should care for wildlife. I got distracted because he used speech to text and it was really bad. He’s trying to be accommodating but I don’t think a hearing impaired person would have been able to figure out what the talk was about due to mistakes. Mike said it’s free software, so you get what you pay for.

I got no photos in that session, so here’s me with a lunch flower in my hair.

Onward to more learning. A session on techniques for nature photography, especially film, was really good. I learned lots of techniques to use in the future. The speaker has had a long and interesting career in television and film, including the television show for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Now he takes all our official photos, too.

Lee showing us how agile you need to be to get good nature shots.

I really didn’t care about his content too much, because I enjoyed the film clips he shared of ducks, cranes, deer, snakes (one drinking, so cool), and bats. His examples were so helpful!

Some of our group went over to the Hilton bar to relax before dinner and enjoyed listening to bagpipes and drums rehearsing down the hall. They were part of a group of firefighters and I think police from around the state that performs at funerals and other ceremonies. They were giving seminars to other groups or something.

We were delighted to be surprised by a performance by the group before dinner! They’d agreed to do it on the spur of the moment when asked by our leadership. It was so good. All the flourishes and pageantry made me quite emotional.

I managed to film a bit of them marching out. So much dedication it must take to learn all this, and how good of them to honor the fallen.

To continue the night on a high note, the food was good tonight and there was plenty. We even got a few group photos.

The best part of the evening was when they announced milestones for members. It was a true joy to see the reaction our Linda Jo got when it was announced she’d achieved 10,000 hours of volunteer service. I hope all the love made her very happy. Mike and Dr Rector escorted her back to her seat, which was so cute!

She photographed Lee, the official photographer

To see someone I admire so much get well deserved recognition was the highlight of the whole event for me!

To those of you who get the blog by mail, I apologize that some text was missing. I’m not sure how it happened, but the online version has been corrected.

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!

Who do I want to be?

If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week, who would it be and why?

You know, being famous doesn’t appeal to me very much. I’d like to be appreciated by those who matter to me, but being famous and surrounded by “fans” is not appealing. Maybe I could switch with someone who’s famous for being an anonymous benefactor would be okay. I’d enjoy benefacting.

I always feel magnanimous feeding the fish.

Nah, I’m all accustomed to being me. I’m used to my quirks, my personality, my pleasantly average looks, and the friends and family who can put up with me (and vice versa). Since there’s always something new to learn right here being me, I’ll just stick with it through all the ups and downs.

My nails are ready for the Master Naturalist annual meeting!

Here in the adequately interesting world of Suna, I found a few more butterflies for the Bioblitz, but I’m ready to blitz hard tomorrow in Waco.

The team at KCC Construction was at full strength today, which means the form for the big slab to hold the huge water tank now has buttresses to hold the weight of the concrete, an area all smoothed for the pad to hold pumps and filters, and the drains set up. Plus much rebar has been bent for more strength. That pad’s gonna be solid!

I tried to do two errands at lunch, but once again managed to hit the pharmacy during their lunch break. Sigh. However, Lee and I did manage to vote. It felt good to vote for people I actually know and like. I did have a bit of a panic attack when I was finished. I guess my internal angst about the outcome slipped out. I chatted with a friend and feel better now. I’ll deal with what happens later when it’s later.

Thanks for all the nice thoughts on what I share. I feel like I’m talking to very quiet people. Thanks, too, for your messages, texts, and calls.

Water, weather, welcome changes

Folks, I’m still thinking about the book I recently finished, so I’ll share some ranch updates that I’ve been observing and enjoying.

Someday this hill will be helping shape our drainage.

One thing that’s going on is that the project of setting up our huge water tanks to collect rainwater off the house and garage roofs is moving along, even though the least little bit of rain tries to fill the hole where the impressively deep concrete pad to hold the house’s tank is going to be.

Just a little rain started to make a new pond.

For example, it rained .04” yesterday, but because all the rain on the roof falls out of the same pipe, which of course is located on top of the hole, since eventually that’s where the tank will be. Even this morning’s heavy dew had a nice flow going. That bodes well for future dry spells, but not for setting up the forms to pour the concrete.

At least the amphibian population is happy.

This week my son and his helper have been getting things in line to create the forms for the big pad and a bunch of paths/sidewalks leading from our entry gate to the house, the pool, and the pool house. We will be SO fancy! Imagine not tracking in mud and stickers! Imagine not tripping on holes the dogs and visiting critters have dug! It’s so encouraging!

The guys have taken wood scraps we already have and cut or ripped them down to make stakes and holders for the plywood that will make the forms. As you can see, it involved a lot of sawing!

They’ve done a lot of other small jobs around the ranch, like trimming the willow trees beside the driveway, making the henhouse door larger so Darryl, the tom turkey can get in, and fixing two very vexing leaky pipes. Most important, the horses now have water again after the leaks got fixed. I’m so glad that our turn came!

Limbs no longer try to scratch vehicles.

Tomorrow should see lots more progress, and a very happy change in the weather! It’s going to cool off and be very pleasant, at last. I’m looking forward to more time in the birding hut before and after work, and a pleasant experience doing this year’s pollinator bio blitz, which starts tomorrow.

Maybe these mofos will get all sluggish or something.

I do hope the beautiful swallowtail and queen butterflies are still here for my intense iNaturalist activity over the next couple of weeks! And since the Master Naturalist annual meeting is next week in Waco, I’m in a nature-mania mode! Or more of these.

My new funnel weaver buddy, ***Barronopsis texana***

And that’s the news from the Hermits’ Rest.

A quick hey…hay

Gotta go to bed soon—today was long! The best part was spending time with the horses while they got their feet trimmed. Everyone is so calm and well behaved. Even Mabel has settled into a well behaved routine after a rough start when she got here.

The only photos I took were of Apache, who really seemed to enjoy his trim. He dozed a bit, then did a lot of licking and chewing when it came to his hind legs.

He still has those platter feet, but they are sound and pretty, for him.

I wish I’d gotten before and after pictures of poor Fiona. I noticed she was walking strangely, so I had the farrier take a look, dreading founder or thrush or an abscess. Nope. She had mud clumped in her hoof so thick that it stuck out past her hoof. Only Fiona! She’s all fixed up now, after a little soreness after the hoof was cleaned. She’s the sweetest little thing.

These guys made my morning! And a fun Master Naturalist meeting completed the day. I learned fascinating information about re-introducing horned lizards near Mason, Texas. I also learned interesting fire ant control techniques and about Houston toad reintroduction in Bastrop. The speaker is a local guy who’s a great speaker and researcher.

Nothing wrong with uneventful days

Yeah, the last couple of days have been fairly low stress, with just a couple of bobbles. Also the blog prompts are so repetitive that I didn’t feel like answering the last few. Nonetheless, there have been highlights.

Master Naturalist meeting was last night, and I even made the end of the Board meeting (but missed some ruffled feelings, thankfully). A highlight of the meeting was getting a photo with all our living Presidents as our current one received a commemorative Bald Eagle pin.

The other highlight has been Stumpy’s growing popularity with its avian buddies. We now have little flocks of House Sparrows vying for stump space, as well as Cardinals seeking out their sunflower seeds. My patience has really paid off! Here are blurry phone photos to prove it. I’ll have to bring out the good camera now that there’s something to photograph.

Look at all the birds in the tree awaiting their turn.

I’ve felt good about work, because I’ve hit a few deadlines, but I’m glad the weekend is here. We had a pleasant dinner with my son and his partner at the new restaurant in town, which always is a pleasure. I do enjoy the little downtown area.

It rained somewhere near here this evening, but not here. We are back in crispy season, with extreme heat and brown plants. I’m glad to have water to look at here! Tomorrow I’m working with the water garden some more, too.

So many birds, so tired

Today Pamela and I drove from Corpus Christi to port Aransas and back before returning home. For that reason I’m tired as heck so I’m hitting the highlights.

Hello, I’m a highlight, Tricolored Heron.

First we drove down Shoreline Blvd in Corpus, where I’d never been. Whoa. There were beautiful old and newer homes to see! Corpus is t as ugly as it appears from the highway. We then went to a small and kind of rundown bird sanctuary, the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw many interesting birds, plants and hundreds of Great Southern White butterflies. Enchanting.

After than visit we drove all across Mustang Island, which was new to my native Texan friend. It’s my dream marshland. Eventually we got to the Leonabelle Turner Birding Center.

As this photo shows, the wind was not kind to Pamela’s hair.

Nor was it kind to mine. It got stuck in trees.

There weren’t zillions of birds like the time I came during migration, but there were some good ones.

The best, most wonderful, and the most amazing sight we saw did not come through in photos, but was very clear through my binoculars. At first I thought it was Mississippi Kites, but they weren’t marked quite right, and their tails were forked, but very long. So when I got home I looked to see if kites were likely birds in Port Aransas this time of year. They were not.

What was large, flocking, black-and-white, and likely? The Magnificent Frigatebird! A bucket list bird of mine!

This is one cool seabird. I didn’t realize they’d come this close to the shore. They can fly for hours and hours and steal food from shorebirds (I guess that was today’s plan).

Otoño this picture to document where the birds were. She’s looking at them, I swear!

I immediately had to text Pamela about the ID. This was a memorable trip, even though the drive home was long!

Apologies for not sharing the plants I saw. Too tired!

People can be rejuvenating

If you’ve read my writing before, you’ve probably realized I’ve gotten more like the hermit in our ranch name as time goes on. I get pretty drained in crowds nowadays, even Master Naturalist meetings. (Yet I am going to a convention soon, which I may regret.)

However, one-on-one interactions lift my spirits so much! Today I had many opportunities for good conversation. I’m thankful to all!

I’m even grateful for this large bold jumping spider who entertained us this morning.

This morning I spent a good while talking about some complicated stuff with Kathleen over our morning coffee, but soon the topics veered off into what an odd little family dynamic we have over here at the compound. For example, we keep repaying each other similar amounts of money, so it’s just floating around in circles. Much laughter ensued. Penney also found it funny.

Next, Terry the farrier came to trim the horses and Fiona. We had good conversation with him, too. I enjoy learning his stories of his interesting life and his own odd happenings, like someone just giving him a Jeep. He also found a weird thing growing on Spice, near her tests. Our guess is that it’s a skin tag or little melanoma. I need to find someone knowledgeable to look at it.

After a nice, quiet afternoon of work, Terri from Master Naturalists came over to get a blog software refresher so she can help on the Master Naturalist blog. We are supposed to have a backup for all our roles. We fed the horses, looked at all the ponds and outbuildings, and yes, practiced blogging. I tried to explain our family arrangements here, and once again realized how weird it sounds when you say it out loud. I enjoyed her stories of living on a sailboat with young children, too.

I know I share a lot of egrets. But they are so beautiful.

It was a very pleasant time with no deadlines or big agenda. The whole day was like that. Very little negativity and much supportive interaction. I wish you similar days!