photos – Page 6 – The Hermits' Rest

What Treasures Hide in the Weird Areas

Our last day at Lake Whitney (or the Big Puddle as I’m inclined to call it, since it’s mostly only a foot deep) was mostly a work day, but I found time to hike around near our campsite for an hour around lunchtime. I wanted to see the airstrip that I’d spotted on the map.

The area wasn’t much to look at, since it was pretty scrubby and just had a few trees here and there (what did I expect? It was advertised as being on a prairie). However weird it looked didn’t matter. There was much to observe.

Always look at snags (dead trees). Something will be there.

I have to hand it to this area, there are lots of birds, and they love this type of landscape with mixed open and covered parts. I heard a turkey and a peregrine falcon, along with many of my favorite sparrows, and the new-to-me clay-colored sparrow. There were no tanagers (they like the woods back at the campsite), but I was lucky to experience the sounds of multiple painted buntings calling each other and flying around. Magic! Plus the woodpeckers put on a show. Downies were in mating or territorial frenzies.

More bird action occurred when I went to check out the weird but nice surprise of a whole setup for flying radio-controlled planes. It even had a memorial sign for deceased members. However, those guys weren’t present, so my buddies the barn swallows decided their shelter was an excellent barn substitute. They didn’t appreciate my intrusion. I wonder what happens on plane days?

Yesterday I was too sleepy to write about plants, but today I’m more awake! I’ll say that this scrubby prairie had many flowers to enjoy (and to entice bees and butterflies). Two that were new to me were cute low-growing Comanche Western Daisy (Astranthium ciliatum) and delicate pink diamond flowers (Stenaria nigricans) which are usually white.

Comanche western daisy and diamond flower

Of course my old favorites were also there. I just can’t stop myself from taking photos of insects on milkweed flowers. Not really weeds.

We headed home around three, and once I got the lights on the Jeep to work, all was well. Our first tow vehicle-accompanied trip went very well. We are quite rested.

I wasn’t worried about Apache, because Kathleen took great care of him and the other livestock. He is all medicated up and walking a lot better. Tomorrow he’ll get another trim and we should bring Drew home, too! I sure hope he’s back to his sweet, fun self.

Oh good, Ratty the rat snake is also doing well. She left me three eggs.

Can I Eclipse the Eclipse?

I know that people not in the parts of North America who didn’t see a total solar eclipse today are sick of hearing how awesome the one today was. And I admit that, having seen the annular eclipse last October I was pretty blasé about it.

Who could be blasé about this? Photo by my friend Jeff Tveraas. He has a good camera.

But, awesome is the right word. I was in awe during totality and couldn’t decide what was more fascinating, the corona and visible flares or how dark it got. The solar pool lights came on and I could see stars. Now only the aurora borealis remains on my weather bucket list.

We had to watch from my house, because I now have to take tomorrow off work. I can’t lose two days of pay, since I’m a contractor. But I think we got longer totality at home than where I was going to go.

To commemorate the big event, I did a project where I tried to photograph every flower blooming today. I missed the ground cherries by the horse pens because the rain arrived just as I was trying to feed. Didn’t want to ruin the phone! But, for your pleasure, here they are. I’ll break them up by color. Let’s start with white.

On to yellow. There’s always lots of yellow.

Let’s see what we have that’s pink.

Is there anything orange? Red?

Since blue flowers mostly look purple to me, I’ll put those two together.

This may not outshine the eclipse, but 32 types is sure a lot of interesting flowers (and insects). Thanks for indulging me.

By the way, the birds were indeed quiet during the eclipse totality, and I heard my first dickcissel of the year today. Auspicious!

All Grown Up

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ha, I’m pretty sure I wanted to be a horse when I grew up at that age. I know I tried eating grass, and spent time practicing my whinnies. I also wanted to be a dog herder. I would gather up all the neighborhood dogs and try to get them to follow me (no leash laws back then).

We want to herd cattle. Or play with them.

After that I wanted to be a veterinarian or Supergirl. As you see, I haven’t changed much, except now I write all those ideas down.

Things are good here:

Monarchs are here, plus I saw a big zebra swallowtail.
Our niece is not too badly hurt from getting kicked by Big Bag Betty B**** (a cow who m, deservedly, leaves for the sale barn soon) even though she was life flighted by helicopter to a hospital pretty far from her farm. (She posted the story, so for once I can do more than vague hinting.)
I had a great session with Apache the Paint today, better than usual, even. He sure has energy and joy now.
Tarrin has a plan to get my gray horse Drew better, which involves some expensive veterinary stuff, but gives me hope for our future.
There was time this afternoon to watch the dogs play with cows (nice ones) and to hang out on the patio with Lee. We are much less stressed than yesterday!

My herd, minus Harvey, who doesn’t play with cattle, and Vlassic, who was in the garage.

I wish every one of you at least one beautiful spring day to spend with those you love, and I hope your childhood dreams came true, at least a little. I can’t BE a horse or herd dogs, but I can hang out with them!

Not So Negative Traveler

What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

I’ll tell you what I do with negative feelings! I squash them down and distract myself with plants! Who can feel bad when they’ve just seen their first mayapple?

The most beautiful plant! The flowers hide under a giant leaf umbrella!

One common criticism of Past Suna was that she was sooo negative. That stung, but it led me to get to work on figuring out how to reframe how I interpreted the world around me. That, in turn, has led me to express myself less negatively. It was a lot of effort at first, but I think I’m a lot less negative, in general.

Sure, it rained this morning, which made getting ready to travel difficult, but it was beautiful afterwards, and we needed the rain.

I’ve noticed that lately, when things happen that once would have made me upset, I notice that whatever it was happened, feel angry, annoyed, or sad, but then let it go. How did I finally learn to stop dwelling on things and wallowing excessively? I DO NOT KNOW. My best guess is that all the effort I’ve put into mindfulness, seeing the good in situations, and turning away negative thoughts became second nature after a lot of repetition. Dang, I wish I could have gotten there sooner, but that’s my path!

Here’s an example. Today we were looking forward to picking up Hermee the Jeep and towing him to the Cooper Lake South Sulphur Unit State Park (quite a mouthful) behind Seneca the motorhome. Do you see a Jeep in this picture?

Yep, the towing equipment wouldn’t be done until 4 pm, way too late for us to drive 4 hours and arrive in daylight. It turned out the scheduled technician had a death in the family. Well, I was irritated for one minute, then just made sure we have enough food, and looked forward to the weekend anyway. That guy’s family is more important than having two vehicles. We will get Hermee on our way back.

It’s harder to be negative, too, when you’re looking at life from a wider perspective. Hanging around with nature so much, and working to understand horses and dogs has helped drive home the perspective I need. I remember the world does not revolve around me, I’m part of a bigger universe, and pouting or weeping won’t stop the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It’s so much better (at least for me) to just sit back and watch the show, tending to matters that are within my ability to control (my own actions).

The fewer expectations I have of those around me, the more at peace I become. And this lets me truly enjoy the goodness and kindness that pours in from the family and friends who care. And they’re the ones that count and bring joy, even in hard times.

Um, anyway, yeah, we have driven to the park we accidentally drove to a few months ago. It’s more wintry in north Texas than at home, but I think I’ll have lots of fun walking around this weekend. The weather should be pleasant.

With no Jeep to get me to trailheads, I’ll get some good walking in. And if it rains, I have loads of knitting and writing to do. It’s all good. It’s weirdly stress free other than concerns for some family health issues. I can’t fix it by worrying, though, so I’ll keep sending out good intentions and doing whatever concrete things I can to be helpful.

And, here are some plants and vultures.

How do you deal with negative feelings? Is it easier or harder as you age?

Beautiful Day

Today was perfect. I got all my work done, procured Lee a birthday gift and a camping themed card, and enjoyed the horses. But I’m really tired. So, here are some photos from today. Tomorrow maybe there will be more.

Isn’t That a Loaded Question?

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

These days “patriot” doesn’t mean what I used to think it meant. So I’m not gonna declare myself either a patriot or a non-patriot. I am not of the opinion that the place I was born is better than any other place. Or worse. Every place has pluses and minuses.

Even the place I live, Texas, has its good points. (Let’s skip the bad points, I don’t have the energy…sorta like our power grid.)

That was my graceful transition into how much I enjoy the State Park system in Texas. Each one we visit is so different! I’m glad I had a chance to explore Ray Roberts State Park before the cold front came through and the camping area filled up. I got to see and hear all the wildlife before boats and screaming kids took over. Kids. So cute until the screech.

Anyway, work was challenging today, so a breakfast and lunch walk both helped, as did the post-work decompression (I sighed a lot at my laptop).

In the early walk I mostly listened to birds, happy to find them. There was even an Osprey. I heard fish jumping and annoyed a deer who was just trying to relieve herself.

I was proud of myself for seeing a bluebird in my binoculars before Merlin heard it! The biggest surprise was hearing wild turkeys twice. It was a relief from crows and geese.

We crows are magnificent. We grace you with our caws.

The lunch walk took me down some fun little trails that eventually led to the equestrian area.

The equestrian camping area is really nice and well maintained by a group of dedicated people. The stalls are in great shape, have roofs, and even include gutters. I talked to a couple of women who love the trails.

You pull your trailer right up to the stalls.

After work it was still pretty nice outside so Lee walked on the concrete path with me for a while. Wow it would be great for cycling.

I did a pretty good job sticking to the path as I enjoyed the hills, watched woodpeckers at work, and checked out the iron-rich rocks in this part of the state. I love seeing how different it is just a few hours away from home.

Eventually I got to the huge recreation area where there is a beach, boat ramps, playgrounds, and parking galore. This place must hop when it’s warmer. I left there quickly and instead focused on this beautiful inlet near some primitive camping.

Eventually I headed back on dirt trails, even though I’d worn the walking shoes, not the hiking boots. I was rewarded with more cool rocks and more deer.

As the park filled up, Lee talked to people. I went inside and knitted. We enjoyed mindless television thanks to the new antenna that’s finally replaced the one the trees on Tarrin’s road ate. There were 80 channels! The local television commercials reminded me of what I don’t like about Texas (political ads). Tomorrow I get to relax, though I’ll go hike even in the cold!

Enjoy more photos!

A Dream Job That’s a Walk in the Woods

What’s your dream job?

My dream job has changed over the years. If money were no object, I’d teach knitting and crochet part time. I don’t want to be a famous knitting guru like some of my friends; I just want to bring the joy of a lifetime pastime to others. It’s so rewarding.

The temperature blanket for this year is so fun and has purple in it! Cool. Literally.

Nowadays, though, I am getting so much from my time out in nature that it would be a dream job to be a park interpreter. I could lead walks and hikes that show folks how ecosystems work, what plants and animals there are in different habitats, and how to identify what they see, hear, smell, and touch.

I could lead a hike here and show folks all the future wildflowers in midwinter.

I could also teach hiking etiquette. Like, don’t bellow at the top of your lungs and sing rock songs so loud you scare all the woodland creatures for miles, which is what the only other hikers I saw today did. Ugh.

Anyway, we’re enjoying a very peaceful time at Cooper Lake State Park. We are the only people here who don’t work here. It’s glorious and peaceful, probably the quietest state park we’ve been at. Someone was shooting something somewhere nearby and it was SO loud with no other noise around.

It was really cold last night here in northeast Texas, down to 20°. We got in late, and the heater just couldn’t cope. It got down to 58° inside, but I slept so well. Quiet. Once the sun came out, the heater coped and tonight it’s fine.

Because it was sunny and there was no whipping gale wind, it actually wasn’t too bad outside, and I was able to go on a couple of nice walks around this huge lake and the hardwood forest around it.

There were ducks, herons, a cormorant, gulls, greater yellowlegs, belted kingfishers, and more on the lake shore.

The bird highlight for me was getting to see a golden-crowned kinglet close enough to see that little crown. Theirs are way easier to see than ruby crowned.

Woodland birds included lots of crows, blue jays, cardinals, robins, and woodpeckers. The most popular tiny bird was the yellow-rumped warbler, but there were plenty of titmice, wrens, chickadees, and sparrows. Two nuthatches also showed up. Lots of singing and flitting to enjoy. Who cares about the cold!

You could see all the wildflowers and grasses in their winter resting states. There were colorful leaves and berries if you looked carefully, though. I found it fun to try to figure out what the dried flowers and bare trees were. I’ll see how well I did when I put them in iNaturalist.

What didn’t I see? Insects. Not one butterfly showed up. No bees or flies. They’ll be back soon as it warms up again. The little insect-eating birds like phoebes and mockingbirds were busy with other food in the meantime.

I could do this observation stuff for a living with other people! However, wow, it’s nice to do it alone. Traveling without the annoyance of other humans sure is pleasant. I prefer this to cities.

To wrap it up, here are some fun pictures of tracks I found along the lakeshore. There are herons, ducks, little birds, raccoons, and a canine. I didn’t see deer tracks, but I did see deer, so of course they are here!

I Could Turn Left Rather Than Right

What could you do differently?

I think I already answered a version of this question so I’m going in a different direction with it. Ha ha. Direction. I mean, there’s a sh** ton I could do differently, and I’ve written about that enough.

Instead, let’s take a walk, but differently. Today I turned left rather than right when I left our driveway on my daily nature walk. Whoa.

I’d been wanting to walk the other way down our road past our property line for a while, because there are some empty fields and mottes of trees where I’ve heard interesting birds while I was busy doing horse control at Sara’s place.

So, off I went. First I had to enjoy the horses, who were lounging around after playing in the burs (mostly Drew). They’re so cute when they lie down. I do wish they then wouldn’t grind mud into their coats, but they ARE horses.

As for birds, I was glad I brought my binoculars, because I got to get a good look at our resident American Kestrel and see it fly with the sun shining through its feathers.

The sun was so bright today that things were hard to see, but I was rewarded by seeing sun dogs in the clouds on either side of it for a while. Perfect cloud placement.

I saw a lot of woodpeckers, vultures, hawks, and caracaras. I also noticed that all the doves I saw were Eurasian Collared Doves, not the Mourning Doves I see at my house right down the road. Binoculars helped with that.

I heard both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks, which is cool, but I didn’t see anything new other than a White-breasted Nuthatch. I thought I’d see. One before, but I guess not.

I’m glad I took the walk in this direction, because I got to visit with Sara and look at her permaculture garden progress. Of course, for me the highlight was getting to visit with Jhayati, who is 8 months old now. She’s a beautiful filly and has such a striking face. I sure look forward to watching her grow.

After I saw her, I saw one more mockingbird then no more birds at all. Do they have clocks? They shut up at 11am.

Luckily there was still something interesting to see. I saw what looked like eggs on the ground where hay bales recently were. It was the eruption of the most cool mushroom we have here, the Lizard’s Claw Stinkhorn Lysurus cruciatus.

Interesting note: I posted photos of this on The Hermits’ Rest Facebook page, which is public, and suddenly weird replies from so-called people trying to promote psychedelic mushrooms popped up, repeatedly. Sigh. Lots to block. This mushroom just stinks. I didn’t see anything about it being psychedelic, but I’m now glad I didn’t lick it.

Penney says she’d lick it for me.

Fun on a Rainy Day

We were afraid we wouldn’t get to do much today because it was supposed to rain a lot. So I did my nails and relaxed this morning, but I really wanted to do something outdoors since I’m here in such a pretty part of Texas.

Lee opined that we could at least go for a ride so we traveled along the Devil’s Backbone and looked at lots of scenery and lovely ranches. E stopped for coffee in Wimberley, where of course I was not encouraged to get out and buy any art or boutique items. Hmph.

On our way back we really took back roads and hugged the lake. It stopped raining, so we got out and explored one of the boat ramps on Canyon Lake. All the ramps are closed however. The lake is only 60% full, thanks to the dry summer, so the docks end on rocks and shells of evil Mediterranean clams.

I had a great time finding new plants and familiar ones in their winter disguises.

This is apparently *Pediomelum latestipulatum* or Texas Plains Indian Breadroot

Mostly though, I enjoyed the sounds of many water birds that were on the lake. There were gadwalls, coots, mallards and the wigeons, which make such cool sounds. I saw a kingfisher and a kestrel, too. We had a great time.

Gray lake with ghost trees. There used to be a town under the lake.

I found things blooming and growing amidst the grayness.

The ride home was fun. We found a whole area with houses made of shipping containers, which were very creative. There were many other fun houses along the lake ranging from old to new and small to huge. Plus there was a lot of wildlife. We saw a beautiful fox (no photos, but it had a gorgeous tail) and many lovely deer.

After enjoying football we are ready to head back to the animals tomorrow. I look forward to coming back to this area in the fall for the Master Naturalist annual meeting if not sooner.

We are at top left. Renovated room but not very comfy. Great staff, though!

Odd Bucket List Item

Today we’re in a condo in the Canyon Lake area, because we needed a break and have a horse sitter for a few days. Apache must have his diva needs met. Of course, I had deadlines and video calls to do, but we managed to get me out in nature.

I don’t have to work until January 2, so I’m ready to relax and catch up on things…after a couple of relaxing days. I think just maybe things might be settling down at home, which will help us all deal with whatever changes come next year. We can flow like a river.

Like the Guadalupe River, to be precise.

I started my day walking around the extremely large condo complex and trying to find nature. There was a woods next door with sleeping deer! Well, I woke them up. And I enjoyed checking out the nice mini golf course with a view of Canyon Lake. It was a good reward for finishing my release notes.

Later we went over by the nearby dam that created Canyon Lake to enjoy the views and see what lives there. I saw some American wigeons swimming around, plus some mussels. There were even a few new plants, but I didn’t find the rare Canyon Lake madrone Lee always talks about.

Later we went to lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant. The food and service were both superb. I had fish with Alfredo pasta and veggies, and Lee said the chicken he ate was the best he ever had. It was served with beautiful homemade ravioli. And it wasn’t even very expensive!

After more meetings for me, we went to the nature trail on the other side of the dam, along the Guadalupe River. The trail is maintained by the local Master Naturalist chapter, the hosts for our next meeting. I wonder if this trail will be a field trip? They’ve made a nice guide with numbered markers to tell folks what they’re seeing. I’m impressed!

I tried to listen for birds, but the darn rapids made it hard (the rapids are wonderful, of course). Eventually chatty people, crying babies, leaf blowers, and small planes stopped long enough for me to hear many woodpeckers, wrens (including canyon wren!), and a kingfisher. Of course the normal songbirds were there, including an extra friendly Ruby-crowned kinglet and a very dedicated ladder-backed woodpecker.

It was fun to spot springs, ducks, ferns,cypress, and pecans. I love me a riparian area! This river really is one of Texas’s gems.

So, what was the odd bucket list item I referred to in the title? Well, I’d seen most of the places where Lee has lived, except for one, which was a rustic camp area near Canyon Lake. He drove me through the area and I got to see the driveway he had worked on. It appears that whoever owns it now is building a real house there. Now my bucket list is complete!