What’s Mexia (muh-hay-yuh)? It’s one town over from Groesbeck, the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, since the previous county seat it under a lake, which I’m right next to at the moment. That’s right, the middle of nowhere, Texas, just a different nowhere from where I usually am.
Springfield is down there, somewhere.
Actually, Lee and I are on this month’s camping trip, which is to Ft. Parker State Park. It’s very pretty and woodsy. It’s history is interesting. Ft. Parker is where some young woman was captured by Native Americans and liked it. She was not happy to be “rescued” by “civilized” people. This park is right near it, and was built, as were many Texas parks, by the CCC. What’s interesting is that the dam and buildings were built by black members of the CCC. They re-used most of the wood they cut down to build the buildings. It sounds like they had lots of fun on their off-duty times.
Rec center
It’s just as hot here as it is at home, but it’s shady. We have a beautiful campsite. I was impressed that Lee got us backed in perfectly between two trees.
We even had space to expand my bedroomLake is behind us.
Of course, I could not keep myself from going on a walk. I meant to just go around the camping area, but I ended up going down a beautiful trail. I got to see where people can go kayaking and swim, too.
Trail head
There was a cool floating bridge to go over, and I ended up at a pretty bird blind kind of dock, from which I could see lots of great egrets roosting. I also saw some cormorants.
Lake birds
While wildflower season is pretty much over, there was still much to see on the trail. Many vines and shrubs are in bloom, so if you looked carefully, you could see much beauty. You didn’t have to look hard to see all the Turk’s cap in bloom. Those red flowers are showy (and have the sweetest nectar of any plant). The trumpet vines are also blooming, so there’s no lack of color. With the heady scent of button bush all around, it was like a sultry jungle.
Turk’s capI never saw so much growing wild Trumpet vine flower Button bush and beeMy friend, pitchers’ leather flower Delta arrowheadLance leaf greenbrier Beautyberry Bull nettleBee balm
There was a reasonable breeze so I didn’t overheat (and it was cooling off by the time I went out). I really enjoyed the peace. It wasn’t quiet. There were at least three kinds of cicadas drowning out the few birds I heard (mostly cardinals, white-eyed vireos, wrens, and cuckoos).
This thing is a cattail toothpick grasshopper. Huh!Nice, normal dragonfly. Eastern pond hawk. Widow skimmer with broken wingBig burly!That’s not a tree. It’s a grapevine. Wow! Turtle shells! There were dozens of nests like this!
I’m looking forward to heading out early tomorrow for more trails. I have a cooling towel!
Someone told me last week that they just couldn’t understand how I’m able to observe so many things around me and have time to document it. I’d never thought about it being a challenge. It’s just what I do. And I find it so rewarding and fun to keep learning about life around me.
There’s always something to see!
So, in true formulaic blogger fashion, I’m going to list ways that you, too, can become a nature blogger (or at least a nature noticer).
1. Look where you’re going, up and down. When I lived in suburban Brushy Creek, near Round Rock, I always took long walks through my neighborhood, long before there were the great trails they have now. I tried to get my housemate, Jeff, to come along. He said it was boring, just going by those same houses every day. That flummoxed me. For me, I saw something different every day. The seasons changed, different flowers bloomed, birds flew by…but you had to look. Literally, there’s always something interesting to look at if you make an effort.
Today I looked up and saw a vulture stretching his wings.
2. Record what you see. I never go outside without my phone, because invariably there will be something I want to remember, even if I’m just checking the mail or gathering eggs. It takes a little practice to get good phone photos, and if you read this blog, you’ll know some of my images aren’t great, but they document what I’ve seen and let me look up more information.
I wanted to know more about this guy. It’s apparently a young garden spider. I’m not sure.
3. Educate yourself. The reason I took the Master Naturalist class in 2018 was that I wanted to know more about where I live. This way I know what’s normal for this area and what’s unique. I learned how to use iNaturalist to narrow down what I see and to get more from Wikipedia and other sources. Just using the ID function on your phone or a simple identification app will quickly teach you what you’re likely to see and what to look out for.
I knew it was time for the mustang grapes to start ripening. I did find a few!This is also prime time for spotting bold jumping spiders, our green-eyed friends.
4. Use all your senses. Listening for birds, butterflies, grasshoppers, and frogs helps a lot in knowing what’s around you. I wish there was a Merlin Frog ID app and a similar one for crickets and other insects. I hear them but only can ID a few frogs. And don’t forget the sense of smell! I know when rain lilies are out before I see them, and I’ve mentioned how lovely the aroma of bluebonnets and white clover can be!
The bluebonnets are just about done. This genista broom moth caterpillar found one.
5. Write it down or log it somehow. You’ll never remember all the things you see. That’s why I upload my photos to iNaturalist and add notes. It’s also really why I blog. I want to remember the stories behind where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, and how it affects me. I have a record of how the weather changes and what new things pop up. A notebook or journal is another great option. You can log the temperature and make art, like the afghan I’m making, or keep records of rainfall through the years like my husband does. It’s fascinating to analyze.
This temperature blanket has turned into a monster. I’ve decided I’m making it in 3 parts and sewing it together later.
6. Keep at it. That’s the key. The longer you make the effort to observe the world around you, make a record of what you’ve seen, and written up notes, the more you’ll have to compare, the easier it will be to identify who shares this world with you, and the more likely you are to want to care for the planet that cares for you.
Sorelvine in bloom.
Well, that’s what I think. I’m glad I got to get out a little today and look around. I’ve not been feeling well for a few days, so I’ve been taking it easy. I’ve got plans to help me handle the heat better than I did over the weekend! Now enjoy the outcome of my observations today, of the ranch in late spring.
Just some of the remaining wildflowers Pretty Texas Star A perfect Engelmann daisyBeautiful Dakota mock vervain Indian blanket flowers and seed heads are attractive. Lemon bee balm smells incredible Tievine or wild morning glory. Prettier when not by my pool. Dainty tievine Bindweed, another pretty vine when not binding things. The sorrelvine is just a nice plant. Good ole sunflowers, not popular with Farmer’sMy homeMy beautiful flowers that certain people would like to mow. Splashing around the trough.
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
I can answer today’s blog prompt easily, because it fits in so well with what I wanted to talk about, anyway. If you didn’t already know this about me, I’ll tell you what I do that brings me joy: it’s discovering new things about the nature around me. Today was a great example.
There’s always something to look at.
Today I’d intended to relax and recover from yesterday, but the life around here kept pulling me in. I’ve been careful where I go lately, since scorpions appear to be this year’s plague. I found one in my bath towel, then one in an outdoor chair cushion, and finally one out in the grass, where they should be. That didn’t bring much joy, though.
Scorpion hiding by a rock.
What brought me great joy today were two discoveries. First, I found a plant I’d never noticed before!
Nodding green violet Pombalia verticillata
It’s tiny! I know I’ve seen the plant, but never these beautiful flowers. I was extra disappointed to see it has no Wikipedia article. It appears to be native to the southwestern US and northern Mexico. I just adore it’s secret beauty.
From more of a distance.
The second nature observation came when Anita and I were sitting by the pool drinking wine, since I was too tired to cook a big dinner. Anita said something like what the hell is that, and I looked over to see a weird creature.
What the heck?
We quickly realized it was a wasp dragging a large wolf spider. It was making progress, too. At one point the wasp left, so I could get good photos of them separately. The first thing I did was find out what kind of wasp it was. I knew it was pretty, with a striped abdomen and blue-black wings.
Rusty spider waspRapid wolf spider
Well, duh, it was a spider wasp! I looked deeper into these wasps (so glad I had my phone right there) and found out this was a female wasp, and that these wasps prey on large wolf spiders. They take them to their nests, which are shallow depressions in the dirt, and lay their eggs in the spider. Mmm.
Anita said I should get a video, so I did, forgetting to turn the camera sideways. The link is on Facebook because I can’t get it to load here. But it’s cool to see how fast the wasp drags the spider and how she climbs stairs with it. We were glad when she finally found the edge of the patio!
That was really fun. Besides that, we got to see a great blue heron right in the other side of the fence, and, right after I played the call of the yellow billed cuckoo for Anita, one flew over and made its call. I hope it hadn’t heard me.
I had other fun with domestic animals, too. The chickens were something else. Sigh. I found a small mouse in their feed, so I got it in a cup and tossed it outside, thinking I’d done a good deed. Oops. I looked out the door and realized Buttercup had instantly pounced on it. Who needs a cat, right?
Buttercup, center, points out that mice are more nutritious than tortilla chips, which Lee gave them.
In a cuter chicken anecdote, I was hanging out with Bertie Lee, the smartest chicken, and she drank out of my cup of water. I love watching them drink. She won’t let me pet her, but Billie Idyll will. They are all so different!
Bianca likes to March.
The horses were glad I was home and back into our normal routine. I found them conferring about it today.
Yes, things ARE much nicer when Suna is here to give us food and treats.
Apache wasn’t even grumpy from working so hard yesterday! That brought me joy, too.
Well, that’s an exaggeration for sure. But hey, I did find one plant volunteering on the fence line next to where the chickens used to be. It’s a squash! Now I just hope no one gets it with the weed eater.
Squash blossoms are lovely.
My other “crop” is a potato that’s growing where I put some old ones to add to compost. We will see if anything grows. At least it’s something green. I have such bad luck growing things here.
Free tater
My only other crop is my poor asparagus. It got weedeaten. I can’t blame our helper; it’s in with a bunch of annoying native plants (weeds) and some sorta edible native plants we don’t eat. That’s because all my plants failed. But look at it! It’s coming back. I’m going to put my weird tomato stakes on my volunteer and hidden crops so the kind people who take care of the yard will know what’s not a weed.
That’s what I have for you today. I’m tired from training people at work, from waking up extra early, and four hours of horse stuff in the sun. All this was fun, though. The horses are making me proud, and I’m figuring out lots of the things I need to work on! I’m looking forward to a weekend show and learning more. Check out these running boys. Tarrin worked them HARD, but she hosed them off later.
Happy trails! And look, Apache is showing good form!
If only I could look less serious when concentrating.
I did promise to finish writing up my trip to Pedernales Falls State Park. Gosh, I hope you like wildflowers and scenery and stinky insects. I had lots of energy for hiking/looking at plants, thanks to sleeping so well. Ahh. Total darkness and no barking or licking makes for great sleep.
Lee needed coffee, too.
So, once I woke up on Sunday morning, had my coffee, and analyzed bird songs (so many vireos), I took off for the other nearby trails. First, I took the Coyote Crossing trail, which led deep into a very humid woodland area and crossed a mostly dry creek that feeds into the river.
There were many interesting fungi, ferns, and vines in the moist environment. I also got to see a ladder back woodpecker. Mostly I enjoyed the deep green solitude.
Grama grassMore Pearl milkweed Coyote Crossing
Once past that trail the scenery was very different, with seemingly endless swaths of black-eyed Susans and their friends. There were lots of new flowers there, and I had one of those “Linda Jo moments” when I got practically giddy over plants. But I didn’t have a fellow Master Naturalist to exclaim to!
Berlandire’s yellow flax. New to me. White rock lettuceSkeleton flower and friends Gregg’s tube tongue. Great name.
The next trail was the one that led to the swimming area of the river. I must admit I forgot there was a river to go to, because I was so mesmerized by the flowers. The trail went down steep steps. Every time I stopped I said to myself that THESE were the prettiest flowers I ever saw.
So much horsemintBreathtaking.
And there were so many butterflies that I felt like Snow White in the meadow. They were flitting all around me. It was magical!
I finally got to the river, and was happy to see it wasn’t crowded. There were just a few families wading around and playing, plus a woman with a big dog.
Mystery flower. INat thinks it’s bindweed.
Eventually I turned to go back, stopping to photograph lizards and more flowers. I let the family with the dog pass me on their way up, then encountered the dad resting halfway up. I said something about taking it slow because I was a naturalist, and we got to talking about his interest in foraging. Talking to them made me not even notice the steep climb! Finally, someone was interested in my blathering.
They left to take a bathroom break and I headed back along the road, where I found some phlox and other plants that like sand.
Spiny lizardPretty army worm caterpillar Common whiptail lizardPhlox!Red satyr
The family drove by and asked if I would like a ride back, and to be honest, that sounded good. So I joined them. They said they were thinking of driving to the big falls, and invited me along. I’m glad they did. It was a ways down the road.
We had a fun walk to the falls. The best part was when I saw a dung beetle rolling a ball of poop across the path. Carl (the dad) got all excited, because he didn’t know we had them in Texas. That got the two boys and the wife excited, too. She took movies and we had a grand time watching the beetles while all sorts of people passed us, probably thinking we were weird. But it was educational!
We finally made it to the overlook, and it was gorgeous. We saw a wedding party, too. We were all too tired to go down to the river, but they were going to go Monday morning. I was fine just looking down. The photos don’t do it justice, for sure.
Veda takes photos. Carl, the boys, and Zoe. I was there, too.
And that’s about it for adventures. The rest of the day we sat outside a lot and went in to watch movies. I don’t know what to think about the Legion of Superheroes movie. They did stay pretty true to the characters…but it was nowhere near as good as Ant Man and the Wasp. Marvel does make a good movie.
Listening to me talk about birds.
Back Home
I was glad to get home on Monday, but sure enjoyed my wallows in nature. I needed that rejuvenation. Of course, there’s plenty of nature here. Just look at the baby birds in a nest on our back door!
Too tired to peep. A storm kept them awake.
Speaking of storms, one showed up out of the blue yesterday and dumped a ton of rain in a short time. It was full of thunder and lightning. The dogs were NOT thrilled, and since I was the only one in the house, all five indoor dogs clustered around me. Penney and Carlton were under my desk. Harvey was beside my chair. Alfred was standing on the other side of the chair panting into my face. At least Goldie just stayed on “her” couch.
Help!ShiverPantNo room for me!
Eventually, Penney wormed her way into my lap and did that unbearable wiggling and trying to squirm up to the top of my head, or inside me. I’m not sure what her intent is, but it’s hairy, hot, and whiny. Thank goodness I discovered the guys were stranded in the garage so I “had” to take them umbrellas. That allowed the dogs to distribute themselves among three people. Whew.
Help ME!
And oh yes, I’ve had my dose of cuteness. look at Jhayati! She’s so soft! And like my dad, she’s never met a stranger. Sara is in love. I’m pretty thrilled, too.
I’m bigger. I love my human!Butt scritches are excellent. Pat my butt. Ignore my spawn. About 3 weeks old.
Long time no blog! I could not get anything but brief Facebook updates to upload, so I just spent quality time with nature and Seneca the RV (and yes, of course with Lee).
See, I was happy.
Pedernales State Park has so many trails! I didn’t get to anywhere near all of them. Plus they have MANY miles of equestrian trails. I went to all the ones I could walk to, though. Actually, our camping spot was right next to the entrance to the Twin Falls trail, so there were no possible excuses to not go there.
The fall is behind the dead branch.
It’s a beautiful pool, surrounded by ferns. It’s off limits to people, but there’s a nice viewing area. And the trail is steep and challenging, but gorgeous, with lots of rocks, ferns, and birds. I’m so glad I have the Merlin app! I now know three different vireos but sound. And the ivory billed cuckoo. What a sound! I heard them all on this trail.
You had to duck!Lots of rocks Beautiful rough lip fern Tiger bee fly
The best part of the trail was the bench where I stopped to rest on the way back up. I sat there for about five minutes, then I heard a noise. It was a doe, a large, sleek beauty. I watched as she went about her business, ignoring me completely. What a treat!
The doe, and me enjoying the bench
I was full of joy and peace after that walk. For some of rest of the day I sat outside a lot and enjoyed the birds. We enjoyed our neighbors, who were a family with two kids who were truly enjoying their visit. Ee kept having to find their lost baseballs.
Bird watching station.
I got the itch to go out again, so I walked to a place that’s a low-water crossing. It was very peaceful, with only a few other folks around. I had a blast hanging around the cypress trees and finding out what grew along the Pedernales River (pronounced in Texan as “purr-duh-nal-iss”). I got some really cool pictures especially the first one below.
This is an owlfly. It’s gorgeous. Spiny lizard on patrolSkeleton flowerA well?My beloved pearl milkweed. Ah. Great name: redwhisker clammyweed. Two butterflies!Orange sulphur
That’s about all I packed into this long and beautiful day. Well, I did do my nails a very patriotic way, for Memorial Day.
I’ll try to write up the rest of the weekend tomorrow. I hope you enjoy some of the things I saw. I put up a LOT of photos on iNaturalist and lots were new to me. I got quite a few birds on my life list!
Today was a more encouraging day than many in the past few weeks have been. And I’m going to pay myself on the back, because twice today when people told me what a good job I’m doing, I didn’t say, “Aww shucks,” or downplay what I’ve done. I thanked them and agreed.
Hey Suna, you did a good job coordinating me with the trailer and tow vehicle. Thanks, Drew. Do I need new ones for Apache?
I finally was able to fit a horse lesson in today, after the mud dried up a bit. I enjoyed riding both horses a lot. All that time I’ve been spending with them has paid off. Even though Apache once again wasn’t thrilled at jumping, our riding was tons of fun. He’s so willing to do what I ask!
Tarrin said he seemed stiff, so he got a good butt rub. He seemed to enjoy it.
Tarrin did some ground work with him and helped him figure out his uncoordinated canter a bit. In the end she had him flying. I don’t know if he loved that, but he did love the nice hosing off he got as a reward for very hard work. We had a great time learning!
Patchy the Wonder Horse
When Tarrin told me she was proud of how far we’ve come, I said thanks and did not try to downplay it. Nope. We HAVE improved. Compliment accepted.
Drew was also a lot of fun to work with today. Even though we each had some things to work harder on, the improvement in how we work together is sorta surprising. He’s getting to where I’m able to ride him confidently. Tarrin said we are getting close to being able to do shows. At first I doubted it, but then I could see what she meant. I accepted that praise.
Oh, must I canter?
When he and I were finished working on circles and trotting straight, Drew got to listen to Tarrin remind him of what he should be doing. He’s still a teen with opinions!
Let me show you my un-collected look.
I’m going to now compliment my horses. For as much time as they’d spent in the mud and rain, they seem calmer and more eager to work than ever. They were great in the trailer, calm while waiting, and all-around good citizens. Hard work pays off. Knowing there will be ups and downs also pays off, though.
I’m a good equine buddy.
On the way home today, Lee repeated to me how impressed he is with what working with the horses has done for my confidence and mental health. I didn’t disagree. He’s right!
This beautiful bluebill flower is in the clematis family. Thus changes the subject.
I didn’t want to write two blogs, so I’ll just stick this good news in here. Today on my walk, I heard “gobble gobble,” so I turned back towards the creek and found Tom here walking around eating bugs.
Why did the turkey cross the street?
This was my first chance to really watch the turkey up close. I’m so glad we have them here again! My friends up North who have them everywhere don’t see why I’m so excited, but we didn’t have them here for a long time.
To get to the other side!
Even better news followed. As I was approaching our driveway, I saw something large walking down the road. It was another turkey! I think it was the hen, but I’m bot sure. I couldn’t get too close since I needed to go back to work.
How about that? You can’t go down our road without killdeer screeching at you, so of course they joined the turkey.
Indeed, it was a good day for accepting praise and enjoying Nature’s surprises.
It’s been a good weekend. Yesterday was spent driving to Houston and back for a family errand. It reminded me that I’m glad to live outside of a small town. But it was a change of pace that still let me get all my animal stuff done.
Houston always reminds me of getting closer to bayous, so here’s a crawfish that somehow ended up in the swimming pool.
The men in my house and I spent a lot of time this morning sitting by the pool. It was a nice, cool morning, the kind there won’t be many more of this year, so we took advantage of the opportunity.
Goldie and Penney also enjoyed the morning.
I weeded the pool planting bed, which of course has many volunteer plants coming through the landscape cloth. It’s mostly morning glories, nut grass, and the dreaded spurge. Yuck. That’s one native plant that’s totally a weed for me.
The only manicured area we have.
Weeding was made much more pleasant by the presence of the portulaca (or moss rose) plants that we put in just two weeks ago. I just love these cheerful succulents! They’ve already more than doubled in size.
Admit it: that’s beautiful.
This is the only plant that I’ve found that thrives here in the dry, hot summers. Last year, I had three plants, and they grew huge, but died in the big freeze. If only I’d known you can take cuttings and root them over the winter for next year!
Two pieces fell off. I stuck them in the pot with my sad bougainvillea that barely made it over winter. Both are growing.
Next year, I’ll be all set for more beauty! And wow, they are so lovely. Lee is very happy that they aren’t plain pink and yellow, as he feared. But I think the yellow ones are fascinating.
Note a morning glory is trying to sneak in.
It turns out that the portulaca grandiflora that we grow as an ornamental is related to the edible plant purslane, which chickens love and is full of vitamin A.
I don’t see any in your poop pile, Suna.
All in all, this plant is a winner and I don’t even feel too bad planting a non native. At least it’s food for someone. And it’s not showing signs of becoming invasive.
Moss rose glory.
I’m not feeling bad about planting them, since they’re surrounded by red yucca, which seems to please all sorts of pollinators. We enjoyed hummingbirds this morning, plus many types of wasp visiting the yucca, which aren’t native here, but grow not too far away.
A Guinea paper wasp and a red paper wasp enjoying red yucca.
Yep, I’m looking forward to using portulaca all over the place, but I’m still going to encourage our native flowers. They take my breath away.
I just can’t stop enjoying day flowers. So pretty, but there’s bur clover on the hill. Must chop down. Enlarge these!Meadow pinks and black eyed Susans must not taste good to horses.
Yep. As long as I focus on beautiful flowers, insects, and random animal buddies, I’m okay. I hope you have something lovely to think about.
With the radio news making me nauseated today (good thing I avoided Lee’s nightly dose of depression known as ABC Nightly News), and thinking somber thoughts about the local police officer who died in the line of duty (plus a friend’s husband out doing the thankless and scary task of guarding the border down south, I just want to go hide in a soothing bubble.
That was an awfully complex sentence there, Suna.
As I had the thought above, I was reminded that Tarrin said today she felt like she was in a snow globe that was being shaken. Maybe a bubble isn’t all that safe after all. I think she and I both need a hug.
Here’s a rose of Sharon for us both.
Everyone has their limits of what they can take and for how long. Most of my friends have some pretty firm limits and strong boundaries, and I appreciate that. I feel safer around folks like that! I looked around at my friends at lunch today and thought, yep, I’m safe around these people. That’s good, finding your tribe and drawing strength from them (and giving back, one hopes).
An Althea for those friends!*
It did occur to me that I’ve been letting some more negative influences in my life get under my skin. I’m also reading and listening to sources that feed into my insecurities and reinforce things I don’t need to reinforce. What’s that thing…confirmation bias. Yes, I’m having my fears and worries reinforced, and I don’t need that.
That’s when I decided to do some trimming. I switched around my social media feed to help me see less stuff that isn’t helpful or makes me upset. I trimmed my friend list. I added some positive topics to my feeds. Believe me, I’ll still be aware of whose rights are being taken away and who’s being attacked by whom, but not quite so repetitively.
Next, I jumped into some self care, which led to the literal trimming. I got many layers of mud off Drew, in preparation to try to ride him. Admittedly, I spent most of the time picking mud balls out of his mane and chatting with him. I then took him off to do his ground work, only to quickly discover it is still too muddy. The poor guy slipped and yelped like a little kid. I felt bad for him, so we just went for a walk around the driveway. That went well until Penney barreled around the corner and surprised us both. Drew yelled and jumped away, but I successfully stayed calm and all was well.
Note distinct lack of mud balls.
I decided we both needed self care at this point, so I sat in my chair outside the tack room and let Drew graze on the tall grass that was mowed last week but shot back up.
The weed eater in action
I appreciated the great job Drew did in trimming around my steps and the saddle rack. He seemed to appreciate me, too, checking in a couple of times to nuzzle me. Now that’s something healing that goes a long way to bringing back equilibrium.
I’m here for you, too.
Thanks to Drew, a nice swim in the very full pool, and time with my family and dogs, I may not be in a bubble, but I’m in a protective cocoon of love. My wish for anyone who reads this is for you to find what nurtures and soothes you and trim away the excess as much as you can.
*yes, I’m aware an Althea is a rose of Sharon. Trying to be witty.
Naturally, I’m feeling a bit better today. A lot of it is because my friends and family have been so supportive and encouraging. Thanks to everyone who’s reminded me of my humanity and that there ARE plenty of folks not out there judging me (and that judgmental people’s judgments aren’t worth spending time on).
This view of where I live is worth dwelling on.
Today was productive in so many ways. I really enjoyed work today, though I have to say the interruptions were even better.
I interrupt you to share a fiery skipper on a thistle. Skippers are everywhere now that it stopped raining for a bit.
The first interruption was this guy here.
Hey, what’s he doing? (The dogs asked that a lot).
It was Brenham Iron Works coming to fix our gate, which has been beeping at us for over a year, then when we finally got it to shut, had a car push it open. Poor gate (and car). At the moment, it works!
Yay, horses can be kept in if they escape their gate again. Note that blue sky!
It was fun watching the nice guy fix it, and the company got more business when the neighbor across the road got all excited that we actually got a repair person in that she came over and got their info. They have a similar nice gate just a year or two older than ours.
He worked a long time on this. Welding occurred. He also disturbed these deceptive carpenter ants. That’s what they ID as!
The next minor interruption was my Becker Vineyards wine delivery. I got two old favorites so I didn’t complain. A much more fun interruption was a visit from a guy who’s interested in growing some vegetables here. It sounds like a fun project, if it goes through. I’ll tell you more if it goes through. It’s just a possibility but it made me happy to just imagine it.
Picture a vegetable garden on the right?
Lee even suggested that we use our gardener friend’s expertise to spruce up the pool area and such. He’d do way better than us! Now, this is my kind of gift. A gift of service. I was quite tickled at this development.
It made my heart skip like a skipper. I think this is a female sachem. I could be wrong.
I love having something to look forward to, though I’ve learned not to count on anything until it happens. There are just so many sudden changes and pivots these days that it’s just the new normal. That’s fine! I’ll enjoy every day and see what happens! I feel so loved.
Speaking of love…
And it didn’t rain. The sun even shone for a while. For that reason I ended up just walking around and enjoying late afternoon light, flowers, and birds. I love it when the nighthawks come out. They’re so graceful. I’ll skip my bad bird photos, but do enjoy the other things I saw.
Question marks are so cool……even sitting in mud and poo. What do you think of my egg, Billie? We are tired of mud. Meadow with meadow pinksPlus black eyed SusansBlue sky!Shiny pond!Mexican hats Indian blanketsSunset horsesBubblesCool cloudsOne of our many bunnies
Thanks for bearing with me! I appreciate my community, both in person and online.
The Hermits' Rest 