Plant Sightings – Page 32 – The Hermits' Rest

Dreaming of a State Park

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

The blog prompt for today got me thinking about how much I enjoy Texas State Parks and how many opportunities there are for volunteers like me and my Master Naturalist friends to help out and educate the public at them.

View across the dam at Meridian State Park

Sadly, there’s no State Park in Milam County, so our El Camino Real Master Naturalist Chapter have had to make our own opportunities, like our Wildscape that Catherine Johnson spearheaded. Another group is working on a project at Sugarloaf Mountain, a cool site in the county.

We don’t have much public land, if any in Milam County. Thank goodness someone donated land for this park!

So, if I had anything named after me, I’d love it to be a State Park in Milam County. Of course, our ranch isn’t big enough to be one. And we don’t own it all ourselves. So I’d have to get really wealthy and buy up some scenic land. It’s just a dream, but I’ll help out anyone else who wants to create one!

I hope my park would have cool beehives like the one I found yesterday on the dam! Watch this video!

Until the Suna State Park is developed, I’ll just keep visiting others and documenting the biodiversity at each one.

Lee and I talked about printing some of our best photos to decorate Seneca the motor home. This is a juniper hairstreak on antelope horn milkweed.

The next trip will be to a Corps of Engineers park with people from our former church. That will be more social camping! Enjoy more photos from yesterday. Which do you think would make good wall decor?

Antidote to the News: Go on a Hike

I sure feel great today. Even with a broken toe, I managed to hike two trails and really, really get away. Meridian State Park has an impressive number of places where you can be entirely alone, surrounded by nature, with only the wind and birds making sound.

I just had a blast wandering through woodlands and meadows, climbing up limestone ledges, and carefully heading back down. I didn’t see any yellow-cheeked warblers, though I certainly was in their natural habitat.

What I did see were dozens and dozens of butterflies and moths. Some didn’t pose for me, like the tiger swallowtails, something very orange, and an actual monarch. However, the juniper hairstreaks made up for it. They’re posers, and quite beautiful. I also got photos of excellent moths that either blended in with the forest litter or the limestone formations. They could only be noticed when they flew.

The highlight of my hike was the wildflower meadow on the Bosque hiking trail and Little Forest Junior Trail. It had so many bluebonnets that they perfumed the air enough to feel intoxicating. Wow. It was also so nice to see so many flowers in a mostly natural-looking setting. I just stopped and breathed it all in. So cleansing!

There was also lots of water to look at. I hiked along the lake quite a bit and in the Little Spring trail, I actually found the little spring. It reminded me of our little spring at home. It just trickled away.

All the trails were beautiful, with lots of limestone outcroppings, caves, various oak trees, and bright green spring understory plants. What a nice time of year to hike.

In other news, we met a nice couple who go to lots of Texas parks, and showed them our RV, since they want to upgrade. We’re going together tomorrow on a nature walk led by a fellow Master Naturalist. I hope he shows us where the warblers are.

I did see this wren, a cheerful chickadee, a titmouse, many cardinals and a crow.

Thank goodness for the privilege of getting away from things on a regular basis. Also thank goodness that the cell service lasted long enough to get my work uploaded and questions answered! Whew!

Where’s Meridian, Texas?

It’s northwest of Waco. Where’s that? It’s near the Magnolia Silos. Anyway, this tiny county seat of Bosque County is near Meridian State Park, where I am sitting and listening for golden cheeked warblers.

Only birds spotted so far are this motley crew.

We left the ranch in the capable hands of the other residents to give them some couple time, Lee some truck-driving time, and me some nature time. We even got here before dark!

With the sunset come the evening primroses.

The only problem with our campsite, which even has sewer hookup, is a distinct lack of cell towers. The little connectivity I get is from the public park wifi. Eek. Oh well. What did I expect in the middle of nowhere?

I have a feeling the work I intended to do tomorrow may not happen. I guess I can go to the park HQ and sit outside?

Or I could go look at this lake, if it isn’t raining.

That’s ok. I have flowers to enjoy, including some new ones, and trails to hike. I’m thankful once again to the Civilian Conservation Corps for building so many beautiful parks for us to visit.

If by some miracle, this uploads, enjoy these floral beauties.

Roses Are Red, but Bluebonnets Are REALLY Blue

Not much exciting going on today, so I’m sharing some jaw-dropping photos of bluebonnets on our property, taken by the great photographer and legendary hermit, Ernest Lee Bruns, Jr.

My contribution to the theme is the latest temperature blanket square, which is grass green and celestial blue.

This also happens to be the colors of the kids’ high school, McNeil High School. Not easy colors to work with.

One more photo by Lee. He and Carlton balance each other out beautifully.

More tomorrow, perhaps!

Signs of Spring

Wheeze wheeze. I guess I’ll wheeze forever. I’m ok if I do things slowly, so I hang out with the horses and wander around thanking Mother Nature for showing us signs of spring. I think she’s blowing it in from the south, since today has been blustery.

What’s this? Our first bluebonnet of the year!

And what’s this? Our first Indian paintbrush! Beauty is coming.

I’ve continued to be absolutely captivated by the beauty of our yearly carpet of tiny friends. It’s impressive that something as teeny as tiny bluet can make the ground look purple.

These come in many shades and mix in with chickweed (white), Field madder (pink), and corn speedwell (blue). And the yellow of black medick or burr clover.

There has been so much crow poison this year that it scents the air, which isn’t bad for something named “poison” (or wild garlic). I know I showed some recently, but it’s so pretty I want to share more.

Sorry for all the plant photos but it’s all I’ve got other than farm animals. But here are other early beauties from today.

I did get the first row of my blanket done. It’s still January on it.

The News from Walker’s Creek

Honestly there is not much news from here. I rested most of today to let the healing continue. The antibiotics seem to be helping, so I’m less wheezy. I am up to January 8 on the temperature blanket. So far it looks pretty warm.

That one bit of blue is the only time it got in the low 40s so far.

Lee is getting over his hurt back and I’m wheezing, but we managed to take a little walk by the creek on our property. Things are waking up. And I woke up when I spotted a familiar shade of purple on the creek bed.

I was so excited to see a violet on our ranch! This is the first one I’ve seen here, though I’ve seen some on the creek bank at my friend Pamela’s nearby property. There are no cattle on her property, so her banks are more stable. I’m happy to see these. There are very few reports in the area.

Coralberry is more common, but still a beautiful creek bank resident.

A beautiful sight we found were the blossoms on our only little stand of eastern swamp privet (Forestiera acuminata). We are at the western end of its range. These cheerful yellow puffs are gorgeous from a distance.

There’s a bonus cardinal at bottom right

A final sighting were two very large turtles. It’s a bit cool for turtle sightings, but the one sluggishly meandering in the creek was large enough to not be too bothered. The other one we found was no longer alive, but it was interesting to see it’s bones under the shell. The turtle had enjoyed a long life, for sure.

You can see there’s a lot more turtle under water.

It was fun finding all these surprises. Also, while I didn’t ride today, I hung out with the horses and helped move some cattle. I protected the gates and kept the horses in! At least I got to be outside.

Spring Can Be Sickening

Spring is in the air, at last. The weather is becoming warmer (perhaps too warm for February, but never mind – it’s nice for riding horses), birds are migrating north, and the days are getting longer. All those things are welcome to everyone who had to deal with the harsh surprises the ice storm brought.

I was happy to see that the cranes are now back in the skies, going the other way, and the killdeer have come back. Meadowlarks are also making themselves very well known.

All the tiny spring flowers are blooming, which you can see if you do “belly botany” like my botanist friend always recommended. It’s so good to see them.

While uploading some of the photos I took to iNaturalist, I took the time to see if one of my theories about what’s growing on our grassy areas was true. Sure enough, chickweed is so named because it’s used as chicken feed. It’s even grown as a crop in some places! Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) is darned interesting for a “weed.”

It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world. This species is used as a cooling herbal remedy, and grown as a vegetable crop and ground cover for both human and poultry consumption.
Stellaria media is edible and nutritious, and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads. It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.
iNaturalist

I feel a lot better, because for the past few weeks I’d been feeding it to the chickens along with the henbit I’d read was good for them to eat (and whatever else comes up when I pull it up). They eat it like crazy.

Speaking of the hens, they also know it’s spring. Everyone has grown all their feathers back nicely, even Blondie, who had been bald on her back from the rooster’s attentions. And Betsy, the one who lays blue eggs, has ramped up production again. I think half the chickens are laying now (at least two of them are old enough that I don’t think they’ll lay at all). For a while I was just getting one or two a day, a white and a tan, but now I’m getting three…maybe up to five with the coming of spring.

The other great thing about spring coming is that the days are getting longer. That means I can get rides in on both horses after I finish work, which may help out with the fact that I’m not feeling very confident lately, especially with Drew, who is needing a lot of “firm corrections” as Tarrin calls them (he rushes rather than walking beside me when he sees grass, and just seems irritable). I am glad I can spend more time with my equine buddies, nonetheless.

So, why do I say spring is sickening? It turns out that I made myself sick when I was cleaning out the henhouse last week.

Let this be a lesson to you all: when you are sweeping up bits of hay and straw filled with chicken poop, wear a mask. I did not.

Thanks to that error in judgment, I now seem to have some kind of lung infection. I found myself wheezing and gurgling when lying down a couple of days ago, and since then, my lungs seem to be filled with fluid. At first it was clear, so I wasn’t too worried, but it’s getting worse, so I have an appointment to get my lungs looked at. Since I have NO other symptoms of illness (COVID negative, before you ask), all I can figure is I inhaled things that displeased my bronchial tubes.

The horses say I should spend more time in the fresh air with them.

Now, I live in Milam County, Texas, land of few medical services. I had an appointment for this morning, but it turns out the Internet is down at the local office. That’s so Cameron. I might be able to get in today in the next town over if my PA goes over there; otherwise, I have to cram an appointment with the other provider in tomorrow (my busiest day of the week), amid getting my spouse to the chiropractor for his messed up back, taking him to his Rotary meeting, and grabbing lunch with my friends. I predict all of that won’t happen.

So, readers: wear a mask when working in a dusty, enclosed environment like a chicken house. Or don’t ever clean it (not a good idea, since it gets stinky).

Mysteries, Musings, and Squirrels

Today has been one that made me think a lot. I’m second guessing myself a lot since Lee went off to go back to the ranch. My plan is to stay here for another week to do a lot of meditating, walking, and introspection. So far, the introspecting is making me feel a little unhinged, but that’s to be expected, since things are going a little sideways back home, but I am staying here. Selfishly? For good reasons? I’m not sure.

I’m also having technology issues. I won’t go into how long it took me to set up a new Kindle, but it was a battle involving patronizing tech support, uncooperative hotspots, and oh never mind. And now this blogging software won’t let me resize pictures. I tried to make giant wrinkled Suna above into a small photo, but it just blurred it. They keep changing WordPress, not for the better. I’m sure that’s how the people I support at work feel about how Planview software keeps changing. Give me WordPerfect for DOS, dang it. New things can be mysterious (though I DID solve the issue with the Kindle).

At least I am fairly certain the sun will come up again tomorrow, bet my bottom dollar.

Just before sunset, I did get out and hide myself in the mysteries of the Earth, conveniently located right down the road from the condos. That’s the best part of Hilton Head; you’re never far from the wild places.

Right near the roads. Southeastern coastal forest.

I walked a long way, doing nothing but smelling the lush decay of the deep leaf litter and listening to the sweet bird song. I say sweet, because some of the little darlings sound like they are saying “sweet,” not “tweet.” There was so much to hear and see, too. There was a large flock of cedar waxwings (can’t miss that sound), two pair of eastern bluebirds, endless chickadees and wrens, the many warblers, and of course, crows and more crows. As usual in woodlands full of trees in various states of decay, I heard many woodpeckers. I did hear a hawk, too. I was happy to get close enough to photograph these two:

As I walked I noticed how varied the trees were, too. There was more than one kind of oak that I had never seen before, the long- and short-leafed pines, many palms and palmettos, the gum trees, hollies, and two types of magnolia–none of which were planted by people. I tried to let myself just be a part of this glorious variety.

Two things interrupted my reverie: first was coming across this amusing little fairy garden on the side of the path. Someone must have had a lot of fun building it, and I’m glad it’s been allowed to stay.

Friendly hidden fairy garden next to the road

The other thing that disturbed me was a collection of chattering and crashing squirrels. Everywhere I turned, a squirrel was looking at me.

They didn’t seemed thrilled that I was there. So, I tried to go take a breath at a little pond by a church. But then the surrounding vegetation began to make a lot of weird noises. It actually took me a while to figure out that wide variety of squeals and screeches were squirrels. I must have been very near a nest, because they were ANGRY. So, off I went, to leave them in peace.

That wasn’t the last of the squirrel issues for the day, though. When I got home, my son told me the reason his car had stopped working right. Squirrels had filled all its cavities with acorns and chewed though his wiring. Maybe Anita is right when she says squirrels are up to no good!

Squirrels are all over the grounds here, too. They were yelling at the cornhole players beneath my balcony.

I don’t know. Maybe the squirrels were telling me to go home. First there was the ice storm, now my horses are acting up and hurt my kid. And my new car finally arrived. Sigh. I think I need to just keep breathing, quit second-guessing myself. I can’t change what happens at home or what people do. I will just watch and not let things I can’t control interrupt my peace.

Wish me luck!

Now I’m Happy, Thanks to Pinkney Island

I finally got to go on a hike. It rained all morning, but at some point in the afternoon it cleared up. Hooray, hooray. Off we went to a big ole nature preserve called Pinkney Island National Wildlife Refuge. I hadn’t gotten to go there before, so I was pretty excited. There’s nothing I like better than a swampy and damp woodland and marsh combo. Ooh boy. Nature and all its smells and colors. This place looks like my dreams.

This beautiful place is a breeding spot for marsh birds, and we did get to enjoy seeing lots of birds at the Ibis pond, including, of all things, some white ibis! There were many fun birds swimming around there, including our friends the great heron and great white egret. There were also snowy egrets, gallinules, and coots, which were all fun to watch. And all the sounds were like being in a jungle movie. We loved it.

After that, Lee rested while I kept walking down a long path where I was completely alone with the woods. Suna Heaven. I saw so many beautiful trees, including some huge oaks, pines, and the biggest sweetgum tree I’ve ever seen. It was tree world, full of fungus, lichen, decay, and dank dampness. Ah.

There were also at least two armadillos that just totally ignored me as they busily rooted in the leaves, a lot of annoyed squirrels, and a flock of American robins. There was also a precious ruby-crowned kinglet we watched take a bath in a puddle, but I enjoyed it too much to get a picture. It was glorious! I was so happy.

But I did have to come back and find my husband, after walking nearly five miles. Even my fancy shoes were beginning to let my feet hurt, anyway.

I enjoy walking with Lee, because I’m free to stop and take lots of pictures while he takes his time. It works for us. I took a lot of pictures of the marsh, the shore, the trees ranging from tiny to immense, and all the life that feels safe on an uninhabited island. Well, unless there’s a hurricane or anything.

We topped the trip off with a meal at an overly fancy restaurant (Nunzio’s, for Rae who wants restaurant recommendations) where you have to have reservations even at 5 pm and most of the cars in the lot were Porsches and Mercedes. Still, the halibut was perfect, and the tomato salad had the ripest, tastiest tomatoes I’ve had in ages.

I just need one day like this per vacation, so I guess I can sit around the rest of the time I’m in South Carolina. Ha ha.

Fogged in, Mostly

It’s not like me to go on one of my trips and not post daily nature images. But, well, it’s not been overly nature-ful the last few days, AND I had a big workload. However, I’m incredibly glad I’m in South Carolina, because there has been the worst ice storm anyone can remember back in Milam County. My Facebook feed has been a constant stream of photos of fallen trees, downed limbs, dangerous attack icicles, and badly damaged buildings. Friends reported that it sounded like being in a war zone with all the cracking and crashing. It’s sad, sad, sad. I may not recognize the town when I get back.

I hope all the woodland creatures are safe!

The Hermits’ Rest is okay, just very muddy, from what I’m told. All the animals are fed and warm, though I know they’ll be happy to have some warmer weather. Anyway…

Will it get damp enough for ferns to start growing out of the buildings at home?

Here, it’s just been foggy. It’s been really foggy! We woke up yesterday and it looked like someone had put white paper over the windows. We often can’t see the edge of the ocean, and there’s no horizon whatsoever.

Now, it’s not been all bad. I’ve enjoyed some nice beach walks, sunsets, and the usual birds. The water last night turned a color I’d never seen before, a steely purple. One of my old friends called it steel bluewinkle.

Yesterday, when the sun finally came out, Lee and I had a late lunch at my favorite restaurant here, Hudson’s. It’s a really cool place with such fresh seafood – they have their own boats and everything. They also catch their own oysters. I just had to have some of the cluster oysters that Anita and I enjoyed last time I was on Hiton Head.

A few oysters. I didn’t waste any time on those crackers.

Lee’s food looked just fine, but I was in heaven. I ate every single oyster, from the little bitty ones to the giant and juicy ones. It made the fact that I had to go back and work until 9 pm much more bearable.

Today I did some of my work in the business area at the main building, because the dining chairs here are not comfortable for long stretches. It was so comfy and quiet! I got lots done!

Once I got to a stopping place, we went to a town I’m fond of, just over the bridge, Bluffton. It’s where I got some art that I love last time I was down here (I still follow the artist, Kelley Luikey at Naturemuseimagery.com), so I was happy to go back to the art galleries there again. We also visited a recently restored house that had been owned by a formerly enslaved man who did well for himself. The house is in such a beautiful spot, and the information on the signs told all about how people lived during his life. The house was right next to a working oyster company with a genuine oyster boat. I just have to say this little town is beautiful.

We ate a quick lunch at a sub shop that Lee enjoyed way more than our fancy meals. Actually I had fun, too, because the workers were hilarious. They kidded each other and laughed the whole time we were there. It’s nice to see people enjoy what they are doing. (I enjoyed taking all these beachy pictures.)

Speaking of work, there was more of that when I got home. It’s been kind of fun taking a couple of hours to be a tourist in the middle of the day, then working a bit later than usual. My favorite part is when I rest my eyes to look out on the balcony. Just at sunset, I saw something moving in the little wooded area to the left of our balcony. It was a large buck white-tailed deer. He was way bigger than the ones at home, with a fresh set of fuzzy antlers. He slowly lowered himself to the ground and took a rest. He was nicely surrounded by brush, so he must have felt safe and cozy. That makes it worth dealing with all the fog.