I’m holding up the big bucket so Burt can concentrate on picking grapes.
After learning all about foraging from Sean Wall in our Master Naturalist training, I’ve been pretty excited to see what we can find around the Hermits’ Rest that we can eat or turn into something useful.
I know I could have done a lot more with all those dewberries besides make cobbler. I just need to be brave enough to try canning. Maybe next year!
The midsummer bounty that magically appears every year are mustang grapes, which are native to the area and a great food source for animals. We have two trees that are completely covered in grape vines, plus a lot across the road from the gate.
In fact, I thought the grape vines were dying, they looked so black last week. Nope, it was all grapes.
The blackness is all grapes.
Now, I knew my Master Naturalist friend Burt likes to make wine, mead, applejack, and other tasty beverages. And I’d been looking for a reason to invite him and his wife, Jenecia (and their daughter to be), over to see the ranch. So, I announced that I have all the free mustang grapes a vintner could want, for free. (A couple of other folks had lots, too; it’s a great year for the mustang grape.)
They said they’d come by over the weekend, and so they did.
Look at that nice, round hole. There’s a red-bellied woodpecker in there!
It’s been a busy few days of observation here at the Hermits’ Rest. It’s hard to say which of the things I’ve seen has been more interesting to me!
The nest
The first thing I found has been intriguing me for a few weeks. I kept seeing a red-bellied woodpecker on a short tree stump on our property, right next to the road. I figured out why on Thursday when I was driving home and saw the bird entering a hole in the stump. I realized it must be a nest, so next time I drove by I stopped, and I could see “someone” in there, but it doesn’t show up in the photo (sigh, I realize a lovely woodpecker would have made the picture more exciting).
Next time I drove by to show my friends and spouse, and the woodpecker wasn’t home, but there was a beautiful hawk watching us from the next dead tree (which is still there because it was home to last year’s woodpeckers).
The hawk at the top of the dead tree seems to be watching that nest.
That sure teaches us to make sure to keep some of the dead and downed trees around! They make nice homes for beautiful nature friends.
The butterflies
This time of year there are a lot of butterflies around, especially the frittilaries. I got this nice photo of a variegated frittilary this weekend.
This variegated fritillary looks like a stained glass window.
But what a lovely surprise came when I was showing some visitors our neighbor’s peack tree! The plum tree, which is finished fruiting but still has its protective net on, had one overripe plum still on it. This had let to a frittilary festival! There were at least a dozen of them flying around and enjoying plum juice. They landed on our heads and hands, making it seem like we were in a butterfly garden in a zoo. What a great experience
Very happy butterflies enjoying a very ripe plum.
And termites!
That’s right, I am excited about termites. You see, every year we get these interesting tube-like dirt structures on the parts of our property with the heavy clay soil. I always wondered what they were. My spouse said they were made by some kind of termite. I was confused, since they do not appear to be near any wood, which I identify as termite food.
Some of these tube structures are very large and complex. The termites climb up them and eat the grass inside, in safety, unless someone steps on their feeding structure.
So, when they showed up this year, I took some pictures, and uploaded them to iNaturalist in hopes of finding more information. I couldn’t find anything, though. Luckily, my Master Naturalist colleague, Linda Jo Conn, knew what it was (desert termites) and identified it for me. I was surprised to see very few sightings of Gnathamitermes tubiformans in the database.
Linda Jo referred me to her own observation of this very interesting beneficial termite, and there I found a link to a great article all about these fascinating creatures. They build walls around food sources like grass blades (out of clay, spit, and such) to protect themselves while they harvest it. So, all those cool tubes I saw were protective tunnels.
They mostly live underground, and according to the article:
“Their tunneling makes soil more porous. which improves the infiltration of rainfall and can improve plant growth in these arid areas.”
McDonald, A.K., Muegge, Mark A., and C. Sansone: Desert Termites Gnathamitermes tubiformans, 2010, Texas AgriLife Extension.
I am now trying to be more careful not to squish them.
Salvia gregii is a really popular landscape plant. It’s supposed to be native, but I’ve never seen any that wasn’t put there by someone.
During the four days of the week when I’m in Austin, I do yoga three days at lunch. But on Wednesdays, I’m on my own. Sometimes I just work, but often I take a walk around the area, which has some interesting plantings and natural areas as well. The office is on land that used to be full of deer when my kids were little. Now there is a lot more office space and less deer land.
Anyway, I decided to give myself a challenge last Wednesday, which was to see how many new iNaturalist observations I could make during the lunch hour. I wanted to focus mainly on things that were blooming or bearing fruit, but if something else interesting showed up, I’d take advantage of that.
So, off I went with my trusty iPhone X, which takes reasonable pictures, sometimes. I took pictures of the native/nativized plants that had been planted around the buildings first. There were some really beautiful agaves that I just had to record, even though I know they are landscape plants. Look at this Queen Victoria Agave!
Rescue brome! Cool name, Never would ahve guessed this.
In my zeal to record all the things blooming around the Hermits’ Rest, I’ve been wanting to record all the lovely grasses that are producing their seed heads this time of year. They’re actually just glorious to look at right at sunset, when the silver bluestem practically glows as it waves in the wind. Heck, even Johnson grass (the bane of Texans’ existence) looks pretty that time of day.
I enjoy the grasses, especially since one of our field trips was to the herbarium, where we learned to use the keys to identify grasses by their seeds. Unfortunately, that is not a skill I have. Nor do I have a microscope, or even a really good camera. This means, sadly, that I sort of stink at grass identification.
Still, I throw my photos up on iNaturalist in hopes that someone will know what I am looking at. Sometimes it works, as in that rescue brome up there, but often it doesn’t.
Thank goodness for the helpful naturalists on the site, though. One of the Texas Parks and Wildlife urban wildlife biologists, Sam Kieschnick, has often consirmed my observations. His profile on iNaturalist proclaims his love of the project. The number of contributions he makes confirms his passion. I admire how he helps educate so many peopleand helps them contribute to scientific research along the way.
This is a snake apple, or balsam gourd. You apparently can’t eat it, but it won’t poison you.
I’ve mentioned before that I have been contributing to iNaturalist as part of my Texas Master Naturalist volunteer work. My project is identifying the plants and wildlife I see here at Hermits’ Rest Ranch. It’s lots of fun, and I can upload photos right from my phone. The pictures here are a few things I have seen in the last few days.
I realized I needed to do more to share my information with others, which I hadn’t been doing while I was just trying to figure things out. Thankfully, Linda Jo Conn, a member of our El Camino Real Master Naturalist group contacted me and let me know what project (group of observations) I should assign my observations to so they will all be together. She also suggested that I start my own project about the ranch collection.
A beautiful image of silver bluestem at sunset.
I managed to create a project, Hermits’ Rest Flora and Fauna, though I would rather narrow it down geographically than just have it be my own stuff from Milam County. At least this does leave out my observations in Travis County and elsewhere, though. If you are on iNaturalist, I’d love it if you’d follow this group!
I’m going to try to follow some of my other favorite members and their projects, too.
The iNaturalist guesser guessed rabid wolf spider for this one. It’s a big one!
I’m glad I’ll be able to share my findings with others now. I am having so much fun identifying the plants and animals I see around here! I’ve identified a couple of butterflies, too. I just don’t have the right camera to get bird photos. I’ll keep working on it!
Anyway, if you are on iNaturalist, I’d like to see your observations, so let me know who you are!
It’s a plant, so I guess I should have figured it would bloom. But, I’ve had this thing…ages.
I am beginning to think it’s not some green thumb I have, but more like the windows in that Bobcat Lair house make everything bloom. Case in point is this parlor palm I have had for a long time. I think it came in an arrangement when a family member died. I’m pretty sure someone who has not spoken to me since 2006 sent it, so it’s old. Obviously, it’s happy in this house. It’s grown a lot, andit has these cute little buds.
I just had to share that little blossom with someone, so you got it. And as a bonus, here is a pretty plant growing in our Austin neighborhood. I should probably figure out what it is. When I do, I’ll add that. But isn’t it pretty? Probably some kind of “red hot poker” thing.
It looks pretty jungly in this Austin garden. I like that.
This is a different type of orchid than most you see in stores, but I can’t remember what it is. It’s a big plant with lots of leaves.
One of the hardest things about the Hermits’ Rest is trying to plant things and make them grow. The area is most assuredly difficult for growing non-native flowers or most vegetables. No wonder I concentrate on what shows up naturally!
Ranch plant report
I’m sad to report that the early heat wave has fried my tomatoes and most of my flowers in the raised beds. But, zinnias and a marigold that popped up are fine, as are all the herbs (they look spectacular, actually, especially the bronze fennel). And the sunflowers I planted from last year’s seeds are definitely worth the price. I’ll have to take some pictures soon.
In the bed beside the house, free basil is, as usual, growing away, amid even more sunflowers. Hiding in there is some okra and random lavender that seems okay. At least all the sweet potato vines died out.
This one stays in bloom a LONG time.
Back in Austin
At the Austin house, Anita is having great success on the lower deck with her succulents and cacti. I am having less success on the top deck, which gets a lot of sun, but there are things that are alive, and we did get our bougainvillea to survive the winter. It’s all happy.
This leads me to orchids. I am not the hugest orchid fan on earth (that would be my friend Lynn Molitor). But, I am sentimentally attached to them, because my mother’s main hobby during her last years in south Florida was raising orchids, and I have many great memories of her watering them and naming all the ones that were blooming (after Mom passed away, the orchids went to Lynn’s father, and eventually to Lynn, at least in spirit). So orchids remind me of my mom.
And inside our Bobcat Lair house, we apparently created the ideal location for houseplants of all kinds, especially orchids. I used to always have one blooming on my desk at work, then I’d take it home, so I now have a good number of orchid plants.
Much to my happiness, they seem to like the low-E glass in our windows, and have responded by blooming like crazy, with nothing more than watering and monthly fertilizing. They are all in east-facing windows, which don’t get burning sun thanks to the glazing.
This one was originally dyed some horrid color, but of course comes out nice and white when left alone. It’s been blooming a lont time, so some of the flowers are showing their age.
In addition to the three blooming now (including my favorite, the brown one), there are two more getting ready to bloom, at least if the woman who cleans the house hasn’t watered them to death. I think those are probably the white phalaenopsis ones. We will see!
And yes, I know I need to learn what the danged orchids are called. I hope Lynn reads this and fills me in. Then I’ll update.
My whole life I’ve heard about katydids but, I guess I’d never seen one in person until yesterday. I was driving into the parking lot at work, when I saw a bright green leaf, but the leaf turned out to be an insect.
I quickly parked my car and went over to see what it was. Of course I took a picture so I could upload it to iNaturalist. What a cool bug it was, too!
When I uploaded the photo, I saw lots of potential katydids, but I figured it was probably the most common one. That turned out to be wrong, as the person who reviewed it for iNaturalist said it was actually a Central Texas Leaf-Katydid, which is more rare and more local. That’s cool!
I also sent up two flowers to be identified after I got to the Hermits’ Rest yesterday. They are two of the more late-blooming wildflowers. I am pretty sure I got the ram’s horn right. That’s one I look forward to every year. We only have a few:
I guess I like these because although the flowers are delicate in appearance, they are really big.
The next plant I am not so sure of. We have quite a bit of it, but when I uploaded it to iNaturalist, there wasn’t much about this one, if, in fact, I identified it correctly. It appeared to be Lady Bird’s Centaury, which must be named after Lady Bird Johnson, right? It said it had not been reported yet. That sounds fishy to me, so I am awaiting a correction from one of the botany experts by morning. It’s great to have the opportunity to learn this way.
It was really windy when I took this, so I had to hold the plant.
I know what this is! It’s an althea or rose of sharon! Isn’t the color pretty?
A friend asked me to help identify two plants. I must admit that I have failed, which is irritating, since one of them I see all the time, but have no clue for ID. So, I am going to reach out to you, blog readers, for some help.
The first plant is a type of bunch grass. It’s in my friend’s yard in Spicewood, Texas, or thereabouts. The question is whether it’s a good plant, a native one that we want to encourage, or one that needs to go away, because it’s not native or useful in some other way. Here you go:
Yep, it makes clumps. And I don’t have a larger image.
Any of you Master Naturalists or botanists have an idea?
UPDATE: Stephanie Kendall (no relation) posited that it could be Texas bear grass. I’ll go with that until there’s another idea. It’s not growing in its native habitat, but it is on a limestone soil. It looks like it was planted there on purpose as a ground cover, which is one of the uses of bear grass.
The other one I see all the time on 360 in Austin, and anywhere that isn’t overly manicured. I have a close-up of the leaves, which I took. I tried to ID it with the PlantSnap application, but first it said it was a bromeliad, then a rose:
This resembles a lot of things. But SnapPlant said it was a rose flower. That one I know is wrong.
Here’s the photo I got from my friend. Austin residents should find it familiar. But what is it? It’s not the thing with the pretty orchid-like flowers, but it does look like that one (which I also don’t remember the name of and haven’t looked up):
Okay, so what is it?
I hate to admit to being so clueless, but I am. I don’t even have good enough images to see if I can get help on iNaturalist, but I guess that will be next.
Help a gal out. Any clues?
UPDATE: Stephanie Kendall also identified this one. And I am sure she’s right that this plant is false willow Baccharis neglecta. I love the name on that one! It’s because it tends to crop up on disturbed or neglected areas. I’ve been seeing this one for decades and wondered what it was.
Our tenacious native morning glories always make me happy, too. And this is a nicer picture than the one actually on topic for this post.
If you live in the US, you’ve probably seen cardinals (the Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis) in your garden, in parks, or in the woods. They are a common bird at feeders, and their coloring makes them easy to spot. Their beautiful songs also pinpoint where you need to look to see them!
The cardinal was my mother’s favorite bird. I can remember sitting on our back porch watching birds at the feeder. My mom told me that if I sat really quietly, “Mama Cardinal” would come right up to us. And she did. Mom liked to point out her pretty coral “lipstick.” I think I know where I got my love for observing birds!
One thing I had not observed until recently was a cardinal nest. I see lots and lots of nests, like wrens, doves, barn swallows, and the big hawks, but I don’t think I ever saw cardinals nesting before (now, I have seen LOTS of juvenile cardinals hanging out with their parents, just not the nests).
So, imagine how happy I was yesterday when I was sitting on the porch at our office in Cameron and saw a “Mama Cardinal” fly to a little tree next to our warehouse. She has a nest! I watched both parents for a while, then went to look at the nest more closely. It’s impressive! There is string and some kind of clothing label in it, but mostly it’s made of sticks and looks almost woven. It’s deep and cup-shaped, not shallow and wide like many other nests I see.
Honest, the nest is in the center of this photo.
Unfortunately, while it’s easy to see with the eye, it doesn’t photograph very well. And I’m not going to climb up a ladder and bug the birds. I look forward to watching the fledglings flying around in a few weeks.
The Hermits' Rest 