I have been thinking a lot about how I complain about the government here in Texas, but don’t do anything about it other than contribute small amounts of money to candidates I appreciate. So today I went way outside my comfort zone and volunteered to help out at the local level. I met some new and unusual people and also enjoyed time with friends. Whew, that took a lot of psychic energy. I’m proud of myself.
Lee says I’m getting more active while he stays more ensconced in his hermitage. Could be a worse hideout.
I’m glad that I had a chance to go hang out in nature afterwards, as Terri and I went back over to Carolyn’s ranch to get ready for the Master Naturalist field trip. All the signs Terri made look great!
Yes, there’s a Zombie Trail.
I mostly scouted around for plants that weren’t damaged by last week’s freeze or were blooming. I’m afraid wildflower season is delayed. But I found a few things to point out. I hope some of the dogwood blossoms are still around. They were quite lovely.
Click to see them larger
Nature and friends helped my introvert self equalize a bit, but I still needed a nap and some horse hugs when I got home. Now, please enjoy a few more woodland plants
Something that always has interested me about myself is that I just love being on stage. I always wondered why that was. Did I inherit my dad’s drive to be the center of attention? Do I just love to perform (regardless of talent), or what? Do I just love the sound of my own voice? It’s true that I am chatty. You may be aware of that.
At least Kathleen enjoyed our coffee talk this morning enough to make one of those AI portraits of it. Those things are pretty good!
This evening I gave a short presentation on beavers for our Texas Master Naturalist chapter. I shared what I’ve learned from my reading, especially Beaverland, and observations from my friend’s ponds. I had so much fun standing up there and sharing what I found interesting and making jokes. It’s so freeing to give a presentation about something other than enterprise project and resource management software.
Who wouldn’t love learning about these guys?
Once I got home, I reflected on why I get so energized by giving a talk, singing, reading, or anything in front of an audience. I like to share what makes me happy! Music makes me happy, so I like to share it (or did when I could still sing adequately — I was never great). And things I’ve learned excite me, so I enjoy sharing. It’s too much fun to get anxious about.
The last time I sang in public. I needed practice.
My friend Michelle presented the results of the bat monitoring project our chapter did last year before my talk. It was a different kind of talk, so our audience got some variety. There were at least five species heard among our nine sites. I admire that Michelle analyzed so many sound files to find bat sounds. Admittedly, I’m glad I didn’t volunteer to do it once I un-retired, because it took a lot of time, but I’d have loved doing the analysis. It’s so fun finding the patterns.
My only complaint for today is that I had a hard time viewing sound waves today at work, because my external monitors kept flaking out. Trying to edit the sound track to videos is not easy on a small laptop screen. I just did other stuff. No performance there!
Frustrating work setup, but at least one monitor came back.
Wow. Already bedtime. I have an exciting day of hanging out with Anita, my friend from high school, tomorrow. Exciting may not be the best word choice. We will see!
What week is that? The week the Mexican plum and redbuds start to bloom in this part of Texas! This means a whole bunch of pretty flowers will be here any day now!
I saw many wild redbuds on the drive from Cameron to Milano.
I’d been afraid I’d miss those trees this year, since I no longer drive there three times a month. But, hooray, today was the day to go out to my friend Carolyn’s to make plans for a field trip to her place to look at the unique wildflowers they have.
Mexican plumMexican plumChickasaw plumChickasaw plumWe found two types of plum on the property
Our fellow Master Naturalist, Terri, joined us. She’s been working on a map of the property and its trails and wanted to refine it. She’s also going to make signs to help navigate the trails. She’s so talented!
Mapping in progress
We had lots of fun looking at the plants that are coming up and finding places of interest to share with visitors, like where the puffball mushrooms are.
Last year’s crop
I always have so much fun with Carolyn. I promised I’d visit more this year.
Going plum crazy
We found more than plants! The resident armadillos were wandering around, we saw a deer, and we got to watch AD feed the big catfish in the ponds. Plus, the cattle followed us around hoping for treats for quite a while. They’re very friendly.
Note the petting going on in the background.
It was fun to find a wetland that’s developed between the fancy pond and the well. It should be beautiful in a few weeks, too.
I think the people who go on the picnic will have a great time exploring the property, and I know it will mean a lot to Carolyn to have us visit. Before that, we still have work to do to get ready! Here are some more photos.
The cistern Carolyn’s father usedEastern red cedar, maleElm buddingPrickly poppyTiny bluetRavine is behind the trees Prairie prickly pear (says iNat)Wolf spider Leaf-cutter antsPastureScoliid wasp on marigoldStemless spider wort
What a great way to treat the first official week of wildflower season.
In other news, our much-needed new washer and dryer came and were successfully installed. That impressed me, because I didn’t think we had all the parts, but we did! Our menfolk can work miracles.
They work!
Sorry about yesterday’s downer post. I think I’m just rundown. My “glands” hurt and ears are sore. I’ll have to take it easy tomorrow!
I had to write a very boring post yesterday because I was busy thinking about things I couldn’t talk about. But today I can say that I’ve decided to keep working at least through the end of the year.
Yep. I will work through Dezembro.
I know a lot of people really look forward to retirement so they can relax in their golden years. I was sort of hoping to spend a lot of time with my horse activities when my contract was up, but I no longer have a horse community. I wanted to travel, but Lee won’t fly, and my hopes of traveling with Anita have fizzled out due to sickly dog and working 6 days a week.
All the places I won’t be going
So I’ll keep busy doing interesting work with nice people (and TV traveling while working). I’d been recruited heavily for a job that was interesting but in an industry I’m not fond of. When the chance to gradually move to a new role where I already work came up, I happily agreed. It will be slightly different, so a good change.
I’m relieved to have some personal good news to balance other stuff out. Having some disposable income for a while longer will allow me to donate more to good causes at this crucial time. That’s what really pleases me—I can help out.
Pretend me in my pretend neat office.
Now I must sleep. I’m in a food coma from celebratory pizza.
It was darned cold and windy this morning as I headed over to my friend’s house to show some of our Master Naturalist friends the beaver dams and ponds I visited earlier this month.
At least it was sunny! Ponds are among the trees in the distance.
I recovered from being lost and going down the wrong road, and everything went fine. I remembered all my beaver facts and just started spitting them out authoritatively. I think I even taught people some things they didn’t know!
Ruby howled her approval.
I had a good time looking at the area again and seeing changes. There were trees with new evidence of bark chewing, which made me happy.
Click to see these larger
We saw the beaver trails, an entrance they use for one pond, and some tracks. I think people enjoyed themselves. I sure did!
Beaver trailPond entranceIntrepid visitors
After we were done, we ate at one of our local Mexican restaurants. I enjoyed a delicious cup of Mexican hot chocolate in a beautiful mug. It got me thinking about how much there is to treasure about Mexican culture, so on my way home I got a few yummy Mexican baked goods. Mmmm.
It was pretty nasty outside so I didn’t do birding and I just took care of birds and equines quickly. I’m glad they all have good shelter now (I saw evidence the turkeys used their hut last night).
Cold-looking sky
Mostly I watched football, read, and crafted today. Here’s what my tan themed temperature block for January looks like so far. I like it.
I’m getting some criticism for sharing thoughts more directly on Facebook, but that’s fine. Feel free to fire me from your life if my truth bothers you! it’s becoming more important to speak out and be brave.
I grew up near beaches and I like them okay, though I prefer marshy land near beaches, which have more interesting birds.
Beach sunsets are pretty fine! I do love Hilton Head.
But I really love mountains and always have. I looked forward to visiting Chattanooga, where my paternal grandmother lived, each summer so we could look at streams, go through tunnels, and drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As an adult, I’ve treasured my visits to other mountains in all weather. There are really good birds, too, and each area is so different! if I were rich, I’d head right over to Breckenridge and hike and snowshoe and be just fine. Or maybe Ruidoso, since it’s in another state I love.
Sedona, also fine rocks.
Just dreaming. I’m here in Texas looking at a small hill. At least I have all these birds!
Look. I finally took bird photos you can identify as birds. Eastern Phoebe.
Off topic, but I enjoyed watching a huge flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds roosting and then departing en masse this morning. I had the good camera (Cameron EOSR5 Mark II) and telephoto lens in the birding area. Distance shots are from the phone camera.
So many birdsGood camera viewClick to enlarge—you can see each bird!Bye!Supervisor
I also dragged the camera to the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary to practice close-ups. I got lots of chickadees and titmice at the feeders and a few others. I think a couple are pretty good. At least you can see details on them. I’m gonna practice this week so my camera muscles will be all strong for next weekend. Anyway, here are cute titmice.
I can’t choose between these two Both are my favorite Eating
And here are just a few Carolina Chickadees. They pose well.
I also got a couple of nice shots of water dripping into the birdbath. Look carefully and you will see many honeybees from the nearby hives.
I took lots of photos of new Wildscape plants, but that will be in a Master Naturalist blog. But here are a couple of insects!
Painted ladyFunereal duskywing Honeybee and carpenter beeGulf Fritillary Honeybee hiding in salvia Another fritillary
So, whee. Mountains are great, but no matter where you are, there are birds, insects, and plants to explore.
I didn’t write last night because I was chatting with my family. This makes me think blogging is what I do when there’s no one to talk to. Perhaps two occasions of that happening in one week aren’t enough data for such a sad interpretation. It is not the case that I have so few people to talk to in real life that I chat with an unknown audience. I have both friends and readers, many of whom ARE friends or step-sisters.
Very few readers are oak trees.
The weather is probably making me weird(er) today. It kept acting like it wanted to rain, then just displaying attractive clouds to distract me from the projects I was planning to talk about.
Clouds and trees throughout the day.
Before the projects, I’ll share a story of mama cows who are brave. There was a new tan calf this morning and I saw the vultures heading over to the pond to bother the mom and baby. Vultures look beautiful in morning light with dark clouds behind them (last tree photo above was the setting). The mother cow was looking unhappy and let out a weird short moo.
The new baby sniffing poop. How cute.
In response I hear hooves. The new white calf is running toward the new family. That calf is quite the zippy little thing. Her mother was right behind, mooing loudly. Mama walked right up to the vultures, lowered her big bovine head, and shooed the birds away. So much flapping! After that, everyone settled down for peaceful nursing and grazing.
Happy familiesThe worst thing was that a vulture pooped on this cow’s head. Look at that little tongue!FuzzyCurious
Okay, so I did leave the ranch in time to do some volunteering over at the Wildscape project with some of the Master Naturalist chapter. There was a large pile of dirt to spread over a weed barrier, and there was also some cleanup to do as the team gets ready to plant new pollinator-attracting plants for the H-E-B pollinator grant we got.
I was not very helpful, but I did take some unofficial photos of everyone working.
Working on the Wildscape
Then I ran off to the bird sanctuary, which is hanging in there without our help. I wandered off to the area where prairie is being restored and found myself all alone and unable to see signs of humanity other than fences. That was good energy for the new year (Samhain and Día de Los Muertes).
Birding areaPost oak savannaCool lichenFungus
I did go back and interact with people, plus get to connect with my friends Ann and Donna, who have been dealing with health issues that annoy them.
Glad to know them.
I’m glad I got to go help a little, even though it meant I missed a funeral. Lee was able to attend and convey my condolences, though. I always feel a lot of sympathy for spouses who are left alone after many years. I’m glad our friend who lost his wife has a large supportive family.
Meadowhawk
When I got home from my errands, I got to watch more work being done on my birding station. They had to go back for more wood again—I think the design has been refined. I was told the project just eats wood. Anyway, it now has siding along the bottom, so there’s just top and roof left, I think.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m 100% an introvert. Well socialized, they tell me. I mention it often, as my links in this paragraph show, but it still surprises folks. Being an introvert (and hermit) always gets put to a test when I go to do things in large groups. I need my recovery time.
Our group, most of them.
Yesterday was the first full day of the 2025 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting, so I was around people from 7am to 10pm. This should explain why there wasn’t a blog entry! By the time I got back to the sad hotel, I just wanted to collapse.
I did see some nature. This cloudless Sulphur stood still!
Today is the second day, and I’m skipping a session to hide in a corner and write. Perfect for regaining energy.
My introvert face
Still, yesterday was a lot of fun. The highlight, for sure, was a visit to the SM Tracy Herbarium and the other collections in the huge former warehouse it shares. I’d been there before, but it’s so fascinating, and this time we were shown each collection by one of the people who work there.
This is a freezer to kill bugs on specimens.
The fish specialist pretending to be the herp specialist was my favorite, because he showed us his new gulper eel specimen and a video on these fascinating fish. The gulper eel is now my favorite. It will be yours, too, if you watch the video.
Tiny gulper eelWhat one looks likeAlligator garMaybe a bear mauled me?
I made a new friend and we carpooled both here and to an afternoon session on old growth forests, where it was hot, but I learned about how to measure a tree (at 4.5’ and with a special diameter tape that I now want).
Where a moth came outWheel bug
When we got back I talked a lot to vendors and bought a replacement for my missing binoculars, plus enjoyed a second viewing of my friend Mike M’s presentation on “eco-grief.”
Still thinking about what metal art to buy
It’s been fun hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. The dinner presentation was a sweet tribute to where volunteering can take you, then we tested out the new bar in the convention center. It has a great view. I only had ginger ale and bitters, since I had to drive to the hotel, but conversation was good!
Dinner speakers, including good ole Sam K. He’s a great ambassador for us.
I’m just not able to say much right now. The loss of lives and livelihoods near me in Texas is heart wrenching and has affected nearly everyone I know directly or indirectly. The whole state is in shock, because the campers and other visitors were from all over the state. It’s really too hard to talk about right now.
This is Alfred informing me that the weather is bad.
I’m grateful for the first responders and trained volunteers from our county and nearby who went to help with flooding that wasn’t on the news, but was still bad. It always impresses me how these highly trained folks just go wherever they’re needed, even to other states or countries. They’re needed with so much bad weather here and in North Carolina, not to mention the fires in the Navajo Nation.
Gloomy. Everything feels dark.
Here we just had a reasonable amount of rain, though lightning hit a tree near the horse pasture. Horses are ok. I immersed myself in work today, which was helpful. I guess I’m also grateful for having a good challenge to occupy my mind.
I’m also grateful for pets, even skittish ones.
Take care of yourselves. Hugs to all of you dealing with challenges. I haven’t forgotten you. We are in this together.
It’s a good thing I find cat herding to be entertaining (if tiring). I remembered this today when I did my best to teach a group of adults how to use Merlin Bird ID. I’m happy to report that each attendee learned something on the actual topic! Huzzah!
I’d like to have joined this horse in a nice cool pond when I was done.
And I had fun, even while being frustrated by my inability to answer three questions at once. There was one attendee who couldn’t get to the App Store to download Merlin, a couple who couldn’t log in because they didn’t have their password, some who were eager to learn, and one who figured everything out faster than I could tell the rest. In other words, a typical in-person training experience. We were, however, missing the person who falls asleep. No one did that!
They were busy learning.
Luckily there were few enough people there that after showing everyone the UI basics, I could help people wherever they were. Whew. That’s my favorite way to teach adults. Seeing the smiles in people’s faces when they figured out how something worked was very satisfying!
Also satisfying: Linda Jo found this wheel bug.
We ended up finding birds, recording them and creating some life lists. Everyone made progress! And then they learned a bit about the new iNaturalist, even the ones who didn’t have iPhones (there’s no Android version).
One more fun insect. A ponderous spur-throat grasshopper.
I felt good doing what I like to do, and on a topic I’m actually interested in. It also felt great to get more of my fellow Master Naturalists interested in what makes my life so full of education and entertainment these days.
I was educated by identifying this baby bird as a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (it’s being well cared for and heading to rehabbers soon).
Nonetheless, I took a little jaunt over to Tarrin’s neighborhood to take some medication to a horse friend. I had some time, so I did something I’d wanted to do for a long time. I pulled my car over on Tarrin’s road and entered the interesting plants I keep seeing into iNaturalist.
Lots of hidden gems here.
Woo hoo! I can’t really pull over and take pictures towing a horse trailer!
Pipeline swallowtail caterpillar!Texas Bull Nettle Cnidoscolus texanus (called mala mujer in Spanish)Wild blue larkspur Delphinium carolinianumMaroon blanketflower Gaillardia amblyodonStanding cypress Ipomopsis rubra (will soon have beautiful red flowers)Old Plainsman Hymenopappus artemisiifolius
Other than that, it’s very hot and humid. I’ve been thinking about recent tornado victims. It encourages me to enjoy all life’s joys and challenges while I can. The weather can strike anywhere.
The Hermits' Rest 