volunteer work – Page 4 – The Hermits' Rest

Five Happy Things

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

I’m truly grateful to be surrounded by things that make me happy. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, every day is a good day, since I’ve never seen it before.

I never had a chicken inspect the tack room until today!

So, five everyday things that make me happy?

1. Being near trees. Trees always feel like my protectors.

Sometimes trees have birds in them. Double happiness!

2. Watching the dogs play. Penney and Carlton run and run while Goldie waits to tackle them.

3. Working on my journal. I love to write by hand, plus I get all my childhood arts and crafts joy back when I pick colored pens and washi tape stickers.

Journal of a few years ago. Not my bullet journal.

4. Putting on nail polish. That’s another simple way to be creative and play with colors. Hmm, knitting is the same kind of thing.

5. Moving around. I used to think I was a sedentary slug, but as I’ve gotten older I realize that I was always happy when moving around. I loved walking and riding my bike, then I loved aerobics and yoga, and now I love riding horses. I hope I can always walk, at least.

Horse update: Apache is still sore but can get around. He got painkillers today, though he didn’t like it much, so Mabel and Dusty are probably feeling good tonight.

Drew is still sore from all his injections, and he still has a few to go, but he should start feeling better very soon. I’m glad he’s being well cared for.

Everyone else is unhappy about flies and very happy about food.

As for me, my lower back is still unhappy. I may have to get it worked on. Ugh.

But I got my yearly recertification done for Master Naturalists, and I even went to a party yesterday, for my friend who’s retiring as the head of our local Chamber of Commerce. They will need two people to replace her! Neither of them will be me.

Oh, and today Anita and I went to a Hat Bar at a local shop. I should not have been introduced to this concept. Too much fun, again, probably because it reminds me of my childhood crafts obsession.

I’d love to know some everyday happiness YOU experience!

Extra Springy

Today was truly a spring day. The weather kept changing from intense fog to sun to cloudy to windy…warmer, cooler, you name it.

I felt much like the weather. I was extra productive, deeply tired (thanks to Goldie and all the other dogs sleeping in my bed during storms), energetic, and zonked. In between spurts of creativity I went out and enjoyed the flowers and butterflies for a while.

I managed to brave the very muddy pens to feed the horses and groom Apache, who thankfully was not all muddy or covered in burs. I have to try to get him clean by 8 am tomorrow. Wish me luck. He didn’t help when he stomped on his halter, which meant I had to wash that, too. Sigh. It’s not like I didn’t t have things to do!

The Master Naturalists had a nice, big booth at the Spring Festival in Cameron this afternoon and evening. I was on the second shift, which enabled me to get all my chores done before heading over to the Venue.

We met a good number of folks and did some excellent recruiting. Alan (left in the photo) is great at encouragement, and we got all sorts of people interested in our work. Cindy of Bird and Bee Farm talked a lot about turkeys, and I think she convinced a guy to get some for his big ranch. That would be cool.

The best part of the evening was finally introducing Lee to a couple of my Master Naturalist friends. I hope he liked them. The other part that made it a great time was just sitting around and talking to Chapter members outside of a meeting setting. They’re such an interesting group of people and so good to each other. We marveled at how fortunate we are to have found so many compatible folks in this sparsely populated county. In these times, that’s really great.

Yes, I enjoyed all aspects of today’s extra springy events. Life is pretty good in our little town.

Insights about Merlin Bird ID

Blog readers will know that I’ve been using Merlin Bird ID since last summer to identify birds I hear. I’d used it before to identify birds I saw, but once I started the listening exercise, I was hooked. It’s such fun knowing what I hear around me, and it’s great training for birding without the app. My ability to identify birds by song is hugely improved. Plus, knowing what’s out there helps you know what to look for if you want to see birds.

Cornell Labs has done an amazing job developing this app, which you can download from the App Store in whatever kind of phone you have. I can’t imagine how much work it has taken to train the listening app on the sounds of all the birds around the world (you can get Bird Packs for wherever you happen to be).

I got Europe because I keep getting those weird IDs and wanted to read about those birds. Mexico is because I go to South Texas sometimes.

I’ve learned a few interesting things about Merlin that those of you who use it or are interested in giving it a try may benefit from.

1. Merlin will not identify domestic birds. My chickens can walk right in front of the phone and nothing registers. It also completely ignores Tarrin’s guinea fowl, and didn’t pick up the turkeys at Bird and Bee Farm. However, it has identified wild turkeys, so I think the turkey thing was a fluke.

2. The app has trouble with birds who make sounds that are low in pitch. For example, it needs most doves to be really close in order for it to register them. Collared doves make a higher sound that it identifies more easily. And you have to be on top of an owl for it to be picked up. In the past week, I’ve heard entire owl conversations that didn’t get “heard,” both of barred owls and great horned owls. That’s why it pays to also be able to identify birds with your own ears!

3. Crazy things can happen after a recording is interrupted. Two things that happen to me often will interrupt a recording: the phone ringing or me accidentally starting a video rather than taking a photo while the app is running. You can usually save the recordings, though I have lost a couple.

However, I’ve found that if I start the listening function again after an interruption occurs, Merlin’s decides I am not only in North America, but I’m also in Eurasia. I will be informed that I hear a great tit or a European robin, which is highly unlikely!

So, if you suddenly get an identification of a bird you’ve never heard of, be sure to click on the map for that bird, to be sure it has actually been seen in your area. Sure, occasionally birds are blown off course when migrating or after a storm, but most European birds stay in Europe (other than our biddies the house sparrows and starlings, of course!).

Lee’s haiku: Porch sparrow drama –
fussing, fighting – very loud
What are they saying?

4. Moving around is hard on Merlin. The app works best if you are standing still (or the phone is sitting on something) and the environment is not noisy. It’s amazing how loud you are walking on a trail or around your property. I live in the country, yet I realize now that it’s loud here. Loud farm vehicles and trucks, single-engine planes practicing their takeoffs and landings at the nearby tiny airport, our six dogs, the pool pump and waterfall, and air conditioning units all contribute. When camping, screeching children on trails and boats are hazards. So are waves, believe it or not. But if you stay still, Merlin’s does a pretty good on anyway.

When I’m out walking, I usually pause if I hear an interesting bird, so the app can pinpoint what it is. My exercise app on my watch hates that.

Merlin Hints

Save fairly often. I try to go no more than 20 minutes or so before saving a recording unless there’s some great bird action going on. That minimizes your losses if the app crashes, which does happen occasionally.
Remember to report interesting birds you hear or see to Cornell Labs. It goes to e-Bird and provides useful research data. I don’t report every sighting. I doubt they are interested in the fact that I see vultures and house sparrows every single day. You can also upload photos. Occasionally I get one good enough to share.
Have some fun with the app and do your own research. I’m tracking what birds I hear at my house each month. It’s letting me know which birds are winter birds, which migrate, which show up in summer, and of course, what’s here all the time (vultures, house sparrows, cardinals, chickadees). Be sure to report each new bird you hear, so your life list on Merlin can grow. I have 192 birds since last September. Majestic that 193. A marsh wren showed up today. That includes birds I’ve seen while traveling, too.

Conserve your phone battery. To make my battery last longer when on long hikes, I don’t keep my camera open at the tame time Merlin is running unless I’m actively taking pictures (remember, I also obsessively record plants and other life for iNaturalist). If I were planning to go out for a long time, I’d take a spare battery. I tend to run out of juice after around three hours.
Don’t become annoying. I have developed the habit of shushing people who talk when I’m “listening” through Merlin. I’m sure it irritates my spouse. People are important! I also don’t even TRY to use the app when on a group hike unless I hear something really cool and go hide to try to capture it. I was hilarious at the National Butterfly Center last October, as I lagged behind the Master Naturalists trying to hear exotic Mexican birds. I also find myself trying to be extra quiet any time I’m outdoors,because it’s become a habit. I whisper answers to questions and such. I am working on fixing that before my family stope talking to me.

I hope you get something helpful out of these hints. If I’m wrong about anything, let me know. Also, if you have additional insights or hints, tell me and I can add them to this blog post. I’m still learning!

Flowers attract insects that attract birds.

By the way, I’m not claiming Master Naturalist VT hours for any of this, since it’s on my own property most of the time, and that doesn’t count. I did count my time during the Great Backyard Bird Count, since that’s approved. I don’t claim hours when I’m camping or traveling, since I’m also usually making iNaturalist observations at the same time and don’t want to “double dip.”

Look at Me, I Did Community Outreach

One of the things you’re supposed to do as a Texas Master Naturalist is share what you know about nature with others. I’m not very good at staffing booths, I’ve discovered, but today I was able to do some nature interpretation with some Cub Scouts, and that’s what I hope to be able to do more of.

You may remember I went with friends to check out the Ranchería Grande as a potential nature walk site. The Cub Scouts leader decided it might be too much for the pack members and some parents, so instead they planned a shorter walk at the Chalk Ridge Falls Park in Belton, and asked me to come along and see what I could show them. She figured it would be pretty simple, given the young people’s attention spans.

Happily, that wasn’t true at all. The park, which winds along the banks of the Lampassas River on the other side of the dam that creates Stillhouse Hollow Lake. It has nice wide trails, though one has to watch out for the many steep ledges some young people want to lean over. There are plenty of birds, trees, flowers, raccoon poop, and weird things to entertain Scouts and their siblings.

I’m explaining what an oak gall is. Can you tell it was chilly?

It was great that most of the participants were interested in the things they saw and found. I enjoyed answering some really good questions and showing everyone lovely sights like buckeye trees, which I didn’t even know we had.

It’s an Ohio buckeye, all right. One youngster observed that it looks like honey.

One little boy asked me a series of questions about what I showed him, was thrilled when I showed him how trees bloom, and after a while, came running up to me with a huge grin and shining eyes, exclaiming, “I love nature now!”

His brother carried a catkin from some tree around for a long time telling everyone how important pollen is. He’d never seen it before.

And the sister of one of the Scouts got all disappointed when her parents said they had to go back to their car. She told them she wanted to stay and keep having this adventure. Wow. I’d say the outing was a success.

And the adults were also great. One grandmother was using her cane to help walk, and had said she’d just stay on the trail when everyone went down some stairs. But she got so interested in what we were seeing that she came on down and made it much further. Afterward, she was so proud of herself and declared she was ready to do some squats. That was just the best.

I had good conversations with the adults as well. One mother said she wished we could come back without the kids so we could go further. I liked her!

Everyone thought that narrowleaf puccoon is a weird name for a plant.

I learned a bunch, too, like that there are chalk deposits in the area and that canyon wrens have a distinctive call I’ll never miss again. They are my Daily Bird. No wonder we found them here—they live on cliffs. We’re at the eastern edge of this bird’s range.

The park has more litter than I’d like to see. We talked about returning with trash bags. Some of the infrastructure is in poor shape, too. But it’s beautiful, free, and just an hour from Cameron. It’s a great field trip, and I’m glad my friend brought the pack there!

I Do All the Things, Except

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

I do have a to-do list. It’s my bullet journal. I get pleasure from checking off things I’ve done. Here’s a confession. There’s one thing I rarely even put on my list, because I hate doing it.

Looking at clouds during sunset rarely gets omitted.

Yes, I hate hanging my clothes back up in my closet. I have always hated this, since childhood.

There’s no reason for me to dislike it. I have a huge closet with windows and a fancy light fixture. But it piles up. Maybe admitting this will inspire me to get I. There, grab a stack of velvet hangers, and file my clothes where they belong. I should have space after recent purges. Maybe. (No, I’m not posting a photo of my closet.)

I did get many items on my to-do list done today. I dutifully attended the Master Naturalist Board retreat and took notes. It’s always good to listen to the group’s ideas and get excited about possibilities for field trips and activities. Even though I wasn’t feeling well, I got through it. (Yeah, my health has me puzzled — my joints have started hurting in my hands, and my knees and back are unhappy with me for no reason I can figure out. Plus I suddenly have ringing in my ears, which has never bothered me before. Time for a checkup I guess.)

Linda Jo found an excellent insect during our break, during which she and I looked for flowers. Naturally.

After checking that item off, I took the horses over to Tarrin’s for an unscheduled visit. (Make that “we” since Lee drove.)

Apache was the easier horse to deal with. Tarrin and her hoof consultant picked out some boots for him to wear while his abscess heals. I’d say they cost more than any shoes I ever bought, except I have some really nice cowboy boots.

I was relieved that she got him to pick up both front feet to get cleaned and treated. He let her put the boots on, too. They will stay until Monday, when the farrier comes. It took him a while to adjust, but I think this will help him. Now he just needs to shed all that long hair. He’s so hot!

They will never be this clean again. They are also reflective!

Drew was acting less weird today, but I was very glad to get her to look at him. He just hasn’t been himself with all that snapping and kicking. Plus today he had blood on his legs. He’s been getting into something!

Quickly, Tarrin figured out his neck hurt. He had a huge knot in it. No wonder he didn’t like being groomed or having his mane brushed. She worked hard on this neck, and even Lee could see him relaxing.

She then had him stand on the special pads that are supposed to make him feel better. He kept pawing at them and sniffing them. We don’t know what that meant. But he seemed less tense and grouchy. I’m interested to see how he is tomorrow when I groom him and pay special attention to his neck.

I sure am glad I have such a good trainer who cares about my animals. The horses have certainly benefited! Me, too!

I’d give her real flowers if I could. It’s Field Madder (*Sherardia arvensis*) and is tiny.

There’s a lot to be thankful for, even if I don’t get all my chores done every day. Those clothes are waiting patiently.

Today I was thankful for many interesting cloud formations.

Could I Have Had More Fun Today? Not Safely.

Whee. Did I have a good time today! Oh sure. It was time to go to the Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting. This year it’s in McAllen, Texas, way at the bottom of the state. I’ve never been here before, so it’s all new to me! But getting here was ALL the fun.

Rain lilies carpeted the roadside. None of us had ever seen so many.

I am very lucky that I was invited to go with the members of our chapter that I admire most, three natives of Milam County who know everything about the plants AND the people. I love listening to their stories.

We also found a new rain lily type. it’s not found in iNat.

I also love their sense of adventure. If the gals in the front seat saw an interesting plant or a roadkill, we stopped! Then we captured every possible image of the plants on the side of the road. It was so much fun! I found new-to-me plants.

This is a lance leaf blanket flower (*Gaillardia aestivalis*) which was new for me.

One highlight of the trip was the very nice bakery we visited in Schulenberg. I had a deer kolache and a pecan roll. We really enjoyed the story of a steer with three horns they had on the wall.

The next highlight came when we were investigating some plants south of Victoria. A car pulled up in front of ours and a woman jumped out and cried, “It’s Linda Jo Conn!” That’s right, one of our party can be recognized on the side of a road when going 75 mph. She has very white hair.

See, the hair is so lovely and easy to spot.

We had a great time identifying plants with the fellow Master Naturalists from the other car. They were really knowledgeable and nice. What a fun time!

The final highlight of the trip was, believe it or not, the rest area we stopped in. This was the most beautiful and interesting rest area I’ve ever seen. The architecture was sort of Spanish, but not overdone. It’s near Falfurrias on US 281.

The brickwork was fascinating, with patterns and rock accents.

The bathrooms had beautiful tile!

There were all kinds of birds there and many woodsy plants, because the whole place was in an oak grove. I had a blast on the little walking trail, where I found dozens of caterpillars and an ant bed. Whee!

Eventually we made our way to the edge of the US. There are lots of police and border patrol officers. There are lots of palm trees and a pretty tree with white flowers called anacahuita or Mexican olive (Cordia boissieri).

Two of our group went to a state park on the border to find moths. I’m not comfortable doing that. Plus I’m extra tired. So my other friend and I walked around a bit and I got a pair of shoes. I’d totally soaked mine traipsing around in ditches to photograph plants. They are drying now.

Tomorrow will also be fun!

Fulfilling Work

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

I’m not going to answer a prompt every day this month, but at the end of today, I knew the answer to this one.

Hard work that leads to growth is fulfilling to me. Work for work’s sake, well, it’s a chance to practice mindfulness at best. I can mentally go to my happy place while doing drudge work.

The work I’ve been doing the past few years with horses has been hard, really hard. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone both mentally and physically. Horses are beautiful and smell good, but they are weird and unpredictable (even for people who know them well).

I was just chatting with a fellow student of Tarrin’s tonight, and we were commiserating about our setbacks this summer and how hard it is to regain confidence when you feel like you can’t trust your horse. We both know we will have to work hard on it, but we pointed out how many obstacles we each have overcome so far. That helps, reminders from others!

As for other kinds of hard work, like actual work and volunteer work, of course it helps if I learn and grow from it. I am fulfilled if my efforts are appreciated or help others. That’s why I like teaching people. You can see that the students have new skills or knowledge that will enrich them. Teaching knitting really exemplifies this. You give someone a lifelong hobby!

Then they can make giant year-long blankets.

My Master Naturalist work is often hard, but wow is it fulfilling to know so much about my surroundings and it’s great to be able to help others ID plants and birds or understand more about the local ecosystem.

For example, I know these rocks, which look like potatoes to me, are what’s in the soil here.

As for today, I took a long walk in the woods, got to enjoy Apache’s previous rider, Kayla, visit with him, and rode Drew around the pasture with only a little need for reassurance. (Backsliding was having trouble bridling after it went well for a few times in a row.)

Enjoy sites from the woods.

Three Jobs I’d Love

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.

Oh good, here’s a question that I don’t have to be as careful answering as yesterday’s (thanks for the positive feedback). I know the things I’d love to do if it weren’t for that pesky needing an income thing.

Knitting Teacher. I truly loved the years I spent teaching people to knit at a yarn shop. I’ve been teaching knitting and crocheting informally most of my life, but I really got a system going there toward the end. It’s so rewarding to taking someone from being sure they’re unable to learn something straight to competency. And once you can knit, you’ve always got something to do!

Nature Interpreter. This is a real job. You share with people about the nature around them, help them learn to see things they might not have noticed, and show them the unique qualities of the place where they are. You can do it as a volunteer in some parks, but Milam County lacks State Parks. Maybe the Ranchería Grande site folks are working on that’s in this county will need interpretation.

I could show folks that they aren’t just walking through a field of weeds, but that the asters are alive with tiny fuzzy bee flies.

Backup Singer. I love(d) to sing. I like being in front, but it’s especially fun to do harmonies behind a singer. I miss performing. I miss the teamwork and cooperation of being in a band, vocal group, or chorus. And sometimes backup singers get to travel! I love staying in hotels, too!

This is the group my friend Sharon is in, the Studebakers. They take turns singing lead and harmonies.

Given a fourth choice I’d be a field worker in biology. I’d get to both be outside and explore nature AND write scientific papers! I actually do know how to do that.

Well, Sure I’m a Leader

Do you see yourself as a leader?

This was a trick question. As a former La Leche League Leader, I’m a leader forever. Ha ha. Of course, I never discuss breastfeeding unless my input is solicited. I was called an n-word too many times just for offering information that I gave up. (Think the German regime that was defeated in WWII but seems to be coming back.)

But, I do think I’m a leader, because I totally suck at being a follower. I am not good at letting other people make decisions. I’m just full of input, whether asked or not. I’m just not a good follower of orders (which is a problem sometimes, because I have a lot of rules to follow).

I like being an equal team no, a lot. It’s my favorite way to work or do projects. I like getting input, coming to consensus and figuring out each team member’s strengths and weaknesses.

When I’m put in a true leadership position, I prefer a more collaborative style. I’ve really done a lot of great projects this way and feel proud of what I’ve accomplished along with so many great teams. Sigh. My projects at La Leche League and Planview were great times and I met such fascinating people.

I probably prefer leading by example to any official position. I just hope that I do a good job. I do worry about my tendency to be bossy, especially when I’m not comfortable with how things are going. I’m still working on that.

Guess what? It rained over two inches today. It made for scary driving conditions, but didn’t flood or anything, so it’s all good. Between two showers, I went out to see hundreds of flying insects I can’t identify (they didn’t hold still for me). There were dozens of tufted titmice in a honey locust tree grabbing a bug, then going back to eat it. How charming!

Look closely and you’ll see a lot of gray birds.

There were just a LOT of birds out today. The Merlin app even heard a duck in the pond behind the woods. I’m so glad migration has started and I can see and here more types of birds. Here’s what I heard during two listening sessions (plus lark sparrows, which sing beautifully).

Birds Merlin heard. By the way, I’m fairly certain the great crested flycatcher it identifies is a scissor tail.

Here are some I’ve photographed in the last couple of days.

After the fun with birds, Lee and I jumped in my little car and drove to San Antonio, not enjoying the traffic, but enjoying the post-rain skies. We’re going to an anniversary dinner for real estate investor friends of Lee’s.

We are in an Embassy Suites hotel that’s as nice as some of the condos we go to. We have no plans for tomorrow but I think there are things to do where we are (way northwest). Sunday morning we hope to see an old friend of mine. I’m glad we’re able to go, thanks to generous dog and horse sitters.

Is There an Ideal Week?

Describe your ideal week.

I thought about this all day long today, and I had plenty of time to think as I worked in the actual Dell Technologies offices today. The scenery didn’t distract me, even though I had a window view.

Ooh, look, the 45 Toll Road! It leads straight to my dentist, which is why I was in the area.

I’m sure there’s some Golden Perfect week that involves riding horses on the beach, bathing in a spring-fed pond, working on the Great Sunarian Novel, knitting in a hammock on a porch with bird feeders nearby, and eating nothing but oysters, fish, fresh veggies and ripe fruit…but that’s not realistic.

Excuse me, you forgot to mention petting dogs.

Realistically, I think I’ve got all the ingredients it takes to make for a perfect week, right here in scenic Milam County, Texas. Here are the components of my perfect week, which might not all occur in any one week:

Meaningful work. I’m glad I have a job I like to bring in money and challenge me.
Writing. I’ll have to write every day, line I do now.
Reading. I read constantly when not knitting, writing, or horsing.
Horses. Every day I want quality time with horses, to make up for the years I didn’t have any. I will keep riding and learning.
Other pets. I have to be with the doggies and chickens to remind myself there are so many ways to live and love.
Volunteer work. I like my Master Naturalist work and want to do it as much as I can squeeze in.
Swimming. I never used to like it, but I enjoy it all year now.
Meditation. As I wrote about earlier, it’s part of any ideal week.
Travel. Not every week, but often, I want to go camping, or to a condo in a new place.
Friends. I love that I have scheduled times to see friends in person and Zoom every week.
Family. Time just talking and laughing with Lee hard to happen regularly. I’m hoping tune with the rest of the family will become regular soon.
Hanging out in nature. It’s a must or I get all irritated and irritating. I need to feel like I’m a small part of the big picture.

Wow. I just kept going there. The good news is that I usually have most of these things every week, so my life is now ideal. Yay, I made it to where I hoped I’d be when I was younger!

Note: in any ideal week the temperature will NOT be over 100°F nor will there be a polar vortex. But, thanks, humanity, you’ve guaranteed extremes for the rest of my life. That’s not ideal, is it?