The Hermits' Rest

Spontaining

Today Lee and I spontained, which is our cute couple’s word for doing something on the spur of the moment. He needed to get out of the house, so we did. We ran off to Waco (because any iNat observations I made there would count for my City Nature Challenge totals).

We went to the Waco Mammoth National Monument, which neither of us had ever been to before. I hoped to get lots of iNat observations, but it didn’t matter much, since I’d already gone out in the morning and got sightings of crawfish, a turtle, catfish, and Ssssindy the snake.

Wow, Suna, that’s a great photo of a crawfish.

We enjoyed the monument very much. The actual mammoth dig site is preserved with a cool roof and walls system that protects it. The walkway people go on in tours is suspended from the ceiling, so the bones are safe.

You can see the walkway and the site here.

I don’t think I realized before that this site has lots of mammoth fossils (and a camel). It’s the only such “nursery herd” site ever discovered in the US. Many bones are in a museum at Baylor University, but the ones we saw have been left in situ, and work is still ongoing with them.

It’s incredible that this mass death of mammoths happened, apparently more than once, when the Bosque River suddenly flooded. I’m amazed that these animals were here only 10,000 years ago, too.

Anyway, we enjoyed talking to a college student who was there with her archeology club, to another young adult who helped me get my National Park stamps going, and to the park rangers. I know that helped cheer Lee up.

And after looking at the dig site, we walked on some trails and found some plants and insects. Mostly it was hedge parsley and more hedge parsley, but we found other stuff.

It was nice having Lee help me. He spotted a few bugs! I must be rubbing off on him.

Back at the ranch, I found many interesting bugs and spiders on prairie parsley. If you want more butterflies, grow this! I also got a great look at a kingbird. The buntings and dickcissels are very loud but are also good at hiding.

It was so windy that I gave up on birds. Tomorrow I’m going over to Sara’s to see if she has any interesting plants. I’d probably win the challenge if I was able to go to Tarrin’s, but she’s out of town and I wouldn’t want to impose on her family. Maybe next year!

A little broken, like many of us, but this goatweed leaf wing (*Anaea andria*) was a beautiful find.

All in all, a little spontaining was good for us both.

My Favorite Topics

What topics do you like to discuss?

Why, regular readers know this:

Nature
Horses
Dogs
Knitting/crochet
Home renovations/rehab
Personal growth
Spirituality (not religion)

Speaking of dogs, we sprung Carlton out of the Cameron pound 6 years ago! This is where he is as I write.

Today I got all my work items done and had plenty of time for fun. Some even involved human beings! Anita and I enjoyed a pastry break, followed by an afternoon wine break (Cameron: a place where there’s now stuff to do). And in the evening we had a birthday dinner with one of the people who live here. It was fun, because we’re getting pretty relaxed around each other these days.

Highlight: the bakery has a mixer almost as tall as Anita! Is it from Tasmania?

Most of my fun, which is probably only fun to a naturalist, consisted of taking photos of practically everything that lives on the ranch natively. It’s the City Nature Challenge on iNaturalist, and we’re trying to beat some actual city, or something like that.

Most of my photos were not this good. (Gray hairstreak on white clover)

The challenge started off with a surprise, as the guy who refills the propane showed up but did not get to fill our tank. It had a beehive in it. I hope we have encouraged them to move in by removing the tank cover.

I went all over the property finding plants, birds, insects, and fungi to record. I put on thick boots, but didn’t see any snakes or other reptiles. There are still some places to check, but after finding 161 organisms, I may have nearly exhausted this ranch. I still need to locate the silky evolvulus. It was hiding.

I wish I could go walk in Tarrin’s woods and down her road. There are completely different plants only 30 miles away!

I did stop and enjoy the scenery occasionally.

I’m glad the rain held off so all of us in our area could get our observations in. I’ll keep looking until Monday!

Most populous butterfly to day is the little phaon crescent.

Thanks for reading along as I go on about my favorite topic! I have more thoughts, but it’s been a long day. Your reward is a sampling of insects I saw, without the extra blurry ones.

Animals Are a Luxury Item

This week I’ve spent more on horse care than I earned. The mobile vet came to give the horses all their immunizations and Coggins tests. And next week the equine dentist comes, so I’ll just have to find away to finance that. Next year I’ll try not to get the annual vaccines, dental care, bodywork, and a final rehab installment all at the same time! Oh, and there’s $400 in Apache medicine getting charged next week.

Take a deep breath and think of hummingbirds, Suna.

Yep, pets and livestock are expensive, when properly cared for. And we want to properly care for our animals. perhaps I’m better with their care than mine.

Blurry but pretty. Flapping its wings like me trying to get all these things done.

Proper care isn’t easy! Poor Lee was in charge of the dogs, most of whom have to be sedated to get them still and calm (just Goldie is calm enough to get through her exam unmediated). Alfred became a barrier so we couldn’t use the front door until he woke up.

Penney fell asleep on the vet tech, so she couldn’t be very helpful for a while.

As for the horses, I was in charge of them. I spent a long time cleaning Apache poop from the dry lot since it was past due (I’d done half yesterday). Then I haltered them all, as requested by the vet. All went well, and I managed to separate Drew out, since I got him taken care of at his $2K vet appointment in Bryan. It was hard, because they’ve all been sticking together like glue since Drew came home.

Don’t believe her. I’m the one they all stick to.

Well, all went well except for Mabel. She got nervous. So I spent 20 minutes calming her down using all the horse whispering I could muster. But it worked! She settled pretty well.

She’s in such great condition now. She shines.

She had to get drugged when it came to the strangles vaccine. She’s not font of things going into her nose. Dusty, on the other hand, was quite enchanted with his nasal spray. He even insisted on doing his Flehmen response right into the vet’s camera! He made it to her Facebook page with this.

It was determined that Dusty has pinworms so all the animals will next get wormed. So many fun medical things for these guys! And wormer ain’t free, either. But they need it!

Apache, of course, was fine. I was happy to see his rain rot is getting better after his bath. And he is so calm now.

Or he’s still embarrassed by his leg wear.

We decided to get Fiona vaccinated, too. She didn’t like it much. I also realized she was a big mess with flies and burs all over her. So she got prescribed pour-over fly repellent. I should have thought of that myself. I’m going to try it tomorrow. She is also stuck in the “dry lot” with Apache now. Maybe that will help her. I have big plans to get her all groomed tomorrow, since everyone else is looking spiffy.

Yeesh. That’s a lot of medical stuff. But, the vaccines and tests plus the dentist are just once a year. Break it down by month and it’s only sort of expensive. I guess.

I’ll just have to squirrel away some funds.

At least hummingbird watching is free. These red salvias the pool guys put in were a good investment. I know the pictures are blurry, but I enjoyed the shapes. These are black chinned hummingbirds, by the way.

My blurry buddies. Males have the white stripe around their necks.

By the way, here’s a good bird article that I accidentally left at the top of the email version of this post. Oops.

Risky Moves

Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

One risk I took was buying and moving into property in a rural part of a state full of people who don’t like people like me. I was concerned that we hermits of the Hermits’ Rest would be truly isolated, other than the folks next door.

I’d always lived in small cities or suburbs, not rural properties. I didn’t know if I’d be able to adapt to the challenges of living with no HOA to keep things tidy, no convenient shopping areas with a Walgreens and a Starbucks every few blocks, and plenty of biting and stinging creatures lurking everywhere.

Prickly pears do have thorns, but it’s wonderful when they bloom.

I’m so glad I discovered I’m quite flexible, I can adapt, and there are plenty of people here that enjoy people like me. I treasure the wide variety of friends I’ve made in this small town, rich and poor, conservative and liberal alike. And it’s such a privilege to have family in our little commune. I’d never have known this was possible without taking the risk of joining Lee in his retirement dreams.

And I’d never have learned so much about the natural world around me. That’s a green heron.

Now I’m the one taking care of livestock, understanding where the dangers are as well as the wonders, and learning new skills every day. I’m bemused by visitors in their shorts and flip flops running from every flying insect and prickly plant. Or worse, being afraid of chickens, horses, or dogs. (You can respect them without fearing them.)

Apache feels as if I don’t respect him, by washing him with medication and putting so much on his legs. But that’s stopping flies!

It takes all kinds, of course, and I’m glad there are options. I bet I could even find community and new things to learn in a downtown of a city. Maybe in my 80s…

Speaking of friends, I’ve come to view Ssssally here as a friend. Might as well.

Drew Has Been Successfully Reformed

I sure hope! You may remember that my little buddy Drew the gray rescue horse had some behavior issues and had to get some remedial education at Tarrin’s equine reform school.

No, really, he’d been injured somehow and was in bad pain, which then caused his arthritis in his back to flare up. He was unable to turn right, was biting, and was terrorizing the other horses. Tarrin and her team had a lot of work to do.

The good news is that the body work, pain relief, injections by the vet, retraining, and some new medication he’ll have to take by monthly injection, he’s back to his old self. I have a horse that can be ridden, even by someone with my meager skills.

I really enjoyed getting a chance to ride him again today. He is able to turn in both directions and is so nice to trot on. I look forward to practicing in the round pen.

Apache is also on a positive trend. He is walking pretty normally and trotting much better. I know he feels better, because he started avoiding me when I show up with a halter. He’s back to his old ways!

I’m not fond of these fly protectors. I’ll just stand here.

Tarrin did some more trimming on his front hooves to help them gradually improve. She also trimmed a bit on the back, since they are also growing. I’m now authorized to exercise him in straight lines and to let him graze at night.

The best thing about today, however, came when Droodles came up to the trailer to get saddled. He and Apache were glad to see each other! Drew did baby horse things to Apache, and they nuzzled and groomed each other. It was incredibly sweet.

They’re all so cute I’m just sharing every picture I took.

When we got them home, I turned Drew out in the pasture with Mabel, Dusty, and Fiona. Again, there was much sniffing and grooming. Then they all ran to the back of the pasture, rubbed on each other, then ran back. Poor Dusty can’t keep up with the speedy ones. When I left, Fiona was looking disgusted, but everyone else was hanging out, with Drew desperately trying to get to Apache through the fence.

We will see if tomorrow there are bite marks everywhere. After two months of no pesky teen, Mabel and Dusty are looking darn smooth.

What Treasures Hide in the Weird Areas

Our last day at Lake Whitney (or the Big Puddle as I’m inclined to call it, since it’s mostly only a foot deep) was mostly a work day, but I found time to hike around near our campsite for an hour around lunchtime. I wanted to see the airstrip that I’d spotted on the map.

The area wasn’t much to look at, since it was pretty scrubby and just had a few trees here and there (what did I expect? It was advertised as being on a prairie). However weird it looked didn’t matter. There was much to observe.

Always look at snags (dead trees). Something will be there.

I have to hand it to this area, there are lots of birds, and they love this type of landscape with mixed open and covered parts. I heard a turkey and a peregrine falcon, along with many of my favorite sparrows, and the new-to-me clay-colored sparrow. There were no tanagers (they like the woods back at the campsite), but I was lucky to experience the sounds of multiple painted buntings calling each other and flying around. Magic! Plus the woodpeckers put on a show. Downies were in mating or territorial frenzies.

More bird action occurred when I went to check out the weird but nice surprise of a whole setup for flying radio-controlled planes. It even had a memorial sign for deceased members. However, those guys weren’t present, so my buddies the barn swallows decided their shelter was an excellent barn substitute. They didn’t appreciate my intrusion. I wonder what happens on plane days?

Yesterday I was too sleepy to write about plants, but today I’m more awake! I’ll say that this scrubby prairie had many flowers to enjoy (and to entice bees and butterflies). Two that were new to me were cute low-growing Comanche Western Daisy (Astranthium ciliatum) and delicate pink diamond flowers (Stenaria nigricans) which are usually white.

Comanche western daisy and diamond flower

Of course my old favorites were also there. I just can’t stop myself from taking photos of insects on milkweed flowers. Not really weeds.

We headed home around three, and once I got the lights on the Jeep to work, all was well. Our first tow vehicle-accompanied trip went very well. We are quite rested.

I wasn’t worried about Apache, because Kathleen took great care of him and the other livestock. He is all medicated up and walking a lot better. Tomorrow he’ll get another trim and we should bring Drew home, too! I sure hope he’s back to his sweet, fun self.

Oh good, Ratty the rat snake is also doing well. She left me three eggs.

Today Was a Proper Camping Day

After yesterday’s constant precipitation, today came as a very welcome change. It was nice and sunny, as well as pleasantly cool. I was ready to get in some exploration of Lake Whitney State Park!

The lake looks way better in the sunshine.

The first thing I did was head back to the Two Bridges Trail for a birdwatching walk. It was led by two fellow Master Naturalists who claimed to be amateurs but have lots of experience.

I think they thought I was weird, but they said I could share their picture with one of the oldest trees in the park.

We had a very good time, even if we didn’t see or hear too much exciting bird action. I learned much about the park and lake. The lake is only about a foot deep, for the most part!

There are vitex trees here, and no one knows how they got there!

The walk ended on a triumphant note when I heard a male painted bunting then actually spotted it. I got a great look with my binoculars and even got this blurry yet identifiable photo.

In the same clump of trees, a Nashville warbler appeared. I’d been hearing them, but this was my first sighting. We felt quite successful.

On the way back, I saw a guy walking down the road who had three cameras and binoculars. I stopped to tell him about the birds and he laughed. The other two had just told him, as well. I guess bird lovers stick together.

When I got back, I sat by the RV and hung out with Lee for a while. I heard an unusual bird, so I turned on Merlin. It was the summer tanagers! We quickly figured out they were close. Sure enough, we got to enjoy great views of both the male and female! He’s solid red and she’s pale yellow. Whew, that’s a lot of bird excitement for one morning.

After lunch I headed out again so I could check out the other trail. It’s called the Towash Forest Trail, but there’s not much forest. Towash is the town that’s now under the lake.

I must say the scenery left a lot to be desired. The first part interested me, because I could see old fences, and trees were all lined up as if they used to be along a fence. I think that part of the trail used to be the road leading to Towash.

Most of the trail went along the lake. There were small trees but lots of dewberries and grapevines. Of course, there were insects. There were disturbing numbers of caterpillars and butterflies, along with a new friend, the bird grasshopper. They were flying off in front of me, just like the butterflies were. I even saw a Gulf fritillary and a black swallowtail but they avoided my camera.

These were all over the evening primrose

Yes, there were birds. There weren’t too many, but I did enjoy finding a flock of coots, watching Scissortail catch a bug, and startling a spotted sandpiper. Again, there were lots of egrets.

Later, after some lovely rest, I couldn’t control my nature-loving self and I blazed through the trees behind our campsite to find the lake we can barely glimpse. It was worth it. This inlet is very natural and beautiful. I saw so many shore birds, ducks, and others!

Having just dozed off, I’m pretty sure I should stop typing. But it was a great day in nature. Ahh.

Damn Damp

Yep. It started raining last night and it’s still raining. It’s also pretty cold. I did not bring the correct clothing on this camping trip. Things have not gone as planned, so we were flexible. We went for a drive.

This reminded me of the Irish coast with the gray skies and bright yellow flowers (gorse).

We went to the other side of Lake Whitney and drove around a Corps of Engineers park, Walling Bend. It wasn’t fancy but was pretty in a disheveled way.

We saw a baptism going on, with mariachi music. Then we drove around a neighborhood looking for houses for sale. Ha ha. It may have been the scariest white supremacist neighborhood I ever drove through. I was glad to be wearing a reddish hat and that there’s a US flag, sorta, on the back of the Jeep. We were incognito.

I did get to go on a half hour walk, in which I managed to see a hummingbird and flock of cattle egrets. Lots more gulls were out. They’re used to being wet.

Most flowers looked pretty sad, but this wild onion looked great.

I guess the good news is that it’s really quiet at the campground! Everybody is inside avoiding all the lightning. Good news is that it should dry out tomorrow. I hope! I really want to hike some more.

Mushrooms like damp. I didn’t find any morels like many of my friends did today (on the east coast).

Other than that excitement, Lee cooked another meal on his George Foreman grill, which seems pretty handy, and we finished watching the show Wednesday, which we started yesterday. I’m glad they still make DVDs for us non-streamers. We enjoyed the show very much. The writing was great.

If it keeps raining, we’ll go back home. Of course, it rained there today, too. I’m dying to try the weird liquid meals Kathleen has to eat to perk up her liver. They’ll probably make me gag, too. Misery loves company, though.

Plus, another row of temperature blanket is fine, with much rain. You can see it’s warming up a bit.

Birds Come to Mind

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

Well, of course birds are the first thing that comes to mind, since I saw and heard at least 50 today. That’s not bad for a day in which I also worked a lot!

Vultures waited patiently for me to come out and play.

Lake Whitney State Park is a birder’s paradise right now. Well, probably all of Texas is during spring migration. I heard so many warblers that my head was ringing. And lots of painted buntings, who finally graced me with visual sightings. The summer tanagers are still hiding, but I have time.

My mousy buddies, the grackles, were also here.

I enjoyed a midday break by hiking the Two Bridges Trail, which wound through lovely wildflowers and woods with very old oaks (live oaks and post oaks I think). There were, in fact, two bridges.

I also finally got to see the lake, which is quite wild and natural looking. It’s probably prettier with blue skies, but we got clouds and nice cool weather.

The trees were beautiful, too. Here are just a few I saw around the park today.

The thing I saw most of, other than plants, were butterflies and caterpillars. I felt like royalty walking down the path as the butterflies scattered upon my approach. Make way for the Queen! Mostly it was orange sulphurs and red admirals. I have no idea what most of the caterpillars are, because I haven’t had time to ID them.

Before I share flowers, I want to show you the family of young armadillos I saw. They were having a grand time jumping around and pouncing on bugs. It was so fun to watch them.

What’s not fun is that I can’t share photos of wildlife I safely observe from a distance without people being compelled to inform me that they carry germs that cause diseases. I do know that. I don’t hug and kiss them, nor any deer that might have ticks, or potentially rabid skunks and raccoons.

Happy babies

Why were there four armadillo, you ask? Well, their females always give birth to four identical babies. Interesting!

Of course, I saw some flowers, including some new ones for me. That’s always fun. Here are a few.

I got all this done while feeling a bit under the weather! We just relaxed all evening and watched a television show, Wednesday, all evening. That may explain why I’m too tired to look up names for things!

Talking to Strangers

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

I’m not as big on talking to people I don’t know as other people in my family are, but I tend to do it more when we go to State Parks and camp for a few days.

People at the parks are often very friendly and interesting. My favorite memory is somewhere in this blog from last year. I’ll repeat for this prompt. I was at Pedernales Falls, and ran into a family playing in the river after I climbed down a zillion stairs to get there. Now, that was okay, because the wildflowers were so spectacular I didn’t notice.

I showed the kids some bugs going back up, and bonded with the dad o er the flowers. They asked if I’d been to the actual falls, and I said no, because it was too far to walk. So they drove me there! And we found more bugs. Dung beetles. I never saw such excited kids. We could hardly drag them away to go look at the falls!

I’ll never forget this sweet family and their dog, who sure let me know I was sitting in her spot in the car!

Today we inaugurated Hermee the Jeep as our tow vehicle and drove to Lake Whitney State park, which is west of West, Texas. We succeeded!

Here I also talked to strangers, even without Lee, who went to get supplies while I finished working and took a walk. It turns out that the large group of Texas Tech people were all band alumni who gather every year at a park. What a fun tradition!

This park is on the eastern edge of the Grand Prairie. The lake was formed by damming the Brazos River.

I also met a nice retired couple and a man with beautiful little dogs. It’s worth talking to strangers in settings where you feel safe!

The park has lots of birds, plus we saw migratory snow geese on our way to the park. I enjoyed hearing summer tanagers and seeing bluebirds and woodpeckers.

Red bellied woodpecker in action.

There are only two official trails, but there are roads and camping areas to check out, too. I won’t be bored. Here are a few views of flowers and fields.

We had a nice dinner thanks to the George Foreman grill Lee came back with. It made quesadillas. He also got a replacement for the overly cheap tiny coffeemaker we’d been using. Wow was it bad, and then it broke! we’re sticking with name brands from now on.

Later we enjoyed how dark it is here and listened to frogs. A great evening! Tomorrow maybe it will be cooler and I can work outside.