barn swallows – The Hermits' Rest

Well, Just Look at All This Contentment

Whenever I get the urge to write about controversial topics, I think about whether what I’m going to say will help folks out or just needle at people. Rather than needle, I think I’ll be a boring blogger and just write about the goodness in my life.

Regardless of my fun-loving long-eared buddy’s opinions, I think contentment is a fine topic. I noticed how Mama Swallow looked content this morning as she gazed at her nearly grown brood, still trying to fit in their nest. She’s almost finished bringing them all those insects!

Much of my own contentment today came from watching little things. There were many Viceroy butterflies dancing around one of the broken willow trees. Maybe they are getting analgesic properties from the sap. Who knows. But it was satisfying to watch all the fluttering.

I know I get repetitive about this. I do. But who cares, since it’s my blog! Just watching Fiona and the horses enjoying their lives brings me a great deal of contentment. Just knowing that they get to roam, graze, and explore their world warms me up inside.

They have alternated between blissful relaxation, diligent chomping, and playing all day today. So much grass to choose from must make them feel good. (And it has NOT made Apache’s feet feel bad, so I know I chose a good time to move them. He was pretty perky in his ground work today).

I had a great time this evening just watching them graze by the pond. Apache loves these little sedges that grow in our moist areas, and there’s a lot of it around the pond. He carefully made his way to the shore and chowed down. That made him thirsty so he splashed and drank and had so much fun that Drew was intrigued, but he never intruded on Apache’s fun.

One of the best things about living here is just watching animals, whether it’s the chickens hopping on bugs, the dogs chasing each other, cattle, or these guys. They remind me that simple things can make you content.

I did get a funny action shot, too.

Shaky shaky

And now for a photo dump.

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.

Bird Report: Cliff and Cuckoo Edition

It’s been an interesting couple of days, bird-wise. We don’t tend to get many new or unusual birds this time of year, since no one’s migrating and we just have our summer residents. But yesterday, I realized we had new guests.

I thought the birds on our electric wire were the grackles who’ve been hanging out here the past few weeks. Earlier, they definitely were grackles. But these birds were shaped more like the barn swallows who nest at the house.

I thought maybe since the babies hatched, the swallows were gathering in new places. I do still see them, just not as many. However, the Merlin Bird ID app I’m so fond of these days clued me in yesterday morning. It heard cliff swallows. Huh!

I went in and got my binoculars, and once I got a closer look, I could confirm that we now have two different swallows flying around. Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are more brown than barn swallows, have a distinct rust-colored patch on their rumps, and their tails are more squared off. They have whiter breast feathers, too. Otherwise, they are similar to barn swallows. They’re found all over the US and nest on cliffs (duh) and under bridges.

Unlike barn swallows, who build separate mud nests for each family, cliff swallows have huge communal nests, also made of mud. They are more social than barn swallows, so if you see large groups flying or hanging out on wires, these are probably what you’re seeing. I noticed a cool thing—the birds always face away from the sun. In the mornings I always see them facing west, and in the evenings, it’s east, at least on our north-south wire.

I’ve been enjoying watching them feed over our front pond. The barn swallows seem to have claimed the back pond for their territory.

The back pond is also the favorite hangout of our yellow-billed cuckoos. I’ve mentioned before that I only realized we had them when Merlin Bird ID heard their sounds. You may have heard them, too. Go to this page and click the “listen” button. Sounds like the jungle!

Lately, many of my Master Naturalist friends are seeing them for the first time. I was getting jealous, since I’d only seen them way in the distance. My friend Donna even wrote a blog mentioning it.

Yesterday, I was reading something from my friend Carolyn Henderson about how she had just seen one, and feeling a jealous twinge, when right above my head was the unmistakable cacophony of a cuckoo, and sure enough, one was right above me, flying low. I guess it was saying, “Fine, here I am already!”

I guess this is the year of the cuckoo and painted bunting, thanks to the sound ID app. Even Lee knows when he hears them now.

Things to Wonder About

Still I’m a little surprised that I managed to get in so many interesting observations when camping under an official “heat dome” phenomenon. I think what helped was that some of the interesting things showed up right next to me.

This little feller was conveniently on my hand this morning. It’s a bronze jumping spider.

It also helps to be around people who are as excited about nature as you are. Our camping neighbors were very excited that one of them had found a live cicada. Then, when he went to show us, it had just emerged from its old exoskeleton. He kept saying, “THAT WAS IN THERE??” It did appear much larger.

Resting up before starting to screech endlessly.

And here’s another beautiful sight to wonder over. This guy, a skink, was two feet from the RV steps. I really appreciate all that nature coming over to show itself to me.

And finally, I didn’t have to go far to see woodpeckers, either. A downy showed up. I like these little birds almost as much as the incredibly entertaining yellow-bellied sapsuckers (they are the smallest woodpecker). My photos weren’t great but I got to see it well through binoculars. The red-bellied male came over so often that I got the feeling he was used to us.

I had to go a little further to get butterfly photos, but there were lots at the campsite, too. I just got all lost enjoying the giant swallowtails meandering around. Here are a few others I saw.

I can’t help it. Buckeyes are too pretty to omit.

I am excited enough just to see new or unusual plants, but some of the other things I ran into filled me with awe. There’s just a lot of STUFF to see if you look around, and you don’t have to be at a park or zoo to see things that bring wonder.

There are wonders right at home, too. This evening, we were watching fledgling barn swallows trying out their swooping and diving techniques. They were small but agile. At some point, we couldn’t believe our eyes. One of those little birds was a large butterfly! It flew with the birds, swirling around like it was one of them. I think Kathleen and I were both dazzled. Did we really see that?

No photos of the flying display, so enjoy this rainbow scarab beetle.

Yep, it pays to be observant, even when you’re just relaxing behind the house. It pays to look around in the water trough, too. That’s where I found the beetle.

Stay safe, Texas friends. It’s HOT.

Unexpected Snappy Visitor and Others

I always look forward to the snapping turtle mating season, when they wander around looking for friends or places to lay eggs or something. This morning I had my camera out in case the cat showed up. A movement caught my eye, and at first I thought it was an armadillo. But nope, it was this traveler.