birds – Page 9 – The Hermits' Rest

I Can Do Whatever I Want

It feels that way, right now, even though I don’t want to do things that cost money (if a recession comes, blame me, because this consumer has stopped spending on anything not horse related).

He’s not too expensive. Just some fungal spray.

All right, then, why do I feel so free? It’s obvious! There’s no pesky job eating up my time. That feels very freeing. I’m liberated, from a scheduling point of view.

She’s free as a bird, or in this case, a turkey with her favorite water bucket and some chickweed.

For example, I had a dental checkup today. Once I got the gas pump to work at the old Cefco station (second time in a row there that I’ve had problems), I made it on time, zipped in, and 40 minutes of cheerful conversation and scraping later, I was free to explore my old stomping grounds in the vortex between Cedar Park and Round Rock, Texas.

Google maps provided this photo of the actual round rock in Round Rock, which was part of the Chisholm Trail.

First I went to the grocery store, the fancy H-E-B where our problem ward Edie used to work. At least I’m over my terror of that place. I had so much fun. Clearly, I’ve not been getting out much lately when seeing the vast offerings of a US grocery store is exciting. I got a lunch sandwich, some rice and couscous side dishes, and hair accessories I’ve been needing for months. It felt weird to spend money. I’m getting the hang of my new frugal lifestyle.

Carlton points out that while he is not free, he’s pretty inexpensive.

I took my lunch over to Brushy Creek Lake Park, a place I used to go pretty often before it was fancy. Brushy Creek is beautiful in this part of Williamson County, and I thought it would be fun to see what’s living around there. Why not? I didn’t have anywhere else I needed to be!

The lake is still nice and had some shore birds and even white ducks, domesticated I guess. I found many familiar plants that grow in limestone karst areas, and of course, bluebonnets.

One warning, the wooded areas near the lake are covered with very healthy poison ivy!

But there are also fun water plants and friendlier vines to enjoy.

Smilax rotundifolia or Round leaf greenbrier

I ended up hearing or seeing 45 birds there, which is challenging considering I spent much of my time next to or under Parmer Lane, with its many lanes of traffic.

There were many American and Lesser Goldfinches, the usual Great-tailed Grackles of the greater Austin metro area, and plenty of titmice and sparrows.

The biggest highlight for me was hearing two Cooper’s Hawks communicating then seeing one swoop down into a tree right next to me. I couldn’t get a really clear shot, but I was nice and close!

On my way out, I checked to see if the labyrinth was still there. It was, and appears to be maintained at least some.

After I said a silent word of gratitude, I turned to leave. I’d noticed some of the matting under the gravel was showing, making it look like garden hoses, or something.

I realized one of the hose-like items was shinier than the others. It was a pretty rat snake sunning itself on the rocks. I enjoyed looking at it for a while. I felt like it was my gift for checking on the labyrinth.

On my way home, I drove along the creek to downtown Round Rock. I passed the rock. I was sad to see more new houses, but glad to see at least some of the beautiful wooded areas still thriving. It’s a wonderful bike or hiking trail.

My hiking was to the left. My old house was somewhere near the word “Google.”

There was plenty of time when I got home to hang out with the family and try to clean up Apache. He took so long I didn’t even try to de-mud any others. Mabel has the huge mud balls on her mane again, sigh.

I was glad to see Apache still doing fine, other than a bit sensitive around his face. Funny thing. I raised up his jump as Tarrin suggested. Apache zoomed towards it, then saw it was higher. He put on his brakes and slid in the muddy ground to stop. I’ll have to work on that!

Indicating they’d like to be left alone.

I wonder what crazy stuff I’ll do tomorrow? Whatever I want!

Worn Out

How on earth can I be worn out on a day when I couldn’t do much due to drizzle? That’s easy. I wore my mind out.

I lost my detachment from current events and got angry. It’s a good thing fewer than 30 people read my Substack, because I went off on the concept of “improper ideology” for many paragraphs. You can read it if you want to. I just blathered. It will bite me in the butt someday, but I’m old and have no employer to defer to, so who cares?

Bluebonnets and slightly more full pond.

I got my stuff ready for our in-person horse show tomorrow, though Apache is filthy and I’m not sure how great he feels. My shoulder still hurts a lot, but otherwise I’m okay. I have all sorts of wound care and cleaning stuff for him. I just hope I have time to get him ready.

That black-and-white blob is a Mournful Thyris moth.

Ah well. I’m glad for the rain. It’s much greener already. Maybe more will come, after tomorrow.

Brain hurts. Worn out. Good night.

Thanks, Ma Nature, Candles Are Fun

Weirdly, the temperature range today was just five degrees. That made for an interesting square in my temperature blanket with two shades of yellow for the low and high temperatures Fahrenheit.

We had a couple warm days this week (Orange is when I start to sweat (85-89°)).

The reason for this stasis is that we finally had a good rain front come through, which hadn’t happened since last month. People south of us got much more, but we are closing in on an inch here, which will at least moisten the parched wildflowers and raise the levels in the ponds/tanks a bit.

More is predicted for tomorrow, so I’m hoping Mother Nature will be kind to us, even though the rain made Dusty and Drew go into wild stallion mode all day. So much rearing, kicking, and neck snaking has to be hard on them both.

To top the day off, we lost power right as I was getting ready to cook dinner. I set the last pot on the stove and was about to cut up onions when the power started to flicker. After about ten minutes of that, the lights went off for a couple of hours. I’d say that forced some downtime but that’s not true. I took a walk in the rain with the big umbrella and was rewarded with the haunting sounds of Upland Sandpipers, followed by much ado from a Greater Yellowlegs, another shore bird with an unforgettable sound. The rain had it pretty excited.

The horses were quite concerned at the sight of me with the unfamiliar umbrella. High alert!

After a candlelight hamburger dinner, the power came back so Lee could get back to bookbinding and I could finish my crochet squares. This domestic tranquility reminds me that there was a good event this morning.

Yes, this morning I was reading email in bed, when I heard dog footsteps. I looked, and Carlton and Penney were both in the bed. What?

I was being good. Just like this, only in bed.

It was Harvey. He’d made it upstairs, which he’d only tried twice before, since his stroke or whatever happened. But there he was, happy as he could be. The important thing is that after I got dressed and went downstairs, he came down in his own. Lee heard it, and he said it sounded more graceful than last time. I guess his liver medication is helping (it costs more than any of our human medicine).

It’s good to see Harvey helping Alfred guard the premises.

I’m hoping for more rain, then for a nice clear Saturday, assuming Apache and I are healed up enough to do the show. He seems fine. My shoulder is messed up, which may have something to do with the hoof-shaped bruise on my upper arm. I’ll live, I’m sure!

My shoulder isn’t too bad, anyway. I managed to lift 40-pound bags of alfalfa and salt that the previous horses needed. I’m a strong older person!

Enjoy this bonus ground cherry, which is undoubtedly happy with Ma Nature tonight!

A Tale of Two Hiking Trails

And two ecosystems

Yesterday, I walked along (and off of) the Texas Oak Trail here at Lake Brownwood State Park. It runs along the lake shore and the ridge above it.

The terrain went up and down among wooded terrain with beautiful rocks that looked like stacked stone and some open areas as well. There were mostly oak and cedar elms but other trees were scattered around as well.

My favorite was the Mexican Buckeye, which was blooming away in pink splendor and attracting all kinds of insects. These are cool trees because they have pretty leaves and interesting seed pods in winter. I don’t think they’d do well in our soil, though.

I found many plants among the rocks, which made up for how hard some of the rock scrambling was for me.

Blue curls (a beautiful flower) Phacelia congesta

I heard many birds, and even got to see some Spotted Towhees under a big live oak.

When I got off the lakeside trail there was more karst terrain with mesquite and many cacti. I really like the lacy ones.

At some point the trail got harder and harder to follow and I ended up going astray a couple of times. It ended up okay, because I got to get good looks at some old Civilian Conservation Corps benches, tables, and a fireplace. After that, I just plunged down the hill.

I did enjoy many vistas from the top of the ridge, though, so the complexity was worth it. I really enjoyed the varied terrain and diverse plants, though I was pretty tired when I got back. I needed a nap!

Never fear, though, the idea of eating Japanese food for dinner revived me, so I was fully present when we drove to Brownwood to eat at Katana. Wow, the former Pizza Hut hides a gem. They had interesting and reasonably priced rolls, and the ramen I had was divine. It was in a beef bone broth and had all the perfect additions. I ate every drop. No doubt about it—I miss GOOD Japanese food a LOT.

These are genuinely Japanese signs, judging from the misspelling of “daily.”

Today I went on a very different hike. It’s much quieter here now that the spring break crowd has left. Lee reminds me we can camp on weekdays now, too. Ah, peace and quiet.

That’s exactly what I found on the Nopales Trail today, three miles of peace and yes, prickly pear cactus.

Yep. It wasn’t too cactus-y but they were there.

There was much goodness about this hike. First, it was a little cooler than yesterday with a pleasant non-gale breeze. Second, it was mostly flat (it’s the bike trail) so a little easier on my aging lower limbs.

The part that was less exciting was that there wasn’t much variation in the plant life. It was a combination of oak mottes and fields dotted with mesquite. That’s about it.

And bird life was quite consistently Cardinals, Bewick’s Wrens, White-eyed Vireos, and the occasional Spotted Towhees. All nice birds, but that’s all you heard other than incredibly loud fighter jets on training runs. Yow, they were loud, but fun to watch once I could find them with the binoculars.

This hike was blissfully relaxing. I stopped whenever I wanted to, enjoyed listening to a roadrunner, and just basked in the quiet. It was just about perfect for me. I was truly happy, at least for an hour or two, leaving the cares of the world behind. It was an interlude to treasure.

Friends, I know you’ve been reading endless suggestions to go out in nature to help you cope with uncertainty. It’s not a bad suggestion at all. I feel practically human again after this trip, ready to face the next challenges and even do some of that activist work Georgia has mentioned.

You, too, might find an Olympia Marble (Euchloe olympia) butterfly!

Losing Myself in Birds

What activities do you lose yourself in?

There are many activities I enjoy. Right now, though, birding is what I lose myself in. Time stands still and I let myself feel at peace when I’m watching their antics. They are so different and fascinating to me.

Today was all about birds, starting with a birding boat trip where I saw eight new birds for my life list. We went into the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and were delighted by the variety of species good old Captain Tommy spotted (I spotted some, too).

The highlight, of course, was spotting many Whooping Cranes enjoying their crab fests. We lucked out and got to observe parents and a hefty juvenile fairly close. The crabbing was excellent.

We saw a couple of pairs fly off, too. Those massive aviators are so graceful.

We also got to see Oystercatchers nesting, many different gulls, Roseate Spoonbills, cormorants (both kinds), White Ibis, and young Great Blue Herons. The adults are all nesting.

You can’t see it, but an Oystercatcher nest is in that brush. We also saw many huge barges.

After the boat, we journeyed to Port Aransas, which was a longer ride than usual thanks to ferry delays (spring break). But the place we went was pretty darned impressive, even if it was right next to the sewer plant and garbage truck headquarters. It was the Leonabelle Turner Birding Center, with beautiful boardwalks overlooking hundreds of water birds.

The water was so clear you could see what the teals and shovelers were shoveling. Oh there were so many ducks!

There were also herons and egrets galore, who hung out with Ibises.

A flock of White Pelicans had camped out in the distance.

Also there were Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-necked Stilts, Coots, and Gallinules. So many birds. The stilts were hilarious and by far my favorite.

I’m too tired for more details, but we had a good day, especially when helping others or learning from more knowledgeable folks. We met many very cool people.

Meteorological Warm Fuzzies

After all the horse hugging yesterday, I did not expect the weather to be nice to me today, but it was! Now, it’s still windy as heck, but I guess that’s typical March coming in like a lion stuff.

I’ve been unhappy with the weather, because all the flowers are coming up late, but it turns out it’s not just here. Friends elsewhere report similar late spring plant activity. I did go wander through the property today to check for flowers coming up, and they are there, just not up as far as usual. Whew.

The weather even blew a Barn Swallow into the house when a door blew open, which I’m sure was no fun for it. Luckily it found its way back out and the house isn’t all poopy.

The day was so lovely and sunny, though, which was a gift after so many days of angry clouds and dust. Imagine my surprise when we got a severe thunderstorm warning just as I was finishing a call with my financial advisor (depressing).

Can you see green leaves forming on the trees?

I went out to feed the animals and get everything all cozy, and even had time to ride Apache before it got ominous out. The rain that came was pleasant and didn’t last too long. Afterwards I noticed the sun came out while it was still drizzling. I knew was warm fuzzy gift that would bring!

It was one of the fullest rainbows I’d seen here in a long time. It was very intense, which is hard to tell from pictures.

Little things like light refracting on water droplets can make one’s day!

But more awaited me. The nearly full moon rose and peeked over some leftover rain clouds and was so pretty I had to stop my errands to watch it.

There were no clouds in the west, so all the color you see is from the setting sun hitting the clouds.

Right now, when our horizons are quite cloudy, pausing to enjoy gifts like rainbows and sunsets can make all the difference.

Rocks and Water Both Heal

It was a good day at Inks Lake State Park today. Jennifer stayed until she had to check out at noon, which was good. We enjoyed having a fellow camper to talk to.

I took a little walk this morning to check out the campsites farther down the road, many of which were beautifully wooded or right on the lake where all the ducks and geese are.

I enjoyed a half hour or so on the fishing dock, which was nice and quiet, other than quacking and honking. There was a pair of white pelicans as well as entertaining coots, a cormorant, and many ducks, including a Lesser Scaup in the mix. I greatly enjoyed the diving and popping back up that they were all engaging in. Just being around water and the life it supports made me feel better.

After lunch I embarked on one of my really long solo hikes I impose on myself. I went on a trail that went next to the lake for a while then way up into the karst formations and around a hill. It was very windy, but I did manage to find some Black-throated Sparrows, which excited me. They were ones I enjoyed at Southern Llano River.

Mostly I just had fond memories of hiking this same trail soon after I met Lee and other hikes when all the interesting plants were blooming. The red rocks with lichen growing on them, the tiny plants that grow in puddles when it rains, and the hardy little trees are just so much fun to look at.

And then there were so many views of the lake and surrounding hills. Ahh. It was just me and the vultures (many) for most of the hike.

After four miles, I was tired, so Lee and I made dinner and ate outside while listening to hundreds of Great-tailed Grackles shrieking. Such ambience!

We topped it off with sunset viewing on the dock, and finished the fifth and final season of the West Wing. I’ll miss the characters as well as the ideas of democracy the show portrayed.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes, but all but 15 minutes of it should be fine. If I’m not grounded and healed from all these rocks, I don’t know what will do it!

We don’t have to leave until mid afternoon. That’s great!

The Hits Keep Coming

I don’t know what to do but laugh. This month has just been chock full of unpleasant stuff, but like one of those clown toys from when I was a kid, when I’m hit I just fall down and pop back up.

It the right image but the toy looks best up. Image from Pexels.

That’s new for me. I used to fall apart. Now I react, but deal with it better. The bad news isn’t everything in life, I realized at last. There’s always good, too. Here’s an example.

Yesterday I’d been thinking how proud of myself I was. I’d paid my credit cards down and could see them being all gone in a few weeks. Ha ha. Wishful thinking! I’d only get that feeling for a few hours.

I’d been looking forward to yesterday for a long time. My friend Lynn Hagan was receiving an award from Texas A&M, and she’d invited some friends to attend the reception and banquet. We had to wear nice clothes!

I went to pick up my friend Pamela, who defied all the odds and was not late. We were enjoying a trip down the back roads of Milam County, on our way to get Phyllis, when I got a phone call from the contracting company I work for. as I tried to navigate unfamiliar roads I was informed that Dell has decided to end my contract next week. I’m out of work!

I’m impressed by how well I handled the call. I’d had inklings something was up, though I won’t know for sure until I talk to my supervisor Monday. I’m more annoyed that they couldn’t wait until the contract ended so I’d have time to get Social Security set up (if I do get it…times are uncertain). But I’m just fine. I’ll wait to see what the story is there, and in the meantime I’ll see what’s out there. It will be okay.

I admit I was not feeling great as I drove to College Station, but I ended up meeting many fascinating people and making friends at the reception and meal. It felt so good to be in a room full of humanities and science majors! I miss being around people of my background sometimes, though I feel like an intellectual elite person when I say that. It was fun violently agreeing on many topics and making everyone feel welcome.

I’m glad we were able to go support Lynn as she got her huge framed award.

I couldn’t sleep last night but I did not lay there and blame myself for the job thing or panic about loss of income. I just couldn’t sleep.

But today I did just fine, got all animals at least partly groomed. Mabel kept asking to be brushed more. By the time she decided to leave, her mane was gleaming. And Fiona let me work on her, too. Yay.

Today we are at Inks Lake State Park, which is too crowded for me. But our friend Jen is here, too, which will make it fun to do bird stuff. I’m going to work on my resume and try not to kick myself for dyeing my hair ends purple. Makes me look eccentric.

Onward! It will be fine.

Doing Something about It

The Universe has spoken. I’m on the right path for right now, and I’m reaping the rewards. Now I need to be an example for others. I’ll explain.

But first, look, I made a thing. It’s a small bag to hang on a hook next to where I sit in the RV. It will hold my nail file, pencils, and scissors. Not having an end table is a pain.*

I’m feeling somewhat better now that I can be outside more. I was even able to work in the porch today. No wonder I was able to hear 50 birds today.

My view was these two cows. One was not feeling well and the other stayed with her, licking her until they napped.

And more horse time has also helped. Lee put out more hay today, and while everyone else wanted to get into the hay, Dusty just hung around with me and let me remove burs. So when Lee was done, I gave Dusty a bonus meal and a grooming session. That helped, because he’s shedding even more than Apache. We even took a nice walk around the obstacles. He liked that. Much hugging was involved.

He’s looking good for his advanced age, just thin.

After I was finished working I fed everyone and took Apache out on a ride. He’s getting so much better at home. We had fun, and he genuinely seemed to enjoy hanging out with me. More hugging occurred.

I ended up taking lots of horse and donkey photos after trying to de-bur Fiona. I only got partway through. My hands hurt.

I know all those bird observing and horse hugging is good, because I went to a tarot group meeting this evening on Zoom. I appreciated the invitation, because I’d been wanting to get back to more readings, but didn’t want to get a scary one all alone. We did a five-card spread and each did our own analysis.

It may look depressing, but it made sense.

I won’t go into what each position was for, since the spread was just for this group. The gist of my interpretation is that I’m one broken-hearted wise woman who needs to turn away from what makes her sad and go meditate or whatever. As usual, the cards back up what I’m trying to do! The Emperor tells me I’m on a path of leadership, and that’s a nudge to go be a good example more. I’ll heed that advice and go do something: be a more vocal proponent of peace and universal love.

Anyway, that was a different and fun day!

*there is no pattern for this. It’s got a single crochet base and double crochet sides using two strands of Dishie cotton yarn. I seamed the center with slip stitches and added a handle 5 stitches wide. I put this here because I know people always want patterns, but this was just a utilitarian object.

Consequences of the Cold

The recent cold spell has taken a lot out of me. Combined with mourning from losing Goldie and being sad that the Red House on Fannin got rented out, I’ve been not much fun. I’m glad we will get income from the house, but it was fun fixing it up to be the Airbnb. Another failed enterprise. We’re racking them up.

In good news, I unpacked these pretty things from boxes we’d stored at the Red House.

I’m not going to be a part of any more joint ventures with friends and family from now on. Hold me to that. I really stink at such things, and sitting inside in the cold gave me too much time to dwell on past mistakes, knowing perfectly well that beating myself up over past errors and regrets in judgement is not productive. Learn from mistakes and move on, I’ve been repeating that.

I also found my really good bowls and gave away many things to my son and his coworkers. That felt good.

The cold was hard on the birds I usually hang out with, too. For two days in a row I only observed a few birds on Merlin. Yesterday, it saddened me to find one of the male Barn Swallow scouts had died on the porch. I put it safely to rest and then washed my hands a lot in case he had bird flu.

The chickens and Connie made it through the cold snap by staying in their house. They didn’t stop laying eggs, though. Today they were back to normal outdoor activities and Connie finally laid a big ole turkey egg. Here it is compared to her first egg (I saved it).

Today it finally warmed up and I was able to spend my usual amount of time outside. It made a big difference, since I started the day really dragging and ended up with stories to tell Lee.

All the chairs now have cushions, making for good patio time.

I was able to pull some burs off the equines and do more than stick food under their noses and flee. That pleased everyone but Drew, who just isn’t in a good space.

Since I was out a lot, I got to hear and see fun bird action. The Barred Owl was hooting much of the day, which is always fun. There were ducks flying around, too, at least three kinds. Of course, the sparrows, chickadees, and Cardinals entertained a lot. They all seemed glad it warmed up.

I was walking along the fence line listening to a Red-tailed Hawk making some of its weird calls when something white bounced off my head. I looked up to see all the mistletoe above me was full of round, white berries.

Did one just fall on me? No. It quickly became obvious that one of the Mockingbirds had dropped it. It hopped over to the fence then into the bush next to me, scolding me with mistletoe still in its beak. I understood that I was on his territory (must be a male, because he’d been singing earlier) and retreated with a smile on my face.

Hooray. I need my bird observation and horse time to keep me out of my funks and remind me about that living in the moment thing I’m supposed to be aiming for. Darn those polar vortexes.