birdwatching – The Hermits' Rest

Stumpy success

Now, that took a while. The huge stump has been sitting in the corner of the back yard for months.

It’s been many weeks since flat bits were created on the surface.

Spring Stumpy with bird bath fountain and flat spots.

I have been adding bird seed whenever rain or wind washed it off. I waited patiently, knowing the birds had plenty to eat after all the rain. But yesterday, out of the corner of my eye, I caught motion. A sparrow was eating some seed!

Today I looked over at the stump every time I went out to check the bird phone for new birds (Swainson’s Hawk today!). Sure enough, the House Sparrows are eating my admittedly low-quality offerings.

Since I’ve established that birds have discovered Stumpy’s magical gifts, I can now give them better stuff. I even sprinkled some corn mixture on the ground to attract the doves who have been hanging around. Tomorrow I’ll break out some better seed mix I’ve been hoarding so maybe songbirds will see what’s there. I can store all the food safely in my birding hut, too, since I have a tightly sealed bin. Winter may be fun when all the various sparrows return.

It makes me feel trusted when Carlton sleeps right next to me—he feels safe.

Looking and learning

I’m pretty much wiped out, but today was extra, extra fun. I enjoyed listening to and watching birds behind the hotel. I got to watch Lesser Goldfinches eating thistle seeds and the happiest Raven, who had scored an entire biscuit. I also saw unidentified animals in the hills.

Hard to believe this is behind the business district.

Next we met a fun young woman named Alison, who showed us some representative houses here that might work as summer homes. Alison was a lot of fun. We met in a restaurant where her fiancé painted a cool mural.

There was quite a collection of properties to see, ranging from sad small condos to rustic cabins to a house nicer than ours. It reminded me of the good old days when we bought houses and fixed them up.

Of course, I also found flowers that elk hadn’t eaten. This is scarlet cinquefoil.

I didn’t think anything would match all my criteria:

Not too big
No close neighbors
Space to park an RV
Lots of nature
Attractive view

Two did. One rustic place in need of some TLC near town, and one doublewide in a more rural area in really good shape. (There are so many well preserved mobile homes here.) They both are quirky, which I like.

The lady who owned the rural house had taken great care of the yard, which I liked. It was very low maintenance. The other one needed occasional weed whacking. Anyway. Here are a couple things I enjoyed in other houses.

Upstairs family room in a house that was too big

After a lot of driving around, we dropped Alison back off at the restaurant and went back to look at the area where the rural house is. It’s a big, green high mesa with a mix of double wides and nice traditional homes. There are also many horse properties nearby. However, the most interesting thing is in the middy of the neighborhood. A rock shop. Not just a shop, but the place where miners of fancy rocks with geodes and other beautiful formations inside process the raw material!

We got to see all the grinding and polishing stations. It was fascinating! We got to look at beautiful examples of the finished products and watch a slideshow of how they mine the rocks (almost all in New Mexico). after mining, they put back all the dirt they dug and seed it with appropriate plants. I was impressed.

After that, Lee took me to the Noisy Water winery outdoor gathering place, where we sat under trees and drank wine and ate charcuterie. I also listened to birds. Of course. They had a petting zoo, so I went over and said hi to the goats and other residents.

This one licked my hand clean. Yes I washed it.

But wait, you ask. Did you see any interesting mammals? Of course I did. Many elk, of which I just share a few, and a herd of wild horses serenely grazing next to a parking lot. Apparently that’s common. That was the last fun wild animal I was looking for, so yay. No bears. That’s fine.

This was a fun whirlwind trip. I’m glad we are coming back in September so I can do non-real estate activities.

I want to look at more flowers like this Rocky Mountain zinnia

I have no idea if Lee intends to buy a property. I understand why. Texas is getting more scary to us as time goes on. But we love our ranch and don’t want to go away from our family there. A summer getaway would be ok.

What else is in Waco?

We’ve been to Waco a number of times before, about once a year. It’s one of the closest cities to us and is in a pretty setting. We also go to Bryan/College Station sometimes and Temple, but Temple has no very interesting spots to visit, while the other two, having large universities, feature museums and a lot of Texas-y stuff. We avoid most of the yee-haw places and still find plenty to do.

You know you’re in Waco when you see this. Like they always show the Eiffel Tower in France, the Alico building symbolizes Waco. I don’t know much about it other than it survived a hurricane.

Before you delve into your travel advice, we know all about Dr Pepper, the Texas Rangers. those down-home Gaines people, and such. We didn’t go to any Baylor museums, since I figure I’ll go there at the October Master Naturalist annual meeting. It’s right here at this hotel.

Where did we go? First we went to the Lake Waco Wetlands, since I’d really enjoyed it there on a field trip a few years ago. Back then it was lush and green and filled with aquatic plants, insects, and birds. The lake was full.

My Master Naturalist group—this was my first field trip.

This year, it looked very different.

There was no boardwalk, the lake was dry, and typical prairie plants were growing everywhere. All the systems that used to filter the water were broken. I didn’t have the heart to photograph those. So, the visit was different. Nonetheless, we enjoyed walking around. I got many plant and bird observations, including an Indigo Bunting duet.

I pondered and hypothesized about what had happened to this place. I knew it was probably in the news. Yes, back at the hotel I read that flooding two years ago took out most of the infrastructure of this fascinating natural water filtering system. Please read this excellent report from last March about the plans to rebuild it so the equipment is less vulnerable. The article also gives the history of the wetland. Worth taking a break to read.

The second place we went also has an interesting story and is a ways outside of Waco. It’s Homestead Heritage, an intentional community that has been going for 50 years. Being near Waco, one’s first thought might be, “Run! It’s a cult!” And there are spiritual aspects and they do wear simple clothing. But really it’s a community where they create and teach old ways of doing things.

Each building is a renovated old one of a different style.

There is a cafe selling farm-to-table food, a cheese place, glass blowing, pottery, a forge (real!), leather work and so on. You can even take quick classes in most of the trades. (They also have longer classes.) I met a lovely birder/water colorist who’s doing a series on Texas birds. And I loved the handmade brooms. But my favorite part was the mill.

This mill is hundreds of years old and was moved to this location.

I could have watched it slowly create flour for hours, with all its wheels, belts, and pulleys. They grow the corn and wheat in the community. I got some grits after we enjoyed some delightful lemonade. Mine was watermelon mint, and I got to watch the young woman make it by hand. Lots of watermelon squishing. The lemonade concentrate was pre-made, by them.

The woodworking area was so organized and perfect. The woodwright was sharpening a set of chisels to give his apprentice so he’d stop using his. Ha! They have some really intense woodworking classes. I know my coworker would enjoy that part of the shop area. The hand tools were fascinating.

Of course I saved the best for last and had lots of fun at the knitting, spinning, and weaving shop. There were so many huge looms making complicated patterns of cloth. A spinner patiently showed a little girl how plying worked, much to the girl’s delight. I wish I had photos of the place, but I was too busy looking.

I really enjoyed this place. It reminded me of Silver Dollar City in Branson, but with just the craft parts. it wasn’t crowded, so you could really talk to the community members. They were friendly but not in a scary way. You get a good feeling from them. I later read they are pacifists. That kind of old-fashioned Christians. Hmm. Read more about Homestead Heritage for yourself on their site. I’m glad Kathleen mentioned finding this place.

After a nap, we ate a lot of sushi at a little restaurant across the street from the hotel. I enjoyed a boba tea, too.

I went for a walk by the river and observed many unhoused people enjoying the river view. There were also plenty of invasive plant species, bits of garbage, and endless loud motorcycles and farting tiny sporty cars. I’ll stop complaining about loud pickup trucks at home. This is worse. Still, the Brazos is beautiful. I also enjoyed walking around the convention center area.

All in all, we had a fine day in the Waco area! There’s lots to do beyond the obvious.

Encouraging News Tidbits

I was too tired last evening to write anything, then I didn’t get much sleep last night (Lee lost his phone and used his watch to find it, soon after I fell asleep—that got me wide awake for a few hours). I guess I should have blogged then, huh?

This is what I would have blogged about. My friend Phyllis found it at the thrift store. I guess they aren’t as popular as they once were.

Things have been pretty stable, at least for me and Lee, the past few days, which doesn’t lead to exciting essays. No complaints, though! It gives my mind space to send good thoughts out to others. Bonus!

There have been more signs of spring showing up, like this beautiful early Pipevine Swallowtail that I got some blurry photos of. Hmm, maybe the Presidents’ Day holiday will prompt me to trade my phone in for one with a good camera.

I’ve been seeing sulphurs and a couple of whites, too. I just hope we don’t get another freeze and set things back again. It can happen this time of year.

Most of my weekend will be spent counting birds, as it’s Great Backyard Bird Count time again. I got 60 species today, mostly because all the sparrows are still here.

I’m still here. Enjoy my singing while you can.

Yesterday I would have had over 70 species if I’d believed Merlin. My last capture had parrots, flycatchers that aren’t here this time of year, and some European something. I smartly checked the recording and realized it hadn’t gotten the location from the GPS and was identifying birds of the world. I discarded all those fancy non-Texan birds.

I’m encouraged, nonetheless. I’ll get some real birds, even though it’s going to rain tomorrow (also good news).

Just a Bit o’ Nature

I’m so tired. Trying to work and take in the negativity in the world takes a lot of energy.

The best part of the day was that it warmed up enough to go sit with the birds for a half hour after work. Bluebirds were singing and singing for some reason, which was heavenly. And so many woodpeckers, including Flickers, added to the chorus.

That helped.

Tomorrow is a long day of stressful meetings. At least there are few days like that in this job.

Just keep doing your best. That’s my goal.

New Year’s Fun for People and Birds

The natural world greeted me as soon as I woke up on New Year’s morning. I looked out the side window and saw a large bird walking along the pond shore, of which there is a lot, thanks to inadequate rain. What was it?

The white blob to the right of the tree is the bird.

Luckily one of my many pairs of binoculars is stored on the windowsill for just this kind of occasion (along with the tools Lee used on his most recent home improvement attempt). Now I could see it, and I was happy.

Why was I so happy to see a bird that’s around here all the time? Because I so rarely see them on the ground, doing their shorebird thing. Usually I hear their very distinctive call, and occasionally see them flying with their legs tucked under like landing gear.

I tend to see the underside. Photos are from Merlin Bird ID. My only photos are blobs.

I like these birds lots, mainly because they were the first bird to visit our front pond after it filled with water. I had to ID it, gasp, from a book! They were also one of the first shorebirds whose call I learned. Here’s more from Merlin on Greater Yellowlegs:

Fairly large shorebird with bright yellow legs. Plumage is essentially identical to Lesser Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Greater is larger overall with longer, thicker, more upturned bill, longer neck, blockier head, and bigger chest. Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Lesser Yellowlegs. Somewhat more likely to be found in larger, more open habitats than Lesser, but much overlap. Listen for strong, ringing “tew tew tew!” calls, louder than Lesser, and usually three or four notes instead of one or two (though Greater can also give single notes). (from Merlin Bird ID)

The highlight of yesterday’s sighting was that it stayed, along with some Killdeer, long enough for me to watch it with the good binoculars as it ran through shallow water sticking its slightly curved bill just under the surface, sorta like how a skimmer does when flying. I now know they don’t poke into the dirt, but rather skim the water. Yay for citizen science!

Once I settled into the birding station, I also got to watch a cute Eastern Phoebe get all plumped up for an extended grooming session. I like how the ones here are more yellow than others I’ve seen.

Blob to the right of the pole is the Phoebe. I still hate this phone camera.

This morning I had a Loggerhead Shrike land on the birding station roof. I know that because it then sat on the fence right in front of me. Such striking birds. Wish I’d had the good camera.

I’m off to an adventure this afternoon, so maybe I’ll get more blurry photos (too much walking to carry the big lens camera).

That’s Better! Birds and Plants and Peace

At last! I have my stamina back. I can walk as far as I want to and not start panting. So I did that today. I walked a lot.

This Dusky Blue Groundstreak butterfly has a fake head and wiggling fake antennae on its back side. Clever.

Here at Brazos Bend State Park, I investigated some of the bends, horseshoe lakes created by creeks and rivers when they change course. This morning I crossed Big Creek to check out Hale Lake, which has a cool path that loops inside the horseshoe. The paths aren’t very well maintained, but there have been so many hurricanes and such lately that aesthetics may not be a priority. The ancient benches and gazebos still work.

Anyway. Even the many, many recently downed trees didn’t detract from how pleasant the walk was and how pretty the views were.

This is a White-striped Longtail, a skipper butterfly. It’s so graceful when flying.

I enjoyed many birds, especially a pair of garrulous Kingfishers who had a lot to say to each other. It was a nice break from the incessant cawing of the crows, starting before daybreak.

It was just great to take my time and check out new plants and scenery. It’s so good to go into discovery mode and let the pressing issues of the day slip by. Peace. Ah.

I can open my eyes to amazing sights, like sedges growing out of a log in the lake.

After I got back, Lee and I went for a drive around the area where he came from. There are many pretty parts, but so many industrial complexes. I don’t think I’d want to live there just from all the chemicals in the air.

But we did find some bird sanctuaries and interesting wildlife areas to explore.

The path I went down at the wildlife management area we found was not being maintained any longer. How did I know? An immense oak tree blocked my passage. It’s probably from the most recent storm.

Back at Brazos Bend, I checked out the next lake on my list, Elm Lake. It’s made from a dam, I think. This was late afternoon, so the light was pretty. I was delighted by the number of new water plants I found.

However, I was practically overwhelmed by the number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flying off to roost. Those are some loud and strange birds.

In addition to more Anhingas, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, herons, and egrets, I had a real-life Tippi Hedren moment. I heard noises in the swamp, which got louder and louder. I realized it was a huge flock of grackles making its way toward the lake. They were sneaky, not flying together in a murmuration, but going slowly from tree to tree until they were above me. Eek.

So I moved on, and found the swampy area where the birds roost. The herons were really pretty.

But then it got creepy again. An owl started hooting (Barred Owl), and odd sounds that were not from birds began. First there was a bullfrog. I’m okay with those. Then an alligator. It was far away. Then something else.

About that time a man who was obviously a birder showed up (camera, binoculars, birding hat). I asked him what he thought the sound was. Feral hogs. Yep. Once he proposed that it made sense.

There’s a flying heron and a duck in ia tree in this image.

We left, but had a nice chat until I turned to find Lee, who had met me in the parking lot, because the sun was setting. I was glad.

Well, I packed a lot of fun into today!

Best Birding at Home Ever!

Today was misty and damp, plus I had a lot on my plate between work and chores. Still, the time I did manage to steal time for firing up Merlin Bird ID and listening to/looking for birds paid off big time. I just knew I’d see cool birds this spring, eventually.

I can’t bury the lead: look who helped me feed the horses and shovel poop this evening! It’s a yellow-headed blackbird! Whoa! It was quite friendly and just hung around as I did chores (I was hyperventilating that I saw what I thought I saw).

Very cool migrant I welcomed from Mexico.

The morning was equally exciting. I heard a weird sound when I was out feeding chickens. Then I recalled Lee saying he’d heard something that sounded like a heron, but not like our usual ones. Sure enough, it was a green heron.

You can’t see it, but they were by this pond.

Actually, I saw them flying and realized it was a pair. We have them sometimes, so it wasn’t a big surprise, but the amount of calling these guys did helped cement the sound of green herons in my mind. They went on all day, I think.

Another bird was giving a concert as well. The great crested flycatcher had come up before, and I always figured Merlin had it confused with our common (yet breathtaking) scissor tail flycatchers.

However, the pair (or more) in the woods today sounded distinctly different from their showy cousins. I could tell exactly where they were, because they were calling repeatedly, but I only got a glimpse of two of them changing trees.

But wait, there’s more. Also among the cacophony (of course with cardinals, wrens, titmice, and woodpeckers), was another cool bird. I sure wish I’d seen the yellow-breasted chat, though hearing it was interesting enough. This is another bird I thought might have been identified in error, but when it repeatedly registered and I became able to pick it out, I believed it.

Even if you aren’t a birder, you can see why I was pretty happy with today’s variety—39 birds in all, even without all the winter sparrows. There was a gray catbird in the mix, too, and I almost got a photo of it!

I did get an excellent photo of an orange blister beetle, though.

In mammal news, the painkillers seem to be working on Apache. He had the gumption to try to get away when I came at him with his medication. And he’s eating more, too. The other horses are so good. They hang out with him a lot so he isn’t too lonely.

Oh, one more bit of bird news: there’s a harrier nest in Sara’s part of the ranch! That was exciting to me, since they’re my favorite raptor. Now, please enjoy some flowers.

Let’s Get Positive!

What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?

Now this is a good question! It’s been quite a challenging year, but the good stuff has been huge. I’m actually doing very well, considering. And here’s why.

Bonus: cool skies, like this sun dog this morning, Thank you, Nature.

Progress with Horsemanship: I’ve gotten to where I can ride Drew, at least on many days. And Apache and I have made so much progress that I can’t stop smiling when I think of it. My nerves are better and he feels better, which is such a great combination.

He’s un-learning a lifetime of holding his head high.

Learning about Birds: I gave the Cornell Ornithology Lab a nice donation this year, because the improvements in the Merlin Bird ID app have made this bird lover know so much more about what lives here at the Hermits’ Rest and wherever I visit. I feel like I have familiar friends everywhere I go now, even with eight similar sparrows here at once.

Since I got no bird pictures today, here’s a Red Admiral I saw in my meditation tree.

Camping in Seneca: one of the best things about this year has been going camping with Lee. It’s been wonderful for our relationship to get away and spend time together (when I’m not hiking solo). He sure loves to drive that thing.

Making Mental Peace with My Family: I’ve worked hard at accepting the way things are with my family. I just want my son and sister happy with their choices. I’m doing much better at accepting the family members who DO talk to me just as they are. And I feel more empathy with my parents, who did the best they could. Even Mom. This kind of thing has helped bring me more peace inside.

What’s good with you? Whatever it is, hold onto it! We’re in for some bumpy times, I think.

Happy Hanukkah for my Jewish friends. It’s such a hard time, especially for those close to me.