butterflies – The Hermits' Rest

Geez. I care about my phone.

What personal belongings do you hold most dear?

Why do I hold my phone dear? It is my memory. It contains all my photos, all my communication with friends, access to my memories in the blog…and yes, I can get to all those things from my laptop. Yuck. I think I hold some bits and bytes or whatever cloud storage is made of. That’s really depressing. What else do I hold dear? Things made by my loved ones. My mom and stepmom’s art. Dad’s woodcraft stuff. Gifts they gave me. Things that tie me to them.

New thought: I’ve started letting myself write in incomplete sentences! They’ll soon be taking away my Grammar Police badge. My take is that the incomplete sentences are not as unpleasant as those two blogs I dictated and then was too woozy to properly review. Poor Sue had to endure proofreading that. I don’t pay her well enough for that! (I do not pay Sue; she’s just nice.)

Another part of the phone I love is the camera. I was at a Master Naturalist outing at my friend Carolyn’s place, which I’ve showed you before. I got some images I really liked there. I don’t need to show you all 125 species or 25 birds I recorded, but I want to share a few for those of you who always want more nature pictures.

Purple Pleatleaf (***Alophia drummondii)***

This one was new to me. It’s an evening primrose that grows five feet tall. Wow.

Four point evening primrose (***Oenothera rhombipetala)***

And here are a few more plants.

We also saw lots of animal life. There was more than I expected, especially the suspiciously friendly raccoon. But it’s harmless.

Other animal news? No one’s come looking for Benny. He’s still over here trying to hump Carlton.

Balancing Act

How do you balance work and home life?

I do know many people who have a large a hard time balancing their work and their home life. It’s really easy to check your email before or after your hours of work or just check to see what’s going on in the work chat. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ve got all sorts of ideas and you want to get them down before you forget them. I get it. Work just intrudes on us no matter how hard we try not to let it.

Mr. Bullfrog wants to know if you can tell I tried dictating this post. I sure can. Yuck.

The good news is I’m really lucky. I’m a contract worker and have been for most of my working life. That means I’m only supposed to work 40 hours a week, and I’m only going to get paid for 40 hours a week, and no one expects me to put in extra time just because, you know, I’m getting paid the big bucks. While it’s true I don’t get paid vacations or paid holidays, I do get to stop after eight hours a day. Plus, the way it is right now I am working in Pacific time that gives me time in the morning to enjoy birds or sit and enjoy coffee or hang out with the horses. And there’s still enough time in the evening to do my chores, walk around and see what’s happening, especially in the summer when there’s lots of daylight. So, yeah I work when I’m working and I don’t work when I’m not working. That seems to be the best way to balance your work and your life.

I’m glad I have both work and home life. Each is important.

I’ve been thinking about other balances today. Some friends of mine are going through some hard stuff. If you have a moment, think of my friend Anita, who has lost a long-term animal, Friend, and some other folks, I know who are having trouble with their families and have no option, but to just get through it. That’s hard to get past. Things will swing back into balance, though sometimes it takes quite a while.

And it’s hard to see past all the distractions to find the positives.

Not dwelling on what’s bad and not only thinking about the good things like some sort of Pollyanna person seems to be the best way to keep a balance. That’s why I like living in the moment and noticing the small things that happen. Out here at the ranch we are going to see life and death and everything in between, but it helps us remember that that’s all part of life and all to be treasured.

Like Gulf fritillaries. All are ephemeral treasures.

Here is a bonus funny story from the day. The UPS man came as he often does right before I was supposed to have a meeting. The dogs were barking and barking and barking. Once again, it wasn’t the UPS man that they were barking at oh no. There was a squirrel on the front porch. All I know is that I heard a yelp and Alfred was limping. The squirrel disappeared. UPS man hopefully pointed out. Hey there’s a squirrel on your front porch. I agreed.

I took all the packages and things inside and figured this squirrel was gone and really hoped it wasn’t hurt. Naturally my coworker felt the need to point out to me that squirrels don’t usually do weird things like run up on the front porch so maybe it was sick and giving my dogs rabies or whatever. Thanks Keaton.

My meeting with Keaton lasted about an hour so I went outside to see if I could find the squirrel. Kathleen also went outside a couple of to see if she could find the squirrel. She never noticed it but I spotted a little fuzzy tail, hiding behind a storage container on the porch. There was no way a dog could get to it. But it didn’t look like that squirrel was planning on going anywhere anytime soon, either. I checked on it two or three more times and one time I saw it a little foot sticking up and another time I saw a little nose. It was so cute.

Finally, when Lee was feeding the dogs, we locked the outside door so the dogs couldn’t get out and Kathleen and I managed to move the big container the squirrel was hiding behind. The minute that space was opened the squirrel took off like a rocket. It was not hurt. We were relieved. I’m also relieved that the vet comes on Wednesday and she’ll let me know if any of the dogs look like they’re developing rabies. Alfred is no longer limping and no one else seems any worse for wear. I did find it funny that none of the dogs were smelling the squirrel where it was hiding. Maybe squirrels have some sort of odor disguiser in them. I don’t know.

It was real windy today and last night but the new fig tree made it. I’m happy to say I’ve had a whole day with a fig tree. Every day with a fig tree is a good day, because my last fig tree died a horrible death when many many grasshoppers attacked it. This is not a grasshopper year, though, it’s a mud dauber year and mud daubers do not care anything for trees. Yay.

All right. You all have a good work life balance yourselves, and I will probably be back tomorrow.

PS: I texted my boss right after I finished writing this post. Not very good at doing what I say I do, am I?

Ducks and Water and Such

Yesterday’s short morning walk had me itching for more nature. I needed that happy feeling I only get when I’m outside.

So I decided to go look for Bluestem Pond and investigate a wooded area here at Birch Creek State Park. What a lovely sight greeted me there. I knew I was in for a good walk.

The pond was small but pretty, and turtles liked it.

The Honeybee Trail is a nice loop, and it was shady and quiet. I didn’t meet any other people there. All sorts of birds were singing and I got plenty of plants to record. Just for Barbara, here are 36 photos of plants, birds, and insects.

After the walk, Lee, Mike, Martha, and I got in the car and drove around the area like Lee and I did last visit. Mike found a little burger restaurant with burgers as good as Tex Miller’s in Cameron and French fries that were nearly as perfect as Thursday’s hush puppies. I think it was Pappy’s Burger Shack in Caldwell. We enjoyed clouds on the way home.

We watched The Crown in the evening. Wow, those royals were big time smokers.

Best and Worst Pets?

What animals make the best/worst pets?

Dang, I wish I had more time to answer this one, but I’ve got a very early meeting tomorrow, so I’ll have to be brief.

Nota bene: the best and worst pets will differ depending on the person’s age, living situation, and personality. Thus, I’ll answer for myself.

Best: for me, I want a pet who likes me back, who communicates well, and who fits in with my life. That’s going to be a dog. Dogs are great companions, aren’t too expensive (unless you have five and one’s on liver medicine), are affectionate, and you can talk to them and they kind of listen.

Cats are okay, but I’m not sure they really like people all that much. Horses are great, but they have to live outside and are expensive, especially when you have five and one’s on metabolism medicine. I enjoy fish and birds, but I feel like they’d rather be outside. I do not want to confine an animal who doesn’t like being with humans.

Worst: for me the worst pet is a wild animal, especially the really smart ones who deserve to make their own choices. I also don’t like pets you can’t interact with. No pet insects for me.

Medium; pets like poultry, cattle, sheep, and goats are ok. I’m not going to eat a pet, though. I have to admit it’s fun to watch these domesticated animals, and some of them are pretty friendly. If you have space and funds to care for them, they’re fine, so I’m glad I can enjoy my chickens and turkeys.

Off to sleep. Enjoy whatever pets you have.

A Beautiful Day if You Ignore Current Events

I’m gonna say it: I don’t like wars. I don’t like killing innocent people. So, when yet another one is started, apparently quite well planned, and no one tries very hard to stop it, it’s hard to enjoy a lovely day in nature.

This beautiful checkered skipper on a gorgeous smooth phacelia (*Phacelia glabra)* flower tried to distract me.

I wanted to enjoy the outdoors, though, especially after missing out on hiking and birding yesterday! Nature has her way of sneaking into my psyche and making me forget everything except what’s happening where I am in the current moment. I’m so grateful for that!

Carolina Wren serves to amuse and entertain

We enjoyed a quiet morning watching wrens investigate the underpinnings of our vehicles. I sure hope they aren’t nesting in there! Having a second morning with few neighbors was a real treat.

At last I was able to walk down the familiar trails of Lake Somerville State Park. It’s fun to explore new trails, for sure, but it’s equally interesting to see how places you’re familiar with change from year to year or in different seasons.

Today there were many shore birds on the lake, which is still quite low. Hundreds of White Pelicans, various sandpipers, dowitchers, and ducks entertained me. I was proud to ID Northern Shovelers, Green- and Blue-winged Teals, and Mallards by sight. Glad for the binoculars!

The pelicans were too far away for good photos until they decided to change location, when I could get some flight photos. These are all from the phone camera.

I was delighted to find more early wildflowers in bloom than I expected. There was even at least one I’d never seen before! It was like walking through a fairy garden with all the small, bright flowers along the path, including my beloved spring beauties. Ahh. Pink perfection.

I didn’t see any wild mammals but people with fancy trail horses showed up across from us, so I got to enjoy them getting tacked up. The park did fill up today. I sorta got PTSD from my last trip where I chastised Scouts when I saw a big gathering at the next camping area. Thankfully they only had one screamer.

With all the bright, blue sky and pleasant warmth, we ended up staying outside most of the day, just enjoying the peace. It was just what I needed! And to add icing to the cake, Sandhill Cranes decided today was migration day (they are legal migrants) and regaled us with calls for a long time. Safe travels!

Ooh I’m tired. I’m just going to photo dump the butterflies and other birds. See if you know what they are. It’s a quiz!

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).

Nature Overload

Today I probably went overboard with nature photography, since I drug/dragged both the camera with the telephoto and the camera with the macro lens all over Lake Corpus Christi State Park and took as many pictures as I wanted both distant and very close.

This White Peacock butterfly is one of the most beautiful natural objects I found.

I got up early to go to the birding area right after the birds were fed. However, conditions were not ideal. It was so foggy that it sounded like rain falling on the RV roof, and certainly was not great for bird photos.

I do love the effect of this Cardinal swooping in through the fog, though.

I got lots of sounds on Merlin, though it was acting up, and I did manage to get photos of many species, less foggy as the morning progressed.

The most interesting birds to observe were the Red-winged Blackbirds. At first, only females were at the feeders. That gave me lots of time to really admire their plumage. The stripes in various rich browns are quite striking.

At least 45 minutes after the females showed up, males made their appearance. There were many juveniles, too. Much mass feeding then occurred.

Later, after the sun came out some, I got photos of the birds near the lake. The Great Blue Heron and Great Egret were entertaining, as usual.

In between, I walked around with the macro lens camera and found many tiny things. I’m going to just share butterflies in this post, because I’m really tired!

Yeah. I’m too tired to write more. I’ll be back tomorrow for an all-nature Christmas.

The Dead of Winter Is Not Dead

I had the loveliest day of bird and plant watching here at Lake Corpus Christi State Park! This is a great place in southern Texas, where many plants and animals native to northern Mexico mingle with organisms from farther north. This makes for fun observations!

An example of the beauty here. Pink cenizo (Texas sage) with gorgeous shrubby blue sage, both native to Texas and northern Mexico.

On my morning hike through a shrubby woodland I was delighted to see many blooming plants and others with interesting seed pods. It even smelled nice to walk through the misty woods listening to the “exotic” Great Kiskadees and Green Jays (plus an Audubon’s Oriole).

I even left some out. It was fun to see what grows down here, like palm trees and giant reed. I enjoyed the winter scenery.

After my long walk I came back so Lee and I could get vital supplies (coffee creamer and blackberry cobbler). We enjoyed looking at the town of Alice, Texas, then came back just in time for some rain showers. When they were over, I went out to the other part of the trail to enjoy the sunshine.

I looked at the very nice birding setup they have here, then made it to the CCC Rectory on the lake. It’s one of their nicest structures.

I discovered the volunteer who leads the bird walks waiting for someone to take out, so I said I’d go. Then a French-Canadian woman bicycled up and joined us. It was a challenge teaching her bird names in English, but she liked the Green Jays and shiny Great-tailed Grackles. I showed her some plants, then headed back to our campsite.

As if that wasn’t enough for one day, I had my monthly tarot group this evening. It was interesting, as always.

No tarot photo, so here a butterfly on dog poop (Vesta crescent)

Tomorrow I’ll get out the good cameras and maybe get some better photos. If I can rouse myself.

Birds, Butterflies and Bliss

Yesterday was a lot of fun,but it tired me out so I fell asleep and didn’t have a chance to blog. Sorry about that. I also took hundreds and hundreds of pictures. It seems I will only share a few.

Lee took this with the Canon EOS Rebel T7 and the macro lens.

In the morning I walked over to the jetty near where we are staying at Goose Island State Park. There I was delighted to see many different kinds of birds, especially herons and egrets. I enjoyed watching a tricolored heron and a snowy egret having a little battle over some kind of morsel. Those are some beautiful birds.

One of the cutest sights I saw was a little group of Dunlins, which are shorebirds and a new lifer for me! They were all huddled together with their little heads tucked under their wings like they were trying to get a nap in before something was supposed to happen. I did finally get one picture of one of them with its head up and it’s such a beautiful little round brown birds. Of course, there were others, too. Check it out!

Over in the marshy area there were many egrets. I saw a beautiful little blue heron, many great egrets and a ruffly looking great blue heron.

There were also ibises. There were a number of white ibises, but the most amazing part were the juvenile White Ibises, which are gorgeous brown and white little speckled birds. Well they’re actually big birds. I really like some of the pictures I got of themwith the brownish foliage all around them, I think that’s very artistic.

Later in the day, Lee and I got in the Jeep and drove around to find more birds. The first place we went was the famous big tree that is part of this park.

We weren’t there very long however because Park staff told us that there were a whole lot of whipping cranes and sandhill cranes together right around the corner so we sort of flew off to go see those running right past my friend, Cindy and her husband. Oops.

I was watching you like a hawk, says the Osprey.

The cranes were beautiful as always, and it was very nice to see the sandhill cranes right next to the whooping cranes to compare their size and coloring. It makes it a lot easier to remember, which is which.

They were joined by some lovely Roseate Spoonbills, and you can’t complain about pink birds ever. We met and talked to a few people and enjoyed that as well and took some pictures of extremely friendly seagulls.

After that, we made a fruitless trip over to where the great blue heron rookery is forgetting the fact that it is not great blue Heron breeding season so there weren’t any great blue Heron there I did see a Caracara, Osprey, and some other birds. Of course, the trees are still beautiful, so it wasn’t a waste of time.

We drove down the road a little bit and found a very nice place called the Linda S.Castro Nature Sanctuary, where there were so many butterflies. It was rivaling the national butterflies center. I’m not kidding. We found a lot of butterflies mostly Gulf Fritillaries and southern whites. (Golf rivalries, golf ferries, golf fiddle Aries—I would like to point out that the dictation software does not understand “Gulf Fritillaries).

This is cool. The fruit of the scarletfruit passionflower

There were lots of paths through some beautiful native plants and we got some good pictures of the scenery around that sanctuary. The people who made it did a very good job and it’s quite a nice place to go. I recommend it to anyone even though it’s sort of hiding we met a nice couple (the guy is a Master Naturalist) there and talked to them about different places to go and look at birds and plants and I think they’re gonna have a good time, the rest of their visit. Everyone is so dang friendly here.

We then headed over to one final place which is the thule sanctuary. I went there before with Linda Jo and Ann and it was a nice place to walk around though. There weren’t very many birds. I got a lot of plant photos and Lee got some very good ones using the macro lens.

By that time, we were tired of walking around and looking at birds and plants so we went to find some food. after all it was our anniversary and we needed a nice anniversary dinner. We found a nice place on a bay next to a harbor we sat outside to eat and got to watch many, many birds while we were waiting for our food, including belted kingfishers, ospreys, and many terns and gulls. I got to eat oysters and fish, and Lee enjoyed his bacon-wrapped shrimp.

That’s a cucumber margarita. I liked it!

It was a successful day of fairly good weather and lots of fun. Happy 17th anniversary to us!

All By Myself

I’m all cozy in a hotel very close to a University campus. So it’s not quiet. I’m pretty tired from all that bleeding and stitching yesterday, so you’re not getting much to read tonight.

I did do a BioBlitz at Lick Creek Park in College Station today, but it was very low key because I just wasn’t ready for big crowds (auto correct made the word “crowds” into “briefs”) and talking. So I wandered around and looked at the saddest collection of wilted plants I’ve ever seen in the wild.

It’s hard to find diverse plants when everything is brown and droopy.

I found a few things and would have seen more if I’d been in the guided botany walk.

There were irrigated pollinator gardens around the nature center. I hoped to get lots of pollinator photos, but the butterflies seemed more intent on mating than sipping nectar. And the mid-afternoon sun makes phone photography hard. You can’t see the screen, so you miss a lot. I tried taking distant photos and cropping, with poor results. So the four types of skippers and the many Queens remain uncaptured.