hummingbirds – The Hermits' Rest

Sixty-four Bird Species!

Today was a fun one in the bird department! It was a beautiful day, and I guess the birds thought so, too.

Look at that bright sky and brilliant foliage.

I guess the birds are on the move or something. Of the incredible 64 species that either I saw or Merlin heard, there were even two hummingbirds! I know a few hang around during the winter, but I was surprised to see Merlin heard a Rufous Hummingbird! But, hey, it turns out that they do come through here in the winter! I wish I’d actually seen it.

Other birds that have shown up in the past few days are more expected, though I don’t know if we get Towhees and Juncos very often here (common elsewhere in Texas). It’s as if we had a sudden influx of the birds from further south and west.

My notebook. Three full columns is 60 birds. I do abbreviate many names, just like Amy Tan.

Ones with an x in front are new this month, though I think the Brown Thrasher was here not too long ago. I love writing down the birds every day. It only matters to me, but it brings me joy to track their comings and goings on this one little spot where three habitats meet and there are many natural food choices. It’s not going to get written up for science, but it interests me (and a couple of you).

I’m almost done with my first pretty bird notebook. I’ll have to choose one with a winter bird on the cover next.

Other than birding and working, I enjoyed spotting a few intrepid flowers still blooming. I meant to capture some dandelions but forgot. All these cheer me up, though.

As always, it’s good to have nature to distract me from…I guess, nature. Something has given me a stuffy head this week (Lee, too) and today my ears were clogged. We assume it’s an allergen, though maybe we got a virus while camping with all those germy people (just kidding).

I was around more people this evening, as I learned about bears at the Master Naturalist meeting. No one breathed too hard on me.

So why am I blogging with this sinus headache? I’ll be back soon!

Traveling Shoes

Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.

Today’s question is well timed, as I traveled back home to where my favorite shoes were waiting for me. Fair warning: I’m not feeling 100%, so I’m less coherent than usual (scary).

These are Ariat slip-on waterproof riding/barn shoes. I wear them for at least part of most days, when I’m out with the horses. I love them because they don’t come untied, they don’t get my socks wet, and they have smooth soles with a notch in them. Once you’re around horses you quickly learn that shoes with tread get hard-to-remove poop and mud stuck in them.

If I’m riding a long time, I need boots to protect my calves, but for most of what I do, these shoes fit the bill.

Now back to travel, for which I wore my Skechers slip-ins that are comfy and practical. I had many technical difficulties that made working in the RV a challenge. My headphones stopped working (again) so calls were hard. They still aren’t playing sound, though people could hear me, so the mic works. I guess I could record if I have any time tomorrow.

I could have recorded this Bewick’s wren. It was really close.

At least I got a little walk in today. The highlight was a bald eagle flying right over me. I carefully checked to be sure crested caracaras don’t live that far north yet, and eagles live near water. And it wasn’t an osprey either. I feel the need to justify my observation! It’s a good one for the Backyard Bird Count. So was the brown creeper that Lee watched from the RV window while Merlin identified its sound. Score.

Here are Carolina wren photos, so you can compare and contrast — I do wish my camera were better.

I was glad to get home with my horses, dogs, chickens, and wild birds. Doing my back exercises by the woods and hearing a weird sound that turned out to be a migrating rufous hummingbird made my stomach and head feel better.

Good news: Lee didn’t mow the tiny bluets. He did mow my bluebonnets. Wah.

I’ll stop here and save stuff for tomorrow, when I hope I feel better and survive some tough meetings. I can DO it.

Murders and Knots

We are staying in a condo that overlooks an empty lot that’s been mown down. Future construction? Who knows.

The resident murder of crows is very fond of this patch of land. Every evening around 6:30 pm they gather and spend an hour or more whooping and cawing and squabbling. I can hear them as I type this. They put on quite a show!

I counted 60 crows yesterday. That’s the most I’ve ever seen. It’s quite a sight when they take off to fly over our building. I actually think their rookery is somewhere in Legoland, which closes at 8 pm. There are a lot of large pine trees.

Crows entertain me more than roller coasters.

When I worked in the Chicago suburbs, we used to enjoy looking at a large rookery between my friend’s apartment and the office where we worked. There were huge nests high in trees above a swampy area. Readers living near Schaumburg probably know where I’m talking about. I can’t remember exactly where it was, but those were the most crows all in one place that I ever saw before.

I haven’t seen too many birds up close on this trip. I saw some pelicans and a blue jay, but not close enough to ID either. Oh, and gulls. Today I did see two new birds to me, a Cassin’s kingbird (judging from the amount of white on it) and a female rufous hummingbird. She was very close and chirping away at us.

Knots

So, I can share that I’ve been crocheting away in this trip. I’m using yarn left over from all those baby blankets I made.

I just grabbed the three colors of Mandala yarn I had left and chained a lot. I ended up with ten ripples that are ten double crochet, 3dc in one stitch, 10 dc, skip 2. I do two rows from each ball.

The colors pool and blend, contrast and clash. It reminds me of life, messy but beautiful.

I ended up getting more yarn, because since we are mostly not doing anything, I’m getting more done than I expected. All this peace and knots amid the murder seems to be helping. I’ve only had one panic attack since I left the ranch.

Weirdest Day Ever

Sure, it’s been a weird couple of weeks for me. I’ve not shared most of it. Lots isn’t mine to share. But today. Wow. I literally was left with my mouth hanging open a couple of times.

I spent some time on the porch sorta glazed over, watching hummingbirds. They are monotone, because that’s how I feel.

I got a new laptop of my own, so I won’t be relying on work machines, but I’m so un confident in myself that I’ll wait until tomorrow to get it going. I am just zonked.

So, here are some plants.

And look, a baby water snake and fish I need to rescue, once my brain engages again.

But wait. I did get to laugh last night. Mandi and I were talking to Lee on the porch, and Goldie got thirsty. She did her usual drinking method, where she buries her head and blows bubbles. We were so humor starved that we just laughed and laughed. Here’s Goldie today, though I couldn’t get a shot with bubbles.

See, even the weirdest day ever isn’t all bad. That’s worth remembering.

The Best Shirt EVER

Maybe I’m exaggerating, and maybe I’m not. However, today I am wearing a new shirt I got on Saturday that just gets better and better the more I wear it. I’m not usually this much excited about a shirt, I swear! There is no danger of me morphing into a fashion blogger or an “influencer” (for a really funny article on how to be “Insta-famous” as an influencer, check out this post by my favorite millennial, V.

I was initially drawn to this shirt, sitting there among dozens of beautiful and over-priced shirts at a shop in Round Top, because it was covered in hummingbirds. I pretty much was going to buy it unless it looked like some giant sack on me, just because of the print, but I did feel the need to try it on.

The shirt! Note my hand is in my wonderful pocket! And check out those pressed jeans, courtesy of Kathleen’s dry-cleaning account.

I’m glad I did, because I keep thinking I am huge and tried on a size much too large. Kathleen kept sending me back to put on something smaller. The M fit great, and is still loose enough. I’d never heard of the brand, but I found this on a page that sells the Shana brand:

Shana offers a diverse collection of affordable clothing in today’s current styles. Unique and exciting clothes for women who want to look their best. A portion of all sales is given to Himalayan Hands, a non profit organization dedicated to helping children and their families in Nepal and Tibet.
http://www.fawbushs.com/brands/shana

Well, at least some of my money is going to help people who deserve some help. That makes my shirt purchase part of my do-gooder work, too. Ha! Clever!

Back of shirt, featuring cool pleat and zipper!

Why is this shirt the BEST?

Let me share the ways:

The print is just the cutest ever and in such happy colors.
The pattern fits nicely at the top then flares out, making me want to twirl around. It is flattering to people shaped like me.
It’s really comfortable, and all cotton.
The front has buttons, so you could wear it like a jacket if you wanted to.
The sleeves roll up and have a button to keep them up, which I didn’t realize until I was getting dressed this morning and found the sleeves too long.
The back has a really cool zipper! It’s not just decorative; when you unzip it, the shirt’s back pleat is freed up, thus making the shirt even twirlier.
AND, as I only found out about a half hour ago, it has side pockets. Who doesn’t love pockets that actually work?

So, I have to say that I love my shirt and plan to wear it for years and years. It matches my hair, my glasses, my nails, my active imagination…yay!

The zipper opened, and a better view of all the birds.

I have come to the conclusion that I wear bright clothing to help keep me feeling in a good mood. And from my coworkers’ reactions today, the happy colors, shiny shoes and all that cheer them up, at least a little. And it costs no more than black (I admire people who wear only black and look so chic in doing so; I just can’t do it myself.)

From rainy Austin, Texas, have a good week!

Big Plant, Little Bird

I’m recovering from spending so much energy the last few days, so I’ll just share two pictures and my tarot card (I have done them most days with the app but today I used my real deck).

This yucca has decided to bloom. The bud is growing many inches per day.

The yucca bud sure looks like a giant asparagus stalk! Maybe it’s tasty. I’m not going to chomp on it.

High Priestess in Robin Wood deck.

So today I drew the High Priestess. It’s a favorite of mine. I think she is acknowledging how hard I’m working to be mature and use my skills for good these days. The weekend went so well, and I’m patting myself on the back a bit.

And finally, I love this hummingbird I saw today. It’s a black chinned one, judging from the male that was also flitting around. I’m so glad they’re still here.

Humming Along

Hey there. It’s Weird Wednesday for me, but I wanted to share some cute photos I took of the hummingbirds migrating through our area right now. Beware of them if you are wearing floral perfume, because they will buzz right up to you and get in your face, as a coworker found out! The birds just LOVE Turk’s cap (because its nectar is extra sweet), so we always get a nice show this time of year at work.

Look at those wings going! And aren’t the plants lovely?

I noticed we have at least three different types, but of course all my photos are of females, and who can tell what they are (answer: not me). But I saw the usual black-chinned ones, a couple of ruby-throated that only show up here during migration, and something very, very tiny, even for a hummingbird. That one was near my house, not at work.

I’m resting. Buzzing around the flowers and the people takes a lot out of a bird.

Card o’ Day

Woe is me, I gotta work and work, and all these swords are making me nervous.

Today I came up with the 7 of Swords. It’s typically a card about deceit or thievery, but when I looked at the card in this deck, I was reminded of the 8 of Pentacles, which depicts someone hard at work on a repetitive project. Immediately I thought of all those plans I’ve been making at my job, and how much work they will be, and I began to wonder if my boss and I are fooling ourselves to think we’ll get to do all this stuff, in a part of the company that’s being redirected and shifted around a lot lately (our turn has not come yet). Well, I’m not stressing on it. I’ll just deal with it.

Tomorrow I think I’ll go back to my beloved Robin Wood deck, just because it’s my buddy, and I can shuffle it. This DruidCraft one is pretty, but it’s too big for my stubby little fingers. Let’s just hope the Four of Cups doesn’t come back to haunt me from 2007. Speaking of which, here’s ME in 2007:

Enchanted Rock is always a good place to sit and think. I still wear that jacket.

There will be more to report later, perhaps fun things, even.

Territorial Battles at Wild Type

prey — This is MY sweet, red water, dammit!

Over at the neighbor ranch, Wild Type, there’s been a battle going on for a few days, involving the black chinned hummingbird population and one persistent praying mantis.

Sara and Ralph noticed that hummingbirds were approaching the feeder but not feeding. They were displaying their tail feathers and darting around. That’s when the mantis became obvious. It had settled in around the feeder, apparently waiting to catch one of those hummingbirds.

As you can see from the photo, this is not the largest praying mantis. It may well be another Carolina Mantis, which is the kind I’ve seen in Austin, but I’m not really good at differentiating among mantids.

I know hummingbirds have been caught by praying mantises, though. I even checked on Snopes to be sure it is true! So, no wonder the hummingbirds are annoyed.

prey2 — This blurry action shot shows the bird making itself look big to impress the mantis.

It’s fun to watch them, and I am hoping that Ralph has gotten some action shots with his good camera and tripod. I also hope no hummingbirds have actually been caught. What would the mantis do with such a big prey?

As an aside, I have seen more than one type of hummingbird at their feeder in recent weeks, since migration time has started. I’m sure I saw a ruby-throated one, and there was another I can’t identify. It’s a fun time of year.

(Also I am not participating in a debate over red vs. clear sugar water. I’ve solved it by not putting out feeders this year, since it’s a big commitment: my fellow Master Naturalist, Phyllis, has put out an astonishing amount of hummingbird food this summer!)