nature – The Hermits' Rest

The great outdoors? It’s great!

Today I took every possible chance I had to go outside and take a break. I was rewarded with some fun and educational sights. First thing this morning, I went out to check the rain gauge. To my delight, I spotted a pair of Great Egrets under the willow tree in the pond.

I enjoyed them for a few minutes. Then I got my binoculars out of the birding hut to see them better. I quickly realized there was also our Great Blue Heron on the shore, sitting on his favorite grass tussock.

I looked back over at the willow tree and found a third and fourth Great Egret! I wonder if they’re related?

Just as I thought I was finished I heard a familiar squawk. Yes! A third egret! One of our nesting pair of Green Egrets came over to check out the action.

That was enough for me, but when I came back to the porch, Lee spotted our loudest summer resident, a Superb Dog-day Cicada (Neotibicen superbus). These buddies sure make my bird listening difficult.

When I went out to check the mail, I stopped to look at our little mud pond by the driveway. I spotted a very busy crawfish moving mud around to build its home. I was fascinated.

Red Swamp Crayfish (***Procambarus clarkii)***

I’ve always loved these guys, which we called crawdads in Florida. They’re mud bugs in many parts of Louisiana. They eat mud and filter nutrients out of it. Fascinating crustaceans!

After work, feeding animals, and eating a yummy dinner (ironically, featuring crawfish—Kathleen did not know I’d been looking at them), we went for a walk. Kathleen made it to the dumpster with a bag of trash, but I got all fascinated by the crawfish again.

We realized there are dozens of crawfish in the little muddy pond, big ones and small ones, all busily doing whatever they do.

There was a small puddle being guarded by a larger one, who busily herded small intruders. Those claws stuck out above the water menacingly! We just stood there and laughed delightedly. We needed that.

Then we witnessed crawfish mating, which came as a surprise. It starts with the female fighting the male, then they settle down to laying eggs and fertilizing. The female will carry the eggs until they hatch out as tiny versions of the adults.

Kathleen wondered why we didn’t see any shed exoskeletons in the water. I also was curious, so I looked it up. Turns out they eat them! they recycle the nutrients and skeletal material. Uh, they also eat their poop. I think I’ll do a longer article on crawfish for the Master Naturalist blog. I’ll be sure to share the link.

That was plenty of nature fun for one day. We are definitely easy to entertain, but that’s part of our charm, our husbands would say!

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.

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.

Enjoy every dang moment

I say that because I wore my Lynda Barry shirt today, with Marlys saying “dang.”

It’s a comic for people my age and was very funny in the 20th century. Look up Lynda Barry.

But I’m here to tell you I’ve taken my own advice to enjoy every dang moment, and this had a very pleasant day with only a little remnant of The Sickness with No Name. I even got to talk to some friends today about its baffling nature. I’ve missed friends.

I’ve missed these, too. Meadow pinks. I’ll work on a better photo.

And Kathleen felt better enough to do stuff with horses and enjoy family chatting (the men call it BS-ing). We spent a lot of time dreaming up one of those gardens that catch runoff, because we will soon have giant rainwater harvesting barrels that need managing. It’s fun to dream of home improvements. I’ve always loved it.

I don’t know why, but the little depression near the driveway with frogs, crawfish and harmless water snakes doesn’t count as a decorative water feature.

The most fun part of the day was when I took a well-deserved walk at lunch. Though it was a cloudy day, the wildflowers on our roadside made it seem very bright!

Nature’s color palette is vibrant in May.

Because we started getting rain right after the poor bluebonnets and paintbrushes tried to bloom, the second wave of flowers is impressive.

I had a grand time looking at how huge the Engelmann daisies and Gaillardia are this year.

Many springs find those daisies all droopy and sad. Not this year.

Closer to my son’s house, I found the clasping coneflowers (Mexican hats, as they were called until recently) were much more robust than they’ve been in recent years. They make the roadside look like someone planned the arrangement of plants.

With a background of Dickcissels and orioles singing, I couldn’t help but feel thankful. This is why I live out here in rural America. The land and wildlife are always changing and endlessly interesting.

Grateful to be caretaker for this wild patch.

I am convinced I do better work when I can take these breaks. After lunch I churned out a big document and it met with approval. Then my boss took a framework I built and turned it into a project plan of great sophistication and utility. That was energizing to see! Living in the moment even makes work more rewarding, at least sometimes.

Yep, I’m proud of myself for plowing through the rough times. They make good days like today all the more treasured. And now, here’s the photo dump of today’s views.

A perfect flower? No, they’re all slightly irregular.

Yes, I’ve Been Camping! Yes, I Feel Yucky. Not Related.

Have you ever been camping?

Yes. I’ve been camping. I’m not sure if all this RV camping we’ve been doing the past decade or more counts as “camping” to some folks. I don’t blame them. We have heat and air conditioning, plus real mattresses on the bed. Still, if camping is about nature, fresh air, and learning, then, indeed, I’ve been camping!

I love quiet times and hiking. I love birds, flowers, trees, and insects. And I love the interesting people I meet. I’m not fond of screaming and loud music, or of messing with the parks. But, people interact differently with nature and enjoy different camping activities. I’m fine with that. At least they’re getting out.

So I answered the question. I’m about done. Today I was pretty damned miserable with throat, ear, and neck pain. It’s so hard to swallow!

I did go see my health care provider like a good girl. I got a free ear wax cleaning so she could see my inflamed ears. TMI, no doubt. But it worked, and indeed I’m all inflamed and my throat looks extra bad. Strep test was negative, but when I told her I haven’t had my usual energy and have suddenly put on ten pounds, we agreed that my thyroid is acting up again.

I didn’t even get to see Fiona and all the new grass sprouting up where hay bales were.

So after three tries, the technician finally got enough blood out to test my thyroid numbers. I hope to hear back soon. In the meantime, I’m hoping the antibiotics have done their work by morning. I’m weary of this.

I love all these ball moss flowers in black and white.

Kathleen made a delicious dinner that was soft enough to swallow, which was a relief, because I was really hungry! And wow, I’m tired, thanks to waking myself up all night making wheezing and gagging noises. The curse of being a light sleeper is your snoring wakes YOU up.

No doubt things will be better soon. My friend circle has a lot of harder challenges. Aging isn’t for sissies, but we keep plugging along!

Lost among the Maples

The weather here at Garner State Park and surrounding areas was strange today. It started off misty and stayed misty/foggy all day. That’s not typical Texas Hill Country weather.

It made the hills look mysterious. This was mid afternoon, when fog has usually been burned off for a long time.

After a pleasant morning of coffee and birding, Lee took me to Lost Maples Natural Area, a place he’d been many times when he was younger, but I had never been. You may know of Lost Pines, which we’ve visited many times. Both places have remnants of the forest that was in Texas the last time it was much cooler.

The trees in this preserve are still around because they’re surrounded by hills and have a river in the middle, which creates a perfect microclimate for bigtooth maples. The area is extremely popular in the fall when the trees turn colors, so coming in spring is a much better idea for us hermits. The mist also helped keep away crowds, but didn’t distract from the spectacular scenery.

The Sabinal River was fun to cross repeatedly.

We did a mile walk, which was a bit challenging for Lee with the rocks and water crossings, but I’m glad he could join me, because this is such a special place.

In addition to the plentiful maples, there were many fun plants to spot along the trail. The most spectacular sight was Scarlet Leatherflower (Clematis texensis) which attracted hummingbirds like crazy.

Best I could do. More flower photos later.

I also found out the identity of the yellow flowering plants growing out of all the rock faces along the road, Lindheimer’s rockdaisy (Laphamia lindheimeri). It only grows in this area, the Edwards Pkateau.

One more I’d like to highlight, because it was new to me, was the Texas Mock Orange (Philadelphus texensis), which is a pretty shrub with white flowers that do resemble citrus blossoms. I didn’t get close enough to sniff the flowers to see if they smell as good as orange flowers. It’s related to hydrangeas.

There were many more interesting plants, so I’ll do a photo dump. I do want to add that there were also interesting birds, including only my second ever observation of a Golden-cheeked Warbler and many striking Black-and-White Warblers. I got to see Yellow-breasted Chats, too, which I usually just hear. But since the only bird photos I got were of blurry hummingbirds, here’s another Vermilion Flycatcher that posed for me back at Garner.

Mostly, we gawked at the scenery, switching our focus from trail to hills to river. This is a special place, and there are much longer trails, so if you ever get to Vanderpool, Texas, do stop by. It’s the only thing in Vanderpool, Texas, but I like it because I had a teen crush on a curly-haired musician with that last name. Anyway, here’s some scenery.

I know, quote the photo dump. It’s just so pretty! And for my reference, here are more interesting plants. I’ll spare you oak trees and grasses. These are the most interesting to me.

All in all, it was a great day to be outdoors and geek out over plants and birds. And rivers and hills. We are here until Tuesday, so maybe I’ll see some more interesting stuff tomorrow!

Camping Isn’t Always Peace and Quiet

At least camping in state parks is hit or miss in the peace and quiet department. Garner State Park, where we are now, is an example of a place with more chaos and noise (but mostly happy noise). This place is a beloved Texas treasure, and rightfully so, given its spectacular setting beside a clear, cold river surrounded by beautiful hills.

It’s the largest state park I’ve ever been to, with over 500 campsites. No wonder it has a small grocery store, when it’s full the population could be over 2,000. And everyone is here during good weather. I enjoyed seeing families of every demographic you could think of enjoying the weekend, young and old, all ethnicities, and rural and urban cultures.

How could I tell? Just walking around the circle of campsites we are in felt like driving down the road and searching for a new radio station every few blocks. There was rock, folk, hip hop, Christian pop, Hindi, Tejano, and even people listening to NPR (Lee).

The only demographic left out were us birders. Lucky for me, there were some pretty darned loud birds, like Ash-throated and Brown-crested Flycatchers, Yellowthroats, Black-crested Titmice, and endless White-winged Doves. Plus I saw many fun birds, like a Lark Sparrow that repeatedly came over next to our outside chairs to eat seeds and ants. A huge Raven sat in one of our trees, and I even saw a Vermilion Flycatcher and an Orchard Oriole. Here are my phone photos.

I enjoyed exploring the Frío River very much, even with the yelling people (mostly asking others to be careful or saying they slipped and fell). The water is as clear as everyone has always told me, and the cypress trees are stately shore guardians. I also enjoyed exploring the limestone formations along the riverbed.

I got 26 new plant species today, and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of flowers, corns, and trees. Here are just a few.

You can’t see them well unless you zoom, but these are perfume balls. Gaillardia with no petals.

Don’t worry, I got a bit of peace and quiet by hiding in the underbrush. Clever me. Lots to see there and I could really hear the birds!

In addition to hanging out at the park, Lee took me on a tour of the area, including Leakey, Camp Wood, and Uvalde. The scenic route was twisty and curving, with new vistas around each curve. We saw much irrigation of crops and many large exotic game ranches. I was glad to see this bit of Texas I hadn’t seen before with an experienced tour guide (Lee spent much time here before I met him).

While there were many, many children and large groups, no one was obnoxious. They all seemed to be having a great time. Still, I’m glad we didn’t come in summer!

Earth Day Musings

All the rain has made it so green here. It’s so beautiful, like the Earth is celebrating herself.

Nature’s fickle, of course, or maybe just variable (I don’t think the planet is frowning or smiling on any part of herself). I was reminded a couple of times today by friends in North Florida, how dry it is there, and that fires are dotted all across the landscapes I frequented as I was a young girl and college student. As a Master Naturalist, I know that the pine forests of the region need fire occasionally, but you always worry about who fire displaces.

When we first arrived here, you could see wildfires on the horizon.

The lesson I have received from Earth Day in 2026 is that the planet can be in balance at a macro level but still swing back and forth from rain to fire, freeze to heat wave, extinction to replenishment. Our job is to observe and try not to push the Earth into unbalance. Humans aren’t in charge at the macro level. I just hope our small actions tilt the balance towards harmony overall.

And that’s the best I can do after pinging my way across projects and duties today. I was greatly assisted by my good fortune that I can step outside and breathe fresh air and enjoy my wild and domestic animal companions.

I hope you all get to step outside, unless you’re avoiding particulate matter, sand, or storms. Happy Earth Day!

Gee, but It’s Great to Be Back Home

You didn’t hear from me yesterday, because I didn’t feel up to writing about lots of meetings followed by all the endless steps it takes to go from one place to another these days.

The only Portland photo I took yesterday.

Still, work was actually quite productive, so it was all worth it. I was pleased with myself that I coordinated packing, returning Jasmine’s nice warm coat, driving to the airport, returning the rental car, walking great distances to find planes, and remaining patient when my flight from Phoenix to Austin was delayed so the brakes could be repaired. I’d certainly prefer a delay to not having good brakes on a 737 when it lands.

One of the things flying across the country accomplishes is to remind me how amazing our landscape is.

I got lots of reading done in the Phoenix airport, so I was glad the second book I brought with me is over 500 pages long. You have that book report to look forward to!

I was quite pleased to find my bag that I’d checked (first plane was tiny) was already on the carousel when I got to Austin at 1:30 am and that the hotel driver was waiting for me. That was so nice of them to send him when the plane arrived! The familiar sight of the oddly shaped rooms of the familiar hotel was so welcoming.

After a pleasant hotel breakfast I headed home and made it through a couple hours of work before I had to nap. I was much perkier after that and got all my late meetings done so I could visit my animals. I gave the chickens and turkeys some dewberries. It was great fun watching them go after the fruit. Clint the rooster tossed one in the air and caught it!

The horses were in great shape, thanks to Kathleen’s care, and I enjoyed seeing the new horse-area flowers that came up in my absence.

Of course, I had to say hi to all the birds! The Painted and Indigo Buntings are back! What a happy sound! I also got to see this Belted Kingfisher, which proved it wasn’t a Mockingbird mocking me.

After all my chores were done, Lee and I sat by the pool and enjoyed the hummingbirds around the red yucca blossoms. These natural hummingbird feeders were a great addition to our yard. We saw both male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and Lee even realized they are green! Forgive all the pictures. I had too much fun.

The palmettos are sending up flower stalks, too. Those attract butterflies.

Of course, I also greeted the dogs. Here’s Penney indicating she’s glad I’m back.

Thanks for sticking with me and being so supportive, friends and readers! You’re appreciated!

Book Report: The Hare

I bought The Hare, by Chloe Dalton, at the Book People store in the Austin airport this morning. I then proceeded to read the entire book on the plane to Portland, Oregon. That’s pretty impressive, since I was also helping the woman on my row with her sweet little nonverbal 4-year-old boy. Wow that woman is a great mother.

I did love this little book, which is a loving memoir of the years Dalton spent raising an orphan baby hare, called a leveret (did you know that?).

I learned so much about hares (which are not rabbits) and how they live! And of course, I loved Dalton’s descriptions of the English countryside where she lives.

Dalton, who is a political consultant, is a wonderful writer. She has a very apt way of describing the behaviors of her hare friend that sounds authentic yet fantastic at the same time. I hope she writes more books—I truly enjoyed her prose.

Her attitude toward the wild animal in her care impressed me greatly, and even when she gets into her sincere entreaties to take care of the native animals of England and provide them with the environment they need to thrive.

I loved The Hare enough to read it again later. These wonderful animals are fascinating, and Dalton’s gentle observations of them endear you to hares without pressure or stridency. You end up fond of both the author and her subjects.