nature – Page 6 – The Hermits' Rest

Rest Stop Wonders

Yesterday, Lee and I drove back home from the most unpleasantly dank hotel in Covington, Louisiana to home. We were very glad to leave that hotel; the doors, walls, and other surfaces were sticky, and when we got dressed our clothing was damp. Eww (it HAD been flooding, but the hotel rooms shouldn’t be wet).

We had initially decided to just go through and not do any more fun excursions into the wilderness, but Lee had another surprise in store for me! He pulled over at the first rest stop in Texas, which he’d remembered was a good one. In fact, it had improved since he was last there. If you’re ever heading into Texas on Interstate 10, head into the rest area and go through the welcome area.

There, you’ll find a beautiful, long boardwalk through a swamp like you’ve never seen before, Blue Elbow Swamp. There is only one other cypress-tupelo-gum swamp remaining in its original state. Even in winter the trees were all beautiful.

There were flowers blooming in the glassy, clear water, and very perky Phoebes singing.

We had a wonderful experience just gazing at the drizzly sky and enjoying the leaves. What a great break on a long travel day.

I was thrilled to see this gem of a natural site, right by the Interstate. Kudos to the highway department for investing in the protection of the beautiful Blue Elbow. That sure gives me a warm feeling.

Deep into Lagoons

Yesterday was very windy along the beach. I had a pretty hilarious hair day.

Good thing my hair is the color of the sand now, since lots ended up in it.

Something in watching the wind sweep the beach clean made me think. It doesn’t take much to at least deflect the winds of change. Look at how tiny obstacles caused bumps yesterday.

With all that wind and sand (neither of which are my favorites) I decided to move inland. It is a lot quieter on the residential/rental streets, as long as no one is running a gas-powered leaf blower (another non-favorite thing).

I was enjoying the big and little houses, the squirrels, and some birds, when I realized the road I was on bordered a long lagoon. A big hint was the sign proclaiming it to be Lagoon Road.

The lagoon was hidden by lots of trees, which explains why there were so many birds around.

The area also had some huge oak trees, some of the largest I’ve seen here. And amid all the fancy houses was a small A-frame house with beehives. This experience helped me get my daily grounding plus some.

I couldn’t get a good angle on this huge tree

One negative of this long walk was that I managed to blister my tors on my left foot. But hey, I made up for leaving my watch at home earlier! I was the beneficiary of a good deed when the bartender gave me a bandage from their first aid kit. I returned the favor by listening to two very drunken rich women telling me their life stories and how much better they predict the US will be soon. I said I hope so. That’s true.

Pansies are for thoughts. I didn’t share mine. What would that help?

Today’s morning walk, which was cut short by rain, featured two lagoons! I turned down a side road, because I heard a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Blue Jay.

It turned out to be a quiet street with quiet condos. One had a contented Great Egret enjoying the nearby fountain.

Right past the heron was an empty lot, where it looked like a building once was. It had a small lagoon and was surrounded by pines and hardwoods. There were dozens and dozens of songbirds and woodpeckers flitting around the trees and myrtle shrubs, along with various crows with very important agendas, I assumed. I stayed a long time, just watching all the action. Those Yellow-rumped Warblers were busy, busy, busy.

It rained a while, but I hid under a pine tree.

I followed the lagoon past where it ended, and lo, there was a connected lagoon. This was a dark, moody area with crowded vegetation around it. I saw a turtle and some fish, but mostly I watched squirrels and birds. I saw yet another Gray Catbird, and even a Hermit Thrush. I bet no one at the Holiday Inn Express next door even notices this little treasure. I did! It keeps me grounded (and it helped that I leaned on a welcoming oak, too.)

I’m sure enjoying searching out these little pockets of nature. Admittedly, I look forward to Lee arriving so we can drive some. I even ordered him some food to eat when he arrives. One day at a time is working out fine.

What? It All Worked Out?

It happens all the time to me. I get perturbed about a situation, but if I just give myself time, I can figure out a solution. I need to remember this for future perturbations.

I’ve no idea if I used perturbation right. But here’s a cute Fiery Skipper in a salt marsh aster.

Yesterday I found out my roommate for the upcoming Master Naturalist annual meeting had decided to get a room to herself. Now, as Suna, I would be hypocritical if I didn’t applaud someone who wanted to room alone. Heck, this was the first year I’d wanted a roommate, and I go on long trips alone. I get wanting a place to decompress!

This Dusky Skipper is here to tell you it’s time for the 2024 Texas Pollinator Bioblitz, so there will be many insects and flowering plants in here for the next few days.

The problem was that I’d messed up when registering for my hotel room. Because I wanted to arrive Wednesday, a day the hotel is full, I couldn’t use hotel points and had to reserve a full price. Then I realized I’d forgotten to book Saturday night. So, it was working out to be an expensive mess and I considered canceling, since I’ll have no one to hang out with.

I could hang with this guy. What an interesting wasp. It’s a Five-banded Thynnid wasp, I think.

But I thought, and thought, and at last my brain woke up and gave me the inspiration to contact Hilton customer support. So I got through to their Diamond member customer support. I told the agent my situation and she said she thought she could fix it. It took a while, but she was able to apply points for three of the nights, and get me the less expensive conference rate for that pesky Wednesday night (it’s still over $200—no wonder most of my colleagues aren’t going). To top it off, she exchanged my standard two-queen room for my favorite: the king corner suite. I just couldn’t stop thanking that nice and competent worker. She got a great review from me!

I’m happy as a Phaon Crescent that’s avoided the local Phoebes.

I felt like things took a turn for the better last night when I got a text from Tarrin after I’d already gone to bed. She said to go outside quickly. So I did. There was the aurora borealis dimly shining in the north! It may have been pale, but I’d never seen it before! And it looked really cool in photos.

I got all weepy and giddy at the same time. I’d always wanted to see the Northern Lights. Now I don’t have to go to Iceland to do it. Lee enjoyed it, too. I really should have texted others, but I was too awestruck. I’m glad Tarrin texted!

Bucket Lust (Anita said I had to leave this good typo) complete. That was the only thing left on it, now that I’ve also seen the Grand Canyon.

I’d also been sort of pouty that I had no one to do fun things with tomorrow afternoon, but now I do! I’m going to the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary to do my October bird count and should find friends there, then I’ll go help another group at the yearly Steak Stein and Wine event downtown. I’m glad they asked. I’m a sucker for feeling needed.

I’m also a sucker for gifts of flowers. Lee got me a chrysanthemum a couple of days ago. This, however, is feverfew.

Plus, I get to eat the steak dinner, because a space became available. I was ok not going, but it will be nice to go after all and see my son as a bonus.

Don’t be pouty! A beautiful moment might be coming right up.

The moral of today is to quit being pouty. Things will work out, or a better alternative will arise if you remember to make your own fun!

Now to keep on Bioblitzing…

Savor the Highlights

I admit it. I’m spending some time feeling sad about how my dogs are feeling. Goldie is limping more, and Harvey has gone downhill since he couldn’t get downstairs yesterday. He seems confused about why his legs aren’t acting correctly right now. We are, too.

We still don’t know if the lump on his leg, a back injury, a stroke, or his liver issues that are causing his problems, but we are medicating him as hard as we can.

Goldie’s lump is bothering her more, so her meds haven’t done much. Tomorrow we are taking her to a facility in College Station to get X-rays and scans to see what they find. I hope that will help us figure out how to proceed. I’m thankful Tarrin is advising us, since she knows many veterinarians, and is dealing with her own dog challenges.

It was darn good to have some positive work things to balance this out with. I solved a thorny problem in a project that made me feel smart. Then a package arrived that contained my gift from my employer for being a good contractor last quarter. They wrapped it all fancy and festively, and I appreciated it. Being acknowledged for hard work is rare in contract work, so I’m not all cynical like I might be if it was more common. This was a real highlight.

Other than that, I just did my best to enjoy my animal buddies and breathe. They always make my daily highlight reel.

Morning horses and Fiona. Apache is filthy from rolling in mud.

You can’t help but smile when you have hummingbirds and calves to look at and every flycatcher in the area to listen to. Hooray for fewer flies!

Having a balance in life can help you get through challenges. I know so many of you readers are also facing challenges. This time of year seems to bring illnesses, loss of loved ones (humans and animals), and financial woes. Noticing beauty, kindness, and generosity can go a long way toward negotiating change and challenge and bring highlights to a low time.

Vlassic took a nice dip in the pool this afternoon.

Lost in Time

Which activities make you lose track of time?

Ah, I’m answering this question rather than sharing my current thoughts. They’ll be more refined tomorrow.

For certain, what my husband will tell you makes me lose track of time is nature walks. I just disappear and re-emerge with no idea how long I was gone. I’m completely enthralled by the sights, sounds, and smells of new places or new things in familiar places. I don’t want it to end.

Here’s a new thing I found in the driveway! It’s delicious common purslane, a portulaca (*Portulaca oleracea*) just like the cultivated one below.

Look at the beautiful Texas Striped Sweat Bee in my volunteer portulaca/moss rose

Hanging out with the animals also can make me lose track of time. I’ve just spent twenty minutes thinking about how beautiful Carlton is to me. My love for this guy never ends.

I ended up spending more time with Drew today than I’d intended, too. I’d walked to the next-door unused mailbox to drop something off, and decided to come back through the horse pasture, you know, in case there were any interesting plants or insects. So, I was concentrating on plants when I got a feeling I was being followed.

I kept going until I felt something hot on my neck.

Then I realized Droodles was sneaking up on me.

We ended up hanging out for quite a while just enjoying each other’s company. He didn’t push me around looking for treats, just rested his head on me and asked to be scratched. It’s so good to get along with each other again!

Mostly. That ear is showing some mischief is afoot.
Yes, I’m not much of a fashionista in this weather. That shirt is very orange and the head covering looks silly but keeps hair out of my face.

Not surprisingly, the other activity that leads me to lose track of time is reading. I’ve been reading Sibley Birds, Second Edition since I bought it in New Mexico. It’s only 600+ pages. I can’t stop looking at all the birds, learning new things about familiar ones and finding out what else might be out there in Texas (and wherever else I go).

I will admit to skimming Arctic residents and ocean birds. Otherwise, I’m reading it all. But I’m in the oriole section! I’m almost done! Do not worry. I have a nice long book about animal tracks lined up. That’s what happens when people stop mailing me novels, I guess. (I’m fine for novels! I have some enqueued.)

If I’m repeating myself, forgive me. I’m working on changing my mindset and that can wear me out until I’m through the hardest part (letting go of an unproductive mindset).

Thanks for being there, friends and family. You are appreciated even when I don’t show it well.

Spiritual Is a Loaded Word – I Stick with Love

How important is spirituality in your life?

It’s pretty common to hear people say, “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual.” I don’t think it’s a way to avoid the hard stuff, or a convenient cop out. It’s true for many of us ruminating, pondering types who just don’t like rigid rules.

Eryngo (*Eryngium hookeri*) showed up here! I didn’t know it was native.

Organized religion is not my idea of a spirituality nurturing institution, probably because they’re institutions more than pathways to spiritual growth. Any group that thinks it has all the answers turns out not to have them.

Also new in the fields is Soft Goldaster (*Bradburia pilosa*)

So, I draw my spirituality from the life spirit around me, in the rocks, trees, wind, animals, and ineffable sparks of realities just beyond my perception. You know, like viruses used to be for humans. A tradition I once followed mentioned an interconnected web of life. My spiritual practice honors that.

Yes, I’m connected to the Prairie Boopie

I also try to express my connections to all around me in how I live my life. I get most of my ideas from teachers like the Buddha, Jesus, and Starhawk, but I’ve received guidance from many other teachers, some of whom didn’t end up with a religion purporting to represent them. Pay attention and you’ll find the wisdom to lead you to peace and clarity in all sorts of unexpected places from surprising messengers. Some may be horses or dogs.

Speaking of them, I do find that the presence of my animal companions fills a void I experience in even wonderful periods of travel. I’m so glad to be back to feel Goldie’s giant, rough paw on my face or Mabel’s warm, curious breath from so much higher than Dusty’s even-tempered nudges.

Home is where you ground yourself, and I have finally reached a point where the Hermits’ Rest centers me almost as much as my hometown in Florida did. My spiritual center needs that grounding. I spent half my life without it! It’s good to have a home again. Yes. Now my love for all existence can grow and be shared freely.

Scruffy but lovable house. The land is home!

Right now the ranch has been taken over by cicadas. I’m glad we only got one eruption here and that they won’t be here too long. Maybe I managed to miss two weeks of them by leaving! I can barely hear birds!

On the other hand, it’s easy to meditate around them. It’s like singing bowls, only more grating.

Nature Triumphs Over Suna

Argh. I really wanted to go to the far reaches of the ranch to find more insects and plants for the City Nature Challenge today. I’d gathered a few observations while enjoying spider webs in foggy weather, but I knew there were more interesting things at the highest part of the ranch.

So I waited until my lunch break and got into our utility vehicle, Hilda, to head out. All went well at first I got I see the red ant colony that’s been here since I’ve lived here, and documented our more interesting cottonwood and oak trees.

The problem was that since it rained so much yesterday, I couldn’t get where I wanted to go. There was a pretty significant seasonal stream leading from the back of the ranch to Walkers Creek that made it hard to get over.

If only I were a cow I could wade across it.

I rode all over the pasture looking for a crossing. This annoyed the cows and calves very much. eventually I came to where the folks who work the cattle cross in their trucks. Hooray! The low water crossing!

I was wrong. The mud was like quicksand and even in four-wheel drive, I couldn’t get across. Nature said, “Ha ha, I’m in charge!” I was stuck. In black muck. How embarrassing. I was not going to make it to my destination!

Luckily it’s really pretty where I was stuck.

I managed to exit Hilda and call Lee to bring the tractor to pull me out. Of course, while I waited I took pictures of what I saw. At lest I found a dragonfly, a spider, and a cool robber fly that looks like a bumblebee.

Soon enough, Lee showed up with the tractor. I was glad until I realized I’d have to crawl in the sticky mud to attach the chains to drag Hilda out. nope, that was not fun. I hate mud. I really hate clay mud.

I did it, though! And after we freed Hilda from the mud, I was rewarded by finding this cool funereal duskywing at the gate out of the pasture. Seems perfect.

I am DONE with the City Nature Challenge! I got over 400 observations, and that’s enough. I got a few more this evening, but no way was I going to risk my safety to get more bugs on my list!

Y’all are lucky I drank an entire bottle of wine this evening so I didn’t feel like sharing the details of my struggle.

Nature, you win.

Cognitive Dissonance

What’s something most people don’t understand?

That’s what most people seem to be unable to grasp. There are just too many people out there who don’t see any problem with holding beliefs or opinions that cancel each other out.

So you’re pro life. Good for you. But once a baby is born you’re against helping it. And if it wanders onto your property as an adult, you’d shoot it. And your guns are more important than innocent children in a school or people trying to attend a concert. You’re pro life and pro murder. How can you believe both?

I’ll stop before I offend the other 50% of readers.

Sorry folks, today has taken a turn for the worse and I’m in a less centered space than I’d like to be. The family health issues just keep on coming and there’s nothing we can do but observe and stay centered. Well, we can support each other, which IS something.

Life is challenging. We know that. But it’s also good. Is that cognitive dissonance?

I’m so glad I have lush pastures to wander in (with proper footwear to avoid snakes) and sweet horses to love on and breathe the scent of their grassy (mud encrusted) coats.

The equine buddies are my calmness center right now. Even Apache calmly let him remove his boots and asked for head rubs, and Mabel keeps asking for attention. It surprised me, too, how grooming Dusty and seeing him look so healthy made me happier.

Thanks, horses.

Look at Me, I Did Community Outreach

One of the things you’re supposed to do as a Texas Master Naturalist is share what you know about nature with others. I’m not very good at staffing booths, I’ve discovered, but today I was able to do some nature interpretation with some Cub Scouts, and that’s what I hope to be able to do more of.

You may remember I went with friends to check out the Ranchería Grande as a potential nature walk site. The Cub Scouts leader decided it might be too much for the pack members and some parents, so instead they planned a shorter walk at the Chalk Ridge Falls Park in Belton, and asked me to come along and see what I could show them. She figured it would be pretty simple, given the young people’s attention spans.

Happily, that wasn’t true at all. The park, which winds along the banks of the Lampassas River on the other side of the dam that creates Stillhouse Hollow Lake. It has nice wide trails, though one has to watch out for the many steep ledges some young people want to lean over. There are plenty of birds, trees, flowers, raccoon poop, and weird things to entertain Scouts and their siblings.

I’m explaining what an oak gall is. Can you tell it was chilly?

It was great that most of the participants were interested in the things they saw and found. I enjoyed answering some really good questions and showing everyone lovely sights like buckeye trees, which I didn’t even know we had.

It’s an Ohio buckeye, all right. One youngster observed that it looks like honey.

One little boy asked me a series of questions about what I showed him, was thrilled when I showed him how trees bloom, and after a while, came running up to me with a huge grin and shining eyes, exclaiming, “I love nature now!”

His brother carried a catkin from some tree around for a long time telling everyone how important pollen is. He’d never seen it before.

And the sister of one of the Scouts got all disappointed when her parents said they had to go back to their car. She told them she wanted to stay and keep having this adventure. Wow. I’d say the outing was a success.

And the adults were also great. One grandmother was using her cane to help walk, and had said she’d just stay on the trail when everyone went down some stairs. But she got so interested in what we were seeing that she came on down and made it much further. Afterward, she was so proud of herself and declared she was ready to do some squats. That was just the best.

I had good conversations with the adults as well. One mother said she wished we could come back without the kids so we could go further. I liked her!

Everyone thought that narrowleaf puccoon is a weird name for a plant.

I learned a bunch, too, like that there are chalk deposits in the area and that canyon wrens have a distinctive call I’ll never miss again. They are my Daily Bird. No wonder we found them here—they live on cliffs. We’re at the eastern edge of this bird’s range.

The park has more litter than I’d like to see. We talked about returning with trash bags. Some of the infrastructure is in poor shape, too. But it’s beautiful, free, and just an hour from Cameron. It’s a great field trip, and I’m glad my friend brought the pack there!

Busy Birds and Hobbling Horse

It’s time for a nature post today. Nothing is better for me than some bird watching, and today was fun. The fewer leaves on the trees, the better I like it. I got to observe two large and colorful birds today, so both are the Daily Bird.

I’ve been seeing a pair of these birds a lot the past few weeks. I even saw their mating flight one day. Today they flew around and around where I was until one landed high in a nearby tree. you can even tell what it is in the picture!

Around here, we call them Mexican eagles, as they are the bird on the Mexican flag, after all. They are expanding their range northwards. They weren’t here when we first arrived; I saw my first ones in DeWitt County, where Lee’s dad was from. I think they’re very fun to watch.

The other large bird I enjoyed today I heard first, before I saw it. They are very loud when they call. Then I heard the banging of a big bill and knew it was the pileated woodpecker, the one whose holes I’d seen on our last camping trip.

I listened to the pecking long enough that I eventually spotted it on a dead branch on the biggest tree behind the back pond. I watched that pointy head go up and down for quite a while. I do have photos of it, but it was so far away that I only know it’s there from the Live Photo motion.

It made an excellent racket when it flew off, which capped off my morning walk well. There was also the usual red-bellied woodpecker out today, so it was easy to compare calls, but I didn’t hear the flicker today.

My afternoon animal adventures weren’t all that fun. I went out to prepare food for the horses and ride/exercise Drew, when I noticed that everyone had come up to see me but Apache. He didn’t come to me when I gave him his medicine, either, just nickered a greeting.

When he finally did move, my heart sank. He was limping. I forgot all about my plans and prepared the pens for him to stay in. I fed the other guys and got him all settled. His feet weren’t too hot, and the sore foot looked no different than it had last time I looked at it on Friday.

Hobble Horse. My poor buddy.

Sara, bless her, came over to check, even though she was having her family holiday meal soon. Apache was pretty happy other than his foot, since he had a giant bag of hay and I de-burred him. Sara put a boot on him to help. I have a harder to use boot I’ll try tomorrow.

Lee and I checked on him again before bedtime. Apache was so pleased to see me that he peed (he used to do that a lot). He was also quite pleased with the entire bale of hay I left him so he wouldn’t starve.

Hay? For me? Don’t bother unwrapping it!

Anyway, Sara and Tarrin agree it’s probably an abscess, which happened a couple of years ago. That’s no fun, because I can’t ride him, but it’s not a medical emergency like founder would be. Whew. I know it hurts, though.

The $$$ medicine he takes now will prevent founder by helping with his PPID symptoms, for which I’m grateful. I’m sure he’ll get better but it will take time, and we’ve been doing so well!

Bonus: while waiting for Sara I got all the burs out of Drew’s tail and he was friendlier than he’s been lately. I have a lesson on him tomorrow, so I hope Tarrin can help me figure out why he’s gotten so grouchy and hormonal.