Tag: vendors

Getting More Naturalist-y

I still don’t feel too great since my bruising on various appendages is setting in, so I took it slow this morning until I had a nice early lunch with my friends Lynn and Don. We had interesting semi-Mexican food and just chatted. I told them, as I’m telling you now, that last night I had a dream in which some little kids did something funny, and I laughed so hard that I woke myself up! That was a new one.

Bruising is settling in nicely.

The Master Naturalist Annual Meeting is in a fancy hotel and conference center on the Texas A&M campus, which means you are required to say “howdy” a lot and whoop. Eh. But it’s a nice place.

Fancy lobby area

I attended a session or two but mostly enjoyed the vendors, which include at least three talented artists, one on canvas, one in metal, and one in super-realistic machine embroidery.

I want the heron

I’m going to get metal art for the motorhome, because it’s all stuff Lee will really like.

Lee will love this.

I don’t have photos of the machine embroidery, but I was very impressed with the artist, who modified used machines to do much more intricate designs than they originally would have. She seems like a big bundle of talent and skill!

The other thing I was impressed by was a series of poster sessions by young scholars in the natural sciences. I had a great time talking to them and asking them questions about javelinas, goats, and bats, among other things. They were all very articulate!

A young woman I enjoyed speaking with.

It’s been good seeing my local friends and some old pals, and the next two days will be more packed with activities, so I’ll rest up now. Tylenol is helping, but I’m just sore.

Tired, but a Good Kind of Tired

It was a fun day with a good balance of exploring the hidden corners of the ranch and being a people person. But I’m so tired I’m afraid this will end up as one of those typo-filled collections of gibberish.

Oh, deer.

I really enjoyed the coolest morning so far after the horrid summer. I went all over the more inaccessible areas of the Hermits’ Rest Ranch. I was looking for butterflies and certain specific plants. I succeeded in finding monarchs, a few other butterflies, and passionflowers (plus passion fruit). That’s a lot of beauty. Ooh do those passionflowers smell nice.

Bee butt, plus a spider, I think.
Pearl crescent
Ceraunus blue (Hemiargus ceraunus)

I’ll share more later. But I made good contributions to the iNaturalist 2023 Texas Pollinator BioBlitz. That felt good. I even got observations at the place where I went this afternoon!

I found the most interesting insect, the large-tailed aphid eater, or bird hoverfly (Eupeodes volucris)

And where I spent the afternoon was being a vendor at a showcase at the Little River Event Center, one of the two nice local venues that recommend our short-term rental, the Red House on Fannin. Anita joined me partway through the event.

Looking all official.

We met some very nice folks, and I really enjoyed the young woman with a Photo Booth next to me. There were all the usual wedding vendors like photographers, event planners, florists, and caterers. They were mostly younger women with small children, but not all were.

The first thing I learned was that colors should be neutral. We were the only red thing in the venue. The second thing was that I need a sign. Otherwise it was lots of fun and we made good contacts, along with visiting with some friends.

This beautiful ranch is just outside of Cameron.

I appreciate the opportunity to get out and introduce people to our little house. It’s working out pretty well! I’m glad there are places like these event venues that will promote us, and we can return the favor.

Exterior during setup.

Now to crash. Sorry if there are more typos than usual.