wildflowers – Page 6 – The Hermits' Rest

Why Is Common Mestra So Common This Year?

The Common Mestra (Mestra amymone) is a butterfly I’ve been seeing very often this autumn. I went on and on about it the first time I saw one.

Since then, they’ve been everywhere, including parks I’ve visited, flitting here and there and enjoying the broomweed and frog fruit in particular. I’d never seen them before this year.

It’s pretty and orange on the underwings.

I’ve been trying to get better pictures of them, since I wanted to write about them. However, they are very busy looking for nectar or places to lay eggs, or something. I wonder if they’re able to find what they need, with no rain here all month.

You wouldn’t know it, but there are at least a half dozen in this photo of the Hermits’ Rest woods.

I looked up information on these delicate beauties. These Mestra live from our area down through Panama.

According to the descriptions in various websites, they like lantana flowers, but those are no longer blooming here. I go to wondering about their lifecycle this week as we saw dozens of Mestra at the Springtail Ridge hike.

This one shows the orange border nicely.

One of the women I was BioBlitzing with found a resource that said their host plant is Tragia or noseburn. I hadn’t looked up the common name for Tragia when I first read up on these butterflies. Suddenly it all made sense.

*Tragia urticifolia*, or Nettleleaf Noseburn growing in our woods.

This year was a really good one for this plant thanks to having more rain this summer than usual. This may have meant more Mestra eggs hatched this year than usual. All the women I talked to live in central Texas where there was this same rain pattern. They’ve all seen more of these than usual. One woman who’s been in Texas a long time remembered another year with lots of Mestra, then they went away until this year.

My guess is that good years for noseburn (not our most pleasant plant otherwise) mean good years for Common Mestra. I’ll be on the lookout next year to see if this is true.

After I got home from San Marcos, I was happy to get home to my birds and woods. I even heard a Swainson’s Hawk to greet me. I spent an hour or so taking photos of pollinators, since the Bioblitz ends today. I found more butterflies than I’ve been seeing lately, plus bees and wasps.

I look forward to a week with my dog and horse buddies and to ordering reading material to supplement what I learned last week, like Val Plumwood, Paul Taylor, and Paul Shepherd. I wrote those here so I won’t lose their names.

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…

The Thrill of Discovery

I think the reason I like to travel around and look for birds is that I get such a great feeling when I find a new one or a beautiful collection. I feel a refreshing rush of adrenaline and a glimmer of joy every time. You don’t get that many chances for those feelings!

You’re welcome for that feeling, Suna, says the White Ibis.

Today’s walk around 40 Acre Lake gave me plenty of reasons to glow and grin. I’d never seen a White Ibis outside of a zoo before, so the ones I got up close to and saw flying today were quite special.

Another sighting that took my breath away was an American Bittern. I think I saw one in South Carolina a few years ago, but this one was close. They are so stripey!

The lake had more of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons that Brazos Bend State Park is known for. One juvenile made fun faces at me.

Another bird I enjoyed were the Snowy Egrets. They are so dainty and busy. I saw many of them catching food, flying around, and squabbling.

After the lake I checked out some huge live oaks. They bring me a different feeling. I feel at peace around them. I guess it comes from hugging so many as a child.

I left the trails and headed back, but just had to stop on the roadside by the swamp snag area where all the birds hang out. There were dozens of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Ibis, Little Blue Herons, and Gallinules. They’re lurking in these photos.

What you don’t see is the small flock of Roseate Spoonbills I saw flying. I got to see them with the binoculars, too. The only other times I’ve seen them was flying over the Interstate in Mississippi and the one that visited our pond with some storks on the most exciting ranch birding day ever. No photos, so here’s the only alligator I saw on this visit.

And now I’m back home, though I discovered jury duty was canceled. Back to work. But let me leave you with some pretty sights. I need them, so maybe you do, too. I’m tired of being bombarded with negativity in media, so let me provide you with an alternative.

I Got Over Focused

Today I got a bee in my bonnet to arrange my list of birds seen in Milam County, Texas phylogenetically. That’s how my friend Ann says most birders want to see their bird lists. Here’s the official list, which is all formal and in Latin.

I prefer informal birds, like these guys in the painting by a local artist that I got as a housewarming gift. I’ve seen all three of these, finally.

I’m not making it that complex. I’m using David Sibley’s English interpretation, which is how most of the checklists I’ve seen for state parks are organized. There are lots of variations, as I discovered when I looked all all Ann’s examples.

Here’s one example, which also tells you what season the bird might appear and if it’s unusual.

I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity about how many birds of each order we have. Once I got started, I just couldn’t stop arranging. I kept going until all the birds were arranged. I’m embarrassed to say I spent at least four hours formatting, cutting, pasting and labeling.

Here’s another example. We have lots more birds here, thanks to migratory visitors.

I sure got fixated on my list! I’ll share it when we are finished.

Here’s yet another Scissortail photo. Look at his tail!

All that concentration meant that I was a bit late getting to the horses, so I got rained on. Yes! Rain! At least it cooled down a bit. I’m not enjoying the fact that our two moderate weather weeks are over.

The heat this morning made bird watching hard. This is my best attempt at a bluebird photo.

I did find a couple of interesting plants today. I was particularly happy to find gomphrena weed on the roadside, because I didn’t know it grew here. I’d seen it before while camping. And I just thought the goldenrod was graceful.

It’s always rewarding to find something new. Living in the moment! Even when hyper focused.

Self-care-a-rama

Worrying about my sick dogs won’t help, so after getting them both to eat their medicine (Harvey eats anything and Goldie finally ate hers with chicken breast), I figured I’d better work on my own well being.

Work was a good distraction, especially if you enjoy rolling reorganizations. But I really leaned into (ooh, I finally used “lean in” on purpose) making a comfortable environment for myself. I haven’t been able to swim due to being on antibiotics and wanting to stay out of the sun, but I worked on making the pool area better by getting rid of two volunteer trees and more annoying nutsedge and spotted spurge. It was too windy to use herbicide, and besides, it doesn’t work on sedges.

The biggest improvement I made was to set up my outdoor workstation where I can keep my laptop and phone charged. My household member got us a bartered table with two chairs that’s perfect for my needs. The chairs are comfy and easy to clean.

Lee helped me get it perfectly in the middle of the back porch, where it’s always shady and there’s usually a pleasant breeze. It will get more sun in winter, I hope. At least I’ll be able to use it in three seasons.

Watching horses, birds, and cattle are really soothing for me and keep me centered. I’ll need that for the foreseeable future.

Apache points out that petting him is self care

Self care also means looking around and enjoying life around me. That was helped by discovering this beautiful new (to me) butterfly, the Common Mestra (Mestra amymone). It’s pretty on both sides. I got to watch it feeding on frog fruit for quite some time. I just found out from my friend Linda Jo that this butterfly hasn’t been recorded on iNaturalist since 2016!

There were also the usual flowers, fungi, and insects. I’m so glad there’s always something new.

One kind of self care I engaged in was getting the heck out of a potentially dangerous situation. I went to pick up a package from by the front gate, and heard a droning noise. Oh my gosh, it was another swarm of bees, only these weren’t all massed together. They were everywhere. I couldn’t tell what kind of bees they were nor if they were angry. I left after taking this picture. Zoom in and you’ll see all the insects!

Maybe Lee disturbed them when he mowed the roadside.

I also tried to take a nice walk in the woods to see the pond on the other side of the fence, but tiny and zippy mosquitoes chased me off. I understand why the cow that was glaring at me went swimming.

Between all the outdoor pampering and some great conversations with friends, I’m not too bad. At least the Covid symptoms are about gone.

Still Droopy

I’m still feeling worn out so I’ll just share some pretty and cute photos for the day and share weighty matters tomorrow. The cutest thing I saw today was this gorgeous new calf. It’s seal brown or gray.

Its mama loves it a lot. It has a tiny Snow White buddy. I hope they stay in the pasture behind us for a while.

I enjoyed the birds a lot, even the Loggerhead Shrikes, who are the current loud birds in the group. There was also a persistent Blue Grosbeak, so I’ve got that sound down now.

The late summer flowers are ramping up. I’m just waiting for the asters. And my traveling trick worked: it’s not so hot now and it’s raining!

The horses were happy to get their food and supplements today, too. And that’s enough for this worn out nature lover.

Small Packing Triumph

I had a relaxing day of laundry, packing, and watching the Paralympic Games. I really enjoyed wheelchair rugby and was thrilled when a Gold Medalist in swimming said she went off to breastfeed her baby before the medal ceremony. How admirable!

I’m happy to say I managed to get all my stuff in my luggage. It’s mostly knitting I think. Silly me. I did get a few more clothes but that’s about it. I just have so many more medications now…prescription and over the counter. I hope they fit in the carryon bag. The other good news is that I have seats way in the front so I know I’ll be able to get it in the overhead bin.

I am not fond of modern air travel.

I did get a final walk around the area in. I didn’t want to go into town because of crowds. I don’t want to get sick again though I guess I have some immunity. One thing is for sure, I’m not all better. It’s still hard going uphill or fast. I did enjoy the birds, squirrels, and flowers, though. The alpine wildflowers were just gorgeous, even though fading now.

A couple of squirrels got all in my face for intruding on their meteorological autumn nut gathering. Such varied types of chattering! I’ll miss the Fremont’s squirrels the most, though the incredibly tiny chipmunks are a strong second.

I have a tie for favorite bird. Both the Mountain Chickadees and the Pygmy Nuthatches were extra friendly and entertaining. They really are masters of the spruce trees.

Wish me luck tomorrow. More germ-filled crowded spaces. Wake me up at 4am!

Going Up and Finding Mountain Wonders

Cathy and I declared ourselves better, though I think she was more healed than me. Nonetheless I agreed to go over to Keystone, where they were celebrating Oktoberfest rather early. What’s a trip out of state without some lederhosen and oompah music?

We had a hard time getting from my condo to the Dillon/Keystone area, because it’s a holiday weekend and the gas stations were full. The one where we finally got gas had a big convoy of huge trucks towing big off-road vehicles. There were at least six of them at a small gas station. Most had Mexican license plates. Serious off-roaders!

We finally got to the resort area and plowed through the exhibits (luckily we were early and it wasn’t rocking too hard). Then we went up! The Keystone gondola goes way up. It’s fun watching mountain bikers snaking down below us.

The views at the top of the ski area were amazing. I can see why Cathy likes to ski here so much. The weather was beautiful, too, neither hot nor cold. And it wasn’t too windy.

The views of other ski resorts from Keystone.

I determined I was healthy enough to embark, so we headed out on the hiking trail, which I vowed to take slowly, and I did. It was a spectacular trail through huge trees with lots of vistas peaking through.

I enjoyed lots of the usual mountain birds, but there was one I’d never seen before. It was a big, solid gray bird with white along its tail. I couldn’t get really close to it or its friends, but I did manage to get clear enough photos that both Merlin and iNaturalist were able to ID them as a bird I’d never heard of: a Canada Jay. Yes, they live here and are birds of high mountains. I think the map of where they are found is interesting.

We rested and looked around the scenic overlook for a while and enjoyed chipmunks and scary ski slope entrances. People hike up here then ski down. It’s not my idea of a good time. Walking is good. In summer.

The walk back down was through some of the prettiest woodlands I ever saw. The wildflowers were almost done, but I found a couple of new ones.

As we headed back to the end of the trail I got tired and had to stop to breathe a lot. The only thing that motivated me was the fact that Cathy found a marmot, which we’d been looking for all day, at the top of the hill. Up up I went and I got my marmot sighting!

We made it back down on the gondola and wound our way past the German fun. We then went to Cathy and Ken’s house so I could meet Aspen the grand-dog. She is a real cutie, full of love and energy. Aspen joined us for a patio Mexican dinner and was very good. My carnitas were incredible, not like the ones at home. It was basically a delicious roast pork.

That was a long and fun day, and I’m glad I was able to relax and watch college football this evening. Tomorrow I have to get ready to leave. Oh boy, laundry and packing.

I’m Gonna Live!

It looks like I am not going to have to deal with Covid too much longer. Today I was still a bit congested and had a delicate tummy. The Pedialyte seems to have helped a lot.

This little dude was spinning that pine cone like a top.

I did have enough energy to go outside and breathe some nice fresh mountain air. I walked really slowly and enjoyed the flowers, both wild and cultivated.

There were plenty of birds to see and hear, too. Plus I found where moose had slept, which was cool.

Luckily, I found a few trails that weren’t full of people and were nice and quiet. One went gently up and up in an area I hadn’t walked before. I stopped often to look around and rest. the trail started narrow and got wider. It was so quiet.

Soon enough I found the familiar service road that leads to the horse ranch and found my way back. I wasn’t even tired and was able to complete my work for the day!

I took lots of photos of the mountains so I could remember them after I go home. It’s so pretty and the weather has been so pleasant here. I’ve had a good time despite the illness.

I guess so many Texans come here that they need the sign?

Maybe I can do stuff the next couple of days. It sure felt good to have cheerful feelings after a long week.

I even had energy to do my nails very bright, Heat Wave.

Seeking Peace and Quiet

I have been enjoying the weather here in Breckenridge, and the views never get old. The only thing that is getting to me is how LOUD it is. I think I’m too accustomed to the relative quiet of the ranch (relative: we do have Alfred, Goldie, the House Sparrows, occasional farm machinery, and numerous pickup trucks with altered mufflers).

It’s probably the fact that summer is the only time that construction, road repairs, and other outdoor activities can be done. I get that. I lived in Illinois before, where the seasons were snow and construction. I just happen to be in a vortex of construction where I am staying. The sidewalks on the road I’m on are being systematically jackhammered and replaced (the new ones look great; it’s just loud). On the next block, a large hotel is under renovation. The workers need to shout, often. And on the OTHER side of the next block, a large condominium complex is being completely rebuilt. That requires many nail guns. Whew. It’s going to look great here when ski season starts, but you sure can’t hear a dang bird over that.

Luckily, I could SEE this hummingbird on the main road.

What else do large construction projects require? Why, dump trucks, heavy equipment haulers, semi trucks hauling supplies, etc. It seems to me that in Colorado there aren’t any regulations on the noise levels these vehicles produce. They are WAY louder than the ones I used to hear all day when my neighborhood in Texas was under construction.

Right behind this woods were the growling vehicles

And now I’ll make you laugh at me a little. I also find all those babbling brooks, flowing streams, crystal clear creeks, and rushing rivers really overwhelming after a while. They are beautiful and I love them. But wow, they are loud. All this messes up my birding agenda. Heck, I’m even laughing at myself here.

Anyway, I traipsed all over this cacophonous city today in search of my bird buddies and discovered that no matter how far I tried to hike, there were giant trucks and blatting motorcycles. Oh well, the hike I went on near the troll statue and ice rink was pretty!

I got this dog posing in front of the troll

And I did eventually find some relative quiet, in the residential area just outside the downtown area. I could actually hear birds! That will have to do! I did enjoy my walk, honestly.

Other than that, I did a bunch of work and sat in the hot tub a bit to help my sore back from all that exercise. And I did watch television. It was good.