wildflowers – Page 9 – The Hermits' Rest

Break Time

Not much happened today that was exciting, but that’s fine with me. I was able to refresh the Hermits’ Rest Red on the mailbox stand and gate posts, because it was finally calm enough outside to spray paint. I also added house numbers that are reflective, which should help 911 find us in case of emergency. I feel like we might need it at some point.

Sadly, we need a new mailbox, since after only 12 years, the hinges rusted out.

I’ll eventually repaint everything. You need to do it every few years, except for the gate, which is powder coated.

I had lots of birds to keep me company. My son drove by and asked where my shoes were, because I took them off so no red paint would get on them. Of course I got red paint on my manicure, but it blends in with the flowers.

I’ve been spending lots of time with the horses, which is nice and calm these days. I have Dusty and Mabel looking pretty good in mid-shedding season, but Apache still has lots of hair left. Today he’d apparently napped in a pile of burs. It turns out it’s harder to get them off his belly than his mane or tail. He’s back to normal in every other way. We’ve enjoyed riding and he’s enjoyed his cantering. I think it makes him feel strong and powerful.

I forgot to take a picture of the King of Canter, so here’s a mama cow.

Mostly today (other than Master Naturalist stuff) I looked at butterflies while the phone listened to birds. The first scissortail arrived, as did another hummingbird. It’s not summer yet, guys! The low today was 37°! But my face did get pink from being outside in the pleasant weather. Best time of year here.

Plus, I Met a Horseman

Today didn’t go quite as planned, but it ended up okay. After an enjoyable rainy morning chat with Kathleen about what’s going on and her plans for the immediate future, I got some work done.

Isn’t this moth beautiful? It’s apparently a blackberry looper moth.

The sun came out soon enough, so I went out and found some more newly emerging wildflowers and a very cool fungus in the woods. I love my nature breaks.

The afternoon was supposed to be spent looking at potential four-wheel drive vehicles to tow behind Seneca the Motorhome, then some grocery shopping. Indeed, much car and truck looking ensued.

Truck that is $120K new. It has a built-in cooler.

I guess we lucked out, because exactly what we wanted was at the dealership, which was a used two-door Jeep Wrangler. Best of all, it was a 2023 with, get this, 1700 miles on it. The previous owner probably didn’t want such a low-frills vehicle. But for bopping around campgrounds and exploring nearby sights while Seneca stays parked, it’s ideal.

Though small, Lee can get in it easily. That’s good, because it will have to be his daily driver until we get a farm truck or something to pull the horse trailer. The trade-in on Lee’s previous vehicle was more than the purchase price of the Jeep (and that was way off its original price), so we aren’t out anything, either.

A Suna-sized car. No weird graphics or exterior bling. Good.

And, we enjoyed talking to Mark, our salesman, who is our age and has more horses and dogs than we do! That commonality helped pass the endless car-buying hours. His paint horses were so beautiful. I got his business card. Also there was knitting. Thankfully.

We still have to get the towing hitch put on the Jeep and finish some things up, so Lee will get to talk to ole Mark more tomorrow. I tell you, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and comfortable the car is on the inside, compared to ones I’d ridden in before. And it’s pretty peppy. I never was a huge fan of these cars, but this one will be just great. It’s a bit rough in the suspension department, but it’s an off-road vehicle. It’s supposed to be rough.

Another thing I’ll tell you is that I do NOT plan to take the thing apart. Maybe the front roof panels, but that’s it. I’m not mechanical enough to put pieces back together correctly!

By the way, we never made it to the grocery store.

I Learn a Lot

What is the last thing you learned?

Since I fell asleep before I could blog last night, I figure I should answer a question today. If only I could remember the thing I learned at dinner tonight. I remember saying, “I didn’t know that!” But what I didn’t know has fled my brain. I guess that’s another hazard of getting up there in years.

Speaking of getting older, we broke into the tres leches birthday cake last night. Mmm.

But I learn things every day, so I’m not surprised it doesn’t all stick. This week has been particularly “full” of intense interactions at work, along with horse stuff, so there’s less room in my brain today. It’s all good and fulfilling intensity, though. By gosh a lot more people know how to use Planview Portfolios software today than last week.

If only I could train animals as well as I do people.

I’ve been concentrating so hard at work that when Kathleen came into my office to surprise me I jumped a mile. Scared the person I was in a meeting with, too. That’s concentration!

Speaking of Kathleen, we know wherever she goes, scary creatures follow. When we came home from a lovely steak dinner this evening, what appeared in the driveway? A snake. My first sighting on the year. She really seems to attract reptiles and thugs that sting.

I did get out to see some harmless plants and insects today. I get such a kick out of looking at them closely, even if the photos end up not too great.

The spring flowers have another great value: they’ve made the air smell wonderful here. Both the dewberries and the bluebonnets have delightful scents. Today was excellent because the wind was from the north. That means the smells of cow and horse poop were blowing away from me. And the tenants have stopped feeding fermented hay. Ahh.

I’ve been wondering how Drew is doing. Today Jackie was coming to Tarrin’s to do bodywork on him. I keep checking my email for her report. However, she did come here yesterday. She helped Apache deal with soreness from the last few days of hard work. His back feet weren’t moving right when he turned. She sent a video of him turning better.

A horse turning

Most interesting to me is that she also took a look at good old Dusty. He’d been looking painful lately and I wanted to be sure it wasn’t anything serious. And it wasn’t! It’s just his fused spine makes him uncomfortable sometimes. Otherwise he is in good shape and his muscles are working right. I was relieved. Plus Jackie said he was a sweet guy who tried to do everything she asked him to do. Aww.

Three Necessary Things

What are three objects you couldn’t live without?

This question intrigued me. And answering it is way more fun than talking about my anxiety attack from today. Ugh. I let something get to me today. So, hmm.

1. My glasses. I rely on my eyes so much! How could I read, write, look at birds, and knit easily without them? I’m so glad eyeglasses were invented.

I want to see things like this amazing swamp privet in the back pond area near the spring (*Forestiera acuminata*). I had no idea it was there.

2. My car. Not only is it pretty (red leather!) and zippy, but it’s my only way to get to food, friends, and non-ranch fun. I don’t want to hitch Fiona to a wagon to get supplies!

3. Knitting Needles. Weird but true. I need to knit to stay even semi-sane. I’d say I need a pair of circular size 4 US needles and I’ll be set for life. I can knit with any yarn-like stuff. String, strips of cloth, wire…whatever.

This is the progress on 2023 for my friend. The dark are isn’t very pretty from a distance.

There you have it. I am sure my answers aren’t typical!

Today, other than dealing with mental challenges, Lee and I went to Temple to look for containers to put in my “new” nonfunctional freezer that will store horse food and foil those darn mice for good. Thanks to our neighbor for painting it red just before it died. It looks good. Now we just have to work out the storage method.

Latches were added to prevent creatures from breaking in.

Lee even treated me to an early birthday lunch, which was fantastic. Seared tuna with a great salad. And I got free dessert!

Other than that, I mostly hung out with the birds and plants. That brings peace.

There is good news! Apache isn’t mad at me today. He even picked up his feet so I could take his boots off. I think he should only wear them a couple days at a time. It’s rubbing off his hair.

Spring Beauty or Fairy Spud

What the heck?

I was delighted to discover that the woodland floor next to our house was covered in charming little flowers. I’d never seen them before, even though I walk in these woods each spring.

I had to look them up as soon as I went inside after my birding break. Their name was as lovely as their appearance: Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica). I happily read the excerpt of a longer article that appears in iNaturalist as had to giggle when I saw that one of their other common names is Fairy Spud. I had to learn more.

It turns out that the plants grow from tubers that were eaten by many indigenous people in the eastern US, you know, like potatoes! They were thought to cure convulsions and/or prevent conception. I assume the latter didn’t work well, since people ate it a lot. The whole plant is edible, but the Wikipedia article noted that the leaves are “not choice eating.”

Well, I learned something today! As a bonus I managed to see and hear a black-crowned night heron this morning. That’s a rare guest at our pond! So, it’s the Daily Bird.

Apache survived a hard workout at his lesson today, but in a great triumph, he trotted more than once correctly. He was NOT hollow, that dreaded word. I’m so proud of him. He also got his feet trimmed by Reagan, the new intern at Tarrin’s. He is growing hoof like crazy.

Apache was sweating away, since he hasn’t shed much yet. He will be very happy tomorrow, when it cools off a bit. So will I! Maybe I’ll cook up a batch of fairy spuds for dinner. Or not.

Spring Rushing In

Signs of spring start off slowly. A purple martin arrives, chicory blooms, the few bees that are around delight in the early dandelions and bur clover blossoms.

Then, one day, you realize that the spring rush is ON. Around here, that happens in the last week of February. Wow! In town there are redbuds, and plum trees blooming. Those really pretty orange-red bushes are blooming, and the highly scented narcissus are everywhere.

Since I didn’t get photos in town, here’s my noble Vlassic, who’s showing his age.

No trees bloom spectacularly here, but today is the day there’s a green sheen in the woods. Even the willows are leafing out. In a week or two they and the cedar elms will be blooming subtly and stuffing my sinuses. It’s ok. They’re cute.

I’ve been sharing the early flowers lately, but today I found the second wave is showing up. Very soon we will have Texas paintbrush all over the front field, and the little stick-like stems of cat’s-ear will wave around (sometimes I’ll catch them with their flowers open). I even found my first plantain blooming. The yard will be covered with them eventually.

Well, there will be fewer wildflowers this year, because Lee and his brother are itching to mow. I’ve conveyed my instructions as to the no-mow areas. They’ll have smooth expanses of green and I’ll have SOME of my “weed” buddies.

One more sign that spring is in full swing is that every day there are fewer and fewer sparrows. That bums me out, but I know the summer residents will be here soon to entertain me. And of course the house sparrows will never leave. Sigh.

It’s getting warmer, too, so I’m hoping Apache hurries up and sheds out. In the meantime, all the horses are getting curried (except Drew, who’s being good but not getting worked with).

I just wanted to share these happy thoughts of life around the Hermits’ Rest. We need to focus on that sometimes. The little good things.

At Least I Have Flowers

I’m still feeling pretty bad about my Droodles. I just can’t figure it out (nor will I be able to; that’s why I’m getting help). This evening, I walked into the pasture to say hi to the horses, and Drew walked right up to me, like he usually does. But instead of standing there to be loved on, he snaked his head right at me, with ears pinned back, and snapped at me. Damn. I walked off to go pick up a food bowl and he followed me, nipping my shoulder. Whoa! That was just so weird.

Thank goodness everyone else was fine, or I’d think it’s what Avery (a blog friend) suggested, some kind of grass poisoning. But Apache’s still friendly and takes his meds like a pro, and Dusty is friendly as ever. Mabel is Mabel (I dreamed I found her walking down the street in a residential neighborhood last night, happy to see me, but not planning to follow me anywhere).

But hey, spring is coming, and I’m enjoying the tiny flowers coming up while I listen to the birds every day. I’m happy to say the barn swallows are coming back. I’ve missed them. Maybe they’ll chase off some of the house sparrows. Maybe?

I’m not sure why I am thrilled every year when the flowers start blooming and the bees and butterflies start to appear. It’s always like a miracle. I was especially pleased to find the violets at the house our family is renovating are in bloom. I hope we can transplant them somewhere.

So, I’m going to stop here, and maybe do another post about renovation progress tomorrow. I am just not myself today. My head is so fuzzy, and I’m so perplexed about my horse. I’m sure things will get better!

Fun on a Rainy Day

We were afraid we wouldn’t get to do much today because it was supposed to rain a lot. So I did my nails and relaxed this morning, but I really wanted to do something outdoors since I’m here in such a pretty part of Texas.

Lee opined that we could at least go for a ride so we traveled along the Devil’s Backbone and looked at lots of scenery and lovely ranches. E stopped for coffee in Wimberley, where of course I was not encouraged to get out and buy any art or boutique items. Hmph.

On our way back we really took back roads and hugged the lake. It stopped raining, so we got out and explored one of the boat ramps on Canyon Lake. All the ramps are closed however. The lake is only 60% full, thanks to the dry summer, so the docks end on rocks and shells of evil Mediterranean clams.

I had a great time finding new plants and familiar ones in their winter disguises.

This is apparently *Pediomelum latestipulatum* or Texas Plains Indian Breadroot

Mostly though, I enjoyed the sounds of many water birds that were on the lake. There were gadwalls, coots, mallards and the wigeons, which make such cool sounds. I saw a kingfisher and a kestrel, too. We had a great time.

Gray lake with ghost trees. There used to be a town under the lake.

I found things blooming and growing amidst the grayness.

The ride home was fun. We found a whole area with houses made of shipping containers, which were very creative. There were many other fun houses along the lake ranging from old to new and small to huge. Plus there was a lot of wildlife. We saw a beautiful fox (no photos, but it had a gorgeous tail) and many lovely deer.

After enjoying football we are ready to head back to the animals tomorrow. I look forward to coming back to this area in the fall for the Master Naturalist annual meeting if not sooner.

We are at top left. Renovated room but not very comfy. Great staff, though!

What’s My Favorite Animal, You Ask?

What are your favorite animals?

Actually, no one asked this except the daily prompt writer, because everyone who knows me more than as a glancing acquaintance can tell you my favorite animal is the horse, followed closely by and endless parade of dogs.

Mabel laughs at the absurdity of anyone wondering what my favorite animal is.

I’ve loved horses since before I knew exactly what a horse was. My mother wasn’t clear on the concept either, and taught baby Suna that horses said “hee haw” of all things.

In fact, my most beloved toddler toy was, um, a stuffed giraffe, which I named Hee Haw, and insisted was a horse. I panicked when Mom washed it.

I really loved horses. There are photos of me in a tiny cowboy hat riding my spring-loaded rocking horse and a giant pillow with a plastic horse head modeled after Fury the TV horse. I can’t find a picture of that, but I did eventually have this 1964 book.

By the time I was past the toddler years I already had a collection of porcelain horses, given to me by my Swedish grandfather. He must have had a lot of faith in me not to break them. More have been broken by house cleaners than were broken by me.

I drew horses constantly as a kid. It gave me something to do when I was done with schoolwork. No photos of those sad things are available. I didn’t actually know many horses, so they were a little off, even though I stared at my Album of Horses book and repeatedly read Black Beauty. I must have been a tiresome child. I went through a lot of crayons and paper.

That tiresomeness hasn’t changed. I still make very annoying word choices (like over apologizing) due to my long-term self esteem issues, which embarrasses me, which makes my dedicated efforts to love myself just as I am even more challenging. huh.

Let’s talk about how I did my best to soothe my soul today.

Even though it was pretty nippy outside due to a biting wind, I went for a nice walk in the woods, since cattle weren’t in that pasture at the moment.

I got to enjoy watching this happy young snapping turtle.

I found a few signs of fall color and enjoyed watching my “secret spring” behind the back pond. It’s not really a secret, but probably only Sara and I have really noticed it. Maybe Kathleen did when she was meditating in the woods. We’re all forest bathers!

There were even a few birds to watch. Now that most of the leaves are off the trees I can see the chickadees, titmice, sparrows, and vireos much better.

In addition to this egret who was checking out the shallow seasonal pools and lots of swirling vultures, Merlin heard a new bird, more than once, even: an evening grosbeak. I’d love to see it.

Anyway, all the dark trees, the bright green rye grass, and wintry blue skies made me relax a bit and got me ready for toting numerous 50-pound bags of horse and chicken feed later.

Poison ivy berries in rotting stump. Hmm.

Ready for work tomorrow.

Better Days Do Come

Sometimes when you have a long string of anxious and worried days, it’s nice to have one that builds you up. I hate it when I’m dealing with annoying physical symptoms and I’ve done all I can to get my equilibrium back, but the truth is sometimes I just have to wait it out. Today helped!

I got to enjoy what passes for fall color in College Station Today.

Penney woke me up by wigging and licking like crazy for about an hour, so I got up, looked at the damp day, and did my nails with a set I’d looked forward to using, which looked like a brocade cloth with big flowers on it. It didn’t go on really great, but it perked right up when I added some gaudy jewels I had hanging around. Now the whole thing looks over the top, but it cheers me up.

After talking to the chickens, I headed over to the place I got them, Bird and Bee Farm, where our Master Naturalist wildscape project is located. I rarely have time on their special days to get out there, so I was glad I had a while to drop by.

I’d intended to take photos of all the butterflies, but it was still too damp in late morning for them to be out. Even the bees were still napping.

My friend Debi and I looked at all the flowers and found lots of caterpillars and a cat.

All these black ones came up as salt marsh moths

It was so pleasant just wandering around and seeing what is still hanging around this time of year. The dew was so heavy that it made for fine photo ops. It’s nice to photograph non-wildflowers like roses and zinnias occasionally

I hung out with birds a bit, and heard a new wren on Merlin, a sedge wren. I wish I’d seen it because it sure looks cute in its photo online. Instead, here are turkeys.

After talking a while with other Master Naturalists, I had to leave. I hope Patsy notices I put my nails in the blog for her.

The reason I had to leave was that I had my second watercolor class at Brazos Watercolor Retreats in College Station. We learned to paint trees with sunlight pouring through them. There were lots of new techniques to learn, like making white space by putting some rubbery stuff on the paper before painting. I also learned to make the sun rays.

I didn’t do a great job on the tree part, but I know what I’d do differently if I tried again. For a first try, I’m fine with my finished product. Maybe I should get some paints, brushes, and paper. It’s fun to see how the colors come out.

I even made it home in time to feed the horses before it was too dark, which makes it a lot easier to give Apache his medicine. They have a new bale of hay, and judging from the holes in the wet ground, they had a good time running around after they escaped while the tractor was going in. Those little dickenses.

So, yay, today has been fine enough that I’m handling learning about a few deaths in my circle pretty well. I have plenty of energy to send out love to all the families and friends, which feels really good.

Hug a loved one.