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Magnolia-cone Mushroom, Strobilurus conigenoides | Wildlife Wednesday
While fungi aren’t quite wildlife or plants and I probably should have called this Fungi Friday instead, we’re going to shuffle our mushroom friends to a Wildlife Wednesday today. And while we’re enjoying Second Summer, I’m dreaming about a day that will come soon enough, one that requires a light fleece in the morning, warming to the high 60s or low 70s mid-day, but under foot, while traipsing about the woods, are tiny mushrooms growing on decaying magnolia cones. I first saw magnolia-cone mushrooms, Strobilurus conigenoides, a few years ago when out in Sam Houston National Forest, not realizing that they were a specialized fungus that grew only on magnolia…
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Second Summer | 30 Days of Writing
Second Summer has arrived. We still get that tease in the early mornings that perhaps we can pretend it is fall. That has been quickly dissipating, though, as the day warms up. In August I decided to get a head start on some fall veggie crops and sowed kale and cabbage seeds, which all germinated. In my head I envisioned planting them all out mid-September and by October there would be great growth with the cooler weather. I went ahead and transplanted the kale and cilantro seedlings on Sunday evening and am hoping that adequate mulch and frequent waterings will get them through the upcoming high 90s, possible 100*, temperatures.…
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The Dangers of Road Walking (FT Book Snippet) | 30 Days of Writing
*I’m a little tired tonight to put any effort into writing something original so here are a few paragraphs from my Florida Trail book* A short conversation with a group of fishermen also waiting the lightning out at the boat ramp let us know that their radio station had concurred with what we’d heard earlier–we should have already experienced the worst of the storm. We began our rainy, treacherous five-mile road walk down S.R. 60. Cars zoomed past for morning rush hour. This was a rural area so I couldn’t fathom where exactly all this traffic was coming and going, but both directions were heavy with vehicles. An opening presented…
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Battleship Texas | 30 Days of Writing
A few weeks ago Battleship Texas was towed from its home near the San Jacinto monument to a dry dock in Galveston to have major repairs and work done to it. Tonight we walked over to get a glimpse of it from near Fisherman’s Wharf near The Strand. Whenever it is finally back in public view we will have to make plans to see it up close. Short and sweet tonight.
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South Dakota 2007
(This post is courtesy of my former boss Steve (hi Steve!) who sent me a thumb drive a few months ago with some photos on it from a trip I took to South Dakota in 2007.) If there is one thing I miss a lot about my previous job in Florida, it is the access to travel that I had while there. Several times a year I had the opportunity to attend conferences or trainings in various places throughout the country. I enjoy traveling alone, though sometimes I traveled with co-workers or with Steve. When I was alone I would often spend time wandering around whatever town I was visiting,…
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Editing isn’t bad | 30 Days of Writing
I thought about writing a Wildlife or Wildflower Wednesday post today but decided I am not invested enough in doing the little bit of research I need to write that up today. And then I thought Wordless Wednesday would be a good alternative but hey, I’m trying to write some paragraphs here these next 30 days. Even if they are short and sweet. I have finally begun one last round of edits on my Florida Trail book. It’s going a lot easier than I thought it would. I had built it up to be this hard, unbreakable thing and as I read I realize it doesn’t suck. I’ve only told…
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It’s Been A Day | 30 Days of Writing
Last night I did not envision for today: +A kid waking up with an earache at midnight and continued to sleep terribly the rest of the night. There’s been congestion for days that I was hoping we’d just wade through. +Me getting a second night of bad sleep. +Knowing earache meant a trip to the pediatrician, so planning for that at midnight. +Realizing I also needed to get my laptop to work at home. +Making plans for that after calling the pediatrician at 8am and driving to the office where in the middle of updating Chris, who is out of town, of what was going on I get an alert…
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Tendrils of Fall | 30 Days of Writing
A glimpse of fall happened this morning. Forest led the way out the door and as I stepped out behind him, pushed the key into the lock and turned it to secure the house, I felt tendrils of cool air on my legs. Not quite cool enough to grab a fleece, but the kind of morning you would spend drinking some coffee on the porch and then puttering about the yard for an hour before heat and humidity seeped into the day. It’s almost mid-September, about the time to start getting these teases. A little cool to remind you that Texas will be released from the hold of swampy moisture…
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Jones Spring at Pedernales Falls State Park
Tucked in far back along the southeastern boundary of Pedernales Falls State Park is a little spring called Jones Spring. Chris and I had been there many years ago and I wanted to visit again during our trip in July 2021. When we hiked in originally we came from the Wolf Mountain Trail near the main park road, a hefty hike in from that area. You can also park off of County Road 201 on the south side of the park, parking in the parking lot there, or we pulled over at the eastern junction of the Madrone Trail and that road where it was obvious other cars had parked…
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8 is Great!
The baby burrito pictured here turned 8 today! 8!! He had a friend from school come over to celebrate with pizza and cake and they opened a few presents together. He’s been very excited about this all week and I’m glad his friend was able to come over and celebrate the day with him. Forest is super into Pokémon right now so he was ecstatic to get some new cards and other Pokémon adjacent items. We’re hoping to continue the celebrations this weekend with a trip to the water park if the weather cooperates tomorrow. Well, this is a short post because someone wants to play Pokémon, so, see ya!
