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Bat House Update!
I did a search for posts here but I couldn’t come up with anything that talked about the big bat house Chris built about 3.5 years ago. Chris had installed some smaller bat boxes to our pine trees when we moved in and one or two sometimes later—and we have bats in most of those as well—but the big bat house was meant to house lots of bats. Anyway, I realized I had never posted any videos here of the bats leaving (or coming back) and it is really pretty cool! We *have* reached the point where you can smell them in the heat of the summer when the wind…
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Winter Ramble at Tandy Hills Natural Area
Our trip to DFW after Christmas was chilly as per usual, though certainly no tenuous drive across Tarrant county as roads were icing like last year! We had one day where Chris and I were itching to get a hike in, to feel some movement, and so we went over to Tandy Hills for a short jaunt through the park. Zoe was game to go with us so we left Forest with Grayson under the eye of my Mom so they could play together for a bit. Being as it was winter, not a lot was going on. There have been several fires there recently, not for a controlled burn,…
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Wildlife at South Llano River State Park | Wildlife Wednesday
American Snout, Libytheana carinenta We were packing up the car to leave the state park when I noticed a butterfly landing on my backpack sitting on the picnic table. It was the first day of sunshine after a couple of cloudier days and surprisingly the butterflies were out. Not many, but just enough to make me happy! I had already taken the two butterfly photos you’ll see below before I saw this one and as I went closer to inspect the butterfly, before getting my camera to take a photo, I saw the odd, pointed snout and realized it was an American snout! I’d read about these butterflies but had…
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Fort Worth Stock Show with the Family
Every since Forest was born my parents have been wanting to take Forest to the Fort Worth Stock Show as they had done in years previous with my niece and nephew. Timing wise it had never really worked out. This year was different as Chris’ mom and step-dad were having a celebration for their 20th wedding anniversary which necessitated a trip up there. Forest would be having his first sleepover with his cousins since the party was adult only, so on Saturday we spent the day over in Fort Worth going to the Stock Show! It’s been years since I’ve been to Will Rogers Coliseum where the Stock Show is…
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Life Lately | February 2019
Forest in a hunting blind at South Llano River State Park Thinking: While we were camping last weekend we had to take a road back to make it a loop to the car from the trail we were on. About 10′ off the trail into the vegetation was a large empty chip bag. I deviated off the road for a moment to pick up the back to LNT the thing and as I was stepping off the trail Forest says “Are we going bushwhacking?” Chris and I chuckled because it was so funny and he used it in the right context! I was going off the road but not with…
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Birds & Mule Deer at Davis Mountains State Park | Wildlife Wednesday
We encountered this group of mule deer on our way up Skyline Drive one evening. Luckily we were going slow enough that I had Chris stop so I could get a photo with the moon as the backdrop. Thankfully this deer posted perfectly for me! And then there was this set of characters at one of the wildlife viewing areas that Chris and Forest saw (I was back at camp–I needed some quiet time!). Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria Yellow-rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata Townsend’s Solitaire, Myadestes townsendi–Thanks Eliana for the ID! House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris White-winged…
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A Taste of Spring
Phlox drummondii Over the weekend we went to the Hill Country to camp at Inks Lake State Park, and we were in for a treat. The Lady Bird Wildflower Center has been sharing their wildflower reports on social media, basically reposting what people are sharing that they’ve seen, and I’ve seen bluebonnets from Big Bend to the Hill Country posted. Sure enough, as we headed into the Hill Country we found wildflowers galore, including plenty of early bluebonnets. Closer to Houston there are some paintbrushes beginning to bloom but the big awakening is yet to happen. As we traipsed along the Gneiss rock formations in the state park, I think…
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Scenes from TX-17 | Silent Sunday
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Around Camp | Davis Mountains State Park
Our campsite, 41, was not wide but it was spaced so that there was quite a bit of room on either side of us that we weren’t abutting the next campsites. I think the downside to this space was there was really only one spot for the tent which did happen to be closer to one of the campsites. That got frustrating one evening when we were in bed early (because dark and cold!) and the RV next to us decided to bring out a projector screen and watch a movie outside. Ooh boy. Some day I’m going to have a ranty post about campground quiet hours and how I…
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The View from Skyline Drive | Davis Mountains State Park
There are two ways to get to the main Scenic Overlook at Davis Mountains State Park: by car via Skyline Drive or by foot via the Skyline Trail. The trail itself is about 2.6 miles one way with the main overlook, I’m estimating, around halfway or just a bit more than that. We went the easy route, via truck, every evening. Most evenings we went for sunset, though there was one day, possibly the first day, where we arrived earlier and had a lot of daylight left to scope out the scenery below. The views were magnificent! The overlook was a popular place at sunset with many people bringing chairs…