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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…
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Seep Loop Trail | Davis Mountains State Park
As with the Limpia Creek Trail, this trail in the state park is on the north side of the highway. I should have mentioned in the post yesterday that you will have to get the combination to the lock to open the gate over there and check in and out of the trail at the park office when you go for your hike. This trail is not on the trail map for the park but it is on the general facility map for the park and is about 1.25 miles round trip. It is very easy going, sloping gently down to Limpia Creek where it crosses/kind of follows the creek.…
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Limpia Creek Trail | Davis Mountains State Park
As per usual, snippets of interesting information is interspersed in the photos and the main write up is at the end! Milkweed seeds blown in the wind. Cottonwoods + Blue Sky A caterpilllar in the tiger moth family—maybe a salt marsh moth? Cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) nest Nylon Hedgehog Cactus, Echinocereus chloranthus Havard’s Century Plant, Agave havardiana Texas Brown Tarantula, Aphonopelma hentzi — not alive! I’m equal parts sad and also glad it wasn’t alive when we encountered it. Yes, still working on the giant spider phobia. Little Nipple Cactus, Mammillaria meiacantha Texas Mountain Laurel, Dermatophyllum (formerly Sophora) secundiflorum Ornate Tree Lizard, Urosaurus ornatus Tree Cholla, Cylindropuntia imbricata On the…
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The McDonald Observatory
One afternoon during our stay at Davis Mountains State Park we took a short side trip over to the
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Forest Friday | Campsite Ramblings
Our campsite at Davis Mountains State Park was rather narrow and abutting Keesey Creek, which was dry. Because it was so near the campsite it made for an easy play area for Forest where he spent a lot of time playing with the mullein growing up and down the creek bed as well as stacking rocks and generally have a grand old time in imaginary play. The evening light down the creek bed was gorgeous every night and I wanted to play around with some freelensing as I don’t do that very often. The results were all over the place but even the out of focus dream-like images I still…