Valentine's sightings

Red-shouldered hawk, Redbud Trail

Weather forecasters in bow ties OR bright spandex dresses have been carrying on about our impending winter weather for several days. I'm not running out to buy firewood and a shovel. At Oak Point's lake folks were sunbathing. This beautiful hawk let me get pretty close, then flew off down the dry creek.

Sad to say I spotted a vehicle in Rowlett Creek. You can see it if you take a little side trail from Caddo Trail out to the creek bend northwest of the Sycamore Pass/Caddo Trail junction. An informed source assures me this is not part of the famous 1970 Gremlin. Volunteer Robert Swann completely removed that Gremlin from Rowlett Creek. I wanted to transform into the Hulk and just go haul this thing out! And of course when I got home I had to google Bill Bixby.

Several walkers were as stunned as me when two kids whizzed by on a motorized mini-bike. One kid was sitting on the other kid's shoulders. This is the first time I've seen this at Oak Point, so had to check out the park rules:

Motorized vehicles and devices (including motorcycles, scooters, etc.) are prohibited on trails, sidewalks, and grass areas. (Plus if you die pulling this stunt your mom is going to kill you.)

This sulphur butterfly led me a merry chase. It's bigger than sulphurs I usually see, but smaller than the Cloudless Giant Sulphur. It was great to see so many people and very happy dogs out on the trails celebrating Valentine's Day.

Adding here a postscript, a link to my friend Kathleen Kirk's unValentine poem, "Hawk on the Fence".