Pa and Ma Kestrel wish you a very merry Christmas

The holiday hawk walk was a grand success this noon. Hawks soared over the horse farm and power wires, watched by this one at the picnic pavilion.

Hawk headed off to meet friends or family.

Winds from the south at 23 mph, sixty-eight percent humidity, and temp of 74 make me uneasy in December. It's hard to forget the devastation of the December 26, 2015 tornadoes in Ellis, Dallas, and Collin County.

Mr. & Mrs. Kestrel near the dam

Bonus heron because you were very good this year!

© 2014-2016 Nancy L. Ruder

Milkweed for monarchs

Good to see lots of antelope horn milkweed growing in the low meadow. Terrific to see a monarch visiting many of the plants. I'm a bit confused to see these plants looking just like ones I photographed in mid-April 2011 just a bit up the hill from today's plants. Did the May floods confuse things? Do new plants appear after the occasional mowing in the meadow?

Debra at My Land Restoration Project wrote about propagating antelope horn milkweed recently, so maybe she knows if the plants start multiple times in a year.

High cuteness factor.

 

Fifteen bonus points if you spot the spider.

Depositing eggs, I hope.

A bit more than eight inches tall.

This item from The Xerces Society appeared on Facebook today:

Sometimes the hardest thing about creating a butterfly garden isn't choosing and planting flowers. Sometimes it's overcoming local rules about landscaping. In this news video, this homeowner faced fines for having plants more than 8" tall.

Many neighborhoods have rules about lawns or plants or landscaping. How many of you have had similar experiences in your own neighborhood? And how did you address concerns?

Antelope horn milkweed just make me happy because of their galactic appearance, now as in 2011 when I really needed a giggle.

© 2014-2015 Nancy L. Ruder

Slog-worthy

My muddy, drizzly walk was totally worth the slog and eventual shoe cleaning. The trout lilies on the Willow Springs trail were even more fascinating to me after hearing a panel discussion on KERA's "Think" program Monday. The explanation of trout lily colonies is from minutes seven to ten at this link. It seems trout lily colonies can be thousands of years old. The plant doesn't bloom until it is seven years old. Wildest of all, seed dispersal seems to be dependent on ants.

Not slog-worthy, this week I finally finished reading Anna Karenina on my Kindle. Never had to read it in school, and I wondered why it's a classic. Now I really wonder! There wasn't a single likable character in the whole tome, and the point of the pontificating eludes me.

So on a happier note, I present this fabulous fungus. I was a muddy mess by the time I found it, so I'm not sure if it was on the Rowlett Creek Trail or the Bur Oak Trail headed back to the parking lot. How long will it have this gorgeous color? I don't know.

Other muddy hike sights include this black fungus, the trout lilies, and the hole where a tree just fell over into the creek. Bet that was noisy.

© 2014-2015 Nancy L. Ruder

With liver trees and goose poop for all

This land is your land with purple mountains majesty, wavy amber grains and a rainbow reaching to the ground.


These New Balance country walkers had tread when I got them. Now they resemble bald tires that will never pass the state vehicle safety inspection. I've worn off most of the tread at Oak Point.

Below the mud of my most recent Oak Point walk there's still evidence of very green Eugene, Oregon geese. Oh, my, yes, the Oregon Ducks had just had a bad day in Dallas playing the Buckeyes. Now I was a stone's throw from the big Duck stadium squishing through green goose poop. I was following my son and grandson holding hands and walking toward the geese. We were waiting for the Science Factory to open on a Sunday morning. Childhood is a strange place with all sorts of incoming stimuli every moment. Thankfully, I can say the same thing about being of a certain age.Seeing the two of them in deep discussion about the geese made up for whatever was getting stuck to my shoes. Indeed my heart with rapture thrilled. Mine eyes had seen the glory!

  

As we went driving that ribbon of highway through the fruited valley and golden plain on the way home after good grilled cheese sandwiches we found a rainbow reaching to the ground*. A bit further north we saw purple mountain majesties and trampled vintage grapes. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

It's not everyday I feel like I'm in the middle of a national anthem video, but maybe that's because I'm not paying full attention. And where do I go to refill my attention tank? Oak Point. Life is good!

*Beautiful Nebraska, as you look around,

You will find a rainbow reaching to the ground;

All these wonders by the Master's hand'

Beautiful Nebraska land.