Up a creek!
Normally in 2020, this would be a bad place to be “up a creek”, BUT today…well, we went up a creek and it was wonderful on the LBJ National Grasslands.
Also of note, I saw 100+ White Pelicans, 100+ Monarchs (most at the grasslands), and one Yellow-shafted Flicker today. House Wrens started showing a week ago.
Most of day we could actually walk along the side of the creek, but here we had to go up and around this part of the creek.
Maidenhair fern was abundant along the creek.
Drip marks on the sandstone
Plenty of frogs in the creek!
Cool piece of sandstone that had fallen off the bank.
I believe this might be Russula species.
This is a mushroom and that is as far as I’m willing to say what it is today 🙂
Puffball, maybe Peeling puffball (Lycoperdon marginatum)
Another puffball! I think from my reading, a lot of the whitish color puffballs belong to Lycoperdon genus BUT I could be way off on that.
Curly-cup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa)
The Black Dalea (Dalea frutescens) was really going gang busters today.
Closeup.
Closer-up. Notice the resin glands on the bracts (part holding the flower) and the leaves.
Snailseed (Cocculus carolinus)
This Feather-legged fly (Trichopoda lanipes) was a new for me.
Look at the hind legs and you can kinda see the “feathers”.
Weevil, Family Curculionidae (Snout and Bark Beetles)
Monarch on Gayfeather (Liatris mucronata)
Southern shield fern (Thelypteris kunthii). We found 8 or so plants of these along the creek bed. A new fern for Wise County and the grasslands.
You can not miss this lichen (Chrysothrix xanthia) if you come across it in the woods. It is a bright neon chartreuse. Stunning!
I love that unit! Such a great spot.
It is a favorite for sure!
I used to see that chartreuse lichen at the FW Nature Center and it was always on black locust trees.
Suzanne, Very interesting on your observation on the Black locust trees. I find it on oaks but it is hard to tell sometimes times because it is always on dead trees. I know a few spots on the grasslands that do have black locust, but have not look for that lichen on that particular species of tree.
Wow, what a jewel of an area! The lichen is amazing, I think I have run across it before. The weevils are always fascinating!
Chrysothrix is one of my favs😊