What does an armadillo and a chicken have in common? In the same way, they both needed to get to the other side of the road LOL.
Armadillo scurrying across the road before dawn. I would say that it has had a hard life from the looks of it.
There are many oil and gas wells on the grasslands. The Forest Service does get royalties from them.
A crustose lichen (Diploschistes muscorum). It was a wet morning so this one had a tint of green. When wet, a lot of the lichens’ algae layer become more apparent.
A rock with a hole. I looked but didn’t see anything inside the cavity this time.
Of course I had to turn it over. Tunnel holes in the dirt but not one creature this time. Then usually I try to place the rock I disturbed back in its original position.
Here is a view of where we started. Just over the horizon a ditch awaits us.
There was a lot of Yellow Puff (Neptunia lutea) in the field and I found some that were producing seed. This is fascinating plant whose leaves will fold to the touch. Here on the far left corner, you can see the leaves that folded. This process is called thigmonasty.
A typical view of where the prairie leads down into the ditch.
It is an opportunity to see the layers of the soil. First notice the top layer is red sandy clay. And under the top soil is the Paluxy formation which is the white layer.
Often at these edges, you can almost always find Cladonia lichens and mosses. In this photo, the Cladonia lichen is visible right at the edge of the grass and the drop off.
Big-top Dalea (Dalea enneandra) is a wispy plant. But if you stop to examine the flowers, I think you will find them delightful!
Very few people who own land with wells get any royalty. No one sells mineral rights. Whoever owned that grasslands area before they acquired it most likely still own the mineral rights.
Very few people who own land with wells get any royalty. No one sells mineral rights. Whoever owned that grasslands area before they acquired it most likely still own the mineral rights.
My understanding was that the Forest Service does get a bunch money every year. Helps with their budget I was told.
What a good prairie-edge day 😊