What a drizzly cold day! So glad I took Gracie to the grasslands yesterday. In fact, after the morning walk this morning, all I could think about was how good a gooey cinnamon bun would be. I did not get one ;-( I settled for potato and leek soup for supper.
As I mentioned yesterday, Gracie certainly enjoyed her outing with no ill effects. I was worried about the ole girl. But the cooler temperature was just fine for her.
An American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) was hiding in plain sight!
One of my favorite lichens, a Palmetto Lichen (Ramalina celastri). This is fruticose lichen. It is attached at a center point and is shrubby. Other lichens in the photo are foliose.
Blue Eastern Red Cedar berries. As Kathy mentioned in the comments in yesterday’s post, the female cedars seemed to be loaded!
Out in the open meadow, we found Splitbread Bluestem (Andropogon ternarius)! It is the fluffier grass, not to be confused with fluffy Gracie 😉
I glanced up to see the crows going by, but then I heard the Sandhill Cranes (FOS)! They are very hard to spot. In fact, it is easier to wait for them to fly under a cloud.
The flock was forty or so strong!
Minutes later, a second larger flock sailed by making their rattle-y calls.
A small dark beetle climbs over the exuvia of a cicada!
Finally today, I will leave you where Gracie and I headed down into the drainage ditch.
Two flocks of cranes flew over our house a couple of days ago – wonder if it was the same two groups? I recorded part of their passage on my phone, and can show you the next time we get together.
Or, quoting Moody Blues – “Voices in the Sky.” A random thought, but there it is.
I like that…perfect!
Two flocks of cranes flew over our house a couple of days ago – wonder if it was the same two groups? I recorded part of their passage on my phone, and can show you the next time we get together.