Morning calm

Morning calm

Not only was it calm at 11 am, but it was overcast and gray too. Gracie the anemometer, on the job! No data is valid data! Indiangrass not moving a millimeter. Not often does the bristlegrass stand still for a photo. Giant Ragweed looks frosty but it is not. It is just the hirsute or…

Puff puff and be free

Puff puff and be free

 The last part of Tuesday’s grassland hike… Several of these plants were by the creek’s edge. I think it is probably Cursed Crowfoot or Celery-leaved Buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus) by the shape of its leaves. Wow, the shelf fungus on this downed tree was amazingly crowded. Wasp nest slime mold (Metatrichia vesparia) is tiny, but worth the…

Plague doctor

Plague doctor

Before I start in with the grasslands, I saw these “zipper” clouds today around noon (that is a name I just made up). The sky was clear by 3 pm.  Continuing on with Tuesday’s grasslands outing… Does this remind you of the Plague doctor? We were in the safety zone, right. A heart shape or…

Dam

Dam

 It was a lovely day on the grasslands yesterday. This big patch of Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) was awesome. Until this year, I had not notice it anywhere except on creek banks and ravine banks. Interesting partially dead tree. The tree was trying to repair itself it looked like. I thought that was different in the…

Lake Bridgeport

Lake Bridgeport

Yesterday late in the afternoon we went to Lake Bridgeport. It had been awhile. Here’s what we saw. I wish the Killdeer would hang out at the house again. They have not nested at our house in a long time. Glad to see they were still at the lake! White Pelicans way across the lake….

A bright day

A bright day

Arkansas Yucca seedpod (Yucca arkansana). Vine twists up the Hackberry tree. Crustose fungus doing its job! Close up. Bedstraw (Galium aparine) has started to pop out. It is an annual. I have read that it was used in bedding. The plant will cling to you with its hairs. I have found several species of caterpillars…

Night shift

Night shift

I am not a night person. My Dad was. He worked the night shift my whole childhood at the St. Louis airport. But a lot goes on while I sleep. Sometimes I hear the night shift calling when I go to bed or when I get up early. A wildlife camera can let you get…

Kansas

Kansas

 Kansas is the name of an American rock band. In 1977 they release a song called “Dust in the Wind”. The song seems appropriate today I think. At 11:18 am there were still clouds lingering but the wind had already started to gust as Gracie, the anemometer shows. At 1:24 pm the clouds were gone…

What lies beneath?

What lies beneath?

  I don’t think anyone has anything on north Texas’ sunrises. Spring Beauty colors! The variation of color ranges from almost white… To these deeper shades. And the yellow at the base of the petals vary too. What lies beneath the bark on this dead Hackberry tree? This is the bark moved back to the…

Weird find

Weird find

The sky had a lot of contrails today. It was cold this morning with a low of 23. However there was not much frost on the ground. Glad there was no wind and plenty of sunshine at noon! By the afternoon it was not so blue. At sunset the sky was full of many different…