Welcome to my nature blog! I love sharing my photos of North Texas! I will keep looking out and hope you do too.
Comments welcome. Thank you, Mary
These photos are all from the Prairie Seekers field day in Collin County. Candlesnuff fungus or also called Stag’s horn fungus (Xylaria species)! Apparently you must look at the spores to get a definite answer for the species according to the MushroomExpert. Border Patch caterpillar on Saw-tooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)! We saw quite a few of…
Another beautiful day! Today on the afternoon walk, I found the tiniest specimen of a mushroom. No photos today, but I will get them to y’all in a day or so. Really cool! Today’s photos are all from the grasslands. Woods Ear (Auricularia angiospermarum) is always a fun to see with its velvety texture! Closeup…
We added .86″ to our rain bucket since midnight. So the grand total for us for the storm has been 2.26″. Pretty nice! Back side of Greenthread (Thelesperma filifolium). The two toned phyllaries are a characteristic of Greenthread. What a lovely shade on these shelf fungus! A closeup of a treehopper (Ceresini) nymph! It was…
More good stuff! And lots of sunshine today. High temperature today was 80 degrees for us. We got a nice amount rain from yesterday’s storm…1.30″ Indian Blanket with a tiny beetle! Southern Purple Mint moth (Pyrausta laticlavia)! Snake Herb (Dyschoriste linearis) has an awesome throat! Texas Bindweed (Convolvulus equitans) has several colors from white to white…
As I stepped out the back door to take Gracie on her walk, I stopped to look at a thistle next to the sidewalk. Thistle (Cirsium)! Mine are not blooming yet, but I have seen them blooming along the roadside. There was at the end of a leaf something brown which I figured was a…
We have gotten .39″ since yesterday. It was a nice rainy day eh! And I can’t believe I still need my knitted chicken hat! Thanks Claire! I wondered if this might be a tarantula burrow? It was fairly big. Let me know what you think. The Bewick’s Wren family is growing! A top view of…
Bewick’s wren nest with 4 eggs. After the size and color of the eggs, the twigs seal the deal for a Bewick’s. The Bold Jumping spider! Don’t the white spots look like eyes and a mouth. I think the “eyes” look like they have eyelashes. I saw this grass blade folded and wondered what did…
This is the second half of the Thursday’s outing. American Lady! I was pleased I could get this close. Most of the butterflies lately have not been so cooperative. Square-bud Primrose (Calylophus berlandieri) is the typical one we see in North Texas with the yellow center. Square-bud Primrose (Calylophus berlandieri ssp pinifolius) is the special…
Back to the Garnett Preserve! The Ambush Bug and the Crab Spider on the Green Milkweed. I could not tell if one of them had nabbed the other. New orange growth on the Prickly Pear cactus! I love this look on the Prickly Pear too! Ratany (Krameria lanceolata) is a beauty, but the seed heads…
Today’s route was one that I often took with Shirley. So I affectionally call it the Shirley Tour. There were five of us who all knew Shirley well. It was a great day! How could it not be, following Shirley’s path! First stop was the Garnett Preserve. This larva was the first critter of the…