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
Jim immediately knew the theme of today’s post as we started our morning walk LOL. Our low was 29! I would guess this is the last frost this spring and my blackberry patch still looks good! This spot on our morning walk is a cold spot. Lots of frost! The colors were highlighted by the…
By the time many of you will read this, it will be Wednesday morning and hopefully the last frost. Today (Tuesday) the low was 45 and high was 58. I worn my heavy coat with that wind blowing today. Engelmann’s Daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) is looking pretty across the road from our mailbox! Close up. It…
It got down to 37 again this morning! High was a wonderful 75 degrees! I found what the green caterpillar from yesterday was…Figure-Eight Sallow (Psaphida resumens) caterpillar. Small Phigalia (Phigalia strigataria) has multiple shades from this brown to a yellow and white colors. Ladybug larva! Square-bud Primrose (Calylophus berlandireri) has started to bloom! There are…
It was cold this morning. We got down to 37 degrees…brrr. But maybe even colder the next couple of days. I wonder if it will be the last frost. My Mom used to say, it was needed for the blackberries to set. Our Tharp’s Spiderwort is blooming nicely. The Buprestid beetles (Acmaeodera ornatoides) are enjoying it too….
It is a tad chilly today, but tis nice to see the sun again. Our low this morning was 41 and the high was 61 degrees. Our four day total was 1.32 inches. I think the plants are happy! Here are the last of the grasslands photos from the April 13th. This was a cool…
Here are some more of the grasslands finds! Interesting to see how the beavers gnawed on the tree and how the tree is healing. New Cedar Elm leaves are colorful! Back of a new Post Oak leaf. If you have a chance, take a close up look at the hairs on the back of the…
While sittin’, sippin’ tea, and watchin’ out my shop window this morning, I saw Lark Sparrows (FOS), White-crowned and Chipping sparrows, cardinals, mockingbirds, a Lincoln Sparrow, crows, a Turkey Vulture, and two flocks of hundred plus each of Franklin’s gulls. The Black-chinned hummers were at the dining room window. This is what I…
More photos from the grasslands… Eastern Red Cedar with fungus where a limb had been cut off. Closer view. Gnarly oak! Can you find the dragonfly? Closer…sometimes even when you know where it is, they can be hard to spot. It is a female Common Whitetail. Greenbriar is starting to flower. This is a…
Oh boy I finally got the Cedar Apple Rust (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae). It has been on my list to see and photograph and today was its day at the grasslands. “On juniper, galls appear about seven months after infection, and they form gelatinous masses of spores after 18 months. Golf ball-like depressions form on the gall…
What a delightful time was had by all the prairie friends! First up the Becker Prairie. Becker Prairie Shooting Star! A nice cluster of Blue-eyed Grass! Alan took this great shot of the Celestials! Locoweed (Oxytrois lambertii) seen along the roadside on the way to the Garnett Preserve! Such a pretty plant! Next stop was…