Another busy day of mostly play

I love this expression that I read today. "Irrational optimism is waiting for rain in the desert."

A birder friend, Carl Milliken, came by the house in Alpine to photograph a male Rufous Hummingbird this morning.

After I got caught up on housework, I headed toward the hummingbird festival in Ft Davis. But since I was running an hour early, I impulsively decided to stop along the way at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute. Maybe there would be flowers at the visitor's center with butterflies on them. At the center I remembered some festival participants raving about Modesto Canyon. I had never been to the canyon.

The personnel at the center assured me I could easily do it in an hour. So another impulsive decision. One impulsive detour I could have gotten away with, but two was pushing it. What I forgot to mention to the personnel is that I would for sure get distracted here and there photographing butterflies and/or dragonflies. So it seemed I just got to the canyon and had to make a mad dash (arduous climb) back to the car. 

big madrone tree

I arrived at the festival just as Kelly was starting his awesome Lucifer Hummingbird presentation. I don't think people realize what a treasure that presentation is. A lot of research and knowledge went into it, plus he's amassed some unique photos. He must tweak his presentation as he discovers more, because every time I watch it I learn more fascinating state-of-the-art stuff.

Back at home I downloaded the pitiful few photos I took during breaks to catch my breath climbing out of the canyon. One was a lifer Common Streaky-Skipper butterfly, a species that has been a nemesis for me. Brian isn't available this weekend, but I feel certain that's what it is.

The damselflies are more difficult to ID. I'll post a photo of one that I think is a Golden-winged Dancer, but that species would be rare for Jeff Davis County, so I'm probably wrong. Still....

I'd go back tomorrow but it's closed on Sundays.  Back in Alpine a lone freshly fledged Barn Swallow let me get real close to it, but my camera wouldn't focus that close, so I snapped this with my cell phone.

UPDATE: The damselfly has been identified as a female Springwater Dancer. At least I got the Dancer part right.