Red Hot Pokers

In Alpine everyone enjoys admiring our Red Hot Pokers (tritoma), but until today I didn't know hummingbirds used them. I like them even better now.

Baby Elf Owl

I believe a baby Elf Owl left the nest about 11 days ago (see post of Jun 17) due to extremely hot weather. This may be the same one. If so, it's surviving, though I don't know how it can be. Not because the adults don't feed it, but it stood on the ground for hours today. Surely something will make lunch out of it.

I just went down long enough to water so couldn't really monitor it. It doesn't appear to be able to fly. It let me get closer than I should have been able to, like about six feet away. If I went closer it would hobble off a little ways farther.

Here's a butterfly that I photographed at Marathon's Post Park a few days ago. I think it's a Julia's Skipper, which would be my first from Brewster Co. I saw that species in East Texas last year.

All in a day's work

Went to the grocery store late this morning and immediately spotted a juvenile Black-chinned Hummingbird flying around inside the store. When I asked employees they said it had been flying around in there all morning. I couldn't stand not trying to rescue it, so raced home for some bird netting..... the kind we protect our fruit trees with. Back at the store, I observed the bird for about 30 minutes, noting that occasionally it rested briefly down low. The store's ceilings are very high.

A couple of times it perched near a leafy potted plant so I stationed myself there. The next time it exhaustedly perched there I rushed a big wad of the netting over it. It had perched on the rim of a vase and the net had pushed it into the vase. I put my hand over the top of the vase, carried it outside and released it. It all happened so fast that people in the store didn't know if I'd caught it or not. I reassured them I had. Just call me the hummingbird whisperer. LOL

Marathon day

Hadn't been to Marathon in quite a while. Feeling really restless. Seems I'm always waiting. Waiting for warm weather, waiting for rain, or something. Waiting for my sinus infection to get better.....

Sometimes when I go to Marathon I don't go to the Post Park outside of town because, in general, I don't care for it. Seems every time I go there, more vegetation has been removed, and more trash has accumulated. In spite of that disappointment, I'm glad I went today. I was able to photograph a Fragile Forktail, which is a species I had seen briefly in Austin last year, but never able to photograph before now.

From there I visited Gage Gardens, which is usually a delight. The billionaire owner, J P Bryan, has done an amazing job, and one which he has no obligation to do, or to open to the public. Besides a formal garden worthy of a palace, there are many wonderful native species.

I was pleased to see this new sign out front by an improved parking area.

Can you imagine eating a meal the size of yourself? If you're a robberfly, you might.

I swung by the Prairie Dog town some 10 miles or so north of Marathon. I had heard it's going to be a park or something on the TX birding trail, but there was no new sign there, as I had expected there might be. Didn't see any Burrowing Owls either. Lots of Prairie Dogs though.

Red Sunrise

I got up early this AM to go water at the oasis and was amazed to see the sunrise in Alpine. In all my years of life I never saw it blood-red like this in the morning. No adjustments have been made to this photo's color. It's like it came from the camera. If anything, with the naked eye, it was redder.

At CMO, as I was watering, I heard and saw baby quail, but they're so fast that by the time I got to the camera they disappeared. Here is the one and only shot I got. I did a little research and it appears that humidity and pollution play a part in the sun being red like this.

Still in a heat wave

Due to the terrible heat wave I'm going back down to CMO later today so I can water things in the morning before it gets too hot.

I just have to stop buying these yummy dark chocolate snacks from Shopko here in Alpine because once I start eating them I can't stop until they're gone. Not good!

Next is an interesting insect I saw in Pine Canyon a couple of days ago. Don't have it ID'd yet.

I think this flower that I shot Monday in Pine Canyon, with a Golden Banded-Skipper on it is some kind of milkweed. I love the flower species there, as well as the trees, etc. It's a whole package deal. Hope to get back there again in my lifetime.

My Pine Canyon adventure

Got to the trailhead at 8:30 AM. Didn't want to get there before butterflies were active.

As it was, I saw many along the dirt road leading to Pine Canyon. A little earlier would have worked. The sign there says the trail is 4 miles round trip. When I had walked about a mile, I stopped to photograph a butterfly and couldn't get my Lumix zoom to work. 

Reluctantly, almost tearfully, I decided there was no point in continuing, so headed back toward my pickup. After about 5 minutes I found a spot of shade and sat down to study the camera some more. Turned it on and, presto, the zoom worked. So I turned and headed back up the trail. During a break about 2/3 of the way to where the trail ends at a box canyon, I put my camera on a rock and set the timer to document my adventure.

If I had it to do over again, I would have left half the water (the two quarts that I ended up lugging back to my vehicle) and carried my Canon. Oh well, I did get one lifer, a Golden Banded-Skipper. It would have been almost impossible not to get it. There were lots of them everywhere.

Pine Canyon is the most magical place in the Big Bend, in my opinion. A relict from the last ice age, still filled with Texas Madrones, Big Tooth Maples, and Ponderosa Pines. Plus a waterfall at the end (when there's water, which isn't often).

I'm none the worse for the wear, except my feet really hurt.

UPDATE: My sister called me a while ago saying she had heard on the radio that a hiker had died in Big Bend National Park today. She knew I was going to Pine Canyon and said her heart just dropped. And then the announcer said it happened in Dog Canyon, so she breathed again. I hate that she had to suffer that moment of agony. I can only imagine how terrible it must have been. Actually, a 46 year old woman died yesterday, but it didn't make the news until today. The headlines my sister heard didn't say when, apparently. Pine Canyon today would not have been quite as hot as Dog Canyon was yesterday, I don't think.  I never saw another person all the while I was in the park today other than a couple of cars on the highway when I was leaving.

Feels like record heat at CMO

Don't ever remember my thermometer reading 109° before. This heat is totally unacceptable! I stayed mostly in my air-conditioned cave today. Didn't get much done. A good chance to work on some computer issues that I think I have resolved. Long boring story so won't go into it.

This may be the first photo I've ever posted of a Carpenter Bee. They're native pollinators that don't fare well with the European honeybee competition. The native bees are better pollinators, given a chance. But people want honey, so it goes.

I feel like if the oasis hadn't gotten that little over half an inch of rain over two weeks ago that caught some water in my dirt tank, the oasis would be dead by now. Shows how precarious its survival is, but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can.

Here are a couple of butterflies from today. I don't see any improvement in my photos yet, but since my camera is better, it should happen eventually.

Arizona Powdered-Skipper

Chinati Checkerspot

Pine Canyon tomorrow, hot or not!  Reluctantly, I decided to not carry my Canon.

Life comes at me fast

The days are brutally hot. In town today I practiced a little with my cameras, never staying outdoors long at a time. My poor apple tree is weighted down with apples. The deer eat all they can reach and prune the tree in the process. Way too many deer, dogs, cats, etc. running rampant in Alpine.

Came to CMO after supper to find the temperature had only dropped down to 105.° Watered some wilted stuff and filled empty feeders. By then one baby Elf Owl couldn't stand the heat in the nest hole anymore, so plopped itself outside for a cooler nap, to the consternation of the parents.

But junior dozed, oblivious.

And I was so frustrated. Trying to adjust the exposure compensation on my new camera, I accidentally turned on the timer. Didn't have glasses, was getting darker by the second, and no idea what I had done wrong. Later at the house with the manual I got it turned off. Meanwhile, I switched to my Lumix camera. But for some reason I had the focus set wrong or something. Still have to consult the manual. I need to get it right because that's the only camera I'm going to be able to carry with me to Pine Canyon Monday.

Rescued this lizard from a rain barrel by the house. He was none the worse for his experience. I think it's a Texas Banded Gecko. I've seen that species here before, but not one that looked exactly like this one.

Catch-up time again

I decided not to do the Pine Canyon hike for a couple of days since my feet still hurt from the climb up my mountain in the wrong shoes day before yesterday. And since the weather's so brutally hot, and since I want to spend maximum time at Pine Canyon because it's such a long ways there, I made myself postpone it. Hopefully, in two days I'll do it.

Meanwhile I'm in town organizing photos from recent days. My sister Ann was delighted to have her Century Plant (Agave havardiana) prepare to bloom. And it hasn't even been a century since she planted it. Here's a photo she proudly took of it.

The pride was followed by the fall a day or so later, unfortunately. Here we are yesterday trying to prop it up a little. She's hoping it'll go ahead and finish blooming in it's prone state.

And yesterday I took this photo of a lovely male Two-tailed Swallowtail at CMO.

And even though I changed my plans for today, Mac kept with his. When I got up this morning and headed down to the oasis, past the guesthouse, he had already left on his trip home. All I saw was this rainbow he left for me. No rain though. 

All hands on deck

Today my husband came down from town with his loader and cleaned out the big tank. It was a muddy mess. We had to keep sprinkling dry dirt on the ramp coming out so he didn't slide back down and not make it out. When my body gave out Mac took over.

I must confess that I have mixed feelings about cleaning the tank. I lost all the gambusias, pondweed, turtles, frogs, etc. I know they'll make a comeback, but I did love the tank ecosystem. Not to mention there's a huge pile of mud and a mess in general. While the tank will hold more water now, it may also evaporate faster without the pondweed. I think the pondweed keeps the water cooler. Well, it's done but I'm positive I'll never do it again. Another thought that occurred to me after the fact is that wind creates waves in the tank that damage the upper portion of the sides. Pondweed probably mitigated that a lot.

Here are some pictures Mac shot before I had given out. I spent most of my energy shoveling dirt from the edges to keep the loader bucket from damaging the tank walls.

The tank is cleaned out now, ready to be filled with rain runoff. The sooner the better. Normally after cleaning it I sweep it out, but it's 105° outside today. I have to save energy for priorities. Once it fills with muddy runoff it'll all look the same, whether swept out or not.. 

I'm hoping to go to Pine Canyon (in BBNP) tomorrow in search of butterflies, specifically Chisos Metalmark, Golden Banded-Skipper and Chisos Banded-Skipper. Mac is heading back to Houston. I'll miss having him around, but he'll be back in a few months if all goes as planned.

Feet, not heat

I had planned to spend all morning on the mountain today until it got too hot, but I wore the wrong shoes so came down sooner than expected. Saw only one butterfly but lots of interesting flowers. I'll probably never get IDs on them all. Here's a cool katydid. I've had the Short-winged Katydid at CMO before but think this may be a different species. I believe my Lumix is capable of better insect shots, so it's probably just me that makes them so bad. But carrying my Canon up the mountain isn't an option anymore.

Last night Mac took these lightning shots here at the oasis. We ended up getting a little sprinkle.

My sister saw this Mottled Rock Rattlesnake on the mountain when she went up a few days ago. At first I thought her photo was too pink, but after doing a little research, I learned that this species of snake can be quite pink. Also they tend to adapt coloration to match the rocks. These rhyolite rocks are pinkish, so I guess that explains that.

Here's a distant Lillian's Eastern Meadowlark I photographed along Highway 118 (about 35 miles south of Alpine) the other day.

BJ Bishop Wetlands

Two  years ago when the wetlands opened in Presidio County near Ft. Leaton, I visited there. At that time I was disappointed by the "Keep Out" signs and was told by someone that you could only view it from the highway with a scope. So I never went back. Couldn't enjoy dragonflies that way.

Photo from Aug. 29, 2015

However, I recently heard that you can access the wetlands and there are some good bird species there, so Mac and I went and  met up with friends there this morning. It was loaded with dragonflies and the vegetation was great.

For perspective, notice the same dead tree in both the above photo and the photo from 2015. No lifers for me, but did get my first photos of Least Grebes.

And Black-necked Stilt....

I'd love ID help with this white robber fly from the wetlands today.

Yesterday at CMO Mac got a better photo of the leucistic Bell's Vireo than I had before. Basically, the top of his head is white.