A week later

A week ago, I was slaving away pumping, weeding, and reclaiming the oasis after a big monsoon. When I got back to town I became really sick. Spent over a day in bed, which is way more than I did with covid. I figured I picked up a virus after overworking and running myself down.  Pretty much all better now. My son and I went to the oasis today to service feeders. He set up a gas pump and pumped most of the water out of the upper dirt tank. 

About the heat of the afternoon, odeing was getting good but we needed to get back to town. I'm well aware that I won't get another mosquito-free odeing opportunity any time in the near future, but it wasn't priority, nor should it have been.

Common Whitetail

I wish I had thought to take some photos of the oasis before leaving. It's so lush and green! Next time! 

BTW, the stucco tank is leaking about 2" per day. I wish it wasn't, but it is what it is!

Aftermath

It's great to go right from migration birding to odeing. Hasn't even been 24 hrs since the rain and the oasis is sporting lots of dragonflies. Like this California Spreadwing...

And this Russet-tipped Clubtail, which is a first for the oasis and the first I've personally seen in the Big Bend region.

Lest you think it's all fun and games here, I assure you I've had to slave away all day. First, hummingbird feeders all had to be replaced because that much rain water contaminates the solution. Then, I had to fill the seed feeders. Next, I dragged heavy pump and hoses to top off the reserve above-ground tank. About 10,000 gallons had been used from it after the stucco tank water had been used up. Too complex to explain the procedure I had to do, but it involves getting into this tank. 

Then, once the reserve tank was topped off I had to get into the tank, remove the pump and reposition it in the settling pond that loses water the fastest. The plan was to replace the 10,000 gallons I just took out.

While water was pumping, I picked up debris, raked misplaced mulch off the paths, pruned thorny branches that already were overtaking the paths, etc. It's amazing how soon after a rain the place becomes overgrown. I also got out my weedeater and cut the weeds from the paths. They literally grow like weeds. 

The Tree Tobacco bloomed, and one that I thought was dead shot up new growth.

This volunteer Retama out in the middle of the dragonfly pond was already blooming just from all the small rains we've been having. It would have probably been happier had we not got the big one.

Upper and lower dirt tanks.

Monsoonal rain!

Before the storm

My sister called me that we got over an inch and the arroyo that originates at the oasis is running higher than it has in years. That means all my tanks have to be brimful. I'll go assess the situation early in the morning. It's possible the road may not be passable. I should only be able to top off the above ground tank that I've used a foot or two from. There shouldn't be any other space to pump water into.

I was watching on radar, and midafternoon the storm heading into Alpine from the west, which was predicted to bring heavy rain and flooding to Alpine, veered southward straight toward the oasis. Not a drop in Alpine. Meanwhile, from the south a similar large patch of heavy rain moved north toward the oasis, where they converged. I've never observed that happening before, though I'm sure it must have.I can't even remember when we last got a monsoonal rain in May. Been many a year.

Details and photos tomorrow.

Christmas Mountains information

For anyone interested in the Christmas Mountains, outside the oasis, here are a few links.

https://texashighways.com/travel/outdoors/christmas-mountains-are-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/

I'm not sure if this next link will work, but if it doesn't. I've copied a paragraph from it that mentions me, albeit with last name misspelled. The symposium is an annual event, open to the public.

https://gato-docs.its.txst.edu/jcr:e08000f2-5e4f-4bb4-98c1-7f8ac8fc103b/Program%202023.pdf

Naturally, I'm hoping my son, Lee, will become passionate about the oasis before the responsibility for it falls to him. This tiny Elf Owl is doing its share to nurture a passion. Photo by Lee.

For the record

As I've said before, this blog is my photo-journal. I'm always looking things up in it. Great to have the search window. So when two screws in my implants broke, with the aid of this blog, I tracked down the history. My new prosthodontist (Dr. Boon) told me the only way those can break is if they're tightened too much. The two screws that broke happened to be the same two I wrote this about on December 11, 2018: 

"He really tightened them tight. I thought for sure he'd twist the implants right out of my jaw. So glad that's over!"

No coincidence! So basically, we're having to spend $20,000 to have new implants put in. Not to mention the ordeal of the procedure and being on a very soft diet for two months. But I'm grateful that I finally have an expert, and as close as Ft Stockton. I loathe the trip to Odessa. This dental surgery is scheduled to happen next week. Just trying so hard not to break the remaining two implants in the meantime. My husband is upset about the upcoming expenditure, too. 

In the early morning hours of May 15, the oasis got nearly an inch of soaking rain. No runoff. I was relieved, and glad that I hadn't watered two days prior, when I was scheduled to water. 

Today my son went to the oasis and found the hummingbird feeders empty. Apparently, the ocotillos are finally depleted of nectar. As he was hanging a feeder, my granddaughter snapped this photo of an impatient Lucifer. 

My son, and hopefully his daughters, are the future of the oasis, if it's to continue past my lifetime.

Meanwhile, in Alpine, after many months of nagging, my husband relented and had three new window panes put in my birdbath viewing room so I can take better photos. The old panes were real cloudy. 

The window has six panes.* Two were OK, three we had replaced, and the remaining one was only a little cloudy on its bottom edge. I can work around that. (It's the upper right pane in the above photos.) The lower right pane is a new one and the one I'll probably take most of my photos through. No interesting birds now that migration is over, but it won't be long before I get photos of rare birds through the new glass. Maybe rare hummers in August, for starters.

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*In case you're curious, the windows were about 50 yrs old and double-paned. When I built the birdbath, we removed the outer panes, as they were all white from water-staining through the years of having a sprinkler on them. Two of the panes remained sealed, so didn't get internal damage, but three of the others got varying amounts of damage. We scraped off what we could, but after a long time, the minerals actually embed into the glass.

Time to blog

My son asked if I was OK, because I hadn't "blogged in a week." I hadn't realized it had been that long. Not much to blog about. The oasis did get a quarter-inch of rain the other evening. Enough that I couldn't bring myself to water the next day, but not nearly enough to last for any length of time, so I have that hanging over me to do. I guess migration kept my adrenalin going and now I'm winding down too.

Tomorrow I go to the dentist, hoping to get my implants fixed. Still limping around in foot pain. Probably a permanent condition. Eyesight's not so good, but otherwise I'm strong and healthy.

A few migrants are still hanging around. It's fun to see winter birds in their breeding plumage, such as the Lark Bunting I posted on April 27. Lately, in Alpine, I've been seeing lovely American Goldfinches in bright plumage.

Also had a couple of Spotted Sandpipers make quick pit stops at the ponds in town.

Although our mulberry crop was scant this spring, for a while there were colorful orioles and tanagers in the trees. Of course, when they drop down from the trees for a drink or bath I get better photos.

Western Tanager

I enjoyed watching a Black-chinned Hummingbird build a nest next to the carport.

In fact, one time at the ponds I saw three female hummingbirds gathering nesting material at the same time. And we're going through sugar water like crazy!

Migration winding down

I think the oasis performed well during migration. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, including myself. There'll still be birders, and a few straggling migrants, but no more back-to-back groups until August.

Today it threatened to rain, but not a drop. Typical for May.

But worse than the false promise of rain, is no hope of rain, so not complaining. Every day lately has been triple-digit temps. At least it cooled things off a bit. The oasis is not in dire straits over water, thanks to that new above ground tank that birders so generously made happen.

It's exciting to see the Texas Pinyon* (Pinus remota) trees starting to make cones. I think this is the first time, although the Mexican Pinyons have been doing it for some time now. The latter were planted 5-10 years before I was able to locate a source for Texas Pinyon trees.

I'm not sure what these things on the Mexican Pinyons are, but they're not cones. They look like Christmas tree lights. Not that either.

The downside to the upcoming cone crop is, of course, bears. Bears have snapped in half at least one tall Texas Pinyon, one mature native juniper (with cones), and several Live Oak trees, beside many large limbs that leave cypress and other trees deformed.

In my imaginary world, Pinyon Jays, or other rare birds, would find the cones before bears find them. 

This is the only plant of the Bromiliad family that we know of on our properties. Texas False Agave (Hechtia texensis). We're delighted to have it.

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* Also known as Remote Pinyon or Papershell Pinyon.

No time to breathe!

Whew, life comes at me fast! A couple of days ago my one and only tooth (wisdom tooth) started bothering me. I'd been told repeatedly by a dentist that it had to come out. Fearing it would get infected, I hastened to the first dentist I called who said 'come right on in and we'll pull it.' Turns out the dentist hadn't said that, but his receptionist told me that. The dentist wasn't too keen on another patient, but turns out he's an implant specialist. I had no idea. So he x-rayed my implants, and just my luck, two were attached by broken screws. So I'm hoping he'll fix them. He can, but he's wanting to retire and not eager. If I had known about him years ago, my life would have been immeasurably better.

I got back to the oasis as soon as possible to do needed chores and enjoy migration. Today was the best migration day so far. While watering, I saw a Virginia's Warbler at the back water drip. I called out to the other birders present, who were at the front viewing area. They were gung-ho to get a Virginia's, so came back for "warbler watch."

I went about my watering, until they called out "Blue-Winged Warbler." By the time I turned off the water and got back there, it was through bathing and back in the brush, preening. I couldn't get focused on it. Got terrible photos, but not my worst ever. LOL

And here is the trail cam clip of that bath. Neither the Virginia's, nor the Blue-winged, ever showed back. The oasis was just a pit stop for them.*

The only other decent photo I got today was of a female Bullock's Oriole. But I got the watering done and will be loaded for bear tomorrow.(Not literally.)

So much other stuff happening too. Too much to enumerate here.

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* This is the second oasis Blue-winged Warbler and I believe the 4th for the county.