Hot Lajitas odeing today

I took over 300 photos and don't feel I scratched the surface. Didn't even make it to the golf shop pond, the big lake, back stream, or the Rio Grande River. Having so much fun that I lasted a record 2½ hrs. Got a lifer Bronzed River Cruiser, which was the highlight of the day for me. I would have enjoyed it more if I had ID'd it by myself, but had to post it to the Texas ode group.

Where but Lajitas would you see a palm growing in the crotch of a cottonwood tree?

Seems I'm getting addicted to photographing robberflies, too. Here's another one.

This next insect Brian says is some kind of cicada. My first cicada pic posted.

Back in Alpine I made a quick check of the habitat out back and discovered this juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. 

I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't ID the night-heron or river cruiser without help. Very senile of me. On the ode, I looked through my Texas ode guide before I downloaded the photos and didn't see any that had the two-toned blue thorax that I recalled. I think if I had scrutinized the book after I downloaded, I might have nailed it. Like to think so anyway. Then on the night-heron, I grabbed my trusted Sibley guide and looked at both the Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned and failed to tell which of the two it was. It's more obvious in the National Geographic guide, but I should have easily told from the Sibley. I hope I've learned a lesson here. I need a nap.

It bothers me that I may have seen several other lifers today but didn't recognize them. So many unusual ones look like common ones to me. Hopefully my skills will improve. I'm going to try to go to Lajitas more often this summer. That should help.

What I'm doing

Had to come to CMO today and do a token watering. A neighbor on Terlingua Ranch posted this to a local Facebook group. Describes me perfectly.

No rain in over 3 months. Record hot June. Now my precious soapberry thicket is turning yellow. I hope that doesn't mean it's dying.

Why do you think I'm painting my faded hummingbird feeders?

1. Is it because the Lucifer Hummingbirds don't like to use faded feeders?

2. Is it because I like to keep all my stuff new looking?

3. Is it because Kelly remarked on how faded they were getting last time he banded here?

Answer is at end of post..

I have 3 dozen feeders. Right now only one dozen are in use but in a month or two the number may double as migration gets into full swing. Above is how I store those not in use.

Cornell's West Texas hummer cam is up and running. Live! Check it out.

http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/50/West_Texas_Hummingbirds/

Only thing I could find to photograph today was this robber fly.

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Answer:  Last year I painted a bunch of the feeders and they still look like new. I love them to look like new. And last time Kelly banded he did remark that some of the feeders were looking faded. So that might have influenced me to paint them sooner rather than later. But it was on my mind to do anyway. The Lucifers don't care.

More of the same

I've been having a lot of hip pain lately. Hoping now that major projects are done it will subside. Meanwhile, not much fun. June was the hottest month on record, and no monsoons at CMO yet. Just trying to stay optimistic and hang in there.

Here's a nice fresh Pearl Crescent from Alpine today.

Serendipitous lifer

The other day a friend posted a butterfly photo on a facebook group that would have been a lifer for me. She saw it at Gage Gardens in Marathon. I hadn't been there all year, so resolved to go check it out first chance I got, which was today. After I left the gardens, I went to the Post Park since it's sometimes good, and is close to Marathon. Approaching the entrance I saw someone photographing something near the entrance, and lo and behold, it was that friend. She was the reason I had gone to Marathon in the first place. And had she not been stopped there I never would have even glanced around there for butterflies. She was photographing a Viceroy, a lifer for me, as well as for her and her husband.

Nothing else I found all day was a lifer, but great butterflies, nonetheless. Here is my second ever Meridian Duskywing.

And a lovely Question Mark.

This resident duck has a tuft of feathers apparently growing from his head. Doesn't seem to deter his popularity. A couple of females were hanging around.

And this is a very common butterfly, a Queen, on a Buttonbush. I just love how his spots coordinated with the bloom.

I'll end with some of the incredible blooms at Gage Gardens. There are flowers everywhere. It's awesome!

Roses

Roses

Columbine

Columbine

Columbine

Bird of Paradise

Too hot to handle

105° all afternoon. Yesterday evening, driving down to CMO it rained all the way, sometimes torrentially. Until I got to my turnoff at Terlingua Ranch Road. Bone dry. That sure gets old. Three months since any rain of any significance here. Now it looks like rain all around again today, so I thought I'd start blogging. The least little storm makes the electricity go out, so if I go to town later, I'll have this online in draft form nearly ready to go. But I won't publish it until I find out if it rains here. All week there's a chance. Can't miss me forever. This is monsoon season.

I didn't water everything. Seems like an exercise in futility. Here's a nice paintbrush (Castilleja rigida) still blooming out away from the oasis.

The only thing blooming at the oasis are the acanthus. Nothing goes to them, which probably means they're depleted of nectar. Need rain. I've seen a Cassin's Kingbird here occasionally during the past several weeks. Maybe they're nesting here. That might be a first.

If these Arizona Powdered-Skippers were trying to look like that leaf, they didn't fool me.

Kelly Bryan and Charles Floyd came early this morning to band hummingbirds. Of the 15 Lucifers they caught only one was a juvenile. But hummers are starting their second nesting now. That should be more productive.

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UPDATE: No rain. Came to town.

Alpine today

You'd think when someone goes out looking for odonates and butterflies they'd be expecting to find interesting ones, but it seems I'm always taken by surprise. Today I was sitting in the shade by the pond looking for interesting dragonflies when a butterfly lit on a tree trunk near me. Of course, I forgot about dragonflies for the moment and fixated on the butterfly. I'm flexible like that. Turns out it's a lifer for me.... Tawny Emperor. Not too shabby.

Quite a few lotuses are beginning to bloom. I'll take photos when it looks more gorgeous. Meanwhile, this bud's for you.

Today I saw my first Western Pondhawk for this year. I've seen several Easterns, but I guess it makes no difference since the powers that be have lumped them both together as Common Pondhawk. This is a female.

Really hot out!

As I was watering the oasis this morning, with my dwindling water supply, I noticed how lovely the Mexican Pinyon trees look. Originally, my thought was to plant a mini pinyon forest after manicuring the dirt excavated making the tanks. So I started with the pinyons and added a fast-growing shade tree (cottonwood) that I expected to be temporary until the pinyons got big. And I added a lot of other stuff too. Couldn't quit adding, in fact. The pinyons are really coming into their own now. If I get some rain every year I should be able to enjoy them from now on.

I saw my first Great Spreadwing for the year at CMO this morning.

I did the math yesterday and figure I did over 200 stair steps up the ladders. That's as bad as the trail. No wonder I feel tired today. After watering everything I came to town to pick the garden and such. Sat out watching the dragonflies. Not very many out.

With no odes to watch, I watched this fish trying to catch gambusias. Never saw him get one. Just wondering what kind of fish it is. I'd say it's about 6-8 inches long.

Mouse-proofing

I could only do the kitchen today because the rest of the house doesn't have AC. I'll wait until it cools down. At 7 PM tonight it was still well above 100.° I tried out some putty that I had planned to fill the cracks between the ceiling boards and the trim boards, but it was yellowish. I had to dig out my 20 yr old oil paints left over from when I painted portraits. Couldn't get the linseed oil jars open so couldn't do a very good job, but I got it painted to blend in good enough that it doesn't bother me.

Thereafter, I just stuffed steel wool in the gaps. Below the trim had already been sealed, except in several places where the filler had come out, so I patched that too. I only get one or two mice per year, but mice and roaches are two things I can't tolerate. Have never had a roach in the house. Lots of spiders and ants at times. This should cut down on spiders too.

If the kitchen was where the mice were coming in, then I've got it solved, but I'm going to do the same thing to the upper roof. At least I won't have to climb two step ladders after this. I used one to get onto the kitchen counter, then put a smaller one on the counter to get onto the cabinets. The ceiling is 10 or 12 foot high, I forget now. The ladder on the counter was the worrisome one. There wasn't room to open it up, so I just leaned it against the cabinets, and very carefully went up and down. On top of the ladder it said, "do not sit or stand" on it. I did both. Glad over the cabinets is done. I won't be able to do the entry hall without someone holding an extension ladder. Too, too dangerous. That ceiling is 20 foot, I believe. I'll do it last. By then I should have a system down pat. I'll also do what I can from the exterior. It has metal trim up under a metal roof and I can't get to where I can even see back in there. It may be OK, maybe not. On the bottom of the metal trim it overlaps the rock wall by quite a bit, so I can't see in there either. I may just buy a ton of steel wool and stuff everything full on the outside.

After the mouse-proofing, my next foreseeable project is going to be getting rid of stuff. It's possible I might hypothetically need some of it someday, but I don't even remember what I all have, and seldom can find it if I do need it. So cleaning and organizing and eliminating stuff. Needs and interests change, but possessions stay the same. Need to update my clutter. It's not out where you can see it, but in drawers in the house, or in the back rooms of the guesthouse. They're my substitute attics. Sheds loaded with stuff too. I used to say that the space is there whether it's full or empty, so might as well be full. But I, at the very least, have to organize it occasionally so it jogs my mind as to what's where. And as I get older, I know a lot of it isn't going to ever get used. For example, I came across my late husband's microphones today (while looking for my artist oils). I know they're probably way old-fashioned by now. Gonna donate them.

I spent some time at the oasis looking for odes. I'd post photos of birds or butterflies too, but things are scarce. Very dry except at the tanks. And if it doesn't rain, they'll soon be dry too.

There's a favorite perch over one tank but it's too far away for good photos. So I took a step ladder and leaned it up on the wall of the tank near the perch, with the lower portion in the water, and climbed down to it from above. It was so hot out, at that point I didn't much care if I fell in the water or not. Didn't get very good shots, but after I managed to get back up to the bank (no easy feat), I sat in a comfortable chair and just enjoyed watching the activity. Suddenly, a snake flew through the air into the water, just inches from the ladder I had been sitting on. He missed whatever he went for, and slithered back up the side. I'm sure it's a Western Coachwhip, although it seemed awful skinny for that species. It was shaped more like the black Central Texas Whipsnake I had seen earlier today.

Since it's July, I'm starting my July checklists for odes and butterflies. Remember the list I started at the beginning of this year? It's been fun doing inventory anew, every month, and I'm sure I find stuff I would have overlooked if not working on the list. I plan to continue this method every year henceforth.

As you can see, today I added two damselfly species for the month, as well as for the year. The question marks on the list are those I didn't get photographic confirmation on.

Mexican Forktail

Kiowa Dancer

Surprise butterfly today

Today was an annual July 4th BBQ that my husband and I attend every year at a friend's house. While I was chowing down on the BBQ a very interesting butterfly flitted past the shindig. I managed to take off after it with the only camera I had with me, my little Lumix. Really hated not having my Canon after I located the critter in a neighbor's yard at some lantana. I quickly scooted a chair over to the dividing concrete wall and hung over it, taking as many photos as I could. None turned out satisfactory, even though the butterfly was very cooperative. Only, if, if... But at least I documented it, a lovely Zebra Heliconian. I had seen one before in Austin (last year) but never expected to see it in Alpine. Guess I need to pay more attention to yards in town from now on.

Here is the neighbor's yard I located it in. See if you can find the Zebra Heliconian in the lantana. (You'll have to click on it to enlarge.)

Caught up in town, more or less

Still have some things to do, but nothing urgent, so I hung out at the ponds for a while. This year is the first year that it's good habitat. First year of getting a notice from the city too. You think there's a connection? When I first started the habitat here I had a reluctant husband on board but now he likes having the habitat and is willing to fight to keep it, so it's good we're on the same page about that. Having said that, I'm leaning toward it being more of a forest of shade trees and partially shaded ponds, and he's more interested in it being covered with flowers. But as long as it's natural habitat, I can enjoy it. Flowers entail weeds, grasses taller than the city ordinance allows, and pollen that bothers my allergies. I never get rare butterflies here anyway, and feel the more shade over the water, the more variety of dragonflies. But I have my oasis down south so I'm good.

As soon as we leave the obligatory July 4th barbeque tomorrow I'm heading straight for CMO. Really getting anxious. I plan to start mouse-proofing the house, but we'll see. It's a dreaded job, but if I just do a little every day, it shouldn't be too bad.

Lately I've been photographing bumblebees, sort of to document what species are here. But I accidentally photograph a lot of bumblebee-mimicking robber flies. This one tricked me again today, so I looked up how to tell them apart. Robber Flies have beards, footpads, and two wings. So that would make this a robberfly. Got it!

Here's what I think is an Orchard Oriole foraging in a Red Hot Poker. That's about as close to a firecracker photo as you're going to see on my blog.

Soon there'll be lotuses blooming. They make an awesome display some years. (Eastern Amberwing by this bud.)

And if you've always wondered what the underside of an Eastern Amberwing looks like, wonder no more. This position is called obelisking and is done to regulate their body temperatures. Unlike humans, they don't house their brains in their heads. Apparently their control centers are in spinal ganglia or something.

The deer were eating the apples off the tree until we picked all the ones within their reach. They still eat those that fall on the ground though.

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PS: I thought I had cleaned all eight pans yesterday but Hugh had taken these two outside and they got overlooked until today. Fun, fun! Actually, cleaning the pans is no worse than cleaning his usual baking dishes. It's the oven that's the killer because I have to get up and down on my knees repeatedly. He's given it some thought and he thinks he made a double recipe but forgot to double the flour. I've given it some thought too, but I won't tell you what I think.