Lifer damselfly species for me

The Smoky Rubyspot is a common Texas species, so likely it's been at the oasis before, but this is the first time I've ever seen one, or known one to be here. So that was exciting.

Female on mesquite

Same female on Prickly Pear Cactus

Other than that I just watered trees and did miscellaneous chores.

My Alpine world

Already anxious to get back to CMO, but getting work caught up here in town. Even washed my pickup. And, of course, surveyed the habitat here that I've managed to create.

Hubby helps with the watering and over-helps with the mowing. I've managed to keep him from mowing so far this spring but I know he won't hold off long. I keep trying though.

  

Still a disappointing showing of odonates and butterflies. I realized I didn't have a photo of an Inca Dove, so I remedied that.

My husband is adamant that he doesn't want additional ducklings. Doesn't look good for his side. Here's a duck that's been setting on a nest for at least two weeks now. Maybe the eggs won't hatch. She's the dark spot in the center of this photo, well hidden by the tall grasses.

And here's an abandoned nest, maybe the one those ducklings had hatched from a while back. It's a blurry shot because I had to get too close in order to even see the nest. The little Lumix camera didn't know what to focus on. But there are dozens of rotten eggs in the nest. You get the idea.

Just for kicks I went through my husband's old photos to find one of the ponds before I came along. This was the only one I could find. I took one a while ago from the same exact angle.

Notice the gate between the two railroad tie posts. Just on the left edge of the gate on both pics is the same mesquite tree. A pond is way back between those trees.

CMO today

I got my two new feeder stands cemented in place today. Here's one. They're identical.

As you can see in the above photo, it clouded up and looked like it might rain. But only got a little sprinkle. Good thing I was able to harvest a little rain water last month or my reserves would be precariously low right now.

Saw a couple of worn Question Marks feeding on apricots.

...but today's highlight was a gorgeous fresh Two-tailed Swallowtail (female, per my guru, Brian). It seemed to favor the Standing Cypress. 

The Standing Cypress surprised me when it sprouted on its own, but more surprising was that it bloomed this year. I had always been told it only blooms the second year. Seeing the Two-tailed Swallowtail feeding on it was so awesome. Made all my work worth it ten times over. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful butterfly.

Naturally, I couldn't stop photographing it. After feeding, she rested in the shade. Caught that too.

Other than that, I got a little watering done since without electricity Thursday I hadn't watered everything. In this 100° heat every day it would be great if I could water daily but that can't happen. I leave a drip on the cottonwood tree and water everything else as best I can.

While picking apricots today I got stung by wasps. The first sting this morning was quite normal as wasp stings go, but the second one this afternoon was really a doozy. I had to put ice on it and it still hurts and is swollen. Wasps are eating the fruit and they hide behind, or inside it, and as careful as I am, I sometimes get stung. Gonna wear leather gloves tomorrow. The peaches are nearly ready too. I'll be glad when the fruiting time is over, though we love it fresh or dried.

Working out in the heat all day did me in. But I'm sure I'll be energized by morning.

Loaded for bear

I asked hubby to make me a couple of bear-proof stands. Didn't want to push my luck and ask for three. I'll get by with two. So this is what I ended up with.

They're one inch pipes that are 10 feet long. I'll cement 2' into the ground and hang two feeders from each stand. That way the hummers won't have to do without if I'm gone and the lower feeders get ravaged. Most of the year the bears don't visit the oasis. It's very occasional.

When they're installed I'll paint them to look pretty. I'm good for now.

CMO somewhat functional

I was planning to say "CMO now functional again," but before I could finish watering yesterday afternoon the electricity went out for 8 hrs. After enduring that, it came back on but my internet was out for an additional six hours. So I came to town. Gonna try to make some bear-proof feeder stands while I'm here.

So disgusted with the constant power outages. We were told that when they put the new lines in a couple of years ago that would fix that. Hasn't helped a bit as far as I can tell.

Yesterday I put a big steel pipe over the steel T-post. So that's bear-proof at least.

And I made the temporary feeder stands taller, although they're still not impervious to being bent over. Maybe if they're out of reach the bears will leave them alone. I read that a medium-sized Black Bear can reach 7 feet, so they may not be out of reach.

At least this latest bear disaster happened right after banding so the hummers will have plenty of time to get used to the new arrangement before the next banding. Having the feeders higher makes it harder for me to get them out of the traps, but other than that it's not an issue.

When I can't find new species to photograph I do the same species. This one is a Variegated Fritillary looking fresh and new on Chaste Tree blooms.

And here's a fresh new Ash-throated Flycatcher. He wins the day for being the ugliest and cutest fledgling during a temperature of 105.°  

And finally, a Sachem Skipper. It's my first photo of one at the oasis.

CMO bear disaster

Yesterday my sisters came up to pick themselves some apricots while I was in town. One called me later and said there was a big pile of scat with corn in it near the tree. That seemed really curious because the only way to get corn was via the untippable feeder. So I just put it out of my mind.

Driving down from Alpine this morning I was feeling especially happy. Couldn't explain why, but it was great anyway. At the oasis I immediately saw the scat. Hard to miss.

Glancing over at the feeder I was awestruck. Not only had it been tipped over, but the post it had been wired to was bent nearly to the ground. That's a heavy steel T-post. The oasis had been ravaged. Chairs tipped over, and all kinds of damage. The seed feeder base had been ripped out of the concrete and welds broken, etc. In order to tip it over, they had to break the wire. The wire wasn't tough wire because I didn't think it was necessary and my tough wire is really hard to work with. So if they broke the wire, why bend the post? It wasn't even bent in the direction of the tip. Really strange. It took me hours to get that post back upright. And I used tough heavy wire to attach the barrel to the post. I'm not strong enough to take all the slack out of the wire (clothesline wire), but they shouldn't be able to tip the feeder over. I'm not going to put seed and corn in it until the things bears like are gone from the oasis. Meaning acorns and fruit.

The thing most distressing was that every hummingbird feeder was pulled down. Five had various damages to the feeders, although none of the glass bottles were broken. I was able to glue the caps back on, and they're still usable in spite of having some of the perches broken off. 

BUT, that means I have to raise all my feeders. Thereafter, refilling them will require using a stool. The price of having hummers just went up. I'll do it though. So most of my day was spent doing my best to give the hummers something to eat after having gone all day yesterday with nothing. Never mind it got up to 99° today along with the humidity we've been experiencing this spring. I was determined not to quit working until the hummers had some bear-proof feeders.

The first four were easy. There were already chains and hooks hanging from the canopy. I hadn't been using them, but I will henceforth.

Harder was the viewing area. I'm going to coerce my husband into making me three big strong feeder stands like Kelly has, but meanwhile I need something in the viewing area for them. They're accustomed to that area and that's where birders can observe them in comfort. So I managed to get these 3 feeders hung, as I was almost out of daylight, on something the bears couldn't pull down. They bent down my current feeder stands.

For whatever reason, the rascals even muddied up my phone inside the phone box. Vandals!

Tomorrow I'm going to try to reinforce my 3 flimsy feeder stands temporarily until I get new ones. 

Not quite business as usual, but the hummers aren't complaining. A male Broad-tailed even spent some time partaking of the sugar water this afternoon as I worked. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of him.

When I walked into the house at dark, all I could think was, "Wow, I made it through the day."

Wandering around Alpine

There still are very few butterflies around town, but I think, now that the long cold winter is behind us, it'll be a good summer for butterflies due to all the rains. While I was out looking I came upon a female Black-chinned Hummingbird nectaring at flowers. Black-chinneds do really well in town it appears. We have lots of them at our feeders in town too.

I did find one good butterfly today, and it was right in our own backyard. This is a Small Checkered-Skipper. I saw one once before at Gage Gardens in Marathon but this is the first in Alpine. I'm surprised I haven't had any at CMO what with all the mallow there.

Also at our house I observed a juvenile Orchard Oriole begging an adult for food, but I couldn't capture a photo of it way up in the canopy of an ash tree. Here they are separately though. I lost track of them in the vegetation. Possibly the second photo is of the female and not the juvenile.

Adult male Orchard Oriole

Juvenile Orchard Oriole

Closer to rainy season

A few days ago neighbors 3 miles south of me got a big rain. None at CMO. Today the Davis Mountains got a good rain. None at CMO. Getting closer though. Normally I get rain in June, so I feel certain I will this year too.

Not much going on at the oasis. I'm thinking birds are sneaking in and eating the apricots, knocking them to the ground where the squirrels eat them. Either way, none for me, unless I pick them green.

This isn't a good photo, unfortunately, but I like it because it shows a Lucifer Hummingbird with a pink and blue gorget. I don't recall seeing that before. Keep in mind, that gorget color is created by light refraction to the structure of the feathers, not in the pigment of the feathers. 

This is called a Christmas Cactus or Tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis). It's amazing what a lovely bloom it can make on such a dead looking plant. A Christmas cactus blooming in the Christmas Mountains, and it's not even Christmas. So why is it called that? Because of the bright red fruit it sports in the winter, of course.

The pleasure's all mine

Truthfully, I enjoyed today at the oasis far more than I enjoyed the park (BBNP) yesterday. For so many reasons. I'm near to my kitchen and comforts. No driving for what seems like the whole day. More butterflies here. No tourists. I'm always uncomfortable in the park, especially when I'm alone. For one thing, I can't just stop in the road when I see some flower bushes I want to explore, and there's never a pull-off anywhere near them. On that winding ascending/descending Green Gulch road it's worrisome to park and walk back to where you want to be. You have to be vigilant about traffic. And along the river you always have to be sure to lock your vehicle when you get out. That's something I'm not used to doing and I always worry that I'll lock the key inside since it normally stays in the ignition all the time.

But probably the worst aspect is that I'm out alone after I leave the road. Like yesterday, for just the most recent example, at Santa Elena Canyon, I was the only vehicle in the big parking area when I arrived. I walked the boardwalk that lays on the sand to where it ends, then walked down to the river. From there I walked a long ways downstream, and then a ways back up Terlingua Creek. After a while I noticed two men standing on the end of the boardwalk just staring at me. Every time I looked their way, same thing. They looked kind of scruffy. So I was uncomfortable and decided to leave. Nothing interesting anyway. Of course, to leave I had to walk to the boardwalk where they were. When I was almost there I saw several hikers approach down the boardwalk behind the two men. I was relieved to see them. As they passed the two men, and I approached to pass going in the opposite direction, the two men asked the hikers to please wait back a bit (in poor European English). Only then did I figure out that they had been waiting for me to leave so they could take a photo of the canyon with no one in it.

So at home, I'm a happy, relaxed camper. And I get lots of work done as I play. I watered, pulled weeds, pruned, and picked apricots (green, to beat the squirrels) all the while observing the wildlife around me.

Like this Great Blue Heron has been here a week or so. I enjoy seeing it forage in what's left of the big tank water.

And I saw my first Juniper Hairstreak for this year. Last year I saw my first one on May 23, so things seem a little late this year due to the long cool winter. After I finished my work I had hoped to get a better photo of it, but never saw one again, so this is it.

You notice it's up in the Western Soapberry blooms. I'm really enjoying my soapberry thicket after waiting patiently for it for 19 yrs.*

When we built the oasis and tanks, I planted a soapberry at the upper dirt tank because none had ever grown in that arroyo before.(That thicket is bigger and more lush than this thicket. Better soil there.) But in the main arroyo every summer tiny soapberries would sprout, grow a couple of feet, but never survive to the next rainy season. (One did survive but it stayed a tiny sapling.) So I didn't plant any there, just waited for them to grow on their own with the dams holding back water longer. 

Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak

I made a big production out of enjoying the thicket by lugging a shaded chair, water, and 2 cameras to a good viewing spot. Wouldn't you know, I didn't see anything good when I was actually prepared for it. With the humidity it felt like 105° but was only 95.° 

Queen

The madrone tree that I built a little terrace beside last winter, or whenever, is finally getting some afternoon shade from the Chinese Pistachio tree. It's about time.

Hard to tell what's what in the above photo. The water feature is on the lower right corner, the madrone is center front, and the pistachio is upper left. The photo is taken from the terrace, so you can't see the base of the madrone tree, which is about 2 foot lower than the terrace. Confusing, but at least you can see the tree looks healthier than it had. And this photo was taken in the morning so you don't see the pistachio actually shading the madrone.

And couldn't leave this one out. It's an Ash-throated Flycatcher tending to its nestlings.

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* Last year's Juniper Hairstreak was seen in that former lone "sapling," not at this thicket. This is the first year this thicket has bloomed or been this big. It still has a ways to go yet. There's another thicket growing not far from that original sapling (that is large now) taking off from a soapberry I planted inside the oasis beside the upper settling pond. The one I planted is the biggest one, but it gets watered occasionally and doesn't seem to bloom as profusely as the ones that never get watered. Basically, the native plants that come up on their own seem better off than those I plant. This is especially true of persimmon trees. Whether I plant them of not, they won't survive without somehow getting extra water.

More pain than gain

I went all over BBNP today but couldn't find any lifer butterfly or ode species. I started out by taking the Old Maverick Road to Santa Elena Canyon. It had some really rough patches on it.

Didn't find much there. The trail that goes back into the canyon was washed out. I decided not to wade through it since it doesn't go very far back into the canyon and I wasn't finding any good odes anyway.

Went by Cottonwood Campground to see if it's just closed to camping, or to vehicles too. It's closed to camping and vehicles.

Going up into the Basin there was stuff blooming here and there, although not profusely.

Definitely more bugs-that-fly than butterflies, to my disappointment.

Back at CMO the beebrush is blooming, making the air very aromatic. Here's a male Western Giant Swallowtail* enjoying Vitex blooms.

I don't know if I'll get many apricots this year. The Rock Squirrels are feasting on them faster than they ripen. Look at the mess they're making on the ground. It's littered with partially eaten fruits everywhere under the tree. Disgusting!

The Western Soapberry thicket in the arroyo is looking really good.

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* Recently separated into two species; Western and Eastern.