Oh the Beautiful Stench

Well, for someone that doesn't like to get flowers for occasions (they're expensive and they die), I do like to put flowers, that I find around our place, in a bowl or vase.

These flowers, however, are not from our property. I found the pink ones along a roadside swell while on our way home, after leaving the back way out of a small town's library (we're talking rural).

I got the little purple ones while turning onto our private gravel road on the same trip- thought they'd accent well.

Got to say, these puppies stayed on the counter just long enough for "Daddy" to see them. These puppies stunk! Both kinds... but they were pretty.

Ohhh Spring

Spring is my favorite time of year. There are so many spectacular changes taking place... and, as a person that does not like change, these are welcomed changes to watch and witness in nature. Plus, the weather is not cold or hot. Many a splendid thing comes with Spring.

Here are three short video clips that show some things that help make spring what she is. All are time lapse videos- very intriguing to watch nature in fast forward mode.

For book purposes, the below pictures are put in place of the videos.

They were taken from same time period.

Don't forget to scroll down and pause or mute my Playlist on the right, so you can hear the video.

This one is of a Silk Moth expanding her wings for the first time:

This one is of chicks hatching:

And, below, a flower opening and closing -watch the flower's stamens fold in before closing.

I tell you, Mother Nature has this stuff down... course, she has been practicing for awhile.

Saturday's Sonnet/Poem:

Spring

The alder by the river
Shakes out her powdery curls;
The willow buds in silver
For little boys and girls.

The little birds fly over
And oh, how sweet they sing!
To tell the happy children
That once again 'tis spring.

The gay green grass comes creeping
So soft beneath their feet;
The frogs begin to ripple
A music clear and sweet.

And buttercups are coming,
And scarlet columbine,
And in the sunny meadows
The dandelions shine.

And just as many daisies
As their soft hands can hold
The little ones may gather,
All fair in white and gold.

Here blows the warm red clover,
There peeps the violet blue;
O happy little children!
God made them all for you.

~Celia Thaxter

Flowers in a Bowl ~ and Ohh So Fragrant Are They

We like picking flowers. And in the front corner of our property, we have some Empress trees planted. Every spring, they bloom pretty soft lavender trumpet-like flowers. Not long after blooming, the flowers drop on the ground and it looks something like is has snowed (the trees have changed so much since this pic was taken 2 weeks ago).

So we picked a bunch up to put in a small bowl since they are so fragrant.

We decided to pick one bloom from our Saucer Magnolia tree and put it in the center of the bowl.

See the pretty flowers!

Spring Pics Around the Place ('09)

I've told myself not to spend a plethora of time on this post since the pics below came out ... less than great. We are getting a new camera next month since that is when the new models come out. And since our digital camera is ...ohh..??... 5-7 years old, we can wait another month. I have high hopes for a new camera for better close ups and shorter shutter lag time... BUT, that is not what this post is about...

In no particular order, here are some shots of the trees right around the house. I took these pics last week and, boy, since then they have changed a lot.

Buds on a Sycamore...

Below, is a big Water Oak we had put in last November. A big tree-spade truck brought the tree.
Water Oak leaf...

Red Oak leaves coming out...

A Saucer Magnolia we put in 2 weeks ago...

Close up of Saucer Magnolia blooms...

New Sweet Gum leaves...

Baby apples on our 5 in 1 Apple tree...

Another pic of the Saucer Magnolia...

Spring is my favorite time of year. All the blooms and everything so green with great temps make it spectacular here in SE Texas.

Thankful Thursday: Beautiful Sunsets

Here was the view out our west dining room windows a couple of nights ago while eating dinner. If you can, try to look past the stuff on the table, which can partially be seen -course then you have all the reflections going on in the pic... but you (hopefully) get the idea... the SUNSET.

It was gorgeous.

Now, this below was not our sunset, as my my sister-in-law took this pic a few days ago. This was her view looking out from the front of her house.

I do like tractors... and sunsets.

Rainbow

Rainbows are nice. This was taken last summer looking out west, from our porch. That, with the trees, is our neighbor's pasture. Large Pecan trees are awe-striking. They dress up any horizon and make a beautiful base for sunset pictures... or rainbows.

Git 'er Done

This pic was taken some 4-5 years ago when we were in the process of adding many of our trees. Hey, what can I say... the ground was hard and more weight/leverage helped get it done (even with the tractor, the ground was so hard that one auger hole took about ten minutes).

Killdeer Babies

For two Springs now, we have had Killdeer birds nest in our driveway. We have a gravel drive that leads up to our house and these little birds have found it to be a nice place to nest. That goes to figure as Killdeer like gravel to "nest" in.

The first year, we noticed the nest after the eggs were laid... it was good for them that they laid them in the middle of the road/driveway. Otherwise, surely the nest would have been run over. We just watched where we drove once we noticed.

The second year... we were keen to things a little more. I noticed a "nest" (no eggs) first- a little divot/scooped out place in our drive RIGHT IN THE WHEEL-TRACK... showed my other half... and we watched... everyday, usually upon getting the mail, I would look at the scooped out area in the rocks. In fact, I got tired of looking at it on such a daily basis... thought I was being a little pedantic when ALAS(!)... EGGS. Thankfully, I kept checking. So I knew what day these little eggs arrived.

Researched online and found the typical gestation for Killdeer eggs... it's a l-o-n-g time because, unlike many birds, these guys need to be ready to gitNgo when they hatch. None of this momma or daddy feeding you- they do it all themselves from the get-go. Hence, their long gestation time of 24-28 days.

This nest below was from the first year I noticed eggs in the middle of our driveway- somewhat grassy since it doesn't get trodden over constantly. That is my husband's finger pointing at them.
Let me tell you, those speckled eggs really camouflage when on rocks.

Last year, since the nest was in the wheel track of the driveway, we had to drive a bit off to the side for a month... until the eggs hatched and the birds were on their way. Since I knew when the eggs were laid, I knew when to start watching for babies. Can you see the nest below?

There were four eggs and they all hatched within 6-8 hours of one another. Below you can see 3 that have just hatched and one just starting. If you click the pic and enlarge it, you can see the egg cracked.

This one below is better for a close up click...

Once hatched, these little guys were quickly on their feet and ready to go. Amazing. This pic below was taken the same day they hatched. You can see momma ...? or daddy and some babies.

Interesting little birds, they are. They're always around -even in winter, making their 'kil-dee'~kil-dee' call. Am curious to see if I can manage to find where they nest this spring.

If you want more information on the Killdeer or to see more pics, click here: http://www.birdwatching.com/stories/killdeer.html

The Old Man of a Tree

We have an old Pecan tree. And, since we've owned our property, we have watched it change little... until more recently. Although looking at it, during any of the time we've known it, one can see the change it's endured over its life. Since we've known it, the center portion of it has been... gone. Yes, quite some number of years back, it was struck by lightening. Following, it healed itself and has flourished.

This tree was a grand stately tree. Right now, still, the trunk's circumference is 20 feet with a diameter of 6 1/2 feet. It is one huge tree... well not as much anymore... at least up top.

Below is a pic I took some years back, in the spring. I even titled the picture (which I don't always do) "Under the Pecan". The horses love this tree for the shade it can give.

I had a bench (that my creative other half made) sitting under it. It was my place to stop, sit, and ponder, cogitate, reflect, ruminate, speculate, acknowledge and laud (you get the picture) stuff in life.

**sighhh**

But, things change. Life changes. I usually am kicking and screaming the whole way when it comes to change... has pretty much always been like that. Am getting better due a life-long effort to be more cognizant of my sentiment. But... I digress.

So, the bench had to be moved because the horses started chewing it apart. My dear other half fixed it, but it sits elsewhere now.

Then more change. Hurricane Ike happened to our Old Man of a Tree. The left half of the Pecan fork was twisted around and broke. If you look at the pic above, you can see that the tree forks. Well, that whole huge left half broke.

These two pics (above and below) were taken from opposite sides of the tree. The Old Man broke... **sighh** ...and can you hear me kicking and screaming? I'm not so much doing that now. But, a few days ago, we had a tree service come out. Though normally this is something we would take care of ourselves... it was kind of like having your car's oil changed, with some things it's just easier to pay someone else to do it.

Anyway, all has been cut, cleared, and cleaned. And the Old Man's frailty is showing.
We left what we could of him, as shade is valuable here and his right side is tall/wide enough that he's good to go... just smaller and less impressive looking.

But, with change can comes positives too...

In the summer, when the limbs fill with leaves, the horses will stand underneath during ritualistic times of the day and take a break in the shade. We have plenty of other trees for shade, but the horses prefer the Old Man for his location. He is located near the fence that separates the mare's pasture from our stallion's pasture... and everyone likes to visit one another throughout the day and this is a perfect meeting place for them.

And... Ohhh boy, the firewood. It is not clear below, but there are two rows of stacked firewood-with the smaller diameter pieces being in front ...and we do like a good fire in the winter.

Our Little Someone had a bit of fun crawling around and atop these huge pieces of Pecan below- and sitting high up with her Daddy.

What a cutie in pink sitting next to tired Momma (I was not planning to be in a pic).

The dog's "grazed" on Pecans since all the limbs/brush had been cleared. Smidgen, the black Dane's mouth foamed because she was eating and swallowing as fast as she could crunch.

I'm sure the dog's enjoyed the change this brought. I will just look forward to spring so I can watch the leaves fill in and see the Old Man take shape again. Boy, if he could talk... the stories he could tell.

Baby, it's Beautiful Outside!

OMGosh! ...the weather! It is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous outside. Lots of ancillary things to do out there... and enjoy doing! Hence, the short post.
:-)

Winter's Full Splendor in SE Texas

We have several fruit trees- a dozen, to be exact. These pics were taken about 2 weeks ago of just three of our trees.
This first pic is of our Seto Satsuma Orange tree. It puts on LOTS of oranges that mature late in the season- allowing us to have fresh from the tree oranges all through winter.

Below is our 'Improved Meyer Lemon' tree. Again, late maturing. Made a homemade 'Lemon-Whip' pie from it for Christmas. The lemons are sweet as a lemon can be... and big too.

This Meyer Lemon puts buds on and blooms... well, gees, seems like year round. Here, you can see new blooms (that are fabulous smelling!) right next to a half grown lemon... and there are lemons of all sizes on this puppy. Guess, I'll have to come up with more lemon desserts!
Our daughter loves to have us get her one of these flowers so she can carry it around and repeatedly sniff on it as she goes about her play outside.

This, below, is our 'Florida Prince Peach' tree. It bloomed out last winter and set fruit, but we picked many off thinking that the tree was young and confused -hey, a tree can go through that phase too, right??... nooo, it knew what it was doing. We had left a few buds on and they turned into wonderful fruit. So, this winter, we are leaving all on. There are a bunch of blooms and fruit buds all over this thing. I have put a pink star next to the ones I could count- though there are many more on the rest of the tree.

There's something about being able to walk out your back door and pick your own tasty treat from your own tree from your own land.

...well, the land you 'lease' from the government- after all, that's what property taxes amount to... even if you own it, you have to pay your "lease" to the government.... okay, okay, that's a whole different rant, I mean, 'post'.

Anyway, it is neat to be able to pick your own treat.

Where's Waldo?

Who's there?? ...who, whooo could it be?

Wow, talk about camouflage!

My sister-in-law sent this pic that she took through her front windshield as she was leaving her place yesterday morning. For what it's worth, she lives out in the boonies (not a neighborhood) in the central-east part of Texas, so probably gets to see a good bit of wildlife... but, what a pic to get!

I had to look twice before I spotted the wise one.

(click on pic to view full size)

FALLing just past Spectacular

This burgundy red Nuttall Oak leaf was more brilliant than this, but I did not capture its most spectacular moment. It was a lighter and brighter crimson red- just gorgeous. We have two types of Red Oaks at our place; the Nuttalls and the Shumards. Though the trees are very similar in rate of growth, leaf shape (though Nuttall lobes have a deeper cup), size, & spread, we prefer the Nuttalls for their color.

Here's more info for kicks-N-grins...

The Nuttall Oak tree's Mature Height is 60 - 100 feet, Mature Spread 50 - 70 feet, Soil Type Widely Adaptable, Moisture Widely Adaptable, Mature Form Round Crown, Irregular, Growth Rate Moderate, Sun Exposure Full Sun, Flower Color Yellowish, Green Insignificant, Fall Color Reddish Brown, Foliage Color Green, Zones 5-9.
The Nuttall Oak tree, Quercus nuttallii, was not distinguished as a species until 1927. It is also called red oak, Red River oak, and pin oak. It is one of the few commercially important species found on poorly drained clay flats and low bottoms of the Gulf Coastal Plain and north in the Mississippi and Red River Valleys.The acorn or winter buds identify Nuttall oak, easily confused with pin oak (Q. palustris). The lumber is often cut and sold as red oak. In addition to producing timber, Nuttall oak is an important species for wildlife management because of heavy annual mast production.
Nuttall Oak trees are a good choice for low poorly drained locations. During winter, squirrels find a ready supply of acorns, since many acorns remain on the tree into January. Acorns are favored by deer and also eaten by turkeys.

The Fall of the Garden

Fall is here. It's not so much cool right now- although we have had a cold snap already come through, but it's the rain. For me, it signals the changing season. Hence, no more garden. Yes, some people have a Fall garden, we don't. Well, we haven't yet... perhaps if congress adds another hour to the day (I won't get started on wanting to be like Arizona or Hawaii and the blasted time change).
ANYway... our garden~ this pic was taken a couple of weeks ago. As it stands now, most of the old plants have been taken out as we pass the garden here and there on our way to the barn. It hasn't had it's Final Clean-out yet though.
We did get some mighty nice foods from it this year. However, with the exception of one, I did not take any pics. This is the one I did take. We LOVE cherry tomatoes and we had a plethora of yummy ones that just kept coming...

This fruit is not from the garden, but from the our Florida Prince Peach tree. It was the tree's first crop since we planted it. The peaches were small, but quality/taste abound. They should be bigger this next time around as the tree has done much growing and settling in...

Big Saggy... Nevermind What I See, What Do You See?

We lost some trees during hurricane Ike (see pics from post 9/16, 'Hurricane Ike... from the hill'). Some of the trees that we lost had goodly size trunks on them, so my creative other half cut a couple of ??I don't know what the term is?? .... flat pieces from the trunk~ we can make a clock if we so choose someday. Anyway, pics of the flat trunk slices are below.

Have a look at them and tell me what you see. Perhaps it's sort of like the Rorschach Inkblot test that is supposed to give insight into a person's thinking (being a licensed psychotherapist~ I think, 'geeees, what does this say about me!?!').

The slices were leaning on the shelf in our shop whereas one could view their shape. I walked in and made mention of what I saw in both trunk pieces to my creative half standing there. Needless to say, he could 'see' more things than me.

Well, before I go on and name what I see, have a look for yourself and leave a 'comment' and let me know what you see (it can be done anonymously). I don't want to 'taint' anyone's perspective, so I'll post what I see in a few days. Remember, pics can be clicked on for a larger, more detailed image.

Here they are:



Let me know what you think (comment button below!).

Where Do They Go?

We have a plethora of Hummingbirds of which I, indeed, enjoy. This picture, below, was taken the day after the hurricane.
They are such little birds, I began to wonder where do these guys go during such strong wind. I pondered this aloud to my dear other half and he said that they probably get on a branch opposite the side of where the wind is coming from~ makes sense, they probably do... but I cannot imagine they can always do that with wind direction changing so quickly.
I said that they must have super strength in their foot grasp to be able to hold on to a branch during high wind... you know, like how an ant has super strength and can lift 10Xs that of a man... well, I wonder what the grip ratio difference would be between humans and hummers. My other half said that I might be able to get a research grant somewhere and do a study on the subject... he often is facetious like that~ probably a way to deal with my many 'wonderings'.



One other note on these hummers... as we didn't have electric for 3 days after the hurricane, we slept with our windows open. The first night after the storm was a doozy. We were all tired since the night before was when the storm hit. Hence, no sleep. Then, this first night after the storm was HOT and humid.... suffice to say, very little sleep. And when I was finally asleep... early the next morning AT THE CRACK of dawn, I am awakened by the furious little squeaks & twitters of hummers vying for their territory on the feeder that is hanging right outside our bedroom window.
I am not a cursing person.. but lack of sleep had me muttering in my pillow, 'damn hummingbirds!'