Ducklings!

/

There are mallard ducklings on our neighborhood pond! I photographed them on the 14th – 10 ducklings still sticking very close to their mom.

The pond also hosts some turtles that might be large enough to pull a duckling under. The mother can probably protect them when they are in the nest or in very shallow water. I noticed that when they were moving about in the deeper water that the mother kept up a brisk pace and the ducklings stayed in a group rather than trailing behind (most of the time).

The ducklings must have to move their legs and feet very quickly to keep up with their mother. Their down is so fuzzy that they sometimes look out of focus as they bob along.

Plant of the Month: Hostas

/

All the areas the hostas were growing when we moved to our Missouri house last June have hostas emerging – even the ones that were burnt by the very hot dry spell (their leaves shriveled and dried) after the bushes that shaded them were trimmed. It was thrilling to see the new leaves showing among the rocks in our flowerbeds! The greens and whites of their leaves made them my pick for “plant of the month” in our yard.

Enjoy some macro views of the hosta leaves – the curves…the lines…the color transitions. Little works of abstract art from nature!

Composting Mulch

/

This is my first spring in my Missouri house, and I am still acquainting myself with the flowerbeds around the house.  A very fast-growing plant came up in the east flowerbed and spilled out in the yard. I pulled a wheelbarrow of the stuff and took it back to put on the bare soil under the forsythia bush. It covered about half the space.

A few days later, the 4-6 inches deep plant material under the forsythia had collapsed to about ½ inch. I decided the weed is perfect for composting mulch! I started pulling the remaining weed in the east flowerbed.

I uncovered hostas, irises, violets, and a maple seedling. I pulled the maple seedling but left the other others.

It wasn’t difficult to pull another full wheelbarrow of weed.

This time it covered remaining the bare soil!

The weed might grow back since I probably did not get all the rootlets…but I have other places in the yard I can use it for mulch. The strategy is to pull it before it creates seeds. My overall goal is to keep what the yard grows cycled into the yard…avoid spraying or fertilizing…plant more pollinator-friendly plants…and (over time) reduce the amount of turf.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 22, 2023

/

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Home Electrification Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act – Now to decide what to do first….

How mobile phones have changed our brains – Some research about the impact phones have on our focus.

Drug overdose fatalities among U.S. older adults has quadrupled over 20 years, research finds – Overdose is a problem across the lifespan. Most deaths are unintentional.

Macro Photography Captures the Delicate Dance of Mantises in Malaysia – Wonders of the insect world. We have mantises in North America…but not as colorful as these Malaysian species.

A Plateau in the Heart of Texas – The Edwards Plateau…one of the geologic features of Texas that makes for scenic drives.

The Shaman’s Secrets – A 9,000-year-old burial of 2 people (one adult, one very young child) with 100s of ritual objects. The grave was first excavated in the 1930s…and assumptions were made…the adult was a man, blond hair, blue eyes. But modern analysis tells a different and more complete story.

Winter Rains Bring Mushroom Boom in California – Extra rain….and there are a lot more mushrooms!

Protecting Nēnē, The Threatened State Bird of Hawai'i – We didn’t see in nēnē when we went to Volcanoes National Park in 2015….it was good to see pictures of them.

Want to Improve Your Outdoor Recreation? Try Birding. – Yes! It has certainly been true for my husband and me. There are so many good resources about birding (festivals, birding trails, apps)!

A must-see sunset spectacle at Monument Valley – Wow! We visited in 2013 at midday. Next time I’ll plan to go in late March or mid-September…and stay until sunset.

Older adults with dementia but without close family: Who are they? And who cares for them? – Thought provoking.

William Burton and Pottery

/

William Burton was a chemist that worked at the Wedgewood Company and then Pilkington’s Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles. There are 4 books available on Internet Archive that he authored about pottery featured in this ‘book of the week post.’ It seems he was interested in more than the chemistry of pottery; he was also attuned to all the aspects of creating it…and enjoyed the beauty of the finished product too.

He does not have a Wikipedia entry of his own…but there is a paragraph about him in the Pilkington’s article. He evidentially was manager of the company – employing many artists and commissioning work from other artists of the time.

Porcelain, a sketch of its nature, art, and manufacture (1906)

A history and description of English earthenware and stoneware (to the beginning of the 19th century) (1904)

Josiah Wedgwood and his pottery (1922)

A history and description of the old French faïence, with an account of the revival of faïence painting in France (1903)

National Tiger Sanctuary

/

The National Tiger Sanctuary is only about 30 minutes from our Missouri home; a tram tour of the place on a sunny spring day was a great ‘experience’ for a spring birthday in our family. We arrived about twenty minutes before our tour time…plenty of time to photograph the sculpture above the gate

And sculptures around the building.

There was also a pile of damaged big cat ‘toys’ behind the building.

The tram tour passes between rows of large double/triple wire enclosures – sometimes for single big cats and sometimes shared spaces for siblings or cats that appreciate company. The cats looked healthy although some are hampered by their experience prior to being rescued (i.e. declawed, teeth filed, finicky eaters). Even though the name is ‘tiger sanctuary’ we saw more lions! There have been two ‘surprise’ litters born at a sanctuary (a group of rescued adult lions…the male supposedly had a vasectomy…but two lionesses were having litters!). The litters were 4 cubs each and are almost adults now…so the numbers are skewed toward lions.

We heard vocalizations of cats several times while we were there. Our tour guide said that cool days in spring and fall are not as smelly as warm, humid days. Good to know…made us even more glad we went in April.

There were white tigers and ligers – rescued from breeders or entertainment companies. They tend to have genetic-type health problems in addition (sometimes) to problems with ill treatment. Hopefully the breeding of these big cats is slowing down/stopping.

The sanctuary rescues other animals as well. The lemurs seemed to enjoy having people around; some of them had been ‘pets’ that became problematic for their owner.

There are also some wolf dogs and farm type animals. Providing a ‘forever home’ to all the animals rescued is what the sanctuary is about (not just tigers).

Tree Mulching Project

/

When we first moved to Missouri last summer, we hired a crew to mow/weed eat/edge our yard. This season I am doing it. The first time I mowed (with our new battery powered mower…a big improvement over the gasoline powered one we had in Maryland), it was obvious that the job would be easier if the trees had mulch around them – an area large enough to avoid any low branches. The front yard has three trees: 2 red maples and an Asian dogwood. The red maples are relatively young trees so the mulched area did not need to be large. The dogwood had a lot of lower branches that I wanted to keep – hence a larger circle of mulch.

The first step was define the circle I would cover with mulch with very short grass; it was a good project for me to learn to use our new weed eater (also batter powered).

My husband helped me pour bags of mulch and I spread it around with a rake. The red maples took 1.5 bags each and the dogwood took 3 bags.

My follow up plan is to plant some daylilies and butterfly weed in the mulch areas around the red maples. The base of the young trees in sunny because are relatively skinny trees; the plants should do well. I enjoyed the ‘ruff’ of daylilies I had around the base of our oak tree in Maryland, and I hope eventually that will happen around these red maples. The plants might make it easier to extend the mulch circles as the trees grow since they reproduce rapidly. There aren’t deer wondering through our Missouri neighborhood eating buds like candy (like happened in Maryland); I’m looking forward to having flowers!

Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden – April 2023

/

Earlier this month, we made our first visit to the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden since the winter holiday lights event in December (Gardens Aglow). I plan to go frequently during its April – October season since I joined Friends of the Garden; one of the membership benefits is free entry to the stroll garden.

We walked around the loop counterclockwise. Near the Meditation Sand Garden there were many cairns…some large and permanent…others built of smaller stones by other visitors. My favorite was a small stack of three stones on top of a post.

There are lanterns throughout the garden, and I always make a little project of photographing the ones that I notice. Next time I will hone my skills getting the horizon straight!

Interesting textures and colors abound: dried hydrangea flowers, new Japanese maple leaves in the sun, a pine tree with a challenge (disease, drought,?), reflections in a tinted pool.

A phoebe was close enough to identify.

A native dogwood was close enough to the path for some macro photography with my phone. I was fascinated about the way the flowers open – stuck at the apex…one petal-like bract opening …then another…the last two finally letting go to open the flower completely.

I suspect that there is a richness in this garden that will make it one of my favorite places in Springfield.

Springfield Botanical Gardens – April 2023

/

The uptick in vegetation is in full swing at the Springfield Botanical Gardens this month. We went on a morning cool/breezy enough to require a jacket with a hood and gloves. The early blooming trees and bushes (cherry, magnolia, quince), spring bulbs, and some violets made it worth the walk. The magnolias appeared to have been hard hit by the cold weather of the past weeks – with wads of ruined flowers; but some buds were evidently not impacted, and the few flowers were a taste of how grand the tree would have been without the cold weather.

As usual, I couldn’t resist some macro shots. In years past, I have often contented with very active bees, but the breezy cold must have kept them away. I didn’t see a single insect on the trees. The picture of the ‘open’ redbuds (last picture) was one of my favorites.

But – my favorite of the morning was the tulips. Not all the tulips were blooming quite yet…but these very bright flowers stood out in their brown mulch bed. I liked their color and spikey shape!

I am looking forward to seeing how the gardens change by May!

Kittens! – Month 8

/

Our three kittens are growing up! They still sometimes sleep close together on the (sheet covered) futon…but each with their own space rather than in a pile as they did when they were very young (Puma, Pooky, Sooty on the move from top to bottom in this picture).

The male cat, Sooty, is the only one to jump to the top of the kitchen cabinets (where there are indirect lighting fixtures). My husband thought the cat might not get down on his own, but Sooty is quite capable of that (as he demonstrated before my husband could get a step ladder in place to climb up to reach him).

The kitchen is where our biggest remaining challenges are with the kittens. They all like to watch food preparation and they are fascinated by running water in the sink. We had one instance of them chewing through plastic packaging on bread (fortunately that has not been repeated). My husband provides the kittens a snack to draw them away from the kitchen while I prepare a meal …but they are back once they finish eating. I have learned to prep faster!

They have a tent that they’ve all used at various times for some private space although there are occasions that the two females (Puma and Pooky) nap together. Sooty is bigger and demands the whole space.

The 2 hammocks we have are also popular napping spots. The hammocks were handed down from our previous cats. Sooty was the first to claim the leopard one.

The kittens have learned to use scratching posts rather than the furniture (most of the time). They tore one rope wrapped post apart and they like the new one as a pedestal almost better than for scratching (Pooky, Sooty, Puma).

The cat donut is in the background. They all enjoy it – sometimes as part of an obstacle course and sometimes for napping. Occasionally it has two at one time in it – on opposite sides.

We have baby latches on several cabinets now….all of the kittens had become adept at opening lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets…getting inside…not always as adept at getting out. Fortunately – we didn’t have an instance when all three of them were stuck; the kitten(s) on the outside would stay close…our clue that a kitten was trapped.

Overall – we are still having fun keeping up with the kittens. We have left them for one overnight with our daughter checking on them and they were unphased. We’re taking a 5-day vacation this month; even though our daughter will be with them one or two times a day, we are anticipating they will be needy kittens when we return…another milestone for them and for us.

Previous Kittens! Posts: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, week 1, week 2, month 1, month 2, month 3, month 4

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 15, 2023

/

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Cyprus’s copper deposits created one of the most important trade hubs in the Bronze Age – Cyprus was part of the first period of international trade in the Mediterranean. It was the largest copper producer around the area. Imports found via excavation included item from close countries like Greece and Egypt; items from distant places like Sardinia, the Baltic Sea region, Afghanistan, and India have also been found. Aside from copper, pottery produced in Cyprus at that time was exported and had been found in excavations around the Mediterranean and beyond.

Green Winter: Europe Learns to Live Without Russian Energy – “In a year when planetary emissions edged upward, Europe is now on track to comfortably outpace its pledge to generate 40 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030.” Impressive.

Australia’s extinct giant eagle was big enough to snack koalas from trees – Likely one of Australia’s top predators during the Pleistocene.

Why East Antarctica is a 'sleeping giant' of sea level rise – The eastern part of Antarctica was thought to be resistant to global warming. In 2012, the East Antarctic ice sheet gained mass overall. But recently, it appears that some ice shelves are melting and might be at risk to collapse. The ice shelves in front of glaciers act as a safety band that keep the glaciers for speeding up and reaching the ocean. Scary comment from the article – “Most of the uncertainty about how much and how fast future sea levels will rise comes from how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is going to behave.”

Arctic climate modelling too conservative – And about the other pole…researchers at the University of Gothenburg argue that the rate of warming will be faster than projected….and climate models need to reflect the processes occurring there.

In Eastern U.S., Climate Change Has Extended Forest Growing Season by a Month - Scientists tracked American elm, black walnut, white oak, and four other species in northwest Ohio, comparing their data to records collected by an Ohio farmer (Thomas Mikesell) from 1883-1912.

In these cheatgrass-infested hills – Often the natural places closest to where we live…are degraded in some way. That doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the natural world that we find there.

Federal Agencies Directed to Develop Policies for Migratory Corridors – Birds and butterflies and fish and big game.

Ski Resorts in the Western U.S. Will Stay Open Into the Spring and Summer – Something positive about record-breaking snowfall.

As Enforcement Lags, Toxic Coal Ash Keeps Polluting U.S. Water – Coal ash in the environment and polluting ground water. Even as we migrate toward renewables…the toxic legacy of burning coal is going to last a very long time.

Nimrud: The Queens’ Tombs

/

The 4 tombs were discovered in the late 1980s in Iraq. The war that started during the excavation caused security issues that rushed the excavation of the last 2 tombs…and then the turmoil of the war caused the site and the institutions where artifacts were stored to be looted. A bank where the most valuable finds were held was bombed twice (in 1991 and 2003); the vault survived both bombings but the 2nd bombing caused enough damage that flooding then destroyed some of the objects. Much of Nimrud itself was destroyed by ISIL in 2015. There have been few international publications and no exhibitions.

So – the book was all new news to me; it was very much like looking at a catalog of King Tut’s tomb…but an entirely different culture (and gender). The book was published by the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in 2016. Hopefully enough artifacts have survived to be exhibited at some point.

Nimrud - the Queen's Tombs by Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein, edited by McGuire Gibson and translated by Mark Altaweel (2016)

There are many wonderful images in the book. I selected 4 samples, but the book is well worth browsing in its entirety. The last image – the crown of Queen Hama – as found and after cleaning….bothered me. They said that the crown was filled with soil but elsewhere said that it was found atop her head. I wonder if there is any of that soil saved…whether it was the decomposed head of the queen rather than simply ‘soil.’ It reminded me that sometime archaeology – even when done with all the best practices and intended to help us under the past – is still very close to ‘grave robbing.’

Coppell Nature Park

/

Coppell Nature Park is about 15-minutes from my parents’ home in Carrollton, TX. I enjoyed my first outing there last month. It is a 66-acre park surrounded by ball fields and playgrounds of Wagon Wheel Park. There is a Biodiversity Education Center there is well (although I didn’t go in). The trails are mulch covered…the vegetation leafing out for spring. I took some macro pictures of ‘new leaves.’

I took some macro pictures of ‘new leaves.’

There is good signage on trees which would make it easy to teach yourself tree recognition….even in the winter! Persimmons are one of my favorites with their blocky bark.

The only wildflower I saw during my short walk was common dewberries….prickles.

The forest views are good but the sound of airplanes overhead is a frequent distraction. I’ll have to go back next month explore more fully (I’ll print the trail map) and see how spring is progressing.

Bluebonnets and Dandelions

/

I looked for bluebonnets on my March road trip to Texas, but only saw them in two ‘cultivated’ places: at the Texas Welcome Center on US 7 (just after the bridge over the Red River from Oklahoma) and at the Coppell Nature Park. Maybe it was a little early to see them along the roadsides (or maybe there are not as many growing ‘wild’ anymore). Even the places I did find them were not dense stands that I remember. I’ll be looking for them again during my April road trip. They are the state flower of Texas!

Dandelions were everywhere during my road trip (and also at home). They are deep rooted plants growing in a variety of places that have photogenic flowers and seed puffs….and are an example of a garden plant cultivated by early European settlers that escaped into the wilds of North America. I enjoyed dandelion greens from my CSA in Maryland, but it’s too challenging to get the soil grit cleared from the shorter ‘wild’ leaves (I.e. so I haven’t eaten any recently). Most people attempt to keep their yards free of dandelions; I did that for years and have now decided it is futile. I’ll mow them…but that’s it. I tell myself that their deeper roots reduce soil erosion. And they support pollinators!

Carrollton Yard – March 2023 (2)

/

Continuing the report on my parents’ yard….

It’s not just flowers that were blooming. The crane flies emerged while I was there. They seemed to be everywhere. One got in the house and stayed put near the door…posing for portraits. Later I saw one on a plant. These short-lived adults are eaten by birds (as are the larvae in the soil)!

Of course – there are still flowering bulbs, sage, wisteria, and daisies blooming around the yard too.

The pecan tree had tuffs of leaves and blooms. It’s a young tree…maybe this year I will make pecans.

The sweet gum was also leafing out. It is fruitless variety (i.e. no spikey seeds). The tips of its branches are still very complex.

My favorite picture of the yard this month was some red yucca seed pods from last year….still holding the black seeds….the old stalk bent almost to ground level so that the leaves of the plant form the background.

I am looking forward to seeing the changes that April brings…

Carrollton Yard – March 2023 (1)

/

The next few months, until the heat of summer becomes oppressive, should be the prettiest months of year in Carrollton, TX yards… including my parents’ yard. There were so many things to see when I was there in late March, that I am writing about them in two posts (today and tomorrow).

Seeds from a neighbor’s tree were all shades of green to brown….blowing over the back yard (will any of them sprout?).

The usual early spring flowers were up. My mother cut some of them to bring indoors; the garden still held plenty more.

The fiddleheads in the front flowerbed were healthy looking. They survived the prolonged period of 100 degree + days last summer better than the blue rug juniper ground cover (more than half of it died). Being in the shade most of the time must have helped although some of last year’s fronds looked burnt in August.

I was surprised to see several clumps of mushrooms around the base of one of the old mulberry trees. The tree itself was leafing out…so it’s unclear why that grassy area was so hospitable for mushrooms. I took the opportunity to do some macro photography….of course.

I enjoyed two servings of edamame pods and composted the empty pods afterward in one of the flowerbeds. It is surprising how much happened to them in 2-3 days! I’ll check them again in late April!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March 2023 – Egrets +

/

The pelicans were the stars of my two visits to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March, but there were plenty of other things to see. The egrets came in a close second to the pelicans. The Snowy Egrets were in breeding plumage.

A cattle egret was as well.

The redbud near the visitor center was blooming and the tree was situated where I could walk up to get some macro images. The flowers are reminded me of orchids!

The trunk of the tree had yellow-orange lichen…always worth a close look.

On my first visit there were a few Snow Geese (one was smaller…probably a Ross’s). They were gone before my second visit.

The Yellowlegs was still around.

I saw two herons: a Great Blue

And a Little Blue. The Great Blue Herons are year-round residents. The Little Blue Herons are only around during the breeding season.

At the turn around point during my second visit, I noticed some vultures in a tree. The ones near the top were Turkey Vultures and there was a lone Black Vulture further down the tree!

I needed to get to Sherman by noon but still made a quick stop to photograph a Red-Winged Blackbird. I had been hearing them loud and clear but this one seemed to be posing just for me.

My visits to Hagerman are always a little rushed…I drive portions of the wildlife tour and stop for photography – using my car as a blind. Even so…it seems like the 1.5 hours I allot myself passes very quickly!

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 8, 2023

/

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Avi Kwa Ame, Sacred Land in Nevada, to Be Preserved as a National Monument – Good! Another place to see when we make a trip in the west.

Volvo Delivers Its 1st Electric Heavy-Duty Truck in Africa – The truck is being used for collecting waste in Rabat, Morocco. Morocco is also home to the world’s biggest concentrated solar power facility.

A 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a father of 3. It's a big 'dill' – Radiated tortoise native to Madagascar and critically endangered…at the Houston Zoo.

One of Europe’s last free-flowing rivers declared a National Park – Albania’s Vjosa River. Europe is also removing dams along other river just as we are in the US…but rivers that have been controlled by barriers will never be the way they were before the dam.

Clinics on wheels bring doctors and dentists to health care deserts – It’s a step forward and might work well for preventative or chronic care…but what happens in cases where the need is more urgent…like broken bones, having a baby, the aftermath of a car accident?

Technology over the long run: zoom out to see how dramatically the world can change within a lifetime – A graphic from ‘Our World in Data’ – worth the look. See the big developments they selected occuring during your lifetime….and when technologies we take for granted came along.

Take a Virtual Tour of the ‘Doomsday’ Seed Vault – Its doors are only opened a few times each year for new seed entries. The seeds come from countries from all over the world and are kept at -18 degrees Celsius. The most recent withdrawal was to re-establish a seedbank that had been destroyed in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War.

Urban Trees Could Cut Summer Heat Deaths by a Third – Increasing tree cover to 30% could reduce premature deaths from urban heat islands by 40%. Sounds like a good idea of heath…and makes the cities more appealing too. Other actions can help too: green roofs/walls, light colored roofs/walls/landscape pavers, and replacing impervious surfaces with plants and soils.

Fresh produce contaminated with toxic BPA-like chemicals found in food labels – A Canadian study found that the chemicals migrate from labels in packaging materials into the food!

Common sweetener suppresses mouse immune system — in high doses – An artificial sweetener (sucralose) that might become a drug to reduce or replace immunosuppressive drugs that often have a lot of unpleasant side effects (if humans react to it the same as mice).

eBotanical Prints – March 2023

/

Twenty more books were added to the botanical print collection this month and most are about orchids: 19 volumes of the Australian Orchid Review from 2012 to 2015. I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography and drawings. I’ll continue browsing more volumes in April! The very first volume on the list is the only one not from Internet Archive; it is a recently published book - Pollinator-Friendly Parks - that I am using as a reference as I reduce the ‘turf’ in my yard. It is available free from the Xerces Society.

The whole list of 2,592 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the March 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the March 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Pollinator-Friendly Parks * Frischie, Stephanie; Code, Aimee; Shepherd, Matt; Black, Scott; Hoyle, Sarah; Selvaggio, Sharon; Laws, Angela; Dunham, Rachel; Vaughan, Mace * sample image * 2021

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 - 2016 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2016

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 - 2015 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 - 2014 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Josey Ranch – March 2023

/

I went to Josey Ranch (Carrollton, TX) in the early morning. The male grackles were posturing. The females seemed to be mostly ignoring them.

There were two Great Egrets in breeding plumage staying together as they looked for breakfast.

There seemed to be more cormorants than usual. They are probably moving northward since their breeding grounds are in the norther part of the US and into Canada.

There were a few scaups and ruddy ducks left. They too are moving northward. I don’t expect to see them in April.

I walked to the garden area between the water and the two buildings. The trees are beginning to leaf out and roses are blooming. The area was impacted by the harsher (hotter and drier) summer and it will be interesting to observe how many of the plants will regain their vigor in the upcoming months.

March is a transition month. It will be interesting to see if more of the summer birds show up when I visit in April. I always check the pond (or is it a lake?); it’s an short, easy outing and their always seems to be something new to observe.