Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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I left the house a little before 8 AM. One of my fellow Missouri Master Naturalist’s was leading a birding hike at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield to begin at 8:30. This was my first visit to Wilson’s Creek. It was a sunny winter morning – much warmer than the previous 2 Saturdays and without snow on the ground. It was cold enough that the mud was frozen. We met at the parking lot of the Visitor Center and then drove into the park.

We hiked for about 3 hours! I took some landscape pictures…some very white fungus on a log…a sycamore almost undermined along the edge of the creek (perhaps it will fall during the next big storm)…leave wads at the edge of the creek…the riparian zone…lichen on the bridge.

The bird highlight of the early part of the hike was a winter wren on the opposite side of Wilson’s Creek in the debris around a fallen tree. They are small and blend in very well…it took be a bit to see it move – find it. There was more bird activity as it got warmer toward the end of the hike.

We hiked up a rocky stream bed of a losing stream. There was a frozen pool where it usually goes dry.

We stopped by two small glades – lots of green moss and some brownish fungus. There was also some prickly pear.

The highlight at the end of the hike was seeing an armadillo in a field of corn stubble! This species has been moving northward in recent decades!

It was too early for wildflowers…so I am already thinking about going back…

Air quality

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I’ve been noticing that the air quality where I live (as reported in The Weather Channel app) has not been good during the recent cold weather. The primary pollutant is always Micro Dust/PM2.5. Since transportation sources of pollution (cars, trucks) are, if anything, a little lower during cold and snowy weather – I am assuming that the uptick is from the electricity generating coal plant or wood burning stoves/fireplaces.

I notice that my eyes are the first to register air quality issues. They start to itch or feel gritty – not as bad as a floating eyelash but not comfortable. Saline drops help but time consuming to do frequently. I find myself just forging ahead with my eyes itching and trying not to rub them. Recently I have been wondering if some of my ‘allergies’ (runny nose and sneezing that comes and goes over the course of the day) are PM2.5 related rather than pollen since there isn’t pollen in the air in winter.

If the day is orange – like shown in the screen shot – I try to stay indoors with the filters of my HVAC and some room air purifiers between me and the ‘bad air.’ That is possible for me most of the time since I am a post-career person. I do sometimes have things I do away from home, but they are mostly indoors this time of year and presumably well filtered/ventilated. I am a little anxious about some ‘winter wellness’ hikes I have planned…hoping that the air quality will be ‘green’ when those occur.

I enjoy being outdoors and realize that air quality will impact when I will be comfortable as time goes on (i.e. air quality will deteriorate since there is less being done right not to reverse the trend). Working in my yard won’t be impacted too much since I can simply check the air quality and only go out when it is ‘green.’ I hope I can get through a few more years of volunteering in the Butterfly House at the Springfield Botanical Garden during the summer months; signing up for shifts is done well in advance and the air quality could be problematic when the day arrives…I want to be a dependable volunteer but do I go even if the air quality is poor?

The air quality in Lewisville TX (where I go monthly to visit my dad) is considerably worse than in Springfield MO. This winter it has been orange or red most of the times I’ve been in the area. It’s been too cold to take Dad for a walk outside – and I will always check the air quality before taking him for an outdoor walk even when the weather is pleasant again. There are times that Oklahoma smells smokey (grass fires or power plants?) as I drive through. I am adding a small air purifier to the inside of the car and not doing a lot outdoors when I am there unless I check and the air quality happens to be ‘green.’

I find myself wondering what contributes to the air quality being ‘not green,’ but it is hard to tease out that information. The measurement just reports how much PM2.5 there is. I hope that some organization begins to make the contributors more visible to the public (and it would be great if The Weather Channel added that info in their app). Would it spur more people to push for changes to utilities….to retire coal burning plants a quickly as possible?

Note: To find the hourly air quality forecast on The Weather Channel App, scroll down on the Home screen to find the Allergies – Breathing – Cold & Flu block and select ‘Breathing.’ Scroll down to see the Air Quality Forecast.

Plastics Crisis – Action at the Community Level – January 2026

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The weekly Plastics Crisis posts are dominated by what I am doing as an individual to reduce my plastics exposure – but I am also acting at a community level as well; my plan is to post at least once a month to document those actions. Looking back at January, there was a bigger variety than I anticipated at the beginning of the month.

Beyond Plastics Ozarks is ramping up! We added a few additional members, and I hosted my first zoom meeting for the group. I experimented with annotating the Zoom generated summary rather than writing up my own notes; it seems to work reasonably well but I will still take plenty of notes during the meeting!

I was part of a meeting with a Springfield Councilmember organized by the Show-me less plastic project.

I  recorded a segment of the KSMU Growing the Ozarks podcast about Microplastics in the Environment. It was an adventure for me – going to the recording studio on the Missouri State University campus (taking some pictures as I waited in the foyer) and getting the recording acceptable on the first try thanks to my experienced interviewer.

During my travel to Lewisville TX, I noticed a lot of plastic at the hotel’s breakfast service…and used the survey from the hotel afterward to indicate my concern about Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils with hot food. I had stayed at the same brand/chain in St. Joseph MO and they had used ceramic plates and stainless utensils. The General Manager of the hotel responded: “We truly appreciate your suggestions about reducing single-use plastics and will share them with our leadership team for consideration.” I stay at the same hotel every month when I visit my dad so I will know if they make changes.

I helped with a lunch trash audit at a private school in Springfield organized by the Show-me less plastic project. The teacher was a fellow Missouri Master Naturalist and had done a great job preparing for the event – having the elementary students make posters for the initial sorting: food waste, non-plastic trash, reuse, and plastic trash. After their lunch the students put their trash in the correct bin.

We (the adults) moved to a classroom with tarps over tables and on the floor which would be used for sorting by students over 3 class periods. The third and fourth graders divided into 4 groups and used the tarp covered table for the non-plastic  and plastic trash respectively while the second graders used the floor tarp to sort reuse/recycle.

The sorting of the plastic trash was the most thorough – with a worksheet for each group to categorize pieces of trash as they counted. Some of it was quite small!  

The next action the school is considering is to do a plastic free lunch!

In looking back at January, I am wondering if there will be as much every month or whether January unusual. This type of volunteering has components that are new to me; my strategy is to let it develop rather than try too hard to determine its direction!

Ten Little Celebrations – January 2026

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Parts of January were not very wintery but later in the month, we got a significant winter storm that included snow! I celebrated winter activities, food, and scenes –sprinkled with some warmer days.

53rd wedding anniversary. So much of my day-to-day well-being is linked to my marriage that I sometimes just accept it as normal….but my wedding anniversary in January always prompts me to celebrate….be grateful that we’ve sustained our relationship by changing together!

American Beautyberry in winter. I celebrated the wrinkles and color of the berries – often in an otherwise brown bed at the Texas Welcome Center. I’m glad I have some small beautyberry plants in the yard that will be beautiful in a few years.

Big snow. It was a good time to be at home – celebrate the season (and my snow blower).

Dark chocolate for breakfast. I savored dark chocolate first thing in the morning – reverting to my favorite breakfast in the last years of my career. I celebrated that it was tasty and fair trade certified.

Meal in a skillet. Lightly sautéing veggies then adding a couple of eggs to make a ‘sauce’ and provide the protein – I’m getting used to the idea of eating it straight from the skillet. Celebrating food that is quick…nutritious…easy to clean up.

Potato skin. My husband likes the inside of russet potatoes and I like the skin. I always celebrate when there is a potato skin to top a soup or include in a stir fry.

Salmon salad with ginger, lemon, and honey dressing. Small cans of salmon have become a pantry staple for me. This month I celebrated a homemade dressing (fresh ginger, lemon, and honey) that made salmon salad my favorite.

Exercise snacks and treadmill walks. I’ve noticed that my mood and my back are better when I do short spurts of exercise throughout the day – celebrating that something that is good for me overall has some specific benefits that motivate me!

Pruning chainsaw. I celebrated a new tool – realize I should have bought one sooner.

Plastics podcast. The recording of a short message about plastics had been in the works for months – and I celebrated that I finally got it done!

Zooming - January 2026

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The zoomed imaging from this month were taking in my daughter’s yard in Springfield MO, my yard in Nixa MO, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield MO, the Lake Springfield Boathouse and the Texas Welcome Center on US 75. It was not a big photography month. I expect February will have more if the weather does not cause cancellations of winter hikes I have planned.

Plastics Crisis – Travel and Plastics

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I thought about plastics as I made my monthly drive from Missouri down to Lewisville TX and back. It might have been the noticeable plastic trash along the road – perhaps there was more of it because of recent winds.

The other reason I was thinking about it more was the breakfast set up. The same hotel chain we had stayed in when we went to St. Joseph MO late last month had used ceramic plates and stainless utensils – so it felt like a step backwards to have foam plates and plasticware. Both places had Keurig coffee makers in the room and plastic single used glasses. When I got the request for feedback to the hotel – I filled in several responses about the plastic in their hotel and pointed out that the bottle of water ‘gift’ is not as appreciated any more.

I have started carrying a ceramic mug in my suitcase…to make tea – avoid the Keurig completely and the cups they provide. I also carry a small water filtration pitcher to replenish my reusable water bottle and to make tea.

My eyes were itchy the whole time I was in Lewisville; when I checked, the air quality was yellow…and the hotel HVAC filter did not seem to help. The dominate pollutant type causing the ‘yellow’ level was PM2.5 which includes microplastics and products of fossil fuel combustion. I am considering whether I should travel with an air purifier like I did on road trips after COVID – when vaccines were still quite new.

The drive home was very windy with a front coming through (bringing ice and snow for the weekend) and there were several places where plastics were blowing in the wind. Not long after I got to I44 and was less than 2 hours from home, there was grass fire along the shoulder that seemed to go for at least ¼ mile…and the smoke was blowing across the road.  Another hit to air quality!

There was a bit of nature at the Texas Welcome Center where I stopped on the way down that I’ll use as a positive ending for this post even though it has nothing to do with plastics or air quality: the bluebonnet plants are above ground and the beautyberry still has a bit of color!

Lake Springfield – January 2026

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There was an ‘eagle’ event at the Lake Springfield Boathouse last weekend. The temperature was in the 20s and a little breezy…but I bundled up and headed out. The parking lot still had plenty of spaces when I got there. The spotting scopes were set up on the lakeside deck of the boathouse…but they were on ducks rather than bald eagles! Evidently there had been a couple of eagles sighted before the event started – from a nearby lookout, not visible from the boathouse. After watching the ducks for a little while, I opted to switch my photography to plants.

The sycamore at the edge of the lake was catching the light.

I walked around to look for seed pods…and anything else interesting in the plantings around the boathouse. The beautyberries were shriveled but still retained some color. A bush trimmed to keep it within the bed displayed a cracked stump. The browns and off-white colors dominate in winter but there were some green leaves of some bulbs coming up in one bed.

It was a short foray into the cold – testing out my gear from some winter wellness hiking over the next few weeks.

Fifty-third Wedding Anniversary

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Still together after 53 years….

Our anniversary is not a big celebration in January; we don’t buy gifts; usually we just go out for a nice meal. This year my only requirement was that it be a place with interesting desserts. We chose The Village Inn in Springfield. He got pancakes and I got key lime pie.

I’m thinking about how we are accommodating each other more as we age.

  • Right now, he has a wrist bothering him, so I am doing more household chores that require two hands.

  • He keeps a pillow in his car for me because I haven’t been able to adjust the front passenger seat to avoid my back hurting on road trips.

  • Over the past year we have both sat in medical waiting rooms – doing the driving to and from an outpatient procedure.

  • When we travel, we both like to stop about once an hour; neither one of us likes to sit for a long time.

  • I do the grocery shopping, and he does the shopping at Home Depot/Loews and Wild Birds Unlimited (although I am loading the bird feeders with seed and putting the groceries away right now because those are two-hand jobs). In years past we shopped together but now we both enjoy the independence.

  • He has allergies to a lot of household products which we have been working with for a few years. That is dovetailing with my efforts to reduce plastics/microplastics in our household.

  • When one of us is on a solo road trip, the other is tracking progress with the Find My app. This is the one item on the list that we might have done earlier if the technology had been available.

  • When we travel, I always make the hotel reservations and pack the ice chest (mostly things for him these days). He always makes sure the car is ready to go and does all the driving; I keep volunteering to trade off driving, but road trips are generally more restful for me since he still wants to do it all.

As we get older, there will be plenty more accommodations we’ll develop for ourselves and each other. We’re already a lengthy marriage…have no plans of cutting it short!

Phoenix Vicariously

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My daughter was at a conference in Phoenix last week and I enjoyed seeing her pictures of the area near the convention center. She went early for a workshop and managed to see a basketball game in the arena that evening!

She sent pictures of desert creature sculptures

And the sign for a pollinator garden – that obviously still has some plants blooming (daisies and lantana) – an urban garden.

My favorites were the images of architecture and murals. The one showing the white roof (along with a mural) was taken from her hotel window. I wondered how often the white needed to be refreshed to maintain its ability to reflect heat.

It’s been over a decade since I was in Phoenix and then I did more in the outskirts rather than the downtown area. Winter would be the time I’d pick to visit again!

Loess Bluff National Wildlife Refuge

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We got to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in the early afternoon on the day after Christmas. It was sunny and relatively warm – no coat required. We made a slow drive around the loop and side road. The next morning, we drove the wildlife loop again in the fog before heading home.

There were lots of birds to see and hear!

Trumpeter Swans

Snow Geese

White fronted Geese

And Bald Eagles

There were more eagles than when we had visited Loess Bluffs last March…but similar numbers of snow geese and trumpeter swans. The muskrats were not active outside their mounds, so we didn’t see any this time.

Unfortunately, another difference we noted were dead birds in the water; I recognized snow geese and trumpeter swans. Some looked like they had been dead for some time. Pre-Covid, the carcasses of dead birds were collected as one refuge we visited (to determine why the birds were dying and to minimize the contagion in the water); perhaps they no long do that because it isn’t effective, they know it is bird flu, or there are not staff to do the work. The area where most of the dead birds were located was not near where the bulk of living birds were; maybe water movement acted to collect the birds in the shallows along the shore (mostly) away from flocks.

I’ll end this post on a positive note with the botanical pictures! Seeds and pods and brown foliage dominate…but there was one green plant that had a lot of water droplets.

The wildlife refuge is a great place to see bald eagles in the winter….and other things too!

Road Trip – Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge

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The day after Christmas was a great time for a road trip to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. I had noticed that the latest Waterfowl and Bald Eagle Survey showed over 500 bald eagles at the refuge!

We headed out after breakfast…stopping in Springfield to pick up my daughter. I took a few pictures around her yard while she put her luggage in the car. A magnolia pod, sun shining through azalea leaves, yucca seeds, a leaf with dew drops, and colorful oak leaf hydrangea leaves.

I got some pictures of overpasses as my husband drove through Kansas City.

And then there was the dramatic bridge across the Missouri River.

On the way home the next day – the bridge looked darker with the clouds…still dramatic.

Dickerson Park Zoo

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Christmas Eve was unseasonably warm in our area of Missouri; we enjoyed a walk around Dickerson Park Zoo before lunch. The last time we were at the zoo – there were young javelinas; this time we saw one of them (bigger) but the parents were still cuddled on both sides so it was hard to see!

The lion was out but seemed to be yearning for cooler weather; it was breathing through its mouth.

There were a pair of turkeys that were bring feed.

The crowned cranes are always photogenic.

The peacocks are beginning to regrow their tail feathers. I saw the mottled color one again (more white feathers that the usual peacock).

The high point this time was a giraffe that was using its tongue to clean its face. The long eyelashes are visible too.

The old lioness looked comfortable – taking a nap in the warm sunshine. The male died a few months ago and the zookeepers are not introducing a new lion to the elderly lioness.

My annual membership to the zoo was up for renewal and I have been often enough this past year to make it worthwhile to renew – and continue to visit the zoo next year.

Zooming – December 2025

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The slideshow for this month includes some pictures I took at the Rio Grande Birding Festival in November but didn’t get posted about until this month. There are a few pictures from my visit to Dallas and the holiday lights too. Enjoy the slideshow!

Ten Little Celebrations – December 2025

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December is always a month with a lot of celebrations – Christmas…my birthday…the end of the semester for my daughter…a great time to travel.

Oak wood chips to create a new native plant area. The branches trimmed from daughter’s oak (stabilizing an old tree) were chipped and I celebrated when I got the whole pile moved to my front yard – creating a great bed that I will plant with native plants in the spring.

Sweet potato soup. I celebrated a soup with of sweet potatoes, chicken, apple, fresh ginger, and a little lime…toast cubes on top. It was probably the best soup of the month!

New docking station. I had been having problems with my monitors becoming disconnected from my Mac…and an external drive not being available. There were work arounds that no longer worked consistently to fix the problem. I celebrated when my husband provided a new docking station….and the problems were resolved.

Rorra water filtration system. In my quest to reduce the microplastics in food, I bought the Rorra system and celebrated the step to reduce microplastics (and some other things) in our water. Now I can move on to other aspects of my kitchen/grocery shopping.

Great blue heron from my hotel window. I celebrated that the view from my hotel window in Lewisville included a great blue heron for a second month in a row.

Home before dark. I knew that December was the hardest month for me to get home before dark on my return from Texas…but I managed it…about 5 minutes before sunset.

Dickerson Park Zoo. There were some cold days in December but we took advantage of a day that the temperature reached into the 70s to visit the zoo. I always find something the celebrate there – either an animal seemingly poising for a photography or the different noises they are making (or not).

Daughter’s tenure. The major hurdles in the tenure process for my daughter happened in December. It won’t be formalized until the spring, but we are celebrating this milestone of her academic career.

Christmas time goodies. December is not a diet month. I’ve celebrated with goodies I bought for myself and the ones my sister provided! January will be the diet month.

Another birthday. Celebrating another year…and the experiences that surrounded my birthday this year – several out-to-eat events, a trip to the zoo, a trip to a wildlife refuge. My present was an electric tea kettle made of glass and stainless steel – replacing a coffee maker that had a lot of plastic components.

2025 in Review

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As the year winds down, I am looking back at 2025 and realizing that while there was no major life pivot point, there was a lot to going on.

Over the course of the year, we replaced three appliances: refrigerator, hot water heater, and dishwasher. None of that was planned. There was some inconvenience, but we appreciated that the separate apartment in our basement has its own version of all three…reducing the impact. Still – we realize that we should plan for other future maintenance needs. I’m not sure whether the roof or the HVAC will be next.

I continued my exploration of Missouri – focusing on prairies during the spring and early summer; I signed up for walks in 4 prairie remnants in southwest Missouri and seem to have learned to ID some plants I saw.

I also took a geology class and enjoyed a field trip in May that highlighted the geology close to home.

My husband and I made a short trip to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in the part of Missouri that was glaciated – quite different where I leave in the southern part of the state in the Ozarks!

Later in the year I enjoyed walks at Ha Ha Tonka State Park – which is pretty close to the middle of the state.

I savored volunteering at a butterfly house from May to September; it was more enjoyable than the one I volunteered at in Maryland because it was native butterflies --- no close monitoring of the entry/exit to prevent exotics escaping into the wild.

We had some health challenges this year requiring outpatient surgery and some PT (maybe more) for my husband – PT for me that has become on a long term exercise regime.

Nothing kept us from enjoying our trip to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival this past fall.

I maintained my monthly trips to Dallas/Lewisville TX to see my dad…occasionally my sisters. There is a routine aspect to them…but also something unique that happens each time. It is often stressful – hard to witness the month to month decline of my dad in his mid-90s.

My mood at the end of the year is not as optimistic as it was at the beginning. Have I crossed over to a pessimistic view of the future for our country (and for myself and my family)? It has occurred to me recently that maybe I have. There have been a lot of changes in the US over the past year that seem to increase the possibility of a dystopian future. Will 2026 be a pivot point for the country….or has the pivot occurred? There seems to be relatively little that individuals can do, but that doesn’t mean it is OK to do nothing.

Road Trip to Lewisville – December 2025

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My road trip to Lewisville in December was just two days. When I left home at 5:30 AM it was dark, cold, windy, and wet. The sun wasn’t up until my second stop of the trip – at the  Big Cabin Loves off I-44. I took two pictures to celebrate the light and that the rain had cleared - even if the wind had not and was making for a more challenging drive.

I listened to Christmas music as I drove….and tried to notice birds (there seemed to be more gulls and crows than usual…not as many vultures as on previous drives…perhaps the wind caused the activity change). There was a truck with a big bale of hay wrapped in plastic (bits of plastic flying off…I’d rather have bits of hay than plastic!). As I drove over Lake Eufala, there were sycamore leaves blowing across the highway – big enough that I could easily to id them.

I made the longest stop at the Texas Welcome Center – eating a grilled chicken wrap that I bought at one of my previous stops. I checked the beautyberry and noticed that there were still a lot of leaves on the oaks, unlike where I live in Missouri where the trees are bare. I picked up another bur oak acorn…and realized most of that oak’s leaves were on the ground.

My sister had left some home baked goodies on the bookcase in my dad’s room. I left her a bag of special teabags (in paper/cardboard packaging) and enjoyed walking around the room noting the seasonal decorations my sisters had added. I remember the fabric tree from many years…and wondered what its history is; maybe one of my sisters knows.

As I walked with my dad in the hallways, I took pictures of the decorations added in the shared areas of the facility.

The hotel was a short drive away and I was on the 4th floor this time…on the side toward the water retention pond and the great blue heron was there again; I took a picture through the window.  I also noticed that the Bradford Pear trees were very colorful.

The next morning, I took some pictures of the sunrise over the highway.

My dad had some medical appointments later in the day, so I didn’t encourage him to exercise as I usually do. One of my sisters arrived just as I was leaving so I got to visit with her a little before I headed toward home.

I stopped in Prague OK for lunch – the town where one of my grandmother’s was born and grew up. She would not recognize it today! The café was excellent and I might stop there again….think about our family history.

I made it home just as the sunset – which was my goal. This is the hardest month to do that because the days are so short!

My Favorite Pictures from 2025

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I forced myself to pick 2 pictures from each month to feature in this post. They were taken in my yard, at the Springfield Botanical Garden (and the butterfly house and Japanese Stroll Garden there), my daughter’s yard and during my travels for prairie walks in SW Missouri, to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in NW Missouri, Chicago IL, Branson, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. They are all taken outdoors! Enjoy the slideshow.

Looking Ahead to 2026

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With 2025 winding down, I am thinking about what will stay the same…what will be different in 2026.

On the ‘different’ list are:

  • Ramping up activity with Beyond Plastics Ozarks

  • Organizing Winter Wellness field trips in January and February for the chapter of Missouri Master Naturalistis in Springfield and making sure training/field trips that are offered by other organizations but relevant to the membership are communicated throughout the year

  • Reducing plastics in my life/home

  • Planting a front yard native plant garden in the spring and maintaining/adding to it during its first year

  • Remembering to use violets from my yard as greens in season (rather than buying greens)

On the ‘same’ list are:

  • Traveling to Lewisville every month to see my Dad

  • Arranging programs for the chapter of Missouri Master Naturalists in Springfield

  • Staffing shifts at the Roston Butterfly House

  • Sorting donated used books at my county library and setting up for books sales

  • Posting daily to my blog

  • Browsing/reading at least 4 books per day

  • Walking on the treadmill if I am not otherwise active each day

And there are bound to be things that will occur and force me to change that I am not anticipating!

Gardens Aglow

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The seasonal Gardens Aglow lights are a wonderful evening activity. They continue until December 28th (check the website for dates and times) at the Springfield Botanical Gardens’ Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Online tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children…but admission is free to Friends of the Garden or Springfield Sisters Cities Association! My husband and I are Friends of the Garden so the passes for the show I got in the mail because of my volunteering at the garden were given to 2 of my daughter’s students.

Our first visit was last week (we’ll probably go again before the end of the season). It was a cold and cloudy day, and we opted to arrive shortly after they opened at 5; we were early enough to park in the parking lot rather than the grassy area parking which is opened for the event. It didn’t take long before it was fully dark. I opted to use my small Canon PowerShot SX730 HS in night scene mode (stacks images in the camera) rather than my phone because the camera is easier for me to hold for the duration of the longer shot and the mechanism to zoom is easier too. There seemed to be a higher density of lights than I remembered from previous years. It is always well done; I liked that they have added lights to direct people to stay on the paved walkways…less chance of people trampling plants in the dark.

I enjoyed getting shots of lights and their reflections in water. There were plenty of opportunities!

Our walk took a little under an hour. The temperature was in the low 40s, and I was comfortable in my winter gear. My daughter bought some spring rolls at one of the food trucks – which she enjoyed but her hands got cold without gloves; she bought some hot cider just before we left to warm up her hands and to drink on the way home. My husband said his coat was great, but his gloves and shoes were not quite warm enough. It was a good first test of our winter clothing selections.

Road Trip to Lewisville – November 2025

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My dad moved from Dallas to Lewisville TX, so my monthly road trips have shifted to visit the him at his memory care place in Lewisville. I made my usual stop at the Texas Welcome Center pm US75 along the way – noticing that the leaves have fallen from the beautyberry. I noticed an insect on the berries; it was a cold day so the insect did not move….easy to photograph.

It was the first time for me to visit the memory care facility since my dad moved there. They were holding their Thanksgiving dinner that afternoon – the Friday before Thanksgiving. The day was warm enough that Dad and I walked outside in the enclosed courtyard beforehand. I noticed the decorative patterns on the roof of one of the pavilions.

The dinner itself was tasty, and Dad enjoyed it thoroughly because everything was cut up already – easy for him to eat; there was ice cream for dessert. A live band provided country music – a little loud for me but great for him and the other residents. He stayed for the whole show!

The next morning, I was up and looked out the window a little after sunrise. My hotel window overlooked a storm water pond; on the other side of the pond was a Costco…and then a cluster of overpasses – an intersection of big highways. I was just far enough away that the highway noise did not overwhelm the white noise of the heating/air conditioning fan. A great blue heron was at the edge of the pond. Next time I will bring a better camera and maybe walk around the pond.

I was with my dad for a second Thanksgiving meal on that Saturday – with the assisted living side of the facility. It was similar but my sister had to cut up his turkey and ham. The music was a little different and he wanted to leave before the end. The loudness of the music made it impossible to have a conversation with our 6-person family group…but I did enjoy the pecan pie at the end.

Afterwards I enjoyed several hours with my sister and her daughters/grandchildren. It was a treat to see them!

The next morning, I looked out the window a bit earlier – before sunrise. I left the hotel about 7:30 AM and drove around to the closest parking lot to the storm water pond. There were two cormorants there.

The memory care facility had decorated with a lot of pumpkins for the holiday. I photographed one of the displays on my way in to see my dad. At 8 AM he had finished his breakfast and was working on his cup of coffee! I’m glad I ate at the hotel rather than planning to eat with him!

I opted to go back via I35 going north. It was an adventure and about 15 minutes longer than the other route – but a lot less stressful. For the next few months, I am planning to continue that alternate route to get home. I already identified a café I want to try in Prague OK (along the route); my paternal grandmother grew up on a farm near Prague.