They all wore red

It wasn't exactly a lazy morning, but we took it easy. I let DH sleep. He had a longer day yesterday than I did. And I cannot seem to sleep past 5:30 no matter what.

About 8:00 we decided that we would need to walk or else we would run into the bad weather expected for the day (little did we know that the storm had somehow slowed). The day was overcast and a cool breeze (from the east?) chilled us.

I had chosen a bright red fleece jacket. DH fought the zipper on one jacket and then switched to another - this one red. [We are in negotiations about jackets. How many jackets does one person need?] Most of his are earth tones - drab. I like the red.

Lots of dogs were up and out and let us know all about it as we walked down our street. Paddy fretted. We crossed the street when necessary to avoid an unattended barker.

The park was quiet. Probationers picked up trash at the far edge along the river. Another dog walker crossed the field.

The man was walking his dog off-leash (it is something we could do once, but not anymore - Scruff is fairly good, but Paddy no longer listens). That pup was well behaved, but we still kept a tight hand on our guys. The man got closer. The red sleeves of his shirt peeked out of a vest. "I think that's BP," I said. About then our friend and neighbor looked up and waived.  And they headed home.

I stopped to take a photo of an interesting insect. DH thought I was "collecting" it. You cannot blame him for thinking this after years of insect hunts and too many crawlers left (extras) in whole or in parts in our freezer (9th grade biology project - 9th grade was a long time ago). "I am just collecting his photo, babe," I said. He gave a little grunt of affirmation and kept walking.

I was lagging behind doing hundetoilette duties and looked up to see DH stopped and staring at a car.

He was reading one of those stick figure signs - a guy with a computer and some nonsense.

Once we arrived at the park we were greeted by this little fellow.

We haven't seen many insects this crazy winter. This guy was lovely if you really look at his markings (I don't usually get this close to one of these guys...just creepy).

We edged the woods. Because there is no question about the "no trespassing" postings, we avoid the dirt road. Darn. I miss that walk. I miss the meadows. I miss the deer hiding in the tall grass or making noise in the woods.

This tree shows signs of an infestation of mistletoe.

I cannot tell if it is the mistletoe that causes the "joints" (don't know what else to call the place where limbs join the trunk) to be bloated and oddly formed.

A boy and his dogs headed off to the end of the park while I stopped at the holly for photos.

Deciduous holly wears its red berries.

The only bit of color in the park.

Love this pecan.

I had not noticed this large nest in this park (but have just seen a number of them at the wildlife area).

A closeup.

And they all come back...no deer to be seen anywhere. We were really too late for deer.

And then we headed home...

First "free" walk

I actually finished "working" an hour and a half before the end of the work day. I carried the last few things out to the car...mostly loot from visitors this week. I have lots of thank you notes to write.

Arriving home I ignored all the things that need to be done...plenty of time for that later. I unloaded the car and changed into my "dog walking clothes."*

Our friends were supposed to arrive at 1:30, but they were late. So we waited in the car and sang songs with Eliza Gilkyson **(CD player) until they arrived.

Poor TDW finally had enough of my "manhandling" of the camera. We are going to have lessons in the near future. "But I get some nice photos!" I exclaimed. "Yeah, you'd get more of 'em if you know what you are doing," said he. And he is right.

Still, I think I have a few nice ones for today.

We walked around. Creek was full. Dogs behaved pretty well. They are dogs after all. [You can emphasize the "are" or emphasize "dogs" and be correct.]

We decided to take a group photo to celebrate the day...the day that starts more frequent walks (and I guess more posts - sorry!). We found a log and investigated to insure no snakes or scorpions were hiding there (the rains have brought out lots of crawlies). I sat and the dogs came over. OH MY @)(_($@#(*&!&@ HEAVENS! What had they gotten into? They smelled. And, because they came right over to love on me for the photos, I smelled.***

We finished the walk - the perfect first walk. It was a lovely day. The clouds have moved in. We will have rain tomorrow and maybe Sunday. And I guess that means we will have some stinky dogs in the house later. Oh boy.

Part of the loot. [Aren't these lovely? And that has to be a cabbage!] A student brought these.

You may notice how high the water is, but trust me. We can only walk a little way along the creek.

I cannot wait until spring! These bluebonnet leaves peek out from the edge of a rock.

More bluebonnet plants waiting for a little warm weather. It may not be long now.

Startlingly pretty seed head of a wildflower.

We kept seeing LARGE nests along the edge of the woods...hawk? What would be that big?

TDW calling dogs gone missing in the brush.

Dogs (lured by promises of cookies) come out of the woods - Paddy, Stanley and Scruffy.

Another nest. These are over a foot in diameter and high in the trees.

Slightly closer image.

Thorns against the sky.

Cedars.

Yet another nest.

And a little closer.

Love this grass against the sky.

Wildflower in waiting (I am dependent on the blooms for identification).

There are many yuccas in the prairie. I cannot wait.****

Cujo Paddy. I wish I had gotten the whole crazy dog image.

Scruffy poses while Paddy sniffs the air.

Now Scruffy catches the smell on the breeze.

Dogs come running.

A helicopter flies over the park towards the airport beyond. Don't you see it?

Here is the closeup.

NOTES:

*Dog walking clothes change with the seasons. These are black cargo pants, long sleeved shirt, fleece vest, and any of 3 or 4 pairs of hiking shoes/boots I have collected.

** Eliza Gilkyson = amazing artist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Gilkyson . We sang Requiem and Jedidiah.

***It didn't take any time for me to pull those clothes off and throw them into the washer when I got home. The cat investigated, but he quickly lost interest...he's more a "mixed seafood" fan.

****My Daddy often stopped, on his way home from court in one of his 5 county district, to cut the blossom of a yucca for Mom. She would put them in a big cream colored pitcher. The bloom would fill the room with its fragrance and drop its individual flowers one by one. I never see a yucca that I do not think of my parents.

Bagworms and trash on a bright holiday morning...

I had forgotten that I was going to invite a biology student friend of mine (JH) out to the wildlife area. I came home with photos of cocoons and milkweed seed pods and shared them. I often seek help with identifications and so had included this friend in the effort.

So today seemed a good day to take him to see what we could see.

We located the cocoon on the cactus and JH confirmed it was a bagworm. We kept walking down to the creek. The dogs were mostly good.

At one point Paddy climbed up the cliff on the other side of the creek and found herself caught up in the brambles. She simply could not get out. I was about to go over and up to see if I could help her when she decided her only option was to jump. I caught her as she somehow fell/scrambled down the side of the cliff.

She is a wonder, that dog. Scruffy often tries to keep an eye on her, but today he was with me for much of the long walk (and trash collection) back. Paddy, on the other hand continued to take-off on her own. At times all we could see of her was a little dark blur in the grass and a bit of tail waiving above the weeds here and there.

Paddy also found some smells that were just too good. She rolled and rolled in them. This is why they are "outside" dogs. I do not need whatever-that-was in my house.

We came out of the creek at the more wooded/bramble-filled section. We followed Scruffy down the deer trails to a clearing. Jokes were made about the place. "This is where the druids dance." DH told stories of the Wicca group on a federal reservation. Then we found the trail through the rest of the woods and onto the prairie.

We remembered to bring trash bags on this trip and we filled them with shotgun shells, water bottles, soda cans, rusted who-knows-what, and large plastic bottles that had been used as targets. There is plenty of trash left, but we made a small dent in the mess. I always feel like this is a little bit of pay-back for our use of the park. I wish folks would just clean up after themselves, but that is too much to ask.

Beautiful day in the park...morning sun.

As we started into the park we saw a bird's nest. How had we missed this in earlier walks?

No one was home. Most of the nests I have pictured have been low to the ground. While they are often found in thorny trees, it is anyone's guess if any were successful.

Paddy located a scent near the cedars....Scruffy headed over to see what is up.

Gotta follow where the scent trail leads.

Well, now it's just time to run down the trail.

Walking partners arrived. TDW on the left in the back. JH stands with Hugo and DH.

Each day is different. The morning sun filtered through the trees illuminating the path.

Dogs wandered through the trees.

Our guys would run and come back. We are always too slow and they want us to hurry.

We made it to the creek for a drink.

I looked around for fossils - found few. The dogs scrambled up the cliff. Scruffy came when called.

The creek view is beautiful. But our sweet Paddy was having none of it, She had to climb. We called and called her. Then we watched as she tried to escape the brambles. As I started to walk over - to see if I could help her she looked off the edge of the cliff, as if she was going to jump. And then she did.

A close-up of the previous photo. Here she is as she touches down under the cliff.

Scruffy wading.

In this spot along the creek you can see the layers of rock and dirt in the bank.

The creek slows to almost a trickle is places.

In other spots the creek is deep and wide...or just wide.

This grass may be part of the formation of another marshy island or more. The weeds will catch more silt, the flow and small floods will bring more rocks and silt to be deposited against the weeds. More grass will grow. Without a big flood, we may have another place to cross the creek in a few years.

DH and JH in the clearing. No Druids dancing today.

At the edge of the clearing was a pile of red bricks. Now what would the Druids be doing with bricks? We tried to figure out why the bricks were here. But there was no indication of an earlier building or foundation that we could see.

Scattered bricks.

Do you see the nest?

It was almost impossible to take photos - this was a twiggy and thorny mess.

 Then we came upon another example of the cocoon we were looking for.

Bagworms camouflage their cocoons so they can be hard to find.

Here is a closeup. This was one smart creature. See how the thorns create perfect protection around the leaf-covered cocoon?

On our way back to the gate we started filling the trash bags we brought this trip.

I would turn around and see some bottle or can shining in the sun and turn back to pick it up.  Then Scruffy came back for me.

Small planes started flying over us on the way to the nearby airport. See this one?

It is a bit easier to see here.

And here.

Remains of a wildflower...sunflower?

And then Paddy found a "smell."

Paddy rolling in a scent(?)

Clearly she was loving it.

Scruffy came over and sniffed. Then he just watched his crazy friend.

"Oh, just leave me here!"

Our gathering of trash.