Age has no reality...

Age has no reality except in the physical world. 

The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. 

Our inner lives are eternal, 

which is to say that our spirits remain 

as youthful and vigorous 

as when we were in full bloom. 

Think of love as a state of grace, 

not the means to anything, 

but the alpha and omega. 

An end in itself. 

~Gabriel Garcia Marquez, from Love in the Time of Cholera 

Poor  Zelda was stuck with a tax-tired me for the after breakfast walk. We were going to head to the clay for a bit and move a few mugs along (they were thrown and trimmed and needed a last touch before heading to the bisque kiln). We were also to see if she and SP's companion, Chowder, would be friends. 

At the park we heard a voice, my neighbor was working her flowerbeds. We talked for a while - plans for a festival and more. Then she gave me a small tree - orchid (?).

Then we headed to the clay - worked on some reclaimed clay and glazed a number of pieces. Glazing is always a challenge for me, but this went smoothly. We will see how the work progresses.

[Chowder and Zelda got along great - lots of racing around and such. But there was a little too much dog energy - a distraction from the work.]

I am 61 today.

It's just a number.

But any anniversary provides a good time to reflect as did this one:

    Am I where I want to be?
    Am I doing what I want to be doing?
    Who am I spending my time with? Who do I want to spend my time with?
    What am I giving back? Is it enough?
    How can I live more simply?  More peacefully?
    Are these even the right questions?

I keep telling myself (and others - I gotta stop that) that I can "do the math." I am well past middle-aged (and my very amateur and slipshod genealogy work shows our genes are not indicators of too many more healthy years). So there is no time to waste.

Some tell me I do too much (I do admit that I have been known to double and triple book my time), but I'm not willing to miss opportunities. And I know that, eventually, I will not have the strength, energy, or desire to be throwing clay, hiking the hills, and chasing after dogs.

I have stopped saying "there's time enough for that."

There is today. There is now.

Enjoying the now.

More Frogs Than We Could Count

Humans are amphibians...

half spirit and half animal...

as spirits they belong to the eternal world,

but as animals they inhabit time.

~ C. S. Lewis

We haven't been to an official Amphibian Watch in a couple of months* so we were excited to get out to Berry Springs Park and see what the warm wet weather would bring.

Fire-wheels, Indian blanket, Gaillardia  pulchella**

These were the first bloomers in the grass bordering the upper parking area.

The Blanchard's Cricket Frogs were clicking their calls as we  walked up to the group of fellow watchers (many from our class of master naturalists). One frog would start and would be joined by frog after frog until a chorus of clicking filled the evening air.

A large heron flew over at dusk. The pond often hosts a Yellow-crowned Night-heron, but it was too dark for me to confirm it was the bird we know.

I counted four bats overhead - feeding and drinking. A couple of water snakes went swimming by - one on the pond and one on the creek.

Bullfrogs' deep throaty calls came - one close to where we were standing and then others around the pond.

A little later the Rio Grand Leopard Frogs began their "brrrrmp" and chattering back and forth.

More than a few times it seemed the frogs were competing for attention 

These remind me of mayflies, but are smaller than I thought they would be. They were attracted to the cell phone I was using to record frog songs.

DH and I headed around the pond to a bridge that is a perfect spot to monitor the back of the pond. We listened and recorded the cricket frogs, some 5 leopard frogs, and one bullfrog.

No frogs were caught, but there were photos and recordings and those are sufficient for reporting.

Then, just before we left the area, we all used our flashlights in an attempt to observe the cricket frogs as they clicked their monotonous tune. Instead we were treated to a frog embrace or amplexus.***


NOTES:

* Travel and commitments have prevented our participation.

** https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GAPU

*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplexus
[Oops! Correction: It wasn't amplexus. It was "foot flagging" as each male demonstrated his maleness by extending his leg and flashing his foot over and over. How does one say, "Quien es mas macho?" in cricket frog clicks? With a foot, leg extended.]


Final Notes:

We have learned that some of the group saw river otters too. Maybe we will see them at a future monitoring.

It is hard to share the chaotic excitement of these amphibian watch events. Here is a little "run down" of what is happening - sometimes all at once:

-New volunteers show up and get some general directions.
-Scientific readings are taken (water temperature, air temperature, humidity ....
-Bats appear so the bat detector is taken out.
-Nets are handed out. People spread out around the park.
-People are talking and sharing observations/sightings of all kinds of creatures - not just frogs.
-Time is coordinated for periods of "silence" when calls can be identified and recorded.
-Observations are documented.
 

Her Second Trip to the Wild (with us)

 Wild things have restless wings that too often need to fly.

~ Michael Xavier

 We have gotten out of the habit of walking in the wild. There always seems to be something - we are gone, or it's hunting season,* or the weather interferes.

Today we were lured by a cool, cloudy morning and the promise of wildflowers.

We also wanted to wear Zelda girl out. She is a young dog and needs more exercise than she receives.

So we loaded up and headed to the wild. No hunters (or target shooters) were parked along the roadway. It was obvious from the deer trails and hunters' paths that no one much had been out. The paths were none too clear - new growth and wildflowers were coming up in the pathways. We also noticed no signs of deer or hogs, just some digging that looked more like armadillos than anything.

Zelda explored the area, but kept fairly close-by. We tried to keep track of her as well - it would be easy to lose her in the high grass.** [Calling "cookie" doesn't work for her, but "treat" might.]

Many wildflowers had started to bloom and we took advantage of one large patch of bluebonnets for family photos. We will be back to see how spring progresses.

The birds were out in force, but moved quickly as Zelda flashed through. We will have to work on our identification by song. As it is, we can only saw we saw many little brown birds and one cardinal, but enjoyed the morning songs of many.

At the creek the cricket frogs were making their presence known. We managed a couple of recordings of their calls for reporting - along with all the plants and wildflowers, the armadillo damage, and one jaw bone at the creek I am calling "raccoon," one identifiable butterfly, and two bees.

DH and Zelda are napping. I'm next.

Zelda blends into the dry grass of the prairie.

Woohoo! Time to run!

Zelda and Little Bluestem (I always want to call it Baby Bluestem)

Dogs and kids always need to get in the water.

Yellow flowers (sorry, haven't looked them up).

"Can I get back in? Watch this!"

Maybe the 4th or 5th dip in the creek.

Everyone looks good in the bluebonnets!

Time to go home for a nap.

Stickery things: 

It's not enough that this place is full of brambles and cactus, but sharp and unpleasantly evolved plants and animals are everywhere.

Thistles starting to bud along the bank of the creek. At least I am betting these are thistles.

Proboscidea louisianica, Louisiana Devil's-claw

More Devil's-claw - I don't think I ever noticed this growing here. It is a plant that seems to like to grow near creek/river banks.

Multiple Devil's-claw vines were scattered in this part of the prairie.

There were plenty of cockleburs - look closely at those hooks on the ends of the barbs.

And what the heck is this thing? I knew even from a distance it was something different.

I made them mistake of touching it and immediately was impaled on the spikes.

These seed pods are small, but a hazard.

Bumblebee with the wild verbena

Honey bee drinking at the edge of the creek

Jaw bone at the creek.

I think raccoon.

 Amid the thorny trees and brambles were nests from last year. These birds were brilliant! It would be a challenge for predators to find their way to eggs or baby birds.

Detail of one nest.

There were many sulfur butterflies, some moths, and katydids moving too fast for me. But these creatures almost cooperated.

Pearl Crescent

Strange little guy with skinny legs.

And the wildflowers have started their colorful dance across the prairie. I'll be a while refreshing my wildflower memory so identification will continue.

The first bluebonnet we saw.

Dewberry blooms among the brambles.

Yellow clover

Wild plums are blooming.

Indian Paintbrush

Detail of the Indian Paintbrush

Bluebonnet patch, maybe 50'x20'

Wild verbena (with some vetch around it)

The invasive wild mustard*** was there, but nowhere in the amount we have seen in the past. I often pull it up as I go along, but I did not bring bags for invasives or trash.

Only after looking at the photos did I notice that the two sections of prairie were distinct. One, the dryer part close to the gate was still mostly brown with dry grass (and Eryngos and Maximilian Sunflowers).

Upper section of the prairie.

The section along the creek was bright green with short soft grass beginning to grow.

The lower meadow near the creek which is just beyond that tree line.

DH disappears down the steep creek bank.

The creek was the creek...slow and somewhat scummy.

Cedar Creek. I have to laugh - I often try to get a good photo of an aircraft preparing to land at the nearby airport. This was an accident.

And we were delighted with everything.


NOTES:

* Dove, turkey, and waterfowl hunters are allowed out here. Unfortunately the place is abused. It is past time for me to see how we can adopt and work on this place.

** She is almost the exact color of the Little Bluestem. We are such native grass nerds now.

*** http://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=raru

[The "with us" disclaimer is in recognition of Zelda's time wandering homeless - BUS - Before US.]