The Screech Owl Sang Soprano

Owl:  It was the year my Aunt Clara went to visit her cousin. Now, her cousin was not only gifted on the glockenspiel, but being a screech owl, also sang soprano in the London Opera. ~ From Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day 

Screech Owl from earlier in the year (Photo by D. Cowen)

We had just gotten home from the morning walk when I saw something fly into a tree about halfway down the block. After hustling Zelda into the house with her "treat" for being such a good girl, I headed down the street and found the Screech Owl call on the Cornell site.* I played it to see if whatever bird it was would react.

Nothing. No call. No movement. I played it again.**

Nothing.

So I started back home and in the distance I heard it. An Eastern Screech Owl was calling. It called and called - it's near enough to hear, but just. I don't think it was the bird I saw, but I don't care.

Detail of the photo above. They are small little guys - and a little weird looking. I suppose they think the same of me.

NOTES:

*https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/sounds
Lots of birders use this call to rile up surrounding birds.

**Visualize a crazy old lady standing out in the street with her cellphone held overhead and and the audio trilling the call. It's not the first time I've done this and it won't be the last.

FINAL NOTE: When we were thinking about buying this house almost 30 years ago, DH and I walked around the neighborhood looking at the houses and listening to the birds singing (it was in the spring). We were won. The neighborhood has changed a great deal, but the birds are still here.

What Were They?

If you see a crane flying, 

it may be drawing your eyes to the heavens, 

lifting your spirits, 

and inspiring you to trust in the universe. 

~Arin Murphy-Hiscock, from Birds: A Spiritual Field Guide

Our neighborhood park.

No one needs to know how early I was up today. I started snoozing early in the evening and went to bed about 9. I had no clock with me and got up when I felt it was time.

It wasn't time.

There was no dog to greet me.

The light was from the streetlamp, not the dawn.

I started the coffee anyway and tried to do a few things before I heard DH rising. He indicated he was going to run and agreed to head to the park with us. We would wander while he completed his circuits.

A fellow we have seen before came into the park with his Labrador - off leash. I know the dog is well behaved, but it is not safe for the rest of us when one dog is off leash. Sorry. If they were alone in the park it would be different. But they aren't alone.

So Zelda and I kept our distance.

We slowed down to watch the birds and listen to the winter early morning birdsong. Then we spied something flying low overhead. At first I thought, "heron." But there were too many of them. First two, then another, two more, and two final birds.

Friends told me they had seen Sandhill Cranes fly over yesterday. Could it be them?

Soon enough DH stopped his run and walked towards us. Z caught his scent on the breeze and alerted. [She does love him.] He had not seen the birds and I assured him I would show him a bad cell image when we got home.

There were no images on the cell - only an empty sky in one still and a fumbled video of nothing much, but the ground. I checked field photos online. It could have been them, but I cannot be sure.

I am sure they were lovely - "they drew my eyes to heavens, lifting my spirits..."

Z knows Dad is coming.

Jump into the Creek

Happiness in this world, 

when it comes, 

comes incidentally. 

Make it the object of pursuit, 

and it leads us a wild-goose chase, 

and is never attained. 

Follow some other object, 

and very possibly we may find 

that we have caught happiness 

without dreaming of it. 

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

It was cold this Friday morning - not as cold as yesterday - but cold enough for a hat and coat (and gloves that I forgot). Fortunately, I drive around with loads of stuff in my car...Zelda's daycare bag, my hiking backpack, extra boxes, ceramics that have not found a home (yet - if I don't plan to keep them I try not to bring them into the house).

Anyway, I was glad to pull a baseball cap out of my backpack. Zelda would be glad we had a blanket in her bag too...

I love this park.

I love the lady* who comes early in the morning to feed the ducks and geese. We think she feeds the feral cats as well, or perhaps they are somehow her cats. They follow her. Many mornings we only catch glimpses as she walks home. With the time change we have arrived earlier and spotted her with her containers of feed.

I was trying to snag a photo of the lady who feeds the park creatures. She must be behind a tree here.

There she is.

The heron (we have begun to think there is only one Great Blue Heron feeding along this stretch of creek right now) flew towards us and stopped to fish nearby. We stopped too. We watched it stalk and miss one fish. It ignored us - wading across the creek and coming quite close to us**

The Heron

I'm starting to think of it as OUR Heron.

This was about halfway across.

It made a short little flight to come even closer - this is a screenshot of my video. I took mostly video that day.

It's a lovely, peaceful walk - most of the time.

OUR girls.

Zelda was out for squirrels. And, because the park was so quiet, I was lulled into consent. I dropped the leash so she could have a good run. I know I have mentioned how the leash slows her just enough that the squirrels are in no danger.

But I wasn't paying attention to the geese.

Two squirrels hunted for nuts below a couple of trees. They were well away from the creek and so Zelda did her wild dash around the two trees. Then she looked up and saw the goose.

It all happened so fast.

I thought I might have to smuggle a dead goose out of the park, but the goose took off (just ahead of the sharp toothed dog) towards and then into the creek.

The dog followed.

I had visions of following the dog into the creek (What if that leash got caught on something?).

Wet dog in my fleece jacket and her daycare blanket.

I don't think she enjoyed that swim at all.

Zelda was pretty hyped up after the swim. She was ready for and attempted another chase. She started to dig a hole. She jumped down off of a wall. All this occurred as we walked back to the car and warmth. There was much human laughter and dodging the drops of creek-water as Z tried to shake herself dry.

Then I wrapped her in my jacket and hustled her into the car - pulled out her blanket and wrapped her up even more.

The heater was on HIGH as we headed home to towels and food and much retelling of the story of Zelda's wild goose chase.

NOTES:

*I'm trying to stop saying "little old lady" as I do believe I am getting close to being the "old lady."

** This was the closest we have been to this bird. It was so lovely and just took its time wading around. We did not see it catch anything this time.


Final Note: Our Saturday walk was so quiet. No one chased the squirrels although Zelda did make one quick lunge.

The heron was further downstream - birds on the line leaving reflections middle-right.

Wading and looking for breakfast.

An old "no trespassing" sign. The path from the street down this hill is clear. All ignore the sign.

All ignore this sign too, except us. We picked up loads of other dogs too.

Cheeky squirrel

The old bridge.

The ducks and geese were safe on this day.

Dry is so much better.

Spiders on the Bridge

The spider's web: 

She finds an innocuous corner in which to spin her web. 

The longer the web takes, the more fabulous its construction. 

She has no need to chase. 

She sits quietly, her patience a consummate force; 

she waits for her prey to come to her on their own, 

and then she ensnares them, 

injects them with venom, 

rendering them unable to escape. 

Spiders – so needed and yet so misunderstood. 

~ Donna Lynn Hope

I love spiderwebs.

Every single time we walk along this bridge we see the spiders have been hard at work. There have been some ridiculously big webs, but today there are only small webs. Some are a little ratty, but the spiders continue setting their traps.

Here are a selection from this morning. A few have been "enhanced" so you can see 'em a little better.

Okay. These are not from the bridge, but a fence nearby.

No Frogs - Just Friends (and a couple of birds)

Seeds have the power to preserve species, 

to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, 

to counter economic monopoly 

and to check the advance of conformity on all its many fronts.

~ Michael Pollan

Cowpen Daisy hanging on to the last of the warm weather.

The park was an anthill of activity. A large group of Cub Scouts occupied the campgrounds and toddlers ran around the pavilion as the older members of that gathering ignored them. At least two birthday parties decorated the picnic sites along the stream.

People use this park.

I love this park.

 I joked, half-seriously, that I was disappointed the scouts had not invited me to lead any hikes this weekend. It seems I enjoyed those hikes (and want more). [By the end of the amphibian watch I had walked my 10,000+ steps for the day. There was no need for more.]

As I exited the car in the packed lot, a little girl greeted me from the next car over. I suspect her father reminded her of "stranger danger" rules as I found my binoculars and made sure I had all the pre-labeled plastic bags in my pockets. She did not speak or wave again.

I knew where the requested wildflower seeds SHOULD be and went right to them. Only one species was blooming (convenient for me - these darned sunflowers, asters, and daisy-like plants can all look alike - even when blooming). The tomatoes of the nightshade* were exactly where I expected them to be. The willow nuzzled up to the bank so that I could sit and remove a few - with rhizomes in decent order. And the vining plant was where I had expected it to be.

The vine was the only question mark among the requests. I've only seen it in this park. I wasn't really sure if this was it or not. There were a few tiny blooms, but I'll just have to let JA figure it out.

Pied-billed Grebes, common at this pond, paddled and tipped in, fishing for dinner. The Great Blue Heron began the evening near the footbridge and moved to another spot where we observed it fishing as well. I love these somewhat gangly birds. In the past few weeks I have watched a GBH stalk its meal at three different spots -- fascinating.

The Great Blue Heron

It had spotted its prey. Right after this photo the bird disappeared into a splash of water and came up with a fish.

A woman stopped to ask about the Water-willow. She has a small pond in her yard (a very small pond). I told her that it was a spreader and probably not appropriate for such a small pond - really a tub. But what do I know, really. [I see them proliferating in the shallows of the park pond and make an assumption.] I showed her the flower on my phone and suggested she keep watching in the spring and summer. The blooms are lovely - almost orchids (photos from earlier in the year).

These delicate blooms make me happy.

This may have been the first time I remember seeing them.

The rest of the watch group showed up within the hour. We were 20-strong, adults and children (one tiny young naturalist with his new headlamp). The frogs and toads were not interested in our numbers. They did not call. They did not write. Well, one cricket frog was observed, but not caught. [They don't count if you don't get a photo or recording.]

Lots of bobbing flashlights - hunting for frogs.

A few of us gathered in the parking lot - we discussed what we had been doing and our plans for the remainder of the year.

Sunday update: The requester has been notified and the box addressed. The seeds are still in the car, waiting for me to wander out and re-label (with their Latin, scientific and more precise name**) and, perhaps, repackage. This was a fun exercise. I'm just glad the request wasn't for something observed in California ... or Ireland.


NOTES:

* A month ago I had warned the Cub Scouts about eating things they see in the wild - The Silver-leaf Nightshade had cooperated by appearing in a few spots - in all their brilliant yellow tomato glory! I had warned another group a few weeks before that as a woman picked a stalk-full. I KNOW they are toxic. It is some of the others that worry me more - the Queen Anne's Lace/wild carrot/Hedge parsley/Hemlock, for example. The are all so similar, but some will kill you. Don't get me started on mushrooms.

**I use the "common" names for my convenience, but there are often a number of plants with the same or similar "common" name.

FINAL NOTE:

We did see a surprising number of LARGE crayfish. They didn't like the light and hid pretty quickly. The photos are awful, but give a little feel for what we were seeing.

 

The Ring

The world is full of magic things, 

patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. 

~ W.B. Yeats

"I've lost my ring," I shared with DH two days ago.

It's been one of those weeks. My schedule was shot, the dog rolled in something awful, I left a dozen eggs out - things were simply "off." Maybe it was just getting back from the fog of a virus. Whatever, my garnet ring was missing.

It's not an expensive ring, I just like to wear garnets - long story that matters not for this tale.

I remembered finding it on my shelf in the art barn on Monday and putting it in my pocket, but now it was gone. [Okay, I know you want to know why it was on the shelf at school and why I didn't put it on when I found it. Well, I cannot throw with it on and it marks the works so I take it off when making and put it on when I leave. Or that's what I should be doing.]

I'd emptied my wallet and pockets. It wasn't there. [I suppose I shouldn't mention I had also put a different ring in my pocket which I did find.] I shrugged and figured I would find the garnet, or not.

Yesterday, DH came in and said, "Here!" Then he handed me the ring.

I asked where he found it. "It was in my pocket," he said as he patted the back pocket of his pants.

How had that ring gone from the back pocket of MY shorts and into the back pocket of HIS pants? What kind of magic was this?

After thinking about it a while, he said, "Dog bags."

It appears that when I had picked up some extra dog poo bags in the park on Monday my ring had gotten caught in the folds. I later emptied my pocket-full of spare bags into a container in our utility room (so we can grab them as we go out the door with Zelda).  DH picked up these bags when he next walked the dog. The ring dropped out of the bags and into DH's pocket.

Even the explanation is a bit of magic.

Yeah, I'm wearing it. Not taking any chances, until I forget.

Oh, You Dirty Dog!

Dogs are here to remind us life really is a simple thing. 

You eat, sleep, take walks, and pee when you must. 

That's about all there is. 

They are quick to forgive trespasses 

and assume strangers will be kind. 

~Jonathan Carroll, The Marriage of Sticks

Z-girl

Zelda loves only a few things - and in this order:

     other dogs
     chasing squirrels
     DH
     children
     rolling in some hideous smell
     me
   
She rolled in something the other day when we were walking by the creek. I didn't worry too much about it. I'm lazy and, while I knew it was a "smell," I didn't smell it -- yet. I wouldn't pet her as I new it was likely something disgusting, but I also didn't take the time to bathe her. I was waiting for a warm afternoon.

Then she ripened and I could no longer sit in the same room as her.

I woke knowing that Zelda was in for a bath as soon as we finished our morning walk.

Sunrise

We were alone but for the woman with the baby carriage, 3 joggers, 2 men with dogs (a Yorkie and a Doberman), the old lady who leaves corn for the ducks, one old guy walking, one park worker, a half dozen crows, a million Mayfly-like irritants, a dragonfly, and a Great Blue Heron. I don't count the ducks and geese...they are as much "the park" as the pecan trees and the creek.

Our heron

It was a quiet day and we scoped out the Goldeneye seeds we will be saving soon. They are still too green/damp. I pulled a few flower heads, but I'm not confident in these. I like to catch them just before they fall.

The Great Blue Heron flew under the bridge as we stood in awe. I do love them and this one gave us a show.

Zelda stalked a couple of squirrels, but only got to chase one. She zoomed round and round the base of the tree and then off for a bigger loop - one of her "racing circles" before coming back to me.

This little squirrel was asking for attention.

Then she got back in my car - all of her glorious stinky self.

The bath was colder than either of us would have liked. I'm sure it will have to be repeated soon. Zelda was not happy, but stood as I shampooed her in full view of the neighborhood...the indignity of it all. I received more than one sad look and shared shampoo and rinse as she shook off before I could grab the towel.

Her bedding is in the wash and she isn't too sure about the blankets we are using temporarily, but she dug in and settled.

Dandelion

Wanted: Deadly Nightshade

     Boon nature scattered, free and wild,
     Each plant or flower, the mountain's child.
     Here eglantine embalmed the air,
     Hawthorn and hazel mingled there;
     The primrose pale and violet flower
     Found in each cliff a narrow bower;
     Foxglove and nightshade, side by side,
     Emblems of punishment and pride,
     Grouped their dark hues with every stain
     The weather-beaten crags retain.

~Walter Scott, from The Lady of the Lake 

Yeah, yeah. I got you.

I could have titled this "Nature Nerd Looking for Seed" or "New Pen-pal," but somehow this sounding much more interesting.

Nature nerds have their own social media sites. Sure, some have Facebook pages,* but a couple are dedicated to citizen science. Two that I use are eBird** (bird observations and "honor system" managed by Cornell University) and iNaturalist*** (every living thing - you must post observations with photos and/or audio recording). I'm sure I have mentioned them both before - usually because there's a story about this plant or that bird.

Belted Kingfisher - poor photo, but good enough for iNaturalist.

 You can meet people, keep track of species of interest, find interesting places to bird watch, and more. I have experience all these things, but until this week I had never had anyone ask me if I could get them seeds. I've saved seeds before - usually because I wanted to look them up later or use them for some project or another. I've written about the crazy seeds of the Purple Leatherflower and Old Man's Beard. I mentioned the grass seeds that drilled their way through my pocket and into my thigh (so much for putting seeds "naked" into my pocket).  I hauled a bag of laurel beans and acorns to the tree planting on Saturday. But this is a different deal entirely.

On iNaturalist I have over 1000 observations from multiple states and at least one other country. It is a shorthand travel journal in some cases - California to Washington D.C., all over Texas and in the west of Ireland. I regularly use my lists for reference and apparently others do too.

Two days ago I received a request from JA in Michigan. He saw a certain plant in my observations and he was looking for seeds. Well, JA uses Latin names and I don't. So I had to look the thing up. Even with the common name, I didn't remember the plant. It is not one of my "regulars." So I did a data search and found that I had observed Boerhavia erecta or Erect Spiderling in the now-vacant lot across from the Art Barn in September.
 

Erect Spiderling (Boerhavia erecta)

"They" have dug, destroyed, and mowed that area multiple times in the past few months. It is still full of re-bar, glass, concrete rubble, and other bits and pieces of the building and home that stood there until the college purchased the property and tore them down last Spring. There is some grass and loads of "weeds." I've investigated a little as I need regular stretching breaks when throwing on the wheel.

So JA and I have been corresponding for the past few days. I cannot find the Spiderling. He wondered if I could save seeds from five other species I've observed. Of course I can - they are all located in places I frequent. I love to save seeds. I love to share seeds.

But what about the NIGHTSHADE?
 

Well, one of the things he is looking for is Silverleaf Nightshade. Yes, you remember it, don't you. I love this small wildflower that dominates some areas in late summer. I love the yellow tomatoes that not even the deer will eat (apparently cows are stupid and will eat nightshades). I especially love that it has two close relatives, Horse Nettle and Buffalo Bur (aren't those GREAT NAMES?) that often grow nearby. Each plant is lovely in it's own way even if they are toxic. [Please note we commonly eat many vegetables from the nightshade family.****]
 

Silverleaf Nightshade. The flowers of the Horse Nettle are almost identical (to me, anyway), but the leaves are quite different. Horse Nettle also has spines all over it, unlike the spineless Silverleaf.

So, I asked JA if he needs the others too. Because I love these plants and regularly point them out to people I hike with (as in "Do not eat these!"), I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!
 

Buffalo Bur flowers (See - same shaped flower, but yellow petals).

Buffalo Bur bur. It encapsulates the tomato that carries the seeds.

Here the bur bursts disclosing the dark green striped tomato.

Well, he only needs the one. He has the others.

And so I have taken on a search for Cowpen Daisy, Goldeneye, Climbing Hemp seed, and Silver-leaf Nightshade and Waterwillow. [I know where they all should be. We will see if the weather, and my luck holds.] The initial search has led me to a place near the ponds at Witter Lane where I saw the three nightshades earlier in the year. I should have taken photos, but I was focused on harvest (and avoiding the snakes that are probably still out because of our unseasonably warm weather). The place was full of drying Horse Nettle plants - with large vivid yellow fruit. I did not notice the one Buffalo Bur I saw before, but there was also a string of drying tomatoes on a dry, leafless stem. I think it is the Silverleaf.

I also continue to walk the lots where the now missing Spiderling grew. I decided to rescue a few plants. Who knows what the plans are for that place. Anything could happen. At least I know a few things are saved in pots at my place.

The rescued. Now I get to plant it all.

NOTES:

*One example is Texas Flora - https://www.facebook.com/groups/texasflora/

**http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

***https://www.inaturalist.org/

****http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/nutrition/4-myths-about-nightshade-vegetables/

Buffalo Bur - https://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/07/24/buffalobur-nightshade-a-very-evil-plant/

Horse Nettle - http://rangeplants.tamu.edu/plant/western-horse-nettle-treadsalve/