A farewell walk

 Fare thee well, and if for ever
Still for ever fare thee well.

~George Gordon Byron

Our friends are moving. In less than a week they will be far away and we will see them, perhaps, on a rare visit. So we have been planning a walk along the creek, a last romp in the wildflowers, a final roll in something dead and smelly, a final chase of a field mouse or rabbit in our wilderness.

Antelope Horn milkweed* (I will be posting more photos of it. I was thrilled to see it blooming all over the prairie).

We were greeted as we arrived. Ruby, Hugo and Stanley came running. TDW waited for us along the trail. Taking our time in the swampy area, we wandered through the thickening plants. The speargrass are a serious presence throughout the prairie. They sway and nod in the light breeze. It was just breezy enough to make photos difficult, but I tried anyway.

In no time we were at the creek. 

Muddy water downstream.

Muddy water upstream.

Muddy. But the woods across the creek looks interesting. We have never investigated this part of the wildlife area. We may once the water recedes.

The rains of late had caused a minor flood (we could tell because the lower creek bank was still squishy with mud. Silt was still being carried in the downstream flow. The "muddy" water didn't stop the dogs, but we thought better of getting too close. 

Come on in, Scruffy. The water is fine! [Ruby, Stanley, and Hugo are the first in the creek.]

It's OK, but we can't see the bottom. Let's go.

 We climbed up a soggy bank and headed to the woods. All along I kept finding different wildflowers - many I do not know. I took photos and picked up a few to identify later.

TDW shared some of the opportunities his new community offers. He is ready for the move and plans to be back for a visit before long. We hope to get to his "neck of the woods" too. It gives us another excuse to investigate his new city. We already had plans for a visit. This just makes the "To See" list a little longer.

For now, here is more of what we saw today:

One view of the prairie.

So many of these things are tiny and green. We hardly notice them when the vivid colorful bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes and gaillardia bloom.

Closer.

I love the blooms among blooms.

A mess of speargrass - I always look around for a sibling or cousin as DH is not amused when "speared."

A little patch of an odd wildflower.

A closer look - I have seen this before. It looks like a wild form of Irish Bells.

A closer look.

A different view of the prairie. You can see the path through the new growth made by the dogs.

Buttercups

Something sharp that probably stings too.

Bees and buttercups along the creek.

More speargrass - This is on the creek bank. It was overcast today or it would be shining. [DH walking ahead along the path.]

I am surprised at how few "dead" trees there are. In the winter everything seems drought-killed. There are many downed trees though.

The clearing in the woods is still covered in bluebonnets.

I had not noticed how welcoming the woods appears here.

Paddy quickly joined me in this meadow. She stopped at the edge of the flowers and lifted her nose as if to breathe in their scent.** I breathed it in as well. Then Paddy ran full in among them.

I am always afraid that our next visit will find the the bluebonnets gone.

Scruffy joined us at the edge of the meadow.

This cactus is almost hidden in the flowers.

The cactus will bloom all too soon.

Crow-Poison. It is really a pretty thing at the different stages.

It must be related to the wild garlic (that covers my back yard).

The "books" say you can tell the difference between the garlic and Crow-poison by the smell (this doesn't smell of garlic).

I bent over to take a photo and saw scads of tiny grasshoppers everywhere. There will be plenty of food for the birds of this area. See that tiny guy on the rock?

This grasshopper was about 1/2 inch long. The birds are going to be happy.

We saw many lady bugs.

In spite of the trash left by hunters, the wildlife area appears to be in good shape. The lady bugs like it.

Waiting for a bloom.

An old friend, the evening primrose was blooming in the early afternoon.

Plum

Low hanging fruit.

More plums.

Tiny wildflower.

Sorry for the blurry photo, but I need to look this one up and this was the best photo I had of it.

Mesquite a pale green against the other foliage.

More insects - red and black bugs on the milkweed. This bloom is lovely in the bud and flower.

More milkweed about to bloom.

Not our friend on the path.

Seriously, not our friend.

A tiny pea cousin?

See the pods? I have to be careful in my descriptions. DH thinks I will feed him from my gatherings.

Wild honeysuckle. This is such a delicate flower.

The thistles will be blooming soon.

This area will be a mass of thistles...no walking through here.

Spittle bugs***

Spittle bugs had been busy all across the prairie.

Yucca blooms continue to develop

I have never watched yuccas bloom over time.

It was a muddy walk and rains later today will make it impossible to visit these meadows for a few more days. We will try to return later in the week. But it will be the dogs and DH and me. We will miss our friends. And maybe, if we are quiet, we will see their shadows along the edge of the woods and we will hear them splashing in the creek.

Stanley, Hugo, Ruby and TDW approach the gate - heading off on a new adventure.

NOTES:

*http://texasbutterflyranch.com/2010/11/11/milkweed-guide-choose-best-plants-for-monarch-butterflies/

**http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-sense-of-smell.html

***http://gardening.about.com/od/insectpestid/a/Spittlebugs.htm