First Day 2018

I love this place.

We move through this world on paths 

laid down long before we are born.

~ Robert Moor, On Trails: An Exploration 

There were still bits of snow where the sun had not reached. Only later did we realize the temperature never rose above freezing.

We were to take a First Day (of the new year) hike at Balcones Canyonlands, a national wildlife refuge. We had debated the trails. Would we go on the more strenuous trail or the shorter, easier one? I had offered the option for us to split up - DH going on the tougher hike while I "took the bunny slope."

It didn't matter. Central Texas shuts down when there is a little ice and cold weather. It's a good thing. We don't know how to drive in rain, much less on ice. So, the hikes were cancelled. All the park "work days" scheduled with our fellow naturalists were cancelled as well.

So I talked DH into taking a short excursion to a local wildlife management area where we hike every now and again. Before my friend TDW moved to Houston, I walked there with him and the dogs at least a few times a month. But since he left and the big dogs (Paddy and Scruffy) died, we have been out for a hike maybe four times (oh, my - four times in two years). And two of those trips were to scatter the ashes of the dogs.

We waited until the warmest part of the day to head out. It was a lovely 29 degrees as we dressed in multiple layers, hats, sunglasses, a yellow/orange safety vest (people hunt and illegally shoot skeet and targets there) and gloves. We carried binoculars, cell phones, and a camera with a drained battery (who knew?). Even Zelda consented to wear her "coat."

Zelda, warm in her coat, debated which trail to take. You can see the liatrice "lit up" by the sunlight.

Construction has laid waste to the area around our usual entrance so we headed down a side road to the "side entrance." I think I have only used that gate once or twice. And then TDW was our guide. Neither DH nor I had a firm idea of where we were going, just heading south/southeast.

It was a gorgeous day, but the afternoon sun was directly in our eyes.*

We followed game trails - some made wider by hunters, I'm sure - through Ashe Juniper thickets and around Honey Mesquite and Osage Orange trees. Nothing bloomed today but the remnants of liatris and goldenrod glowed in the sunlight. And there were small rondels of bluebonnet leaves already breaking the soil. Spring would come.

Shhh...the bluebonnets are coming.

Let's take this trail.

Birds flitted from thicket to thicket. What were they? At one point we saw a number of them gathered in the top of a tree and I was able to make out the dark topknot, the pale greeny-yellow breast and the vivid blue-grey back and tail. Were these Cedar Waxwings?**

Here the remains of the goldenrod reflected the sunlight.

I was looking for birds' nests, but found Osage Oranges still on the trees, instead.

We climbed up and down a few small ridges (that we did not remember) and through some unfriendly sections of small woods/brush/brambles finally admitting we were unlikely to enjoy any further efforts to find the creek.

The dried seeds of sunflowers towered over my head.

A ferocious beast came out of the woods.

The return trip down the game trails became a little confusing. We could see more trails from the tops of the ridges. Was this how we had come? We ended up on the far side of a wash and I was confident we were some 20 or 30 feet to the east of where we wanted to be. Then I thought to look at my phone map.

Hello! It is the gate!

We climbed up one more rise and wandered another 100 feet to the gate. Since the hike I have reviewed the map. We never got near the broad open areas where we normally walk. We were far from the creek, as well.*** Still, it was a lovely first hike for the new year. Here's to many more!

As we were leaving we heard and then saw the crows flying overhead.

NOTES: 

* A family friend was blinded by the sun and stepped on a rattlesnake many years ago. They got her to a hospital and treatment within an hour, but because of the location of the bite, she died anyway. I am always reminded of that when sun-blinded during a trip to the wild.

**Yes, they were. Gorgeous creatures that twittered and flew all around us. I have to go back soon. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id

***We were mad to have started without checking a map. I will chalk it up to being stir crazy on that cold cold day.


FINAL NOTE:

We knew we were in an area where the water flows and probably pools. The grass was flattened as if by flowing water. We also found cockleburs and Bushy Bluestem which grow near water. We will have to continue to explore, at least until we can access the other gate.

We will also have to get Zelda ready for the hike. Her fur is long because it's winter. "She's got a bur in her coat," DH told me. "It's a BIG bur." And it was. Somehow Z had gotten one caught up in the soft fur on her neck. She sat patiently while I teased it out. [Editor's note: 1-3-18 Another cocklebur was discovered on the floor near Z's bed this morning. She must have taken care of one on her own.]

One stalk of Bushy Bluestem.

Cockleburs - one got stuck on a glove and I carried it, as other creatures do, to a spot where it dropped on the ground.

I had been looking for evidence of the milkweed that had been so prolific in the spring/summer. Then I saw this bit of fuzz on the path.

Sure enough, it was a milkweed seed that had drifted on the wind. We saw no other.

Okay, I know it is rough, but I believe this to be a photo of one of the Cedar Waxwings. It is hard at this time of year to see anything - so much blends in to the drab dry colors. Even Zelda blended into the brush. It was a good think her coat was bright blue.