Red, Blue And Grey

The view from my bedroom.

The birds have no problem hanging out together, interspecies.  But birds of the same feather, especially the white wing doves, often chase each other off.  I have grease spots on my window, from where the doves thud, trying to chase away that reflection interloper.  (Luckily, so far, the only thing damaged is my window.)

Red Bird

Drinking water, yesterday.

The amount of energy this bird devotes to checking out surroundings while trying to get a drink is amazing.  And this is in an area well sheltered from predator birds.

Of course, I have seen a cat visiting the yard.

Certified Wildlife Habitat

 Here's a close up of a "cedar" tree in my yard.  (It's been explained to me, more than once, that it's not a true cedar, but is called one here in central Texas.)

As the sign proclaims, there's food, water, cover and places to raise young here.  More photos of this "habitat"  in autumn later.

Stag In Black And White

This morning's stag sighting.

I've now identified three different stags in our immediate neighborhood. There are probably more.

So far, the stag featured in the post below is my candidate for stag of the season.

Stag In Grass

This afternoon's stag photo.

He minds having his picture taken much less than many human subjects.

Update:

I saw my first deer fatality today.

Body on the sidewalk, being torn at by a buzzard.

I don't know which deer it was.  Just glimpsed it as I drove.

Two Deer

The view from my window.

One Blue Bird

Blue jay at the water dish, this morning.

Texas Women, The Walking Stick: From The Round Top Excursion

The gentleman in the top photo is Harrell Hough.


I photographed him in the Big Red Barn, at his stall, part of the Round Top antiques fair.

I went to the fair for the photo references, the food and the company.  Didn't think I'd be buying anything.

But I fell for a contemporary piece of folk art, a walking stick crafted from a found branch and inscribed with the names and deeds of heroic/notable/infamous/outrageous Texas women.

The stick reminds me of this Ry Cooder song.

(Couldn't find a really good performance of it available on the web, but if you click on the lyrics, you can read the song.

I did find this song.  Second half here.  One of my favorites.  Reminds me of home.)

According to Harrell, a man named Rob makes them--and other Texas topic sticks--for spending money.

The sticks have different themes, like music, women, particular Texas cities.  Rob signs and dates the sticks; mine is Rob '10.

Harrell sells them out of San Antonio and they are also available in Austin, at a store on South Congress (sorry, I've misplaced the card). 

The photo below is my new stick, hanging out with two Warhol umbrellas (freebies from a fun Warhol showing a few years ago).  The names and deeds on the stick comprise a history of/ education in Texas, up to present day.  Just a few:  "Flag Maker - Sarah Bradley Dobson; Henrietta King - South Texas Rancher; Cynthia Ann Parker - captured by Comanches . . . Emily Morgan - free black 'Yellow Rose of Texas' - Santa Anna's mistress was Houston's spy . . . ."

Deer In A Clump

The local does attempt to answer the question, How many deer can fit on one small patch of yard?

One Red Bird

. . . [fill in the rest] Please help me with the story.

One possible story is suggested by this moving post from Austin Eavesdropper.

Rico Suave, Lucky Dog: A 10/10/10 Celebration

Rico Suave is a rescue dog who is about as lucky as lucky can be.

This is how he spent 10/10/10, at Bear Creek.

Update November 23, 2010:

Rico has a lot in common with another little guy named Pepe. Pepe lives at the Pasadena, California Humane Society and is in need of a family to make him a "lucky dog" like Rico.


Pepe and Rico also share underbites and the fact that they are mutts, strong and smart and loving.

Pepe is a blue-ribbon winner because he's a perfect companion: great temperament, thanks to his lab and pug genes. (Rico is also a perfect companion, though I don't think he has the blue ribbon to prove it, and being part terrier, he's naturally more feisty.) And he is waiting for his new family. Note: Pepe needs to be the only dog in the family, much like our beloved dog, Ember. Rico is also an only dog.

Update November 26:.

Pepe has been adopted.  And Rico had a fine Thanksgiving, with plenty of table scraps and hugs and nice laps to sit in.  (He's really a bit too large for the latter.) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

About the October 4th mystery of nature, the tree is a crape myrtle. Only one of its trunks (the center trunk) is twisted.

As to what caused this, nature or nurture, see this interesting discussion. It appears this was a harder question than I realized.

But I think we can rule out Paula's vine theory because of where it's located in my garden, because it's surrounding limbs are straight, because another tree in the yard has a vine growing in a spiral pattern around it, yet the trunk remains untwisted and, finally, because of what I know about the folks who planted this garden.

I also think we can rule out injury because trees never fully heal from an injury; the injured part is just walled off.

I also think we can rule out wind conditions because the other trunks are straight.

I supposed it could have been trained this way, but once again, this seems unlikely to have been done by the people who grew this garden.

I lean toward genetics to create this shape, but then, I have naturally curly hair, so I'm biased for that solution.

Twisted Tree Trunk

Okay, this is a two-parter.

First, do you know what this is?

Second, can you explain how it got so twisted?

Answers supplied, to the best of my ability--and I hope with help from you all--next Monday.

Thanks, Ann, for the inspiration for this quiz.