Gray, pollen-filled sky, too-warm and humid air with no hope of rain, this day signals the beginning of tornado season. Squeezy head days make me want to nap, but was too agitated to actually curl up on the couch. I'll regret it tomorrow, but I went to hike at the Heard Sanctuary near McKinney.
Grandma babysitters were trying desperately to tire out Spring Break children, walking them all over the refuge. A few older children had escaped to the parking lot to sit in warm minivans with their stocking feet on the dashboard and an electronic game in their hands. Smaller children played Hansel and Gretel, leaving a trail of crunched orange Goldfish crackers.
My father leaves similar crunched Cheez-It messes and a trail of used Kleenex. His blinds are closed and he bashes his wheelchair into the wall while he demands his coffee. At least Dad isn't in Arkady's Moscow, wheeling into the perpetual pothole of the Putin era.
Sightings today at the Heard:
- Great blue heron adding material to its nest
- Canoeing kids watching the heron = great
- Carolina chickadees improving a hole in a tree
- Wrens skipping on exposed tree roots
- Indigo buntings just blew me away
- Cardinals
- Hairy woodpeckers in the wetland
- Snowy egret
- Pair of bluebirds
- Titmouse
- Blue-gray gnatcatchers
- Camera-shy goatweed butterflies (this one has its head under the whitish leaf)
- An out-of-focus funnel spider
- Too busy crescentspot butterflies
- Teasing falcate orangetips
- Two yellow swallowtails too early in the season
- Mossy red-eared slider turtle snoozing. No novel. No nap?
2 comments:
Wonderful sightings. I have seen that kind of butterfly here, I think. Must do research to see if that's likely. My dad has the sinusy allergy thing, too.
The goatweed butterflies had bright orange upper wings, but were perfectly camouflaged when they landed.
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