Nature Walk Blog

Coastal Vacation

Great way to start a mini-vacation....take your pack of 4 Labradors down to the beach really early, then let 'em play hard for a little while. We all had fun and now they'll pretty much sleep the rest of the day! 'A tired dog is a good dog."

Autumn Surprises

We've had over 8" of rain in the last 10 days. This will bode well for wildflowers in the Spring. In the meantime, I'm observing local surprises. A small whitetail buck came grazing in front of my studio window unconcerned with my framing movements within. In the field pictured, the indiscernible dot along the fence line is a turkey foraging. The orb weavers are back making their beautiful webs. Life is good.

San Diego, California

I spent several days in San Diego, California attending the Society of Animal Artists 50th anniversary Exhibit of Art and the Animal. I am a Signature Member and my etching 'Spooked!' was juried into the show. I spent a day sight seeing. Here are a few pics of Laguna Beach. Way different than Texas! I'll be posting more highlights in the coming days.

Dog Days of Summer

The thermometer hit 105 degrees yesterday here in the Texas Hill Country.  I know other parts of the country have been suffering plenty this summer.  Last year, we suffered triple digits from early June right up until September, over 90 days running!  With the heat index high on my mind, I began to wonder just where the term, "Dog Days of Summer", came from.  According to Wikipedia, "Dog Days" are the hottest, most sultry days of summer.  The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called The Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.  Now you know...

Jeweled Spider Web

The strands sparkling in the rising sun caught my eye. Isn't nature fascinating!

Painted Bunting

A painted bunting I watched feeding at my feeder the other day.  I've seen them around the neighborhood and finally got at least this one at my own feeder. Now to keep 'em coming.

 

Seen one of these lately?

It seems to me you don't see red ant beds too much anymore. There are several on my property and I try to take care of them. I don't use pesticides and keep the mower away. I like watching them. They're all business and they do their jobs well. I just bought a new book called Adventures Among Ants by Mark Moffett. From listening to an interview on NPR I think it will be a fun read.

Dog Rescued

Though I didn't intend to get another dog, I couldn't allow what would have been, so I rescued this beautiful yellow lab named Lucy, with permission from my pack. She is settling in & learning to be a part of the family. She's an overweight girl, but with 3 other dogs to play with & lots of playing ball, she'll trim down in no time! Welcome Lucy!

Not So Hot days

Though the poor folks in the Northeast & East are being oppressed by HOT temperatures, we here in central Texas are grateful for the rain & temps being on average 20 - 25 degrees cooler than last summer. In the summer of 2009, starting in June, we hit triple digits everyday for over 100 days. I'm talking 104 - 109 degrees. When I walked to my studio, little clouds of dust puffed around my steps. It got really dry around here. It felt like opening the oven door when you stepped outside. Low 90's & high humidity is just fine with me this summer. I hope it stays that way!

More Rain

Getting more rain today. Fine by me. Keeps the temperatures down!