LUNA MOTH

The world is in such a turmoil these days with a killer flu that laboratories are frantically trying to find a cure and trying various things to relieve suffering.
The whole world is attempting to curtail the spread by asking all to stay in their houses.
There are still many people who are carrying on as usual.

Click on a picture to see larger

I was walking in the front yard that is mostly dirt and weeds covered with leaves.  There is a Turk's Cap bush in front of my bedroom window.
Something caught my eye as not "belonging" there.  It took a few seconds to realize I was seeing a moth still partially covered with chrysalis.
I have been around butterflies and moths for many years and quickly recognized this was not a butterfly.  (The clue: Moths have feathery antenna and butterflies have very fine longer antenna)

To see this lovely miracle open its wings to dry on a chilly March day took my mind off of the world ... I took  several pictures with my iphone. Mostly, just watched the moth shed the chrysalis.
Our neighbors drove in their drive and grandma, mom and grand-daughter were taking groceries from the car.  I yelled that they must come see something they will never see again.  No questions, just plodded through wet leaves and weeds to see what the nutty old neighbor was so excited about.
Trusty smart phone camera handy and more pictures were taken.

The process from chrysalis to moth was seconds to minutes.  An unsuspecting lady was walking her dog and I called her over to see the miracle.
She too, came over and whipped out her smart phone and took a picture.
She was so pleased to see the moth that I am sure she told her family .
The next day I sent her a picture of the two moths.

 DAY 2; Checked moth early in the morning and now, there were two.
The male has more feathery antenna in order to smell the female pheromones.

This process takes hours

The black things are legs.  However, It looks to me that they are both clutching each other with one part of their antenna.

Later in the day, came out to check on them and captured this.

This is the female, (the male is on the ground dead opposite her)
It is difficult to know what you are seeing. The wings are folded at this point, the dark gray line is the top of the wings. the antenna is the small tan thing on the other side of grass. So, she is "trapped" in the grass blade and leaves.  Not wanting to harm her, I moved the leaf from her tail and one sort of on her head...
At the point of moving the blade of grass, she started trembling and in a second took off on a weak, wavering flight of about 3 feet.

The sun was very hot to me, so I grabbed a bucket, turned it upside down and placed where it shaded her.
I left her to rest and the third or fourth time I checked, she hadn't moved.
Later, at dusk went out for one more check and she was gone.
We have a huge Sweet Gum tree (one of the trees they use for placing eggs) about 15 feet away.

I am holding on to the thought that she made it to the tree.

https://www.thespruce.com/the-non-pest-luna-moth-

2656240 (1) This web site tells the information much better than me

Messenger Museum

Messenger Brothers Carriage Museum

This museum in off the beaten path for visitors to Cheyenne, Wyo. but worth the visit.

Click on picture for larger.

This mounted coyote head is one of the first things you see when entering this museum. LOOKS SURPRISED TO ME (actually, someone put a bug on the end of its nose)

This bear did not look all that large. Didn't ask what it was...
brown or black?

I remember as a child seeing mounted butterflies. It fascinated me then and often wonder what happened to it.  I would stare at each butterfly and am sure I wondered where they came from.

This exhibit was a bit odd.  I don't think there was one complete animal in the group.

Cardinal and a sparow

We keep fresh water in 2 places.  This ground one is deeper and most birds, even doves prefer to bathe in it.
Click on picture for larger.

Female cardinal ignoring the visitor.

Okay, so darned bird starts spraying water.

Looks as if she is wetter than the sparrow.
She must have splashed as well.

One disgusted looking, wet bird.

Chasing Depression Era Murals

Travel ought to combine amusement with instruction; but most travelers are so much amused that they refuse to be instructed. ~G.K. Chesterton, "What Is America?", What I Saw in America, 1922

I have been thinking of a trip I took last year and still haven't finished blogging about that adventure and am eager to head out again.

I want to follow highway 83 from Texas to Wyoming. The highway actually (I think) starts in South Texas and goes all the way to Canada.  It is a "boring" drive if you need sightseeing and wonderful food.... It is more of a get there without a lot of traffic highway.

Rather than sit back and stare out the window while my companion does the driving, I hope to get pictures of places or subjects that the last year's trip made me interested in.
Of course, this means stopping here and there along the way.

I have become obsessed in the history and stories of the "Depression Era" arts project.  What started out as a "simple" quest of a few murals into a full blown history lesson.

I catch myself bringing up the topic to complete strangers and love to see the "what an interesting idea" in their eyes.

It just so happens that this year's new postage stamps include a sheet with pictures of these murals. Hence standing in line at the post office gives me a chance to spread the word.

I hope to include web site links for the curious.

Waxwing follow up

“I don't feed the birds because they need me; I feed the birds because I need them.”

― Kathi Hutton

I wrote of the waxwing arrival and did get a few pictures.
Unfortunately, they had been around longer than I thought.

I am grateful for the pictures I captured because that was the only day to see them.
The following day, it was very windy and none of my regular birds were flying either.

The sun was not cooperating either and that made colors deeper.  Did a little editing and have to be satisfied with what I have.                                                   Click on picture for larger

Sun made this difficult to get real color. This is close.

Thanks to a continuous shot button, caught this bird on the wing.

This shot looks as if the bird has a feather sticking out the back of head. It is a leaf.

Following the birds from the kitchen window and fretting over the hawks that are always hunting takes my mind off of the aches and pains of "old age".
I can fill hours of looking at my pictures, choosing the best (which is difficult) and preparing for a blog.
I am eternally grateful for being able to do this, even with the frustrating mistakes.

Cedar Waxwings

“You could do worse than to spend your days staring at blue jays.”
― Julie Zickefoose, Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck 

The long awaited day is here!  Waxwings!
They are a little later this year, but they are HERE.

This is from 2 years ago. I sort of tweaked it.

Finally, finally will be able to clean off the flagstone walk of Yaupon berries!  They are so messy when ripe.
We have been tracking black over ripe berries in the house for a week or more.

I don't know if I wrote this tale before...
We have a friend in the Austin area who is an animal rescuer and one day, about this time of year, several moms brought their children with sick birds in little boxes.
He checked them over and told the worried kids and moms that they were not sick.
They were DRUNK.
It seems that when berries from various Yaupon and other bushes ripen and fall, they can ferment.
Our friend "drenched" ....(flushed their bellies with water)
and they staggered around for a bit and when they were more active, he returned the birds in their boxes to the happy moms and kids.

I will follow up with pictures if I can catch them.  The Waxwings are furtive.  They will come in, perch high in the tallest, leafless trees.
I have "felt" their arrival at times when I was gardening.

They will start on the berries on the "outside" of the bushes that are in our courtyard.  This will go on for days and when they have gleaned all there were, they will attack the berries on the window side of the house.
Finally, they will begin "clean up".  Gathering all the ones that were missed.
They have been here for several days and we never spied them as we are  not out in the garden area much anymore.

They will sit on the top branches of the trees, and then, as if told by the leader bird to go get em.  They come in in groups of about 10.  It is a feeding frenzy for a few minutes and they leave.  Soon, another group will fly in and go at the berries.  This will go on until every berry is gone from the 3 yaupon bushes

Last year, they even went to our bird baths for water and a quick dunk.

Now to wait to,hopefully,capture this year's visitors!

A short visit to Oklahoma /murals

Most of us don't need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with. Robert Brault

While visiting my sister in law (hence the  quote) we visited Chickasha I started searching for murals.  Not hard to find.
She said she visited here a lot and never really "saw" them.
Click on picture for larger

Large painting of cattle drive on the side of building

On the side of a bank building

BUFFALO IN FRONT OF BANK WITH BUFFALO MURAL ON THE SIDE OF BUILDING

I WAS RIDING ((WHICH MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER TO "SEE") WITH MY SISTER IN LAW AND SPOTTED A "PIECE"  OF THIS MURAL OVER A BLOCK AWAY.  SHE MANAGED TO LOCATE IT. THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND TO ASK THE STORY BEHIND THIS.

SPECIAL MURAL AS MY  GRANDSON IS NAMED RYAN

MUST VISIT THIS USED BOOK STORE EVERY TIME I VISIT. IT IS IN AN OLD DEPARTMENT STORE.  QUITE LARGE AND  PACKED WITH BOOKS!