Category: Supervisors

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05/02/2023 leash walk and blooming

Hidden dog among englemann daisies and showy evening primroses.
Englemann daisy close up.
Briar was very pleased to escort Shackleton around the yard.
The Solomon’s seals by the dining room window are doing well, as are their colleagues around the yard.
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05/06/2023 lots growing and blooming

First tepary bean up along trellis!
Right in the middle of this picture is the brown coating of a green milkweed being pushed up as it takes root!
This is also probably a green milkweed, and it has two tiny adult leaves starting to push out between the seed leaves!
These seedlings are in the same pot so I think they are also green milkweeds.
Briar finds examination of seedlings boring but at least we are outside.
I’m not sure why but my hopeful globemallow suddenly died.
Here is a small seedling in the globemallow container. Maybe it is one? There are a lot of Euphorbias popping up too.
The prairie parsley is blooming! I saw a potter wasp on it but didn’t get a picture as I was distracted by a baby cottontail bunny running away!
I planted two species in this pot – small native Hypericum and an unknown pod with tiny seeds inside from a dappled light post oak/blackjack oak forest. Maybe agalinis? It bears watching.
The Venus looking-glass is blooming in the rock garden!
Another plant with narrower toothed leaves, milky sap, hairs on the veins, and square stems is growing with the Venus looking glass. Not sure what it will turn out to be! Edit 05/2023: another type of Venus looking glass!
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04/23/2023 planting before rain

We planted native Carolina Larkspur that we grew in a pot over the winter. Two in front, two in back!
Paula spotted a crab spider on the Camassia scilloides.
Shackleton is very disappointed that Briar the dog went outside with him for his leash walk. He smells an old bird nest. Briar is thrilled. She loves Shacks!!!!!
The willowleaf sunflower from Mom is inexplicably wilted. Too much water too fast?? Hopefully it recovers.
This is one of two sunchokes, an edible native sunflower, that were kindly given to me last fall! They have velvety soft leaves.
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04/16/2023 hair on the oregano? Not today!

I brushed the dog. Usually I let it fly around but sometimes it accumulates on the herb garden and that is unappetizing.
I haven’t put suet out lately so I stuffed the easily catchable dog hair clumps into the suet feeder. Hopefully more chickadees and friends find this helpful!
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04/15/2023 saffron city

My saffron bulbs in the prairie area were looking a bit crowded based on their leaves. This is my second time dividing them. I only did one clump last year in case I accidentally killed them by doing this.
I am experimenting by putting some of the bulbs in the shadier but still dry area under a yaupon holly. Briar finds this boring.
There were so many bulbs in these five clumps I was able to divide to share with nine people and still have more than enough leftover to spread more in our yard.
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04/07/2023 first pass at Bird Haven Trail

Briar judges Mom.
The only Escobaria we’ve seen so far!
This rock has really neat concentric layered circles!
Briar practices standing on new surfaces. She’s getting better about benches.
A lovely Echinocereus! Grama grass in the background, and a nice pile of small sandstones nearby. The fence in the background is the edge of the state park.
Another fine Echinocereus with grama grass. Cholla cactus and juniper in the background.
This rock has a sharply defined layer.
A soil crust lichen on sand!
Maybe some sort of Liatris plant stalk?
Big sandstone jutting up in the trail.
Yucca, lichen on sandstone, and sideoats grama grass.
Closeup of pointy yucca tips.
Waiting for botany time Mom. Briar was concerned.
A prairie lizard!!! Same genus as the spiny lizard at home.
Clove currant thinking about blooming.
Trail marker at top of hill. Nice sandstone layers here.
Mom caught up with us. Briar was happy.
Now that all humans in one place, Briar can rest in the bench shade.
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04/08/2023 Bird Haven Trail at Black Mesa SP

Invasive storks bill geranium in the mowed areas near camp and road.
Clove currant is thinking about blooming!
Don’t know what this seedhead is but it has cool divisions inside like a pinwheel!
Last year’s dried up silver leaf nightshade.
Saltbush (Atriplex sp) leaves
This trail has one bench before it merges with the Vista trail. There is a second bench on the Vista Trail towards the park office, overlooking the RV camp area. The trees shading it are hackberries.
Briar thought the flat rock was boring but Mom and I saw lots of good stuff here.
We saw several fast ants on the big flat rock.
Here are two smaller rocks together. Look carefully in the crack for a small green bit.
Zoomed in- do you see the green nub yet?
Here it is, an adorable baby cactus seedling!
Most of the cacti here seem to be the ribbed Echinocereus. I’m not sure about the baby since I don’t know if the seedlings should be ribbed yet or not. we saw one Escobaria type earlier on the trail.