Category: Midland/Odessa

Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war

As you may recall, I was successful in convincing the local barn swallows that our porches were sub-optimal for nest placement. That battle was messy and frustrating for both sides, as battles always are, and neither side emerged feeling entirely satisfied with the outcome. During the aftermath, it became obvious that barn swallows are masters… Continue reading Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war

Dos Burros

There are two burros pastured about a quarter mile from our house. Every so often, something will set them off – a rattlesnake, a coyote, perhaps even each other – and we’ll hear their braying all around the neighborhood. I took a photo of them a year or two back, when we were in the… Continue reading Dos Burros

Isolated Thunderstorms and Targeted Destruction

In this part of the country, “isolated thunderstorms” is weather-speak for “you’ll get rain approximately at the same time the devil goes ice skating in Hades.” Except for tonight, when our neighborhood found itself squarely in the cross hairs of one of those isolated incidents. We got a nice rain, which was greatly appreciated since… Continue reading Isolated Thunderstorms and Targeted Destruction

Baby Horny Toad

As I’ve noted before, horny toads seem to be making a comeback, at least in our neck of the woods. Here’s further evidence – a baby lizard, one of the smallest I’ve ever seen. I didn’t actually see this one, though, as Debbie came across it while walking this evening with a friend. That’s Debbie’s… Continue reading Baby Horny Toad

National Night Out

We joined with a number of our neighbors for National Night Out, one of more than eighty that took place this evening around Midland. It was an enjoyable time to visit with people that we don’t see that often, except perhaps as our cars pass in the streets. But it was also a time to… Continue reading National Night Out

Take a Gander at This

Debbie and I went for an early morning run around the neighborhood last Sunday and were surprised to see these guys at the pond area. According to my extensive (one or two clicks) research, these are Western Greylag (or Graylag, if you prefer the Americanized spelling convention) geese, with the pleasingly repetitive scientific name anser… Continue reading Take a Gander at This

Dragonfly

Debbie spotted this dragonfly as we were walking around the pond earlier today. I didn’t have my camera with me, but we returned about 30 minutes later and the insect was still hanging around (actually, there were two of them, chasing one another with unknown motivations). According to this website, this is a Scarlet Darter… Continue reading Dragonfly