Today is National Eat Your Vegetables Day. But God loves us and wants us to be happy, so it’s also National Cherry Tart Day and National Apple Strudel Day, and that’s a clear sign of what’s really important in life. The only way things could be better would be if it was also National Eat… Continue reading Random Thursday: Nature Updates
Category: Wildlife – Birds
Checking in on the [wildlife] youngsters
It’s springtime and love is in the air. Also mosquitos, but that’s not what we’re talking about today. What we are talking about is the appearance of babies of various non-human species. We’ve been monitoring the progress of the red-shouldered hawk nestling that’s in a live oak tree down the street from our house. I… Continue reading Checking in on the [wildlife] youngsters
Random Thursday
Don’t try this at home…or anywhere, actually. Happy Thursday! Today, as you well know, is National Grape Popsicle Day. There are many fine ways to celebrate the day, one of which is to use a grape popsicle to keep your drink cold, as long as it’s not chardonnay. Today, for your reading pleasure, we shall… Continue reading Random Thursday
When Birds Attack
Let me dissuade you from making the obvious assumption about the title of this post: it’s not about Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. It’s actually much scarier. We were finishing supper yesterday evening when I heard a *thump* and out of the corner of my eye saw not one but two birds fluttering next to one… Continue reading When Birds Attack
Random Thursday: The Thawed Monday Edition
Howdy, buckaroos. We just received the cancellation of the boil water notice that we’ve been living under for the last eight years* so I’m giddy and in the mood to engage in some mindless activity…like blogging. I don’t know if you heard, but Texas traded places with Antarctica for a week, and then Hell took… Continue reading Random Thursday: The Thawed Monday Edition
Geese Today, Ghosts Tomorrow -or- An Eggstinction Drama Unfolds
Alert Gazette readers will no doubt remember the pair of Egyptian geese that resided last year on the golf course nearest our house. They left for parts unknown after their lone progeny reached maturity, and we wondered if we would see them again. Based on my cursory research, they’re not migratory so they’ll keep to… Continue reading Geese Today, Ghosts Tomorrow -or- An Eggstinction Drama Unfolds
Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 5)
Editor’s note: The Editorial Board here at the Gazette has grudgingly come to accept that rudimentary animations in the form of gifs — pronounced with a soft “g” — must be tolerated, much as one tolerates the annoying-but-inescapable social behavior of toddlers and politicians. That said, the Board has put strict limits on the use… Continue reading Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 5)
Leaving the Nest…Literally
Alert Gazette readers will recall that only two days ago, I predicted that the juvenile red-shouldered hawks next door would be leaving the nest “within the next couple of weeks.” Well, we discovered today that my prediction was off by only…well…a couple of weeks. I walked outside early this morning in time to see one… Continue reading Leaving the Nest…Literally
Checking in on the hawk family
It’s been about six weeks since I discovered the active red-shouldered hawk nest in a live oak tree adjacent to our property. At that time, the female raptor appeared to be spending her time incubating eggs, an assumption that was confirmed a few weeks later. Up until now, I’ve had to rely on my drone… Continue reading Checking in on the hawk family
Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 2)
This is the second in a possibly endless series of posts about the fascinating details of nature in our figurative Texas Hill Country back yard. Part 1 is here. I hope your weather has been as nice as ours over the past few days. Cool mornings and warm afternoons mean that we get to spend… Continue reading Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 2)