Just playing around with some new software. Well, it’s not actually new new; it’s an upgrade from a version I bought in 2005, back when they were coding applications (the word “apps” had not yet been invented, even as it applied to chips and salsa at Chili’s) with hammer and chisel. I had a powerful… Continue reading Goose and Gander Grievance
Better Believe It’s A Beaver
Alert Gazette readers will recall that two years ago, I documented my observation of what I was convinced was a beaver swimming in the creek behind our house. I was, unfortunately, unable to provide photographic evidence of the encounter, owing to a combination of my ineptitude and the vagaries of an older phone (but mostly… Continue reading Better Believe It’s A Beaver
Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 3)
This is the third in an ongoing series of posts about the fascinating details of nature in our figurative Texas Hill Country back yard. Part 1 is here and Part 2 here. Sure, birds and [some] reptiles are cute and cuddly, and [most] insects are not, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not attractive, even… Continue reading Neighborhood Nature (Pt. 3)
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)
Random Thursday: The Friday [Semi-Lockdown] Edition
Hello, fellow Gazetteers. I trust that your household pets are thus far avoiding becoming science projects. I was going to do a long post about how I’m pretty sure I had COVID-19 in the first week of February, as I suffered many of the symptoms that the CDC are now putting forth, but tested negative… Continue reading Random Thursday: The Friday [Semi-Lockdown] Edition
Just Anole Fashioned Death Match
I was on our deck before breakfast yesterday and noticed an anole on the railing. This is not an unusual occurrence; we’re practically overrun with them. But there was something different about this one. I got closer and immediately recognized what was going on: the lizard was in the process of molting, and had pieces… Continue reading Just Anole Fashioned Death Match
The Mystery of the Disappearing Loquats
We have a loquat tree in our back yard. The loquat is native to China but has a widespread range; in the USA, however, it’s generally limited to southern states. We had never seen one before we moved to Horseshoe Bay, and even here they’re not very common, but we’ve grown fond of it. It’s… Continue reading The Mystery of the Disappearing Loquats
Hawk Gawk / Drone Moan
The pair of red-shouldered hawks in our neighborhood have built a nest in a huge oak tree in the lot just to the west of our house. I wasn’t completely confident of this fact until yesterday, but the circumstantial evidence was pretty strong. We could see a mass of twigs and small limbs waaaay up… Continue reading Hawk Gawk / Drone Moan
Étude de clarinette
Warning: Some extreme band geekiness layeth ahead. Alert Gazette readers will recall that part of my shelter-in-place regimen is re-learning to play the clarinet after a longer-than-many-of-you-have-been-alive layoff. I’m semi-happy to report that I’m getting semi-better due to my semi-disciplined approach to practicing semi-regularly. Despite the optimism expressed in that post, I was not at… Continue reading Étude de clarinette
The wonders of a suburban wilderness: corvids and frog spit
For the past few weeks, we’ve listened to the conversations (and monologues) of crows, originating from somewhere to the southwest of our house. They don’t sound close, but their calls can carry long distances. And every now and then we could hear something crow-like, almost like the pleading of a young bird. But I’m far… Continue reading The wonders of a suburban wilderness: corvids and frog spit