December 2015 (1 1/2" 60ytd) First goldfinch, flocks of bluebirds in area. Palofoxia and purple top. Engleman daisy and bluebonnet rosettes.
November 2015 (5 1/2" 59ytd)
October 2015 (16" rain. 53ytd) Fire in Beusher Park 75% burn. Rain after fire contained.
September 2015 No Rain At All.
August 2015 (1/4") Soil dry and beauty berry bushes very wilted.
July 2015 (1/4" 37ytd) Liatris are very plentiful, but with no rain the flower buds are not opening. House finch abound. Alophia drummondii - Prairie Lily - many plants bloom regularly into early August. Ant invasions. Many spiders this year (yay). End of month Oriels and blue-grey gnatcatcher sightings. Liatris struggling to bloom.
LP=57
June 2015 (5" 37 ytd) 4" from Tropical Storm Bill. Less flooding here than from the May storms.
May 2015 (10 1/4" 32 ytd) Rainfall almost 3X last years.
April 2015 (9 3/4" 24 ytd) Wet and air filled with caterpillars and caterpillar droppings under the oaks. Migration less spectacular than last year. Perhaps fine weather has encouraged a more rapid migration northward. Grasses have thrived and eclipse much of the otherwise record wildflower showing. March 19 vicious hale storm with marble sized hailstones shredding branches and leaves from the trees. House-finch remain and first purple bee-balm, many butterflies.
March 2015 (7.75" 14.5 ytd) Wet March may bring exceptional wildflower show. Begins 3/20. Dewberry, yellow star grass, texas toadflax, tradescantia, Oenothera speciosa, senecio, fleabane, vicia, Oenothera sp, wine cup, Texas star, many common weed sp.
LP=60
February 2015 (0.5" 7 ytd) Cold weather returns middle of month. No sundews, but Bastrop SP bursting with sundew. Bluebonnet seedlings very small, maybe for same reason there are sundew. Lots of bluets, few yellow star grass.
LP=61
January 2015 (6 1/2" -- compare to 1mm last January) Very wet beginning of year. Had 8 or 10 Bluebirds at the feeders and perpetual bird baths. Very pretty! Local nest boxes must be successful. A ring of 6-8 Cedar Waxwing were drinking from the rim of a concrete water basin. LP=71
December 2014 (2" 25 ytd) Starts warm with little rain. Goldfinches back by mid-month. Fair weather brings second blooms on some spring flowers. Henbit, shepherds purse, tradescantia...
November 2014 (5" 23 ytd) Titmice , chickadee, finch and cardinal return to SO. Almost 3" rain accumulation over 24 hrs. Soil damp, but no standing puddles or even mud because the soil had been so dry. 2 1/2" overnight on 9/21. Propane filled. 80% = 160 lb
October 2014 (2 1/8" 18" ytd) October begins with the hot humid August like weather, cooling by third week. Liatris is a notable bloomer, but Beauty berry fruit visually dominates SO now. Large numbers of switchgrass and little bluestem in bloom. A yellow season with Heterotheca and bitterweed abundant. Few birds visiting feeders. Cardinals and titmice in area, house finch probably gone. The late summer and early fall rains have brought about a second spring. Oaks, shrub and many grasses very green. Orbweavers and other spiders are abundant for first time in several years, and this is the first fall to see Monarch butterflies (alight upon heterotheca). Planted 4 pounds Native American Seed. Found farkle berries quite tasty. Forked Blue Curls - Trichostema dichotomum #201f1f Propane about 28%
September 2014 (1.5" 16 1/4" ytd) Hot dry (but humid) conditions continue. Beauty Berry plants very desiccated, but cardinals still eating berries. All sorts of color phases of cardinals abound. Energy efficient windows and 5 solar panels installed. Propane about 28%
August 2014 (1/4") Liatris almost blooming and some little blue stem over 4 feet tall. Ironweed blooming out. Very dry soil conditions. Have seen adult antlions (very pretty) and a couple leopard frogs are visiting the tub ponds. Crows frequenting the larger water tubs and consuming much cracked corn. Ground gone soft with crunchy dried grasses. Birds gaping and frequent visits to water stations. Created Plant List for SO.
July 2014 (3/4", 14 1/2" ytd) Many Liatris stalks appear for the first time with lots of Silphium. Centrosema virginianum - Butterfly Pea and Alophia drummondii - Prairie Lily, are flowers of the month. Bob White calling - NW Pepper property. Leopard frog in bucket pond. Nightly chorus of frogs, toads and crickets. Seems too dry for so many amphibians, but morning humidity often 98%. Robins in July! Several. Sumac full of bees. Fighting red and black ant invasion.
House finches remain and feed with regulars. Younglings: Chickadee, Titmice, Wren, Cardinal, Finch, RB Woodpecker, Downy and Pileated.
No more chimney swift sightings. Had a scorpion in bed. Not too aggressive...
A "vulturine" male cardinal has been visiting the feeders for a month now. Odd fellow.
The soil is very compacted red clay, often with a covering of a grey folios lichen. In the early spring sundew were found near by. Both I find unexpected. The fence-line follows the ridge of a long hill, and besides the clay there are numerous burnt red silt/mud-stones and some smoothed stones with a dark glaze - as if they had withstood many years of harsh sun and wind blown sand. The soil is supposed to be of Eocene origin. Farther down the slope (1/4 mile) sandy accumulations allow for loblolly pine to thrive.
Propane about 28%
June 2014 (1 1/2", 13 3/4" ytd) ) Air is rich with aromatic scents from beebalm, bergamont and others. Much sneezing..
at least 2 nesting house finch in area. Interesting wildflower - hundreds of tiny white milkwort spikes.
Chimney swifts move into hollow oak. Giant walking stick sighting. Unusual beetle swarms in lighted parking areas in both Smithville and Bastrop. Perhaps because of excess dead wood from burn and drought areas. On a quick walk about I counted 12 native legume forbs. Suggests at least 100 plant species on property. Chuck-Will's-Widow heard calling.
Propane about 28%
May 2014 (7 1/2" rain - 12 1/2" year to date) Cedar waxwings still abound. Is the year of bergamont, but few Tx toadflax which was most prolific 2 years ago. Tall cypress (red light saber) and basket flower notable. Realize that first year after drought was so sparse as neither bi-annuals or perennials were present. Current abundance of native species most gratifying. House finches show up again. A nesting pair?
Nested in area: cardinal, titmouse, chickadee, red-bellied woodpecker, Carolina wren, blue jay, white-eye vireo, ruby throat.
30% propane
April 2014 (1 1/8" rain) April continues blustery drying winds of March. Best roadside wildflowers ever. Off hwy 304 quite a show.
Wrens nesting aggressively in garage and under carport. Much more waxwings.
March 2014 (2 3/8" rain 4 ytd) Winter returns. Freezing weather. Most mornings bring hundreds of robins and waxwings. Sighted field sparrows. Reduced goldfinch numbers and less color. House finches rarely seen. Wren laid egg in wren-house stored in garage. A quicki as the egg was broken and contained a wet yoke when house relocated outdoors.
(3/4) Maybe 1" rain turning to ice on trees overnight. Sound of distant branches breaking. Temp. holds at 31 until 11am.
Hordes of Robin and Waxwing descend on SO. See links in Storm's Corner. The Robins mostly come mostly for water, and the Waxwings for red Yaupon berries.
Both may be eating the staminate flowers of the cedars, but I see no more cedar-berries. (Juniperous virginica)
(3/7) Very bad allergy symptoms, but the oaks have yest to bloom. Mostly cedar?
(3/9) 1" of rain last night. Still warm days followed by cold.
The spiderworts flowers were frost damaged (browned) blooming again. Viburnum rufidulum SE corner.
Bluets, Scrambled eggs, American Vetch, Mexican plum, Indian paintbrush, Scarlet pimpernel, Anemone, Senecio, Yellow-stargrass, Plantain, Sheep sorrel, Chickweeds, mustards, shepard's purse, wild onion, wild garlic, false garlic, Bedstraw, Texas dandelion, Cheat grass (Bromus sp. a noxious weed), Medicago, 2 small umbelliferae, Oxalis
Baby blue eyes, Red phlox, Valerianella, Texas Toadflax, Lithospermum, Vervain, Baptisia, Yellow star grass, Crataegus, Rubus, old plainsman
Noxious weed of the month: Bull Thistle, am removing bushels of them along with ever-sprouting Smilax.
Plant list under construction while I work on identification.
Propane down to 35% from 80% @ 200 lb.
February 2014 (1 1/8" rain)
Begins windy changeable warm and cold. Fair weather by second week.
Birds: Many Cedar Waxwings (like yaupon berries). No more Winter Wren or House Finch.
Yellow tummy
Bandits mask
Spiky hair
Fast, fast, fast!
Valentines Day: A morning chorus of Robins and Waxwings -- gone by noon.
A frothing of white wings, a fury of goldfinch, a festivity of sparrows.
Pileated, Red Bellied, woodpeckers, Red Shoulder, breeding behavior?
First Seen: (2/17) sulfur butterfly, doodlebug colony, (2/25) red admiral, spiderwort, yellow star flower, scrambled eggs
Trees blooming: elms, cedar; boxelder, cottonwood, willow and ash in area
Weeds: Henbit, a small cranesbill, 2 species of chickweed, mustards, Philadelphia fleabane,
(2/26) 1/2" rain overnight. goldfinch return in numbers to feeders, 2 house finch(2/27) low 30 last night, but spring returns
Wildflowers bloomimg: indian paintbrush, yellow star flower, spiderwort, Texas dandelion (tiny), still lots of bluets and false garlic
pear trees bloom.
Oops, first mosquito larvae.
(2/28) Cacophony of bird noises turned out to be robins. Lots of robins. Stuck around for a few hours visiting water tubs.
Wrens engaged in aerial combat and chase, and then spent 10 minutes clasped together on the ground rolling in the leaves. A robin came down to watch until they got too close. On completion the male sat on a branch trilling away, but soon chased after the female into the shrubbery.
First Seen: Bluebirds and phlox on Farris, low growing large flowered daisy-ish flower on Ironstone, a blue vetch.
Hikes: (2/15) Colorado River Refuge (PPLT.org) See Hike
January 2014 (1mm rain)
Birds:
Regulars: Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Inca & Morning & White-winged Dove, Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Common: American Crow, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black & Turkey Vulture, Red Shouldered Hawk pair.
Occasional: Northern Mockingbird, Greater Roadrunner
Migrants: Chipping Sparrow (many), Goldfinch (many), House Finch, Phoebe (1), Yellow-Rump & Pine Warblers, House Finch, Hairy & Downy Woodpecker, Flicker (1), Winter Wren, White-Throat Sparrow (1)
Nearby Road Side Flocks: Eastern Meadow Lark, Killdeer, blackbirds, Caracara, Bluebird?
Buescher: American Robin (1), flock of 50 overhead probable
McKinney Roughs: American Bald Eagle
Other
Mammals: 2 deer at dusk
Flowering: Bluets a blue aster, shepherds purse
Weather: While December brought 10" rain, January yielded only 1/2". Freezing weather brought birds to feeders and water stations. Temperatures fluctuate between mid 80 & 17 (F) in several cycles.
Hikes: Mckinney Roughs Hike, Buescher Hike1, Hike2
Propane filled to 80%.