Agrius cingulata in Port O'connor Aug. 26, 2012

This moth is on a painted 1x4" for size comaprison but out of reach.

Texas Persimmon Harvest Time

Enjoyed by Texans and Texas critters for thousands of years, the endemic Texas Persimmon is now at its peak for your favorite recipes or just eaten as is.  That is if you can beat a whole lot of other species to the dark sweet fruit does which not stay on the tree long once it ripens.   I enjoyed half a dozen this evening but left plenty for the fox and raccoon people.

Zebra Heliconian, Utley Texas

These animals are just going ballistic in the past few days...Between these and Gulf Fritillary my wild passiflora vines are now just about gone

Bastrop State Park Survey Photos for Aug. 2012

 

 

Can you Identify this toad :-)

The circular area is where a pine once stood, but the fire burned it down even through the root system....However check out the well baked mud wasp nest that surved the inferno..Must be  it was a hollow tree.

This Cottonwood and Flame Sumac are well over six feet tall, this area was barren in March.  There are zillions of cottonwood trees here, there were zero as far as I know before the fire.  There is  even a Black Willow to the left and no water nearby.

The forest of Pokeweed has set fruit everywhere. If only they were grapes.

Depiste the dry conditions, there are lots of wildflowers.   Blue waterleaf is found in damp soils and it is thriving in the ash enriched soils near the toad ponds

Houston Toad Pond

Long-tailed Skipper and American Lady nectaring on Gayfeather.

Long-tailed Skipper

Firey Skipper on Gayfeather

Aquatic color

I do not remember the name of this pastel flower....Copper Mallow?

A family of Black-bellied Whistling ducks

This is a cucurbid I do not know, not sure if it is native.

The Big Birdhouse Fly

 

     Tiger Bee Fly, Xenox tigrinus  Preys on Bumble and Carpenter Bee larvae...I guess I best be careful when I open the box.

Utley Patch Birding photos Aug. 13, 2012

 Great morning of birding with at least 106 Upland Sandpipers, 11 Long-billed Curlews, 58 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, thousands of Swallows, ~38 empids, mostly Least Flycatchers in giant ragweed, Yellow Warblers and Mississippi. Kites an Olive-sided Flycatcher and much more..I love birding my patch.

Just Call Me Gourd Guy

I posted in the spring about my gourds...Well in a couple of spots where I planted them  they have done remarkably well.  I just planted them in native soil with no preparation whatsoever except removing a few stones....Gourds will not not produce well if overly fertilized...These have never been... This vine alone has 14 gourds and the other three combined have 13 with more coming on.  Most of the gourds are big enough for bird houses but so far none are really quite large enough for Purple Martin houses.  Still it is a great joy to grow them.  My dad never had such luck.