Author: Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

The person behind The Hermits' Rest blog and many others. I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist and love the nature of Milam County. I manage technical writers in Austin, help with Hearts Homes and Hands, a personal assistance service, in Cameron, and serve on three nonprofit boards. You may know me from La Leche League, knitting, iNaturalist, or Facebook. I'm interested in ALL of you!

Home Habitat Ideas

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by Sue Ann Kendall and Catherine Johnson

Hi friends. Sorry about the lack of blog posts! I’ve been out of town a lot. But the next few days I’ll catch you up on what we’ve received. Remember, the blog can’t blog without YOUR input!

Here are some photos sent in by Catherine Johnson of her home’s habitat. You’ll find a lot of creative ideas that you might be able to re-create in your own yard, garden, or woodland.

For bathing in the moonlight
An old air conditioner tray being re-used as a bird bath. Note the places for birds to sit.
An old spreader being used as a mobile planter.
Cactus planter and old cast-iron sink.
Wildflowers left unmown to form a border.

Thanks so much for all the ideas for re-use in the garden, Cathy! Readers, do you have any creative ideas to share? Contact Sue Ann Kendall and send some words and pictures! (If you can’t find my email address, comment below and I’ll get it to you.)

Now, That’s Nature: Post Oaks Plus

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I thought you might enjoy some photos of massive post oaks I saw–Sue Ann

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall's avatarThe Hermits' Rest

It has rained so much the past few days that it feels like I live at a mosquito farm. Everywhere I go I’ve been eaten up, though the barn swallows are trying to keep up with them at the ranch.

“Lake Travis” in Cameron. Photo by Martha Nethers.

Martha says that our old office on Travis is now located at “Lake Travis.” Birds love to bathe in it, but they can’t enjoy their lovely patio at the moment. (By the way, they recently saw a mother opossum and all her babies on her back–sure with I had a photo!)

Sink spider

The rains have also driven a lot of things indoors. A group of wolf spiders is hanging out in the kitchen of the old church building. I hope they scoot back out before the pest control dudes come!

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Remembering Wildflowers of Spring 2019

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photos by Sherri Sweet

As the early spring wildflowers fade and the late spring riot of yellowness takes their place, we’d like to share some beautiful photos our member, Sherri Sweet, took. They will bring back some great memories!

A field of Indian Paintbrush north of Giddings on a country road.
RR 2323 northwest of Fredericksburg.
Continue reading “Remembering Wildflowers of Spring 2019” →

A Hugely Successful Earth Day Celebration

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by Sue Ann Kendall

I’m interested in nature, too.

The 2019 Earth Day Celebration is in the books! It was a great success, too! Over 70 people and two dogs visited the Community Room on Main Street in Rockdale to see the El Camino Real Master Naturalists and their exhibits. We were joined by local Girl Scouts of Central Texas troops and the Little River Basin Master Gardeners, too. (It helps that many of our members are also Master Gardeners.)

Rosie Johnson did a great job decorating the outside of the Community Room in Rockdale.

Many thanks go out to Donna Lewis and the rest of the Earth Day Committee, who put in a lot of effort and planning to make this event successful. There were so many details, but they were all handled very well!

Donna Lewis takes a break to talk to Catherine Johnson during setup.

And of course, we truly appreciated all the chapter members who took time out of their holiday weekend to join us and talk to the guests about the importance of taking care of our planet.

Pamela Neeley grabs a new rain gauge from the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District’s contributions.
Continue reading “A Hugely Successful Earth Day Celebration” →