Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

Looking for Signs of Spring

March 8, 2022March 7, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Linda Jo Conn

Is it just me or is spring behaving erratically this year? I am so ready for some consistently warm days and swaths of colorful wildflowers brightening the roadsides!

I did find some pleasant surprises during the past week. On Monday, I had to go to Giddings, so I drove the back roads to check if the plum trees were in bloom. No, but instead, I was delighted to find a couple of Drummond’s Phlox (Phlox drummondii).

Tuesday, I observed the swelling flower buds of the volunteer Eastern Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) near my house.

While leaving the herbarium at College Station on Wednesday, I finally spotted several specimens of Carolina Crane’s-Bill (Geranium carolinianum) I have been monitoring in the “lawn” area in bloom.

Carolina Crane’s-Bill (*Geranium carolinianum*)

Thursday evening before the new student’s class at the Episcopal Church, I did a little “belly botany” and found a large patch of Bird’s-eye Speedwell (Veronica persica) nearby.

Bird’s-eye Speedwell (*Veronica persica*)

While in Cameron on Friday helping fellow Texas Master Gardeners arrange and display the native plant offerings for the annual plant sale, I noticed non-native Redstem Stork’s-Bills (Erodium cicutarium) blooming in the cracks in the sidewalk.

Redstem Stork’s-Bills (*Erodium cicutarium*)

When I arrived home from Cameron on Saturday afternoon after the plant sale, I was elated to see my first bloom of Texas Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila phacelioides) for the year.

Texas Baby Blue Eyes (*Nemophila phacelioides*)

Sunday afternoon, I again drove to Cameron watch my eldest grandson perform at the Milam County Community Theatre. After the play, among other tiny blooms in the lawn, I found Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis).

My “Let’s Get Outside! Challenge” for last week was to enjoy the approaching spring. Despite my misgivings, I did, and am looking forward to seeing more pops of color appearing in the countryside.

Signs of Spring

March 7, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Donna Lewis

Hi there,

I took a little stroll around the front five acres and saw all of these signs of Spring.

There are many wildflowers, a budding tree, and even some bluebonnets.

Of course, if you get too excited and start planting stuff…you know what is still lurking in the coming weeks, a freeze!!!!!

Happy trails to you. (Roy Rogers sang that).

They’re Back

February 25, 2022February 24, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Donna Lewis

This past Monday (February 21st) the first purple martin called out as he was flying oner me. What a glorious sound that is to a martin fan!! I recognized it instantly and started to scan the skies for my friend. He circled around my gourd house as they do when coming down to land. Yes, he landed on the top perch and checked it out.

I have been watching and waiting for their return. Weather has a huge impact on their arrival time. Cold and wet can kill them in about five days. They must have live flying insects to eat. So, no bugs, no food. As is usual, we are expecting cold and wet weather for the next several days.

Do I worry? Of course, I do. I just have to wait and know that they will likely be OK since the weather is scheduled to clear up shortly.

I have not seen them this morning, they are probably in the woods or searching for food somewhere.

This is just the meet and greet they do when finding a mate for this year. Nesting will happen for a month or more. How appropriate that it’s close to Valentines’ Day.

So now I wait and watch to see if my colony will grow and prosper in 2022.

Finally, the mesmerizing martin song will be heard again.

More Field Trip Memories

February 24, 2022February 23, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall5 Comments

by Carolyn Henderson and Catherine Johnson

The El Camino Real chapter of Texas Master Naturalist took their first field trip of the year to the farm of Master Naturalist Alan Rudd. About twenty members, including new trainees, toured the place learning about natural methods of fish farming and how the stock ponds were created. Rudd also gave a history of all the new species drawn to the area by the abundant water and food sources.

After the hike around parts of the place, members cooked hot dogs and pie iron goodies over the fire. Many thanks go to Rudd and his family for hosting the chapter.

Caught Off Guard, but Not Defeated

February 21, 2022February 23, 2022 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Eric Neubauer

I didn’t have my usual spider accessories when I encountered this spider indoors, and the only thing I could find to use was a small glass jar. After getting the spider to run into the jar and taking it outside, I took some ventral photos followed by some dorsal photos after I released it. The lighting was harsh, but the images were adequate for identification. At the time I thought it was one of the darker Tigrosa
species because I knew it was something I hadn’t seen and was expecting to eventually find some in Gause. Tigrosa is a common genus, but I’m not very familiar with it because I rarely encounter it. I soon found out my ID was wrong but didn’t feel too bad since the most recent Tigrosa helluo observed at iNat looked just like mine. After looking at all the Tigrosa options, I found that all had a narrow carapace pale medial band, which ruled mine out. I thought it might be Trochosa, but the medial band wasn’t as strong between the posterior eyes as those I’d seen before. I checked Varacosa before returning to Trochosa. Looking at the Trochosa sepulchralis observations, about a quarter looked just like mine.

So how does my observation fit into the iNaturalist world? There are 78 observations of the species of which 48 are in Texas showing how much we love our wolf spiders. The range of Trochosa sepulchralis covers most of the US east of the Rockies except for the extreme northern parts.

There are probably significantly more observations at iNat that are unidentified or misidentified. I know for sure there is at least one under Tigrosa helluo. This was my first Trochosa and the first Trochosa sepulchralis observation for Milam County. Note that my ID hasn’t been seconded yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.