Category: Nature Observations

Cucumbers, Dill, and Surprise Butterflies

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Dorothy Mayer

Last year I had quite a few Eastern Black Swallowtails eating most of my dill. I was okay with that, as almost all of my cucumbers were too bitter to can. The weather got too hot too fast for my cucumbers. So, I was disappointed not to be able to can any pickles last year.

The dill was fine, though, and the beautiful butterflies loved it and laid lots of eggs underneath the leaves. When the caterpillars got big enough, I put them in my butterfly house along with a bunch of dill and watched until they all got into a chrysalis. A few did come out & looked healthy. They flew good so I assumed they were healthy.

However, I had three chrysalis that didn’t look right but, I just left them alone. I figured after numerous freezes that they were all dead in there. (I had my butterfly incubator on the back porch where it’s not heated nor cooled.)

Nope. One by one those butterflies managed to come out, and we got to watch them fly away, which was just super fun and amazing. I plan to plant a ton of extra dill this year and try that again. I think it’s a great activity for a learning experience for children and adults alike.

So please, don’t put chemicals on your plants, because you will kill “good bugs” with the “bad bugs.” Poison doesn’t discriminate. It kills ALL bugs and possibly birds, too, as birds eat the insects and feed them to their babies.

Happy Spring Everyone.

Butterfly surprises

Immigrants in the Wildscape

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Carolyn Henderson

Immigrants have come to the El Camino Real Wildscape, and no one knows how they arrived. A few bright red Common Poppies and what appears to be some type of Larkspur have produced vivid early
blooms in one bed of the wildscape.

Manager Catherine Johnson assures me that no one planted either of those to her knowledge. Seeds of them could have been in the dirt of other plants bought and planted, or perhaps a bird carried a seed and dropped it off on its way through the area.

The Larkspur is a little puzzling because no one is sure what it really is – not even iNaturalist. When I tried to identify there, it said it was pretty sure it’s a Larkspur, but wasn’t sure which one. It looks most like a Forked Larkspur which is spottily found across the United States, but that one is mostly found in Western Europe. If you know the identification, let me know.

The rooster in the picture showed up because he took his job too seriously at his prior home. I’m told he will be travelling on down the road soon. He is pretty, though.

It was too cold for most bees and butterflies, but a few did crawl around. One red wasp was making a nest on a gardening tool in the decorative mailbox storage. The awning is repaired, and the Malabar Spinach is beginning to grow again.

A few Master Naturalists or those soon to be certified showed up to work on the place. Some pulled up weeds, while another dug up overgrown sages, and planted something else. The sages went home with members to be planted in their gardens. What is in overgrown abundance is Sunflowers. If you want some, they are all over the wildscape.

A week of warm weather should have many things blooming soon.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

This little beauty was traveling fast across our back pasture. It took me about 45 minutes to catch up with him to get a photo.  I am not fast anymore.

This is a male Tiger Swallowtail. All the males in this species are yellow.  The females can be yellow or black.  his second color form is called dimorphic  coloration.

These guys are fast. If you sneak up behind them while they are on a flower you can get a photo.

Right now, there is nothing flowering in my garden. He was on a Hen-bit in the pasture. Not much nectar anywhere right now. One of the flowers they like that is easy to grow are Coneflowers. I think the ones in my garden are still underground. I hope this guy can survive until more flowers are up.

The Swallowtail is known to gather at mud puddles sipping the salts and minerals they need for reproduction. When the caterpillar first appears, it looks like bird droppings. Icky, but helpful in evading predators. We will probably not see their chrysalis because they lay their eggs in treetops. I am just not tall enough… 

This butterfly is so beautiful as it flows across the pasture.

Right now, the butterflies of all kinds are waking up, so keep an eye out for them.

Just when the caterpillar thought its world was over…it became a butterfly.

Guess What Else Is Waking Up in This Spring Weather? Snakes.

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

Yes, all kinds of native grasses, flowers, and animals are up and getting ready for the new year. Love is in the air. So, you need to be alert and watch where you put your hands and feet.

Animals do not understand boundaries. If you live in the country or the city, the entire earth is in their hood.

Yesterday, I was putting my truck up under the carport. I stepped out and put my foot down to see a snake about two inches from my foot.  I know to be still and look at the head to first ascertain if it is a poisonous snake.  But even so, the alarm button went off in my head as soon as my mind said SNAKE!  I think that is natural.

Luckily, during a talk for our Master Naturalist group, I knew this snake to be a non-poisonous Eastern Hognose snake.  A short but stocky very nonaggressive snake that eats mostly frogs.  Since I like frogs, I hate that part.

This snake has a neat way of self-preservation.  If it senses danger, it rolls over in a tight coil, hangs its tongue out and throws up.

The other thing it will do is hiss and spread its head up like a tiny Cobra. A very interesting small snake common in Central Texas.

I asked Dr. Paul Crump to correctly identify this snake for me.

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with nature. –

Joseph Campbell

Phoebe on Our Porch

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

So, we all know how warm it has been.  Maybe a little early for temperatures that cause both flora and fauna to be out thinking that it is Springtime already.  YEAH!

Many of you will be tempted to start planting things in your garden. You better think about it. I am sure at least one more freeze will visit us. My advice… wait a little longer!

Which brings us back to many birds who think it’s time to build nests and find their partners for the new generation.  They like Springtime too.

Every year since we have had this house, we have had Eastern Phoebes make a nest and raise about six little ones. Pretty muddy nests that make a messy porch for us.

We put plastic under their nest so it’s easier to clean up after they leave.

I love Phoebes.  They have such sweet faces.  Phoebes are flycatchers. They flick their tails upward when perched. They eat mostly flying insects.

The Barn Swallows try to run them off, because they like the porch also. They will swoop down after the Phoebes and me.  All I can do is let them work it out.

I too am happy about the warmer weather.

Remember all our nature friends and be considerate of their lives.