Who me?

I wouldn’t poop on your car, honest.

Hey fella’s, over here.

More new neighbors

Not feeling up to snuff today so came home early from Mom’s and found these two long-billed curlews in my front yard.

Guess they’re pretty common here. It’s a new lifer for me.

The birdsong here is heavenly I just can’t see them all.

New neighbor

Every evening when I get home from Mom’s I find this little cutie settled in.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I’m still in South Texas where the humidity is as high as the temperatures and everything seems moist and sticky to me.

SWF – Moon over palm

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Wednesday night sky in San Benito, Texas.

To view skies from around the world, or to share your own, go to Sky Watch Friday by clicking here.

Birds on a wire

Red-crowned parrots are seen in the Rio Grande Valley and San Benito specifically. Yet their population is decreasing because of it's popularity as a cage bird and habitat loss. I used to see more of the parrots on previous visits here and I’ll try to get some better photos.

Museum of the Big Bend - Texas

 

Being there was extra time to spend in Alpine, Texas I explored the little town and discovered the Museum of the Big Bend located at the Sul Ross State University.

The museum covers the natural and human history of this culturally diverse region.

Native Americans inhabited the area for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish.

Long before Texas became part of the United States, Mexican people lived on both sides of the Rio Grande River.

Then there was the westward expansion across America.

And don’t forget the more modern icon of Dan Blocker, playing Hoss Cartwrite from the 1959-1973 TV show Bonanza, whose Alma Mater is the Sul Ross State University.

Also on exhibit was “Trappings of Texas”, an annual western art show that opened with the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the end of February.

Plus selections from the the Davis Map Collection.

Too many interpretive signs with too much text caused me to only read the headlines. Otherwise I’d have been in this sweet little museum about five times the hour it took me to take it in.

Yet I did enjoy the historical preview to the Big Bend area as I plan to visit Big Bend National Park on my return to Arizona.

MWT – The Saguaro Cactus People

Icons of the west, the saguaro cactus reminds me of people. And while visiting Saguaro National Park I met a few prickly characters.

The grow in all shapes and sizes.

The Sonoran Desert is the only place where the saguaro cactus grows naturally.

If a saguaro seedling is to survive, it needs the protection of a “nurse plant”, (or in this case rock) which provides protection from the sun and freezing temperatures.

After its first year, the seedlings highly variable growth is controlled by the amount of water in the soil.

Saguaro’s flowers open at night during May and June and are pollinated by nectar feeding bats, but not until they are 35-40 years old when they may stand up to six feet tall.

The first arm on a saguaro usually appears when the plant is 65-75 years old.

Saguaro branches always grow upward but frost or snow can damage the base of a limb allowing the weight of the branch to pull it down.

Yet if the branch survives, the growing tip will turn upward again.

They normally live for 150-200 years and can grow to 50 feet tall. Death may come by freezing, lightning, wind, old age, vandalism or human development.

When a saguaro dies, the woody ribs that supported it in life become visible as the softer plant tissue dries up and crumbles away.

To tour more of the world go to My World Tuesday by clicking here.

Sunday Bridges - Threesome

Driving on Texas 90 east from Alpine

Whenever I’m driving and see the “old” road I want to be there too.

Sorry for the blur, this was a drive-by shooting through a scratched side window.

To visit more bridges, or to share your own, go to Sunday Bridges hosted by Louis la Vache at bayphoto by clicking here.