Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Look what I found!


Early this morning, I was going to use this old plastic cup to scoop up water from the water bucket from the air conditioning drain. I happened to glance inside and WOW! One of my lady garden spiders! I'm pretty sure she was migrating from the turk's caps last night and got stuck. (Their feet are designed for walking on webs, not up slippery surfaces like jumping spiders can do.) I gently deposited her in the flame acanthus. Hope she sticks around there!



Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Nursery in the Meadow


While we were out of town overnight Monday, our neighborhood got nearly an inch of rain! So yesterday evening, James and I were strolling around, checking out plants. When we wandered into the Meadow, we heard something scamper through the leaves. I saw a Texas spiny lizard running across the ground, toward the oaks, away from where James stood near the cedar gate he'd made.

"Look!" he exclaimed. "She just laid eggs!" She had! More than 10!

I took photos, then we stayed away. One time, we did peek, and she immediately ran away so we knew she was tending to her nursery. So we didn't have to worry about the eggs.




This morning, I took my camera and went back outside to check her nest (photos below). Mission accomplished! She'd finished depositing eggs and covered them back up. According to what I've read, the eggs will hatch within 43 to 83 days. 




Texas spiny lizard

UPDATE August 21, 2014–James contacted the curator of herpetology at UT-Austin's Texas Natural History Collections about our eggs. Here's what he shared: 

"Our Texas spiny lizards (Sceloporus olivaceus) typically lay between 5-25 eggs in a nest, sometimes nesting four times a year during good conditions. Typical incubation time is between 45-60 days but may fluctuate a few days outside of that range, depending on the nest depth and amount of sun the nest site receives each day (warmer nests typically hatch more quickly)."

Friday, August 8, 2014

August 2014 in our Wildscape

Welcome to our Wildscape in August, the worst summer month in terms of raging heat and no rain. I tend to get a bit depressed this time of the year. It's tough to go outside and see everything suffering from lack of the nourishing kind of moisture that nature brings with rain. We've started watering early in the morning about every other day, just to keep plants alive. Compared to past Augusts, actually this month has been easier. The high temps were a little later in coming, thank the Lord. Here we go...

Our front yard....






The Meadow's dry dry dry...

Side of front yard...



And now to the back yard...




















Tree senna and tropical milkweed


Grand finale: Texas hibiscus

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Wildlife Wednesday August 2014

Yellow garden spider in the turk's cap
Ode to an antlion among the dried flame acanthus flowers

A running spider I've yet to identify
One step closer, buddy.....
Happy Wildlife Wednesday! A new project started by Austin gardener Tina Huckabee.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Old man's beard

Photos by James Hearn
Road trip! We picked up Mom Saturday and hit the road west toward Bandera and beyond. Along the way, I admired lots of old man's beard (Clematis drummondii) in bloom. We picnicked at Lost Maples State Natural Area, circled up and around to Leakey and then cruised scenic Ranch Road 39. Our grand finale was pie at the Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia. At one point, I jumped out of the car and James took my photo with a pretty grouping of old man's beard. We have two vines of our own, but they're still small and struggling to get established.