Spiders, bees and other things

Yesterday was an extra busy day for me. My main event was speaking about spiders at the Wings over the Hills Nature Festival in Fredericksburg. On the way, I stopped off at the Blanco County Master Gardeners' Plant Sale. I wanted to see their wildlife drip basins. Pretty cool! They sell both the basins (when they have them made) and drip basin kits for DIYers. I scanned and posted their how-to instructions (below). 

 

Then onward to the Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, where the festival was held. Vendors inside the Pioneer Pavilion sold all kinds of nature-related things, like native plants, binoculars, art, bird feeders and more. I went outside and toured the park's Pollinator Garden. Awesome!

 At 1 p.m., I gave my presentation, "Spiders of Central Texas," which went well. This Thurday, I'm giving the program again to the 2014 training class of Master Naturalists with the Highland Lakes chapter in Burnet.

On my way back home to Blanco, I noticed a bumper crop of antelope horns blooming, which is a huge plus for monarchs. I just had to stop and snap a few photos. Wheeling by on the highway, they look like golf balls. LOTS  of golf balls!