So MUCH blooming!

 Blue-eyed grass

  Bi-color sage

Not sure

Giant coneflower

 Dwarf water lily 'Indiana'

 Mexican hat

  Dalberg daisy

 Winecup

  Common yarrow

 Cut-leaf penstemon

 Shasta daisy

Society garlic

Coneflower (TALL!)

 Coneflower

 Windowbox wood sorrel

  Rubeckia 'Autumn Colors' (surprise from seed)

  Pink skullcap

  Larkspur and grey santolina

  Plumbago

  Purple skullcap

  'Longwood Blue'

  Mexican oregano

  Texas bush-clover

  Native globe mallow

 Heartleaf skullcap

  Wedelia (zexmenia)

  Texas lantana

  Trumpet creeper

  Trumpet creeper

Fall aster

   Simpson's rosinweed

   Fragrant gaillardia (pincushion daisy)

   Lindheimer's beebalm

   Wright's skullcap (a volunteer)

Turk's cap 'Pam's Pink'

Scarlet bouvardia

Cool calling behavior of a greater roadrunner

We visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park June 5-6, 2016, and were fortunate to observe this greater roadrunner perform a call. Better yet, James got a video. Other observers say that this is a mating call, but I don't know that for certain.

A new species we could do without

Yeah. We've got a raccoon in the back yard. Our first ever. He's about the size of a small bear cub. He (she?) showed up this morning. James saw him/her first. We ran out and got some photos. Then the rascal headed up into the oaks.

He came back down later, and I got pretty up close with my camera. Raccoons are beautiful animals. You can't argue against that. But I also know what a nuisance they can become, too. So I'm hoping and praying that this one moves on somewhere else. 

See the mockingbird in the top left hand side of this photo? It was protecting its territory. It's got three babies that will fledge soon.

Back up the oaks a second time.

 He's trying to snooze in a squirrel nest.

Now the raccoon is napping in another squirrel nest. Can't you just tell what he's thinking? I wish those blasted two-legged things on the ground would stop waking me up!