A cool milkweed

This tiny flower caught my eye the other day in the Meadow. I'd never seen one before! So I posted an image on Facebook and got a lot of responses. Louie Bond, my editor at Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, just awhile ago posted the correct name: purple milkweed vine (Matelea biflora). Jason Singhurst, a plant ecologist/botanist with TPWD's Wildlife Diversity Program, figured it out. 

Isn't it just COOL? Now I just gotta figure out the other vine I photographed, too. Looks like a mini morning glory....

P.S. Jason graciously look at the photos above and said the plant may be some species of Convolvulus (bindweed). Thanks, Jason!

The mean side of nature...

Couldn't tell you when but one recent day I noticed my arms itched just a tad. Hmmmm, bed bugs? We just gotten a new comforter for our bed. I didn't think any more about it. Until the next morning, when I noticed the itchy places were starting to look....well.....a little like a rash. The NEXT day, I KNEW what I had....POISON IVY!

Been there, done that. At least twice in my history. "Well, at least it's just a mild case,"I told James. "I've had WORSE."

Yes, much worse. This one's been itchy but not unbearably so. Except for one night...at 2 a.m.

I'm pretty sure I must have met up with poison ivy on our 11 acres. I was out there with James last week, hacking grape and smilax vines. I guess there must have been a poison ivy one in there, too. Except seems like I should have a really, really bad case if our encounter was THAT close. Oh, well. I'm just gonna let it run its course. I bought some anti-itch gel Sunday, and that's helped. 

Another day I'll tell you what it's REALLY like to have a yucky case of poison ivy!

Native vines

Carolina snailseed

Purple bindweed

(See the little ant in this image?)

Trumpet vines in bloom

(Photos by James)

The eight trumpet vine transplants that our neighbors, the Murrahs, gave us in summer 2007 are growing like weeds and blooming blooming blooming. They are beautiful.

Just had to share!

New vine

Not Virginia creeper, which has five leaves. Or poison ivy. I think. I'm trying to figure this one out. We found in the Meadow on a live oak.

UPDATE May 29, 2010–Case solved. Sorrelvine, cow-itch vine (Cissus trifoliata), a member of the grape family. According to Wildflowers Trees, and Shrubs of Texas, it can cause contact dermatitis in some individuals.