Never too old

Today, we took off for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. Time for their fall native plant sale! After we bought plants and hiked the wonderful trails, we stopped by the "How to make an eco-pot" activity for kids. Yes, I stood in line for my turn. Well, the volunteers said I could!

 I watched from afar so I'd had an idea of what to do when it was my turn. 

Mamie, a volunteer at the center, showed me how to roll a wide strip of newspaper into a pot, using a wooden "pot maker" (like one here). Pretty simple! Except it took me a couple of tries to get the knack. If you roll the paper too tight (like I did), the pot won't come off the wooden shaper. But I did succeed in making an eco-friendly transplant pot. I chose a tiny Salvia coccinea 'White' to plant inside it.

See? You're never too old to learn something new...or sneak some fun at the kids' booth! 

I've ordered my own Paper Pot Maker.

Purple leatherflower

 I love our purple leatherflower (Clematis pitcheri) vine.

A spider and a butterfly

Last Tuesday (just in time to include in my spider presentation the next day), I spotted this mama wolf spider carrying her egg sac in her spinnerets. I don't think I have any images of this cool behavior. It looks like she stabs her spinnerets directly into the sac so that's how she's able to "carry" it.

Also, this giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) stopped by and tried to roost on a Brazilian rock rose in our back yard. I kept bugging it with my camera so it left. Oh, well.

Back yard spider update

Our yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) mama has now laid her second egg sac. She's the one who moved twice in the back yard and ended up near the bird bath (by my office window) that's surrounded by lantana and salvias. 

She laid her first egg sac (above) on the brick wall on our house. I wasn't too impressed with her choice of location. Yesterday, I noticed her gone from her web. Her abdomen had gotten pretty big so I knew she was due any day. I looked around and, sure enough, there she was, up on the house siding, guarding her brand new egg sac. Again, I was not impressed with her second location either. 

This winter, I'll the do the best I can at watching over the sacs. The spider mama in the front yard laid (more like hid) two of hers in the crepe myrtle. We did haven't found her third one. 

Do not attempt this at home

We have a whole lot of bird baths in our Wildscape. Yesterday, I decided I should completely empty out several ones with deep basins. The reason being, I could see mosquito larva wiggling around at the bottom. Not good. Time to dump! 

Then I had the most clever idea ever. 

Why not scoop out one of my gambusia (minnows) from the stock tank pond, put the fish in a bird bath with wigglers, and let the little guy feast for a bit? Oh, yes, great idea! Fun, too! So I ran into the house and found a Styrofoam cup. Perfect.

Right away, I caught a minnow in the cup. Carefully, I poured him into the bird bath. Oh, yeah, he went after a big ol' wiggler right away! In fact, he couldn't gulp it down fast enough. The insect larvae hung out of his mouth until finally disappearing. The minnow snagged a few more, then I caught him back in the cup and returned him to the tank.

I bet one of my big minnows would eat a ton, I thought. So I fished for one and accidentally caught a smaller minnow, too. Carefully, I poured the pair into the bird bath. For a time, the big one circled around with the smaller one in tow. Both nibbled at the sides. Go to the bottom, I thought, that's where all the wigglers are. Go to the bottom... Then all of a sudden...

...the big one FLIPPED OUT OF THE BIRD BATH!

I was stunned!

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," I exclaimed while I very carefully searched the leaf debris and branches of the nearby Mexican oregano, the direction in which I'd seen her fly by. "I'm so sorry!" I said as I kept looking and looking. Finally, I spotted the poor fish, floundering under the oregano. I grabbed the cup and scooped up some water from the bird bath.... 

WHERE WAS THE OTHER ONE? The second fish was gone, too!

"Oh, I'm so sorry, guys! I'll never do this again! I'm so sorry!"

Quickly, I rescued the big minnow and returned her to the stock tank. How was I ever going to find the smaller fish? I had NO clue which direction it had flipped out. Carefully, I walked on stepping stones around the other side of the bird bath and searched the leaf debris.  

I'm never going to find that fish. It's going to die, and it's going to be all my fault.

I felt terrible.

Then I spotted it! There atop some brown leaves, the little fish floundered just a bit. Quickly, I scooped it up in the cup and added some water. Then I poured the little guy back into the tank. It barely moved. But at least it wasn't floating. Yet.

"I'm so sorry!"

For a time, ALL the minnows in the tank disappeared. I guess news got around fast about what had happened. In the meantime, I confessed what I'd done to James, who was working on his patio project on the other side of the yard. I also kept checking the tank. Within an hour, more and more minnows began to resurface. Relief!

"My fish are speaking to me again!" I hollered at James. He waved back.

Sadly, my big minnow bears the whitish bruises of the undeserved ordeal I put her through in the outside world. The little minnow can barely move its pectoral fins. But as far as I know, they're both still alive.

As for me, I've made a mental note to myself: No more bright ideas involving minnows and bird baths. Ever.

UPDATE OCTOBER 15, 2013–I hate to report that I found a dead gambusia floating at the top of the pond this morning. It was one of my two large females, more than likely the one I nearly killed. Poor fish. Dumb me. RIP.

October 2013 in our Wildscape

The morning light was beautiful today so I borrowed James' camera and took photos around our Wildscape.

Everything's blooming, thanks to the recent 4.5 inches of rain that God blessed us with.

Maximilian daisies in bloom.

In the back yard...my spicebush and morning glories limping along.

We just love the climbing snapdragon vine.

James' newest project still underway.

Rain works magic on plants.

You gotta look hard to find our garden spider on her web.

Sheryl gets to talk about spiders

Last Wednesday, I gave my first-ever spider presentation using modern technology. In years past, I used hand-held visual, like my big plastic tarantula and large color photos taken from spider calendars (that my brother and his wife gave me years ago every Christmas). Thanks to my iPad and Keynote (an Apple program introduced to me by Commander Ben and akin to PowerPoint), I put together a program for my fellow Texas Master Naturalists with the Highland Lakes chapter. I had a GRAND time, talking about spiders for nearly an hour! 

My brother and his wife gave me this cool spider t-shirt, too. It glows in the dark!