An Ordinary, Glorious Day

I spent this morning with another volunteer, walking a private property, helping the landowner by searching for a certain endangered plant.  We didn’t end up finding any, but we did find a close relative of the plant.  We were able to educate a few people about it, and the landowner was grateful for our efforts, so I felt satisfied we had accomplished something.

As we walked in what we hoped was a grid pattern, I realized how much I have learned in the seven years since we moved to this area.  I have lived in urban Houston and on the coastal prairie southwest of Houston proper, and I knew the plants of those areas, but I didn’t know many plants of this Pineywoods region.   As I walked today I realized that I now know the names of almost every plant I step over, duck under, or get tangled in!

After a stop at a little barbecue joint and then a resale shop, a nap and some good coffee, I spent this afternoon in the shade.  Birds have been very active in a little group of trees over the past few days, and for once I got on the right side to get well-lit pictures instead of silhouettes.  I spotted eleven species of birds in these four trees within an hour.  Only one of the trees has any berries, and one of the trees is dead, so I think the birds are going after insects.  It is always a special treat to see mixed flocks and the birds’ interactions.