Autumn Offerings

Late September brought the first heavy rains of the year, at last refilling the dried-up slough and old river channel in the pecan orchard area. With all this rainfall, I heard the nearby river was up several feet, so I was anxious to hike to the leased property to the west as soon as the weather cleared and cooler temperatures made for a comfortable walk. The neighbor’s cattle have eaten or tromped down many of the tall plants and vegetation in that area, leaving me a clearer path to the river. And soon, the snakes would disappear for the winter so I would not have to worry about them.  Finally, after a week of waiting for the perfect weather, I ventured out for a hike to the river. I was also hoping to scout around for any signs of trespassers or poachers on the leased property and get a look at any potential flood damage.

Setting out on my trek, I was a bit dismayed at having to walk all of the way to the west end of our property. Normally, I would have the electric buggy to transport me through the orchard, but there have been problems with it the last couple of months and it was still at the mechanics shop. Walking all of this distance caused me to realize how much I had relied on my wheels the last  years.  And this year I had really gotten lazy after my trip to Germany. Since I knew I would be in Berlin for more than two weeks, I did not have big vegetable gardens, and with the drought, there was not nearly as much mowing to do. Now, I was not able gather wood or clean up in the orchard without my buggy, and a burn ban left me without any way to burn the debris I might have collected in the orchard. Given these circumstances, I was a little put out that only one summer of cutting back on physical work could make my body so soft. I felt less agile than usual climbing over barbed wire fencing, and wondered why I kept turning my ankles on uneven sections of ground. Was I simply out of shape from taking a year off of my usual work, or was I getting older and less agile and unable to push myself as I used to?

The Cowpen Daisy is a prolific plant on our property and all along the river bottom. They grow crazy wild along our fence lines. I find them beautiful!

The Woodhouse Toad is common around here, and their camouflage abilities are outstanding!

The name of the Stinkhorn mushroom is quite appropriate. This seems to be the mushroom of choice for my dogs to roll on and even eat! Thankfully, it is not poisonous.

Normally we only see scarlet cup fungus in the wet spring months, but because of recent rains we are seeing these tiny splashes of color throughout the woodlands.

I was fortunate to get this clear image of a Red-Shouldered hawk. This bird was never far away while I hiked west and it was very clever about hiding behind plenty of cover, which made it somewhat difficult to photograph.

I found many of these Pipevine Swallowtail migrating through the area this autumn.

I did not realize this was a species of Orb Weaver spider until I happened to read about it at Portraits of Wildflowers. These are the little spiders I have seen late summer and into the fall, who build a web each night about 8:30, and then tidily gather it up around 6:30 each morning. What a friendly neighbor to have!!

A close up of woodland floor cover.

The Armillaria Tabescens is commonly called Ringless Honey Mushroom and is frequently found in our woodlands.

I managed to scare up one whitetail deer fawn on my hike. This species is appropriately named as their “white tail” flares out and up as a signal of danger to other deer!

I found this rainbow leaf an oddity. It seemed to be one of a kind in the area.

The leased property is covered with this horrible plant. When the buffalo burs dry, they cling to everything and are painful if they pierce the flesh.

Devil’s claw in its flowering stage.

This is a closeup of the feathery leaves of the salt cedar tree that lines the lower edge of the river channel. It will turn a beautiful yellow and then red as autumn progresses. Unfortunately, it is also an invasive species not native to the US.

A snowy egret combs the rivers edge for edibles. Salt cedars are prolific along the river.

If it wasn’t for the blaze of orange, I might have overlooked the Bordered Patch butterfly in the invasive Johnson grasses.

I have no idea what species of caterpillar this is but it is commonly found on lambsquarter, ragweed, and wild sage plants this time of year.

I find the cottonwood trees the most magnificent trees along the river and old river channel.

This is the area where I felt an uneasy vibe from the river. Perhaps the muddy, churning waters made the feeling more pronounced.

I thought this was a “tidy” armadillo carcass. The bone and armor just fell into place as it decomposed.

I could not determine this species of fungus after searching far too long on the internet. When they begin to dry they look a bit like a pinwheel. I found this mushroom all over the floor of the boot area of the river woodlands.

This is the path I generally take to get to the opening of the “boot” area of the river. Lots of animals use this path too!

The river was nearly full after the first rains in early September. Subsequent rains in the following weeks had it slightly out of its banks, but no real flooding took place.

But as usual, nature provided just what I needed to keep my mood happy and delighted. I spotted various treasures along the way, finding bones and other interesting things to photograph. I ventured over the fence to the river where I realized I might have been a little too early to make my way very far into the boot of the winding river. I didn’t get far into the opening of the boot before tangles of vegetation kept me at bay. It was simply too thick to venture closer to the river, so instead, I walked the edge of the snarl along animal trails and down a small pathway that led me into a darker canopied area where mud and newly fallen leaves carpeted the woodland floor. Oddly, I could feel the power of the rising river waters and felt this just wasn’t a good time for me to venture any further. Heeding my inner gut feeling, I headed back and out of the boot. I traveled south along the outside of the boot instead, where I discovered more bones, bugs, and beauties of nature. Four hours later, I emerged from the river area and began making my way back towards home.

And then in my reverie of quiet, gentle walking, I was startled when, out of nowhere, I spotted the quick movement of a snake as it bolted in front of me! I stood frozen, and not even a scream released from my mouth! Suddenly, I realized this was a coachwhip snake, which I had only seen one other time in my life. The one I had seen before was in Daisy deer’s pen, and I often found it sunning itself near the old barn in early morning. The coachwhip is a rather beautiful snake, having a pattern much like a braided rope, and are super fast in their movement. This snake did not disappoint in putting on quite a show! I saw it for only seconds, but it was the way the head darted up, as if to attack, that scared me before it quickly dove into thick, tall grasses! What a rustling of noise it made as it powered into the weeds! No longer was I gracefully moving along, but I had more of a quick gait in my step. The coachwhip gave me just the boost I needed to finish my hike home!

In the weeks following, more rain fell and the river rose to coming out of its banks in a few places. I imagine the path I took that day is a mucky mess now. And perhaps some of the bones and treasures I found or photographed no longer remain. This is what I love about nature and all of life. It is ever-changing, offering adventure and mystery at every turn.

These were the treasures I collected the day of the hike. I was most intrigued with the beaver jaw and teeth. Clockwise from front: Turtle with foreleg attached, beaver jaw and teeth, some kind of cat skull, coyote skull (top view), another coyote skull (upper jaw view) and the lower jaw.

© 2018 Day by Day the Farm Girl Way…