Photoshop

“Mountains & Meteors”

ESPatch Feb 1, 2016 1 comment

I found this huge Differential Grasshopper

Melanoplus differentialis

swaying around in a patch of Gulf Muhly.

I could hear groans and one “really dad”? emanating from the back seat as I rolled effortlessly out of my truck, camera in hand, to stalk the creature in the middle of a rather public walkway on Wimberley high street.

We took a walk down the now serene Blanco River.

The habitat is still recovering from the devastating flooding of last may when the river rose 30 feet in less than three hours.

We climbed over and under lots of smaller trees that had been pushed over as the river experienced rises that exceeded 20 feet in one hour.

Most of the old cypresses had weathered the storm with only a few cuts and bruises,

though this image from last year shows some were not so lucky.

I wonder if these were cypresses?

We recently took a trip out to Marfa (west Texas) in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert to visit friends

and play in the snow…yes snow!

She wasted no time generating a chilling family.

Marfa is situated in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park.

It is famous for its contemporary art scene and of course the mysterious Marfa lights which unfortunately I did not get to experience on this trip.

I hope the artist does not take offense to the title tag I placed on the image.

“Mulder, I cannot believe is was 1999 when we made that episode about the Marfa lights.”

“Just five more miniseries to go Scully.”

We took many walks and encountered plenty of interesting minimalist desertscapes, some

appeared to be an extension of the street.

Nassella trumpuissima?

After a close encounter with a Spanish Dagger,

Yucca faxoniana

and a few more snowballs in my back,

it was time for some liquid refreshment (courtesy of El Cosmico) and then up into the Davis mountains for a spot of hiking.

Eagles soared effortlessly overhead, things on the ground were a little different.

The views around this area are staggering but you had better watch where you are walking, everything in this terrain is out to get you.

Sotols,

Dasylirion texanum

grow like weeds at this altitude,

rock-face even out of rock faces!

The Chihuahuan Indians made use of the plant by fermenting sotol juice into a beer-like alcoholic beverage as early as 800 years ago. The outer leaves are removed to reveal the central core, the core can be cooked, shredded, fermented and distilled.

Photo by Phil Dering

These pulpy cores were also baked and pounded into chewy patties which could be dried and stored.

The Indians also used the straight flowering stems of the plant as lances and spears with an attached stone or metal point.

We DID tell you it was going to be cold.

An occasional high pitched squeal would give away the position of these perfectly camouflaged smaller cane cholla cacti lurking in the native grasses.

The larger ones were not so much of an issue.

At the top of the trailhead we had a glass of vino and observed and tried to identify (with the help of our very informative local field guides) lichen and scat aka: (King Richard the 3rd’s) see: http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2015/09/king-richard-iii/

Occasionally the scat was on the lichen making it unclear as to which field guide to use first.

From up hear we could see Indian Lodge,

a pueblo style lodge constructed by the CCC in the 30’s.

In the far distance we could see the McDonald Observatory.

A short car ride later and we were standing inside UT’s Frank N. Bash visitors center staring at a rather large iron meteorite that was found 15 miles northwest of the observatory by a seven year old.

It is made up almost entirely of iron and nickel.

Mountains to meteors…thanks for a great trip L & N.

Time to charge up the iPads, avoid the tumbleweeds (I had no idea how big they could get) and hit the very straight roads back to Austin just in time for my daughters birthday present.

Tumbleweed Chandelier by Jean Landry, Marfa.

Photo by Susan Simmons

She had been excited and looking forward to seeing her YouTube idol Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings) perform her show for months,

and tonight was the night – a sell out show at the Paramount.

She had no idea she was going to meet her!

My return home was significantly less glamorous…

Seriously?

Stay Tuned For:

“Seeds & Weeds”

All material © 2016 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“National Leveridge’s European Vacation”

ESPatch Aug 24, 2015 6 comments

Guppies embarking on a perilous car journey to her Grandparents…

…check,

Direct 9 hour flight to London Heathrow,

excitement mounting…

…check.

In no time at all we were cruising high over the Atlantic.

I adopted my usual in-flight facial expression; a combination of bewilderment and pain accompanied by brief interludes of hysteria (dependent on wine consumption).

Touch down in London.

Having fun yet kids?

London, in August, doing tourist things!

My daughter has been YouTube researching the locations of the best London Kawaii shops.

She found exactly what she was looking for in a China town market…squishies!

Before you could say “Seven pounds for a painted piece of foam?!”

Annan we were on a train speeding North to Brydekirk, a tiny village on the River Annan in SW Scotland.

There are great walks available on both banks of the river.

The pink plant in the foreground was brought to Britain for garden collections in the 19th century, it is the invasive annual, Himalayan Balsam

Impatiens glandulifera

and it was everywhere. The plant produces large amounts of pollen which attracts bees. Unfortunately the bees love the balsam so much they don’t bother pollinating the native plants, reducing their seed production. An effort is currently being made to remove this plant (along with Japanese Knotwood) from the river banks of the Annan.

The 5 mile walk from Brydekirk to Hoddom Castle led us by huge silver willows,

towering pines,

and moss covered trunks.

We passed tall stands of Elecampane

Inula Helenium

The name ‘helenium’ derives from Helen of Troy…elecampane is said to have sprung up from where her tears fell.

The plant was also sacred to the ancient Celts and once had the name “elfwort”.

No trip to Scotland would be complete without mentioning a thistle or three, this Creeping Thistle

Cirsium arvense

was busy dispersing seeds from small shaving brushes:

The seed number per plant ranges from 1,600 to 50,000!

Legend has it that a species of thistle saved the lives of sleeping Scottish Clansmen as a Norse army invaded.

Scotland

In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen took off their shoes, but as they crept barefoot…well, you guessed it.

A soldiers cry alerted the Clansmen who went on to defeat the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs

(2 October 1263),

thus saving Scotland from invasion.

The critical role that the thistle had played was recognized and the weed was subsequently adopted as Scotland’s national emblem.

After our walk it was time for a

some…

then…

I fell into a restless jet-lagged sleep plagued by dreams of strange mythical talking creatures…

Meeh, meeh?

Maa, maa?

Meh-eh-eh! Meh-eh-eh?

What sound do they make?

Moving along…

I said moving along…

We made a lot of new friends on this trip,

From Sally the dog to

the sweet wares of the local bakery:

The icing on the cake, (ahem), was once again being reconnected with family.

Thanks for making the journey.

Langholm My parent’s gardens were packed with plants and color,

Here is another interesting thistle (I said there would be three):

Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’

globe thistle.

You can see why it attracts a host of pollinators.

A Perennial that adds a tropical flair to northern gardens is the aptly named Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Just standing next to this makes you feel warmer.

“Did you know that Crocosmia is so named because the dried leaves smell of saffron when rubbed ESP?

It is derived from the Greek words, Krokos for saffron and osme for Hell, my mistake, smell.”

Thanks Satan.

Native to the grasslands of southern and eastern Africa the leaves are a give away that it is in the iris family.

A slightly disturbing picture I know, but one that leads me to the non-botanical final thistle of this gargantuan post…

stpdlogo_1

The band traveled to Scotland and competed at

Perth and the

World-Pipe-Band-Championships-2015 on a packed Glasgow Green.

Last minute tuning before the competition.

Here is a link to Silver Thistle’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Thistle/444011909007446

and our official website:

http://www.silverthistle.org/

We practice twice a week at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and once a month publicly at Opal Divines Davenport and we are always looking for new pipers and drummers.

Hope to see you there.

Here is a video of the new World Champions and their performance:

Back in toasty Austin it was time to retrieve the guppies and head home.

Stay Tuned For:

“King Richard III”

All material © 2015 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.