Texas Fall Woods Walk

I went for a walk in the woods yesterday.  I knew that there was a 25% chance that I'd get into some ticks. But there was a 100% chance that if I went out there, I would see something cool.  I considered those odds and decided to go.  The walk did not disappoint.

Along the way, I was reminded of a joke Ancel used to tell.

Why did the mushroom get invited to the party?
Because he was a FUN-GI.  

Here are some fungi and other things I saw on my walk.

These are brackets.  

These are too, but there's also that bit of red fuzzy stuff in the middle.

These may be called "sulfur shelf" mushrooms.  I'm doing more research.  

More Brackets.  These were a pretty shade of green.

Somebody's house.

Spot was my companero. 

Pine bark lichens

Spot checks it out

Puffball with oak leaf

Huckleberries

Woods ogre

 

Monotropa uniflora, also known as the ghost plant, Indian pipe, or corpse plant

Till next time...............................

Last Dance with Mary Jane

In 2005, I bought a red Toyota Corolla brand spanking new.  Her name was Mary Jane and she was an excellent car.

She took me and my family to Oregon, to New Mexico, and back and forth from Austin to East Texas and Louisiana countless times....165,000 miles worth.  I never did anything to her but change the oil and tires, and once I bought a new battery.  I think I had the brakes worked on too.   But for 11 years now she has been faithfully getting me where I needed to go with a minimum of hassle.

On my last trip from Austin to Urania, she got 38 miles to the gallon!

But even though, she has been an excellent car, I felt that with the traveling I have to do, I should look into getting a newer one.

I heard through the grapevine that a woman I knew from high school was looking for a car for her grandson. He just graduated from high school last month, and is going to school in Alexandria, so needed a car to get back and forth.

After meeting him, I realize that he's the kind of guy who needs to be living somewhere else besides the Bible belt.  And I'm so happy that Mary Jane and I can contribute in some small way to help him escape.

I was able to sell her for twice what I was offered for her at the dealership, but the price was still lower than they would have paid for the same car from a commercial seller.  It was a win/win!

The new owner works at the local grocery store and I've seen Mary Jane a couple of times when I've gone to buy groceries.  She is cleaner and shinier than she's looked in a long time.  And I'm gratified to see that he hasn't removed the bumper sticker that says:  Turn off Fox.  Bad news for America.

I have some friends here who are in the car business, and they have been looking for one at the auction. Thursday they called to say that they found what I wanted, a 2013 Prius. It only has 36,000 miles and the price was affordable.


So meet my new ride, Herbie.  We'll be going on our first trip to New Mexico next month, taking my grandson to see his new baby sister. I hope that Herbie will be as good to me as Mary Jane has been.

So long till next time.

Garden Shots

I've been doing a lot of gardening and yard work.  These pictures have been taken over the past few weeks.

Squash plant progress.

Mom inspects the garden

Little green peaches

     Spiders are a nutritious part of the anole diet.

                     

Cukes

Davis' arch rival -- Dr. Claw

Dr. Claw's  minion

Back yard scenes          

A Little Trip Back to Austin

Earlier this month I went back to Texas for a couple of weeks.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

On April 30, I attended Eeyore's Birthday Party, my favorite event of the year.  This year I went with my friend Dancing Diana Winer, who just finished a year-long trip around the world.

Ancel helped me with my costume.  He gave me a shield so I could be a super hero.

Taking a selfie with this dude has become a tradition.
The Lion of Judah - Selah

   Diana finds a dancing partner.

I found a dancing partner too.  This is Ann.  We had a large time.

Another day I went to visit my friend Donna Barber and took these pictures in her lovely yard.

One Sunday afternoon, Diana gave a presentation to about 30 people telling about all her adventures. You can read about them in her blog, Community Nomad.  She also had silk scarves and saris from India for sale. 

A highlight of the trip was attending a political fundraiser for Representative Celia Israel with friend Belinda Hair, were they had  this Trump pinata.

I had the perfect Mother's Day.  I woke up to the best gift I could have possibly gotten, and empty house.  I totally enjoyed a peaceful day, and then Cole, Roseanna and Asa took me to dinner in Smithville. 

Another day, Asa and I took Davis for a walk.   There are also some random pictures from Cole's house.

A pretty arrangement that Roseanna brought back
from an event.

 

 Only one bad thing about living so close to the river...killer mosquitoes.   These suckers are aggressive and will continue to attack, even as you're swatting at them.

This is Camo, Ancel's chameleon.  I didn't think a lizard would be so interesting to watch, but I found myself doing just that for long periods of time.  You can see here some crickets that were too big for him to eat.  

Here's Ancel playing Legos in his room at his mom's house.

So long till next time.