Chili Petines

It looks like the Chili Peines are starting to come back.  We were wondering if they would make it because of the lack of rain but it looks like Mother Nature has taken care of her own once again and given you pepper eaters something to smile about.  For those of you who have never had a Chili Pein, they are a HOT pepper that grows wild down here.  Some people love them and will put them on every food they eat.  I have never gotten up the guts to try one.  Margaret and Jack will pick them as a form of relaxation and then give them to friends.  I am told that birds love them so I will pick some and see if my birds will eat them.  I should have done that this morning but I forgot.  See I am not perfect after all. LOL

Four Corners

This evening Mike and I went for a short walk and went the opposite direction from Pebble Beach.  We walked down to Four Corners.  I know I have mentioned Four Corners before but I am sure that are some reading this that don't know what I am talking about.

If you follow the road behind the houses and head north you will get to "Four Corners".  You will know it when you get there.  If you look to the right:

The road goes out to the gate on Blue Wing Rd. or if you walk to the gate and take a left, you will find the road that follows Blue Wing and goes up to Jackie's house.

If you go straight:

This is the road that follows Salado Creek and goes by the road to the Picnic Area and then on to Jackie's house.  And yes, that is Mike.

If you turn to the left:

This is the road that goes down to the Picnic area and to Scenic Overlook.  You can only drive down so far and then you are on foot and you will have to back out unless you have a small vehicle and can turn around.  The road is washed out at the picnic area and will take some major work to get it back so you can drive to scenic overlook.  It is still a nice walk.  I will have to take you down there sometime in pictures.

If you turn around:

Then you are heading back to the houses.  It was a nice walk and Mike liked it especially because he found a bone.  He was running around and chewing on the bone and was so happy.  There were times that he would show the bone to me.  It was just a little bone but he was so proud of it.  He wouldn't show it to me when I had the camera out but you can tell he has something in his mouth.

Red stems

While walking this morning I spotted something red on the side of the road that I had not seen before.  Of course, with my eyesight I am sure there are a lot of things out there that I have never seen before but never mind.  At first I thought it was berries of some type but then I looked closer and it was part of the stem of some species of cactus.

 

 

We have a lot of this type of cactus around here but I have never seen it turn red like this.  I guess it might be because it has been so dry this summer.  A lot of things change because of no water.

I walked on down to Pebble Beach and the Buzzards are still there but not as many and those are just picking over the Carcass.

Then I come back home and see this creature crawling up my wall.  It is a slug of some type but I have never seen one so jet black before.  Normally they are a dark brown and much thicker.  At first I thought it was a Caterpillar but after looking closer I could see it was not.  Maybe it is a new breed and is a cross between a Slug and a Caterpillar.  I wonder if they are good for fishing?

Interesting morning walk

Margaret slept in this morning so it was just Mike and I and then later Blue found us and joined in our walk.  This morning we walked in the other direction from Pebble Beach.  It is a longer walk and also a change of scenery.

It turned out the quite interesting.  As we were walking on the front road next to Blue Wing Rd and were passing the dump for those of you who have been here and know where I am talking about.  Blue had gone into the woods behind the dump and Mike and I had kept walking.  I heard a grunt behind me and turned just in time to see Blue and a grey 300 lb pig come out of the woods.  Blue went one way and the pig went the other.  I tried to get a picture of the pig but he/she was too fast for me and it took off back into the woods again.  Blue sat on the road for about 5 minutes and wouldn't come to me when I called.  He acted like he was afraid to move or another pig would come out.  I don't blame him, I would hate to see a 300 lb pig coming at me.  He finally came and he was okay.

A few steps later, I looked down and found this interesting artifact.  It looks to me like it is either a knife or a scrapper used to scrape the hides off of animals. 

It is funny how you can walk a route over 100 times and then come across something like this just laying there.  I am sure it was used by a very pretty Indian maiden and it was made by her handsome Indian chief who gave it to her on their first anniversary.  He chose this gift because some of the robes she made for him weren't scraped very good and they smelled really bad.  After she got this gift, the robes were perfect and the couple lived a long and happy life.  That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Later on we were walking on the road between four corners and my house and this little fellow was crossing the road.  I don't know where Blue was and Mike never did see it.  I was worried that Mike would see it and try to play with it like he does lizards so I just kept Mike back and let him go.

For those of you that forget.

Red meets black, a friend of Jacks

Red meets Yellow, a venomous fellow

This was about a two foot long Coral Snake.   It went on across the road and we let it go and then we continued our walk home.

Nature's Food Cycle

Margaret and I went for our walk this morning with all the dogs.  Mosquito even went with us this time.  On the way down to Pebble Beach, we noticed across the river on the island near the Beach was a big flock of Buzzards.  There must have been twenty of them hanging around on the ground or in the trees.

You can just barely make them out, they are the black things in the picture.  We had to look around to find a little opening to see them.  They were eating on something and we weren't able to make it out but I think it was a coyote.

We got on down to Pebble Beach but we could see anything from there except for  the Buzzards in the trees.

 

This was the place that Blue swam to the other day so he must have sensed that something was over there and went over to investigate.  He was right.

Mosquito is getting lazy and or old and he doesn't like going on walks like he used to do.  Maybe it could be Mike who likes to jump and play and Mosquito doesn't like that too much.  Mike is starting to settle down a little and maybe Mosquito will start joining us more.

Blue exploring

I went for my normal walk today down to Pebble Beach.  We weren't able to go yesterday  because we go a little shower on Sunday and the roads were too muddy.  So we had to go down today because Blue and Mike had missed their swim yesterday.  It was the first time that Blue has gone off and explored.  He normally gets in the water and stays there until it is time to leave.  This time he took off swimming to another gravel bar across the river.

He went into the tall grass where I couldn't see what he was doing and stayed a few minutes and then came back across.  I watched for a few minutes while he was over there because I have seen wild pigs come off of that gravel pit and climb up the other bank.

While I was watching for wild pigs or whatever it was that Blue was looking for to come out I saw this Egret flying along the river.  They are so pretty with their white showing up against the blue skies or the green trees.  I am sorry that I didn't get the deep blue skies or the green trees in the picture but the Egret just wouldn't cooperate with me and stop and pose in a decent background so this is the best I could do.

I am not sure what that other bird is following the Egret.  It was a very nice walk this morning with a nice cool breeze blowing and the sand was easy to walk in because the rain had made it compact.  Wish ya could have joined me.

Road to Pebble Beach

As I went for my walk this morning, it dawned on me that I talk about walking down to Pebble Beach all the time and I have taken numerous pictures of Pebble Beach but I have never shown those of you who haven't been here the road to the Beach.  So I thought I would take you on a little tour.

 

This is the start from Margaret and Jack's house.  For those that have been here but never walked down to the Beach, Margaret and Jack's house is behind me over my left shoulder.

The road curves and kinda follows the river which is on my right and at this point it is probably a good 200 feet from the road.  For those that have been following this blog for a long time or those that have looked at the archives, that big tree in the middle of the picture on the left  is the bee tree that Jack tried to get rid of the bee hive with a make shift outfit and a garden sprayer filled with diesel and a lighter.

As you can see the road is almost always covered in shade except maybe at high noon.  It is a very pleasant walk in the mornings but not so nice in the afternoons.  In the mornings, Pebble Beach is covered with shade with the sun behind you while you are facing the river and there is almost always a nice breeze blowing.  In the afternoon, Pebble Beach is in full sun and that is not pleasant.

This is the Cul De Sac or the turnaround for the times we drive down here.  When we go fishing and have all our gear and chairs and too much stuff to carry down and back up, we drive.

This is the path down to the river.  That white stuff is sand and it is about 6 inches deep in places.  You can see the river from here through the trees.  It is not a bad walk down but you will get your exercise coming back up walking through that sand.  You can drive down if you have a four wheel drive but even some of them have gotten stuck at times.

It is a nice walk and I think Margaret or Jack have measured it and they tell me that it is a half mile round trip.  I hope you have enjoyed my little tour and maybe some day you can take it in person.

Snakes - Around here????

Margaret thinks that snakes are coming around her house.  I mean who would think that we have snakes around here.  Duh!!  She caught me coming back from my walk this morning and showed me the proof.

She is holding two snake skins, not the real snakes, she is a lot smarter than that.   She found them on one of the patios or terraces around her house.  One of them is pretty big as you can tell.  Don't forget, you can click on the image to enlarge it.

Feather

I went for our walk yesterday afternoon because I had a vet appointment for Mike in the morning and I promised him that he could go swimming if he was a good boy.  Well, when the vet went to check his teeth, he growled at the Vet and the assistant didn't think that Mike liked them very much but overall he was a good boy.  So I went out the 100 degree heat and we walked down to the river.

On the way down there I found this feather on the road.  I picked it up because it was such a large feather and I wondered what kind of bird it came from.

I came home and did some research and found out that it came from the tail of a wild Turkey.  I knew that we had wild Turkeys down here but I haven't seen any for a while.  While I was researching I also found out that:

"The possession of feathers and other parts from MBTA-protected birds without a permission is prohibited. The only exceptions are the feathers of legally-hunted waterfowl or other migratory game birds, which may be possessed by hunters. This prohibition extends to molted feathers and to feathers taken from road- or window-killed birds. Individuals or institutions wishing to use bird feathers, bones, or whole specimens for educational or research purposes must apply for permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their state wildlife or natural resource agency."

I had no idea that it was against the law to have a feather of a bird in your possession.  I mean the bird didn't want it anymore and the bird was certainly not going to be able to stick it back in.  So why should the bird care.  The bird would probably be happy that someone thought it's feather was special enough to pick up and save.  So if the bird doesn't care, then why is the government getting involved and making it against the law.  By the way, this feather is not part of that law so I can keep it.  Which brings up another point, why is the government discriminating against certain species of birds and not protecting the feathers of others.  Can anyone explain this to me?

Moss in the river

It has been so long since we have had rain in San Antonio and the river is down and not flowing as much as normal.  I went down to Pebble Beach the other day and that was a lot of moss growing in the river.  There would normally not be this much but the river is not flowing normal either.  It looks pretty bad.

This morning Margaret and I went for our walk and Margaret decided that if Blue would swim through the moss, it would break up and flow down stream.  So she threw rocks in the water and Blue would chase the rock.  It did a good job but of course Blue is upset that he couldn't catch the rocks and Mike is looking at him like "Duh, she isn't throwing toys or a stick so why are you chasing it?".

Margaret had to rinse Blue off when she got him back home.  He was covered with moss but he did do a good job and most of the moss is now on its way down stream.

Hummingbirds and Sydney

I was watching the US Open on TV yesterday and I had let Sydney come out to play on his play center.  One time I looked over and he was looking out the window at a Hummingbird that was hovering next to the window looking at Sydney.  Of course I didn't have my camera and by the time I got my camera the Hummingbird flew away.  I waited the rest of the day for it to happen again but of course the Hummingbird didn't come back for a visit at the window.

Sydney waited for the Hummingbird to come back but it only came back to eat and not to say hello.

I have got to learn to carry my camera wherever I go.  This morning I went out the front door and heard a grunt.  There were two fairly small wild pigs running across my front yard and I didn't have my gun or my camera so all I could do was wave at them.  The wild pigs like to stay in the area right to the right as you come down the main driveway to our houses.  It is a low spot on the ranch and normally has water there but it has been so long since we have had any rain, it has dried up so the pigs are having to go to the river for water and that means they go across our yards.  Margaret saw a big one about three weeks ago.  Maybe one of these times I will either have my gun or my camera.  Either way, I will post a picture of it, Dead or Alive.

Walks

Mike really likes the little walks we take in the morning especially when we walk down to Pebble Beach.  He likes this walk better because Blue goes with us and Blue is a better playmate that I am.

And Blue lets Mike sniff his tail and that is something that I won't let him do to me.

It is a long walk to Pebble Beach or at least it is when Mike has to run to catch up with Blue and then run back to check on me and then run to catch Blue again.  Well, you get the picture.  Actually I think it is only about 1/4 mile down there but the way Mike goes, it is more like a mile.

But the good news is that when he finally gets to the river, there is a reward.

Mike's toy

The other day Margaret and I were in the Dollar Store and she bought Mike a toy.  It is just a stuffed toy that kinda looks like a cross between a human and a star, it is kinda hard to describe.  It has something in one of the arms that squeaks when you pinch it.  Of course once Mike figured out to make it squeak he loved it.  It is his favorite indoor toy and it is about to drive me nuts.  He will walk around with it and make it squeak until I have to give him another toy to play with.

 

About the only thing that will make him leave this toy is the old sock.  He likes to play fetch and tug a war with the old sock.  Sometimes he will drop it when something catches his attention on TV.  He will stop and look at the TV and then go over to the speakers and bark.  He only barks once and then it is back to the toy.

He is still just a puppy and sometimes when he is taking a nap, he has nightmares and makes whining noises while he is sleeping.  I have to wake him up and then he is okay.  I guess all of God's creatures have nightmares when they are young.

Egret

On our walk to Pebble Beach this morning we (or at least I) saw a White Egret.  When I first saw it the Egret was flying following the river.  As I walked further down to the river I saw it sitting on a rock or something in the middle of the river.

 

It wasn't a very exciting morning.  I did see a small wild pig climbing the bank on the other side of the river but it was too fast for me to get my camera out.  Mike and Blue had a nice swim and I had a nice walk.  I guess I shouldn't expect more than that.  It is a good day.

Sunrise

I believe I have mentioned before that we don't get real pretty Sunsets here because of the high trees and the sun setting across the river where the opposite bank is so high but if you are an early riser like I am, you can sometimes see a pretty Sunrise.

Doddle Bugs

How many of you remember these?  Can you remember swirling a twig in the hole trying to get the Doddle Bug to come out.  It seems like there was a chant that you were supposed to say according to Mark Twain but I don't recall what it was.  I left these alone.

Then later in the day a Squirrel came up to the front yard looking for some nuts or something that she buried last year.  She said to tell everyone "Hey" 

 

Then yesterday afternoon I saw a big crane type bird from my kitchen window.  Naturally I didn't have my camera with me and by the time I got the camera the bird was out of sight.  I went outside hopeful that I would see it again and I did.  She was walking down the back road towards Margaret and Jack's.  Now you ask, "How does he know it was a she?".  Because She had about 5 or 6 chicks following her.   By the time I got my camera turned on and was about to take a picture she turned off towards the river and they were gone.  Maybe next time.

This morning Mike and I went for our walk and the little Bunny Rabbit was there again.  Mike hasn't see him yet.

Inside Birds

I have gone back over the blog and noticed that I have spent a lot of space with the puppies and with the Carolina Wrens out in the garage and I haven't talked about or posted pictures of my inside birds.  Danny and Debbie are doing great and have totally bonded with each other.  Of course that means that the odds of them ever talking are almost zero but that is okay.  They hang out together and do almost everything together.  They like to get out of their cage and then from the play center, they climb the curtain and get up on the curtain rod and walk back and forth and sign and chirp and play.

They still spend a lot of time on the play center and they hop around on it chasing each other.  Sydney on the other hand is not very playful but he is getting better.  I caught him the other day playing with his bell on the mirror and also playing with the paper clips but he doesn't play very much.  I get him out and let him come in with me while I am doing stuff on the PC and he is okay with that.  He likes to run around on the keyboard and likes to nibble at my finger when I am using the mouse.  I put him up on the curtain rod in here and he just sits there.  Most birds like to perch in the highest spot possible but Sydney doesn't like anything different.  It takes him a long time to get used to something.  He is eating rice now if I put it in one special thing.  He has a ferris wheel type thing that has buckets and I put the rice in the buckets and he eats it at night when I am not around.  I know he eats it because it is gone (duh) and also the rice is not on the bottom tray.  I keep trying to get him to eat different foods but he is picky.

With Mike around they don't get as much out of the cage time as they used to but I am not going to take a chance and let Mike play with them.

Creaking Tree

Mike and I went on our morning walk and as we were walking behind Margaret and Jack's house I heard this creaking noise.  I stopped and listen and soon heard it again.  I looked around and didn't see anything.  It sounded like an old door swinging back and forth or maybe a old wooden staircase.  I listen and finally figure out that it was coming from a old dead Mesquite tree that was being held up by a Cedar Elm.  The Mesquite was rubbing against the Cedar Elm when the wind blew.  I will have to tell Jack and maybe we can cut it down before it falls down.  I guarantee that if we wait, the tree will fall down at the time when we don't have the time to cut it up and then it will be across the road when we want to use it or worse, it will fall on someone.

Mike, Blue and I continued our walk and they had a good swim while I looked for artifacts.  I didn't find any this morning but I will keep looking.

 

Morning Walk

I am having to post this in sections because it is so long that it is having problems uploading to the blog.  Mike and I are on our morning walk and taking pictures of things we see along the way.

The cactus is blooming.

We have little rabbits that come out and see what we are doing but they aren't very friendly and don't want to play with Mike.  This was taken with a 24X zoom so that will give you an idea of how far the bunny was from us. He ran off shortly after the picture was taken when Mike started towards him.

Mike enjoys our little walks and so do I.

Sometimes we even get to see a cartoon character.