Digging for Fossils

 I had a great day today digging for fossils with some of my Master Naturalists friends and Chris & Holly from the Whiteside Museum in Seymour, Texas. I found a few small fossils and one larger one that was part of the head spike on a Xenacanth Swamp Shark. (I was pretty excited!) 

If you haven’t ever been to the Whiteside Museum in Seymour, you need to load up and go! Spend some time seeing the exhibits and then eat some BBQ at The Big Empty. You can fill your brain and your belly all in one day!

(And, yes I know I have misspelled vertebrae on my page. Apparently I was just too excited to slow down and spell things correctly. I will have to fix that!)

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5.5 x 8.5” 

Strathmore 400 Series Journal

Ink & watercolor

NFS

Bird Nest

Working on a post-burn survey in Foard, County, Texas, we came across this small bird nest with a single speckled egg. I don't have a clue what species it was but I loved the shape, decor and camouflage! The nest was low in a mesquite tree, larger than a humming bird nest but smaller than a King Bird or Mockingbird. The egg was very Sparrow-like but the nest seemed much neater than a typical sparrow nest. 

Pen and brown ink in Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook

 

Texas wildflowers

The first explosion of native wildflowers has begun, the first I found up close being the blanket flowers growing on a street corner in Somerville, Texas. Yesterday I stopped to get a closer look at the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and tickseed blooming near highway 36 and FM 1948. Washington county will soon be covered in glorious color — this year, the peak bloom time is expected on Easter weekend, though they will continue through next month. And summer varieties will soon follow . . .

an oak tree burl

Walking the circle road we live on, we pass an oak tree with a large "nose" . . . at least that's what the burl looks like. Burls are common in this area --- there's a tree in one of the lake's camping grounds with up to ten of these growths, some on top of others.

I drew this with a Kuretake brush pen filled with Noodler's Lexington gray, a Lamy Safari pen with Platinum Carbon black, a Pentel Pocketbrush pen with black ink, and Pentel Aquash brush pen with light black ink. The whites are a light zinc white gouache wash and a white gelly roll pen.

a painted bunting's visit

I knew that there are painted buntings in central Texas but we had never seen one. Until yesterday. I was standing at my kitchen sink when I looked up and there he was at one of our bird feeders. His colors are amazing! I couldn't see him close enough for details so I did the larger sketch from a field guide photo.

from Ingleside on the Bay, Texas

During a recent trip to Ingleside on the Bay and Corpus Christi Bay, we were able to watch some beautiful herons as they enjoyed the gulf region as well. And the gulls were just comical!

seashells everywhere

We just returned from a trip to Corpus Christi Bay. There were lovely sea shells everywhere we turned at the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at in Ingleside on the Bay, some at least 12" across. Shells on tables, in baskets, on railings, sitting on top of posts in the parking area . . . Literally everywhere! Upon returning from eating out one day, I grabbed these three from one of the decks to sketch. 

A Weed By Any Other Name... Laura Gillis

I know it is technically a "weed" but it's a really pretty weed when you get down and look. Right now our yard here in North Central Texas is covered in a thick purple carpet of Henbit or Lamiun amplexicaule. I had thought about mowing it but when I saw that Henbit is an early source of nectar for bees and small insects I changed my mind. Bees are some of my favorite insects so I do hope they get busy before the farm-boy hubby shows up with the herbicide!

Ink and watercolor in a Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

These orange mushrooms / fungi growing in the corner of our lot. So far, I haven't been able to positively identify them.

I drew them from a photo I took last week --- with a bit of a mishap adventure at the time. (story on my own blog)

more Texas wildflowers

In the spring I began filling this wee sketchbook (under 3" square) with Texas wildflowers found near our new home. Then throughout the hot, humid summer, I sort of ignored it . . . . There weren't as many wildflowers seen then anyway.

But now lots of new ones have filled the local pastures, mostly yellow. So I added them this past week.

another mystery tree

On our property there are 9 of these unknown trees, 3 more mature than the others that were probably planted just a year or so ago.  Bare in the winter, they are full of white flowers before any leaves appear. Now a few leaves are turning color and falling; when we made an offer on the cabin last November, we saw tiny fruit on the branches. Have no clue as to what it is.

The largest one near our patio, usually filled with birds, seems confused as to what season it is: it recently popped out with a few more flowers, giving me a chance to add that to my sketch.

Browsing in a tree guide, my nearest guess is a Mexican Plum or Rusty Blackhaw.

These two trees are in the east corner of our lot, a cedar tree and a very tall, very old pine. I have counted 38 or 39 trees in our yard. Compare that to only one original tree left in our Kansas yard plus two trees we planted. This cedar tree was crammed full of cedar wax wing birds in the spring. Baby fox squirrels sometimes play in the tree house or sit on the top ladder step.

hummingbirds

When we moved here to central Texas, there was a wee wooden sign posted in one corner of our property reading "Lake Forest Wild Bird Sanctuary". It has proven to be fact!

At our small 1920 apartment building in Kansas, we saw lots of house sparrows and, rarely, an occasional blue jay or cardinal. A year or so ago an unknown raptor nested in our old elm tree, scaring away all other birds (except those silly, brave sparrows).

Here in the woods, we have identified over 30 types of birds in our yard in the past 7 months, many more in the neighborhood. And they keep on coming! Of course, when I chose to sketch as many as I could see on Thursday, none showed up except the constant hummingbirds . . . . We have both ruby-throated and black-chinned hummers.

(Who knew they actually SQUEAK like a dog's squeaky toy?!? I knew you could hear the "hum" of their wings but our hummers perch in a nearby crepe myrtle and squeak at us!)

Black Witch Moth - Laura Gillis

Black Witch Moth
Page 31 in my "Beetles, Bugs and Insects" Journal
Ink & watercolor in a Moleskine Watercolor Journal

I don’t really know why this is called the Black Witch because it’s not black at all.... it’s dark brown with some black details. It’s also got iridescent blue and pink there too. The lighter line that goes across the wings marks the female of the species. 

If you Google the Black Witch you will find all kinds of crazy stuff... In the Caribbean and Mexico it is believed that if the Black Witch flies into your house someone is going to get sick and die. (So glad I don't live there!) Another story is if the Black Witch sits above your door, you will have a winning lotto ticket. (Won't hold my breath on that happening!)

This is a huge moth with a wing span of 5.25 inches. It is mostly tropical but wanders far north, sometimes reaching Canada. (This one made it to North Central Texas.) 

Large numbers of the Black Witch have been known to travel in the eyes of hurricanes. Then, when the hurricane hits the shore, the moths fall out. To have survived this, the moths would have had to been flying continuously for several days! Amazing.

Cicada Killer - Laura Gillis

I have noticed several of these BIG wasps flying around here (North Central Texas) lately and I finally got one to draw! After I caught this one, I saw another one flying around with a big cicada in it’s grasp. She (or he) landed in a tree and proceeded to stun or kill the cicada before flying off again. (Or, maybe she was just getting a better grip on her cargo, I don’t know.)

The Cicada Killer is a big, heavy bodied wasp (the body is 1.125” long or 2.9 cm) and she makes quite an impression when she is flying around your head. I assume that she packs one heck of a sting but thankfully, I don’t have any first-hand information about that to share. (Not yet anyway.)

This wasp excavates her nest in the ground. You will see a mound of soil left by an entrance hole which is about .375” or 1 cm wide.

This was just a quick little sketch for now... a tighter sketch is planned for the “bug journal” soon. She really is a beautiful insect.

our resident Berwick's Wren

When we moved in to this log cabin, there were two ornamental log houses left on the bookshelf by the former owners. I needed the space for books, so I moved these outside to a plant shelf in our covered patio. It sits in the corner, up against the place where corner logs meet and overlap.

Recently I was messing about with a plant on the middle shelf when I was surprised by a wee bird flying out from the larger of the two houses. (OK, Bill said I jumped and shrieked.) Apparently a Bewick's Wren has moved in! I haven't seen a wren since I was around 6 years old in Illinois.

I've now seen a pair of wrens sitting on the back of a porch swing, the female having a bit of food in her beak. So I'm wondering if there is a baby inside?

a few summer wildflowers and butterflies

 

In my wee wildflower sketchbook (3" square), I've been continuing to draw wildflowers found near our new home. Summer seems to have mostly yellows, with a few leftover white prickly poppies and orange Indian blankets. Not much difference between black-eyed and brown-eyed susans, sharing the same Latin name, but one has tiny brown markings near the base of the petals.

I also drew a few of the butterflies we've seen in our yard. Lots of black swallowtail caterpillars have been eating my parsley and dill, but I'm wondering if the birds are in turn eating them.

a wee loft lizard

I finally found a Texas lizard in our new cabin home . . . . Unfortunately, Bearcat found it first. Jayna found this dead lizard in the loft, just next to where the slanted ceiling rafters met the floor. So I sketched it, while the cat glared at me for taking away his wee toy.

David and Goliath - Laura Gillis

Ink and watercolor in the Moleskine Watercolor Journal

Are you ready to rummmmmmmbbbbbllllllee??!!

In lower left corner, we have the challenger, the little, cute, sorta-fuzzy Checkered Beetle measuring only 3/4 of an inch long.

And in upper right corner, towering above the competition, we have the big honkin’, root boring, Pironus Beetle, measuring a whopping 1-3/4 inches (not including the feathery antenna).

Ding! There’s the bell.

I never would have guessed it, but in my research to identify these two, I discovered that the Checkered Beetle attacks and eats the Pironus beetle at all stages of their life cycle. Eggs, larvae and adult.

This is a good thing because the big beetle is a root borer and the larval stage of this beetle can cause much damage and grief to hardwood trees.

I found both of these beetles within hours of each other. The Checkered Beetle was in the front yard, but the Pironus had come into the garage and was lying in front of the washer with his feet up in the air.

He was down for the count.

Ding! We have a winner!

colorful lichen

Last night I sketched another twig full of lichen, this time with at least 4 different types growing in muted, earthy shades of red and green. After discovering that gouache works well on this handmade paper (as long as it is kept very dry), I took another try at watercolor, using it more like gouache -- I kept it dry and mixed each color with buff titanium to make it more opaque.

ink sketch in progress