Construction in the Carrollton Yard

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My parents’ neighborhood is getting a refresh of infrastructure (water, sewer). Streets, sidewalks, and alleys are being repaved too. There was a notice taped to the door shortly after Thanksgiving about a mini-project replacing a sewer line that ran along their property line (from street to alley) and it started a few days later. They estimated it would take 3-4 days. They started before 8 on the 1st morning.

We watched the big equipment remove half the sidewalk in front and then dig a big hole where the old manhole cover had been at the edge of the yard….at the edge of the bed with red yuccas. The construction would use a pipe bursting technique (which we never did fully understand) so that only a hole at both ends of the pipe would be required (i.e. no long trench).

They discovered that the sewer connection for my parents’ house and the house next door was not on the alley end of the sewer line as expected. They put a camera through the pipe to determine where the connections were…and communicated with us about where they would dig in the yard. Fortunately, it was a small part of a flower bed near the fence and then a grassy area that was not included in the sprinkler system. (They told me a story of a similar situation elsewhere in the neighborhood where they had discovered a connection that was directly under a big tree….not sure how they resolved that one.)

We were able to get bulbs/rhizomes (spider lily and iris) out of the flower bed that would be disturbed by the hole in the yard before it was dug on the 2nd day. The bulbs/rhizomes that are now in buckets and bins will be planted in my garden in Missouri!

The hole in the yard was done carefully to reduce damage to the yard. A panel of fence was removed to allow entry of a smaller machine to dig the hole and a tarp was spread over the grass where the dirt pile would accumulate. Within 24 hours – the hole was made, connections were made, the hole filled, and iris rhizomes that had been disturbed (that we hadn’t gotten out previously) were replanted in neat rows by the crew!

Also on the second day – they put the new concrete pipe (where the manhole cover would be) into the ground. It was impressive how the crew aligned everything, chains were attached to the pipe and the big arm of the machine what would lift it and set it down perfectly into place.

The crew seemed to be in a very good mood as they filled the hole. The man in the big backhoe seemed to have a smile on his face every time the machine swung around where I could see him!

I was left with the impression that the crew has worked together for some time…and they enjoy what they do. They want the project to be successful even if they discover something different than expected and have to tweak the plan to make it so.

I was also impressed with the personnel from the city that made sure we understood what needed to happen. It’s good the city is proactively replacing/renovating the infrastructure in the 50+ year old neighborhood!

2023 in a Carrollton Yard

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My parents’ yard in Carrollton is almost overflowing with plants. They have accumulated over the years. Many of them are from seeds/cuttings/gifts from extended family…my paternal grandmother’s sisters (pink maiden sage), my father’s cousin (a 30+ year old rose bush), my maternal grandparents gardens (cannas), sunflowers that started from a granddaughter’s kindergarten ‘flower in a cup’ project more than 20 years ago, and orange spider lilies that came up in one of my sisters yards when she bought her house more than 30 years ago. One of my sisters does most of the maintenance these days…to the joy of my parents. My dad helps with mowing the yard (this month is more ‘mowing the leaves’ rather than grass)!

The year started out very cold with heavy frost on the first mornings of the year.

The quince blooms early…a splash of color near the fence. The bird feeder attracts birds that can easily be viewed from the garden room. Bulbs and dandelions mark the warming temperatures of spring. The cosmos and red yucca bloom all through the season. The 2023 summer was challenging with a longer than usual period of very hot days with no rain. Some plants survived with the water from sprinklers, but others died back (hopefully will return next spring). The naked lady lilies put up their fonds early then bloom in midsummer. The spider lilies are late bloomers too. The cosmos lasted through most of November. And now in December – the seedpods of red yucca and chives provide texture as the winter begins. We are beginning to see some of the garden ornaments that were buried in foliage previously!

My parents have lived in their house for 33 years and the garden area of the yard has evolved over time. The rose bush purchased for my Grandmother’s 80th birthday in 1992 still blooms in the spring and fall!

2023 at Josey Ranch

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I am starting a series of posts that feature slideshows of pictures accumulated during 2023 of some favorite places that I visit almost every month. This post about the ponds and Pocket Prairie at Josey Ranch in Carrollton is the first in the series.

The changing of the birds over the course of the seasons: northern shovelers, scaups, widgeons, and coots in the cold months…baby birds (like geese) in the spring and juvenile birds (grackles and little blue heron) later in the warm months. The birds around all the time are swans, great egrets, mallards, and great blue herons. Bluebirds, grebes and cormorants are not seen frequently….are a pleasant surprise when they are around.

Josey Ranch is an easy place for me to get a nature fix….and enjoy some photography too. Some of my favorite photos are from an early morning jaunt in the summer…the light around a great blue heron and a swan sleeping on the water…a special moment that created a different sort of image.

The flowers bloom in the warmer months although last summer many flowers cooked in the long period of very hot weather without any rain. In the fall – the dried husks of seeds/stems is often photogenic too.

Walk in the Carrollton Neighborhood

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Getting out for a walk in the neighborhood was a treat during the routine of being with my parent in the hospital for 24 hours and then catching up on everything else (including sleep) for 24 hours…repeating. Even though I was exhausted, being outdoors in the crisp air was exhilarating; as always, I had my camera in hand to document what I noticed.

I didn’t get away from the house before I noticed the mini-mums in the front flowerbed and the oak leaves on the ground but held upright by the groundcover.

There was a flowerbed near the sidewalk a few blocks away that was full of ceramic yard art tucked into the plantings. The frog was my favorite.

I noticed that the city of Carrollton (Texas) has marked the drains along the street…indicating that the drains go straight to waterways (i.e. not treatment for contaminates).

There was a confused pear tree along the way – blooming in late November rather than waiting until the spring!

Refreshed and feeling less stressed…I returned to my parents’ house for a nap.

Zooming – November 2023

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November 2023 was a month of contrasts…an increase in day trips (to the Springfield Botanical Garden and Butterfly Palace in Branson) and then the more confined views while a parent was in the hospital/recovering at home. Photography is something I enjoy in almost every circumstance. I am either trying to capture a moment or create an artistic composition. And the zoom feature on my cameras are almost always used!

A short escape into nature

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On the way back to my parents house after a 24 hour stint with my parent in the hospital, I stopped by Josey Ranch (in Carrollton TX) for an escape into nature.

The first bird I saw was a bluebird! Whether or not it was a good omen – it was a great boost to my mood.

I thought at first that there were only scaups on the water.

But then I noticed the coots…and that one of them was smaller than the others. Was it a juvenile? The grass that had grown in the pond over the summer when the water level was low is now flooded and the coots seem to love eating it.

And then a grebe swam by near the coots.

I photographed the sleeping swans with some grebes feeding in the grass nearby.

It was only a short escape from focus on what was happening at the hospital and at my parents’ home…but time well spent for sustaining a positive mental outlook.

Sunrise before Time Change

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The day before the ‘fall back’ from daylight saving to standard time, I was in Carrollton TX and awake long before the sunrise…and I happened to notice it at a good time for photography.

I took a quick picture with my phone. The silhouettes of the of the trees in my parents’ backyard are in the foreground…the powerlines run through the color of the sun…a single star (or is it a planet?) is visible just above the trees which I didn’t notice until I looked at the image on a large monitor.

I went inside to get my bridge camera. It produced a crisper image and the deeper colors …although I wish I would have framed it to get the star just above the trees!

I celebrated capturing the sunrise…even while I thought about how I prefer that we didn’t change our clocks twice a year.

Josey Ranch Lake – November 2023

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Josey Ranch Lake in Carrollton (Texas) was not as full of birds as usual although some of the winter migrants were there in small numbers: American Coots

Ruddy Ducks (with a Scaup in the same picture…size comparison)

Scaups

There was a Great Blue Heron, probably a resident, that seemed very interested in something high in the cattails. When I looked at my picture on my larger monitor, I noticed a place high on the wing that seemed devoid of feathers (i.e. pink ‘skin’ showing). I wondered what could have caused that.

Both resident mute swans were sleeping on the bank…surrounded by a few fluffs of feathers dislodged by their preening.

I didn’t stay long…too breezy and cold. I’ll spend more time at Josey Ranch next time I am in Carrollton.

Carrollton Yard – November 2023

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At the beginning of the month – the yard in Carrollton, Texas was still needing to be mowed almost weekly and the leaves were mostly green on the trees. The metal iris I bought last spring was still surrounded my growing vegetation – not the only focal point of the garden as it will be in the winter.

There are still some things blooming.

The pecan tree is shedding groups of leaves that are still green onto the pavers.

I cut the three millet seed heads that grew under the bird feeder. I’ll put them in the sunniest corner of my yard in Missouri. Maybe the seeds will come up next spring, grow as ornamentals, round the corners of the yard that I mow, and feed birds by the fall.

Carrollton is renovating the infrastructure in my parents’ neighborhood. The alley already has flags to mark where the gas line is located. The alley will be removed/replaced and plantings about 8 inches from the existing concrete will be destroyed.

That 8 inches includes some tiger lily and iris bulbs, sunflowers that have come back year after year from my niece’s kindergarten sunflower-in-a-cup planted there over 20 years ago, native hibiscus, and lots of chives. My sister cut the sunflowers and put the stalks further back in the bed (hoping the seeds will continue to mature there), dug up the lily and iris bulbs to plant elsewhere, and dug up/moved the native hibiscus plants.

In the front yard, there were mums planted in open spaces in ground cover…the red oak in that area is beginning to shed a few leaves.

Across the sidewalk, the red yucca has mature seed pods full of black seeds…but is still blooming as well.

Overall – a yard beginning a slow slide to fall.

Zooming – October 2023

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The optics of my camera allow me to capture images that are better than I can see with my eyes – flowers, insects, birds, cave formations and seed pods that fill the frame…driftwood isolated from the noise of other things around it….sculpture, glass, and fall gourds specially arranged….sunrises and a sunset….the beauty of a fall morning. Every picture is a memory moment – a visual that also serves as a reminder of a place and mood and relationship with the people that experienced it with me. The places were mostly close to home in southwest Missouri (art museum, meadow, caverns) but also St. Louis and along the route between home and Carrollton TX.

Josey Ranch – September 2023

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My visit to Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) was shortly after sunrise. The two resident swans were still asleep on the larger pond….but there was a reflection of morning light on the water…which made the photograph worth it.

My visit to Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) was shortly after sunrise. The two resident swans were still asleep on the larger pond….but there was a reflection of morning light on the water…which made the photograph worth it.

A Great Egret was fishing in the shallows. The water is low…so the shallows are a larger area of the pond now.

The surprise of the morning was 2 juvenile Little Blue Herons. I had seen one at Josey Ranch in August but seeing 2 caused me to wonder if they had hatched nearby. They both were looking for breakfast in the shallows. These birds will probably be migrating to south Texas (or further south) soon. Or maybe these birds were only at Josey Ranch as a rest stop during their migration.

Both the Great Egret and one of the Little Blue Herons were hunting next to each other at one point! The image shows the relative size of the two birds.

Carrollton Yard – September 2023

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There were no 100-degree days during the visit to my parents in Carrollton TX in late September; the yard was recovering – coping much better with the highs in the 90s. The sprinklers were able to make up for the lack of rain. The orange spider lilies were beginning to bloom. They were part of the landscaping in my sister’s house purchased over 30 years ago; she has propagated them into several other family yards. The red yuccas are still making seed pods, but the ratio has shifted to mature (and open) pods; those plants were the start of red yuccas in other yards as well.

We cut some of the spider lilies to enjoy inside. I did some high key photography of them – the vase in a window to create the bright background behind the flowers.

Zooming – September 2023

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The beauty of the early morning in Texas - Hagerman and Josey Ranch and my parents’ yard….the wildness of Shaw Nature Reserve (near St. Louis MO) in the early afternoon…the joys of nature in my neighborhood (Nixa MO). These are the locations where my selections of zoomed images for September were made. The month was very much between summer and fall – starting hot and getting a bit cooler as the month progressed, still very green but the occasional beginning of fall color. Enjoy the September slideshow!

More Used Puzzles

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The county just north of where I live is more populous and their Friends of the Library sale was a lot larger – held in a building of the county fairgrounds. They filled the large building with tables loaded mostly with books but there were some CDs and a few puzzles/board games. I bought the best of the 500-piece puzzles to take to my parents – 17 boxes that contained 28 puzzles…for the bargain total of $52! I was grateful that my husband went with me to help get them into bags…through checkout…and into the car. I’ll be taking them to Carrollton in a few days….adding them to the stack I created last month (probably a little reduced with my parents finishing some of them). They enjoy having lots of puzzles to choose from!

In the 1990s, I went to used books sales…and staggered out with so many books I could hardly lift my bags. But now I am not tempted. I read eBooks…and for things like planning travel, I do searches to get the most current information rather than buy dated books. It felt a little strange to go to a large used book sale and buy nothing at all. My husband was not tempted either.

Carrollton Yard – August 2023

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Weeks of 100+ degree temperatures in Carrollton, TX were hard on the yard/garden. Frequent watering helped. Still - the hydrangea that is usually very lush green and blooming is drying out – hopefully it will come back from the roots next year.

There is still a lot of green in the garden areas of the yard. Crape Myrtles seem to thrive in the high heat if they get enough water.

The naked lady lilies are almost done for the season. My favorite picture of the morning was one of the last flowers – full of water droplets from the sprinklers.

There is a lot of seed production too. The red yuccas look as they always do but other plants seem to have more than the usual seeds…maybe a good strategy to survive to grow another year.

There was a large spider in the flower bed near the front door – a female Argiope aurantia (yellow garden spider). The first time I saw it, all was quiet on the web.

The next day, the spider was feeding on something! There were a few droplets of water from the sprinklers too. The web seemed to be very sturdy – and built in a good place.

Overall, attention to watering (sprinkler system and supplement in key areas) has sustained the yard. Many in the neighborhood look thoroughly dry…and dying. If this is what the summers will be like in the area from now on – then landscaping will need to change significantly.

Josey Ranch – August 2023

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The low temperature of the day was in the 80s…first thing in the morning. Josey Ranch Park (Carrollton, TX) just after sunrise was the most comfortable it would be for the day. The water level in the largest pond was low – the cattails no longer standing in water, lots of dirt ‘beach’, cracks in the soil along the banks, soil pulling away from the sidewalks.

The ducks were maturing. The only male ducks I saw were ones that were just growing their adult plumage.

The two swans were on the opposite shore where the water was a little deeper.

A group of killdeers were feeding on recently exposed mud. The pond was going to shrink more with temperatures still soaring above 100 degrees almost every day and no rain.

A flock of pigeons welcomed the morning from the roof of the Senior Center.

A Great Egret was looking for breakfast but I didn’t see it find anything.

I headed over to the pocket prairie. It must get watered occasionally but there were still big cracks in the paths.

A few plants were blooming.

Around the smaller pond, there was a tree that looked like it had fall foliage although it might have been more sinister – a tree so heat stressed that the leaves (or maybe the tree) was dying. A great blue heron was under the tree - looking toward the water for breakfast.

The was a hot morning and I opted to head back to the air conditioning rather than do more walking!

August Road Trip

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My monthly trip to Carrollton TX was warped because it was so hot. I took the shortest possible rest stops on the drive down – didn’t make the usual stop at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge because the temperature was already over 100 degrees. I did stop to buy some barbeque brisket to enjoy the next day with my parents (reheating rather than needing to cook).

Since I didn’t stop at the Texas Welcome Center – my sister’s picture of her beautyberry had to suffice as the documentation for what the plants look like in August.

On the way home the temperature was a little milder. It was in the low 70s when I left to drive back home at 6 AM! There was a full moon that I photographed when I got out of the car to close the garage door using the keypad.

The day was great for soaring birds. I saw two large kettles of turkey vultures– swirling around and around…upward and then gliding down – along the highway between McAlester and Tulsa OK.

Josey Ranch Feathers – July 2023

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There is an area at the edge of the smaller pond at Josey Ranch (Carrollton, TX) that seemed to have more feathers. Maybe birds tend to preen there…or maybe the breeze carries the feathers there – either on the water surface or into the grass. Many of them seem to have a lot of down rather than being flight feathers. Some look very fresh with all the parts neatly zipped…still the way they were when maintained by the bird. Others have been on the ground long enough to be bedraggled. Most of them are white although there are some brownish tones in some.

Most of these pictures were taken from the same spot! Using the optical zoom on my Canon Powershot SX-70 HS on a monopod…I simple turn all around to get the feathers visible in every direction. It was still within the magic hour after sunrise…. lots of good light to highlight the feathers and their background. I like the structure of the feathers – the gentle curves – the delicate wisps of down – the magic of birds.

Josey Ranch Plants – July 2023

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Some plants of note at Josey Ranch (Carrollton, TX).…noticed while I was looking at birds….

In the garden between the big pond and library/senior center – I realized there were quite a few beautyberries. Most of them were doing great. There was one that was wilted (as was the redbud tree growing near it). I guessed that the sprinkler system was not working properly. Even native plants are challenged by days and days (maybe weeks and weeks) of 100+ temperatures with very little rain!

In the Pocket Prairie area – the sunflowers were still growing very well.

There was a surprise zinnia. Not sure why it was there with the native plants but it was growing quite happily.

In the area just outside the Pocket Prairie, there where cracks in the sod/soil and some strange features. At first, I thought they were roots but now I am not sure.

Josey Ranch Birds – July 2023

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It was over 80 degrees in Carrollton, TX in July first thing in the morning (every day I was there it climbed quickly to over 100 degrees!), so I made my visit to Josey Ranch just after sunrise. It’s also a time of day when there is a lot of bird activity. I checked the larger pond first. There were lots of raucous grackles…I managed to see a juvenile just as it hopped from the boardwalk to the grass.

Out in the shallow water was a Snowy Egret and

A Great Blue Heron in deeper water.

The Little Blue Heron was the high point of the morning. There was an adult in the water. I saw it catch a fish and then a crayfish in the short time that I was watching!

The Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret crossed paths – making for a great image to compare their relative size.

In the shallows near the cattails there was a juvenile little blue heron. It always is a bit of a surprise to see this white bird…think it is a snowy egret at first and then realize that it is not (beak wrong color and shape, legs wrong color). There appear to be some blue feathers near the tail and around the eye already.

In the smaller pond, there were more Snowy Egrets

And a Great Egret.

I was trying to see if there were growing up ducklings. They grow so fast that they are already almost adult size; judging from the sheer numbers of ducks, some of them must be the two sets of ducklings I saw in June.

Overall – a good birding morning!