Festus and His New Friends

       Time came when MyMrMallory purchased a forlorn parcel of land, dried up by the drought, overtaken by mesquite, abandoned.
     
       And on it, a horse fended for itself, all alone, finding fetid water to drink in the diminishing ponds, and some native grasses to eat, whatever could grow with little rain. Subsequently, Clay came upon the horse, and recognized it as one he had known on that old, abandoned ranch years ago. He had named the horse, "Festus," for its recurring festers.

       Clay brought his own horses to that abandoned parcel of land, and Festus joined them. They are a sight to see, for this city gnome, they always are. Today, they surrounded my truck as I visited them. How I wished to have some nibbles to give to them! Festus slowly approached, dear horse, and I promised myself to stop by the shop for some morsels to bring him.

This is Bird, I think, who began his life as "Thunderbolt," 

later changed to "Thunderbird," and finally to "Bird."

The colt Clay owns for his children to ride. 

I like the reflection of the sun bouncing from the silver paint on the hood onto its cheeks.

Sniffing for food in the bed of the truck, or just characteristically curious.

"Did you find any food?" "No, did you?"

They came to my window to sniff my hand.

And this is Festus, the golden horse shown below. 

He is in better shape now, under Clay's care.

The other horses treat him gently.

(Apologies for cutting their ears off; iPhone photo 

so I couldn't compose very well in the bright sunlight, unable to see the screen.)

Clasping-leaved Coneflower

    The name "clasping," means that the leaves "partially clasp the stem."

Ye Ol' Covered Up Barn

     While surreptitiously crouching around attempting to remain hidden from the Wilson's phalaropes, avocets, and Great Blue heron, I came upon a very, very old barn. At some time along the way, someone covered up the old wooden walls with corrugated zinc, preparing my canvas for today (who cleverly, if I may say so myself, carried my infrared camera along with my binoculars).

Texas Bindweed

Convulvulus equitans.

Goatsbeard

   

        Another lovely bloom at this time of year, the Goatsbeard, Tragopogon; my Wildflowers of Texas and my Horton's Third tell me that this flower was introduced from Europe, is native there, in North Africa, and in Asia, and that it has now become "wild" in the United States. 

Sandbell

Horned Lizard Among Flowers

Foxglove, page 290, Wildflowers of Texas, by Geyata Ajilvsgi. 

Sandy Brazoria, page 254, Wildflowers of Texas.

Powderpuff, page 248, Wildflowers of Texas; Pink Sensitive Brier, page 116, Texas Wildflowers, A Field Guide by Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller.

Green Milkweed, page 14, Wildflowers of Texas.

Prickly Pear, page 80, Texas Wildflowers, revised edition.

Hedgehog Cactus, page 70, Texas Wildflowers.

Crameria, page 254, Wildflowers of Texas.

Basketflower, page 306, Wildflowers of Texas.

The yuccas begin to flower.

       Near the plants shown above, I spotted a horned lizard, naturally, the only sojourn from my truck without my camera. After dashing to retrieve my camera, I returned to look for the horned lizard, but doggies and I spooked him under some yucca plants -- as we thundered up the hill, excitedly. Remembering General McArthur's words I say, "We shall return," camera in hand! 

       Also seen on this day: collared and prairie lizards.

Teals and Shovelers

Infrared Puffs of Clouds

A Long Way to Climb

        A tiny and white insect on the petal of a sunflower.

Beads of Moisture on a Sunflower

Images of the volunteer sunflower in my garden. 

Locoweed Look-a-like

   

Stiff-stem Flax

Owl's Mansion

      A pair of barn owls nest in the old house. Evidence points to several years, perhaps at least a decade, of them nesting there, in one of the closets. I checked in on them today. They have two nestlings now. Fortunately, Lila will send pictures to South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for advice on how to care for the owls while they grow and then can leave the house. For now, we put a chain and a lock on the gate to the property, and a No Trespassing sign. Note the mouse at mama owl's feet. Eek.

Blooming Bok Choy

     I knew already when I placed these bok choy on my floor for a photograph that I would not eat them for supper, choosing instead to continue to admire their blooms. As soon as I put them down, from seemingly out of nowhere, my twenty-two year old Dachsund -- that ol' bag of bones -- shot toward the bok chou, grabbed one and ran off with it, chewing as he escaped. I managed to salvage what he left for a photograph, below.

Chef Jose Andres

     In the iPhone photo above, I show a modified version of Chef Andres' tapa recipe, Garlic Shrimp and Catalan Spinach. I cherish eating locally grown foods, the spinach here, grown by Denny. 

And here is the recipe published by the Wall Street Journal in their Eating & Drinking section, Saturday/Sunday, 16-17 March, 2013:

6 T olive oil, plus extra for brushing bread

1 Golden Delicious apple, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 T pine nuts

4 T seedless raisins

10 ounces of baby spinach

Salt, to taste

4 cloves of garlic

5 chiles de arbol, crumbled

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined

5 T brandy

5 T lemon juice, plus 4 lemon wedges for garnish

4 slices of country bread, 3/4-inch thick

What to do:

1. Preheat broiler. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large sauté pan over high heat. Once hot, add apples and cook until caramelized on all sides, 2-3 minutes.

2. Add nuts and stir until lightly toasted, about 30 seconds. Add raisins and continue stirring until heated through, about 30 seconds.

3. Add spinach and toss until just wilted, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan form heat and season with salt.

4. Set a medium saute pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until it sizzles, about 30 seconds. Add chiles and cook1 minute, making sure garlic does not burn. Turn heat to high and add shrimp. 

5. Cook shrimp until they start to color, about 30 seconds. Add brandy and lemon juice to pan. Flip shrimp and continue to cook until they just curl, about 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and season shrimp with salt.

6 While shrimp cook, brush bread with oil and place slices under broiler. Toast both sides until golden, about 1 minute per side.

7. Serve shrimp and spinach with toasted bread and lemon wedge.

Clouds Again Over My Plane

      

        I flew for the second time a complex aircraft, and my mind felt overloaded a bit, but I know enough to take three deep breaths and persevere. MyNiceInstructor from Cobra Kai is sharp as a tack, and intelligent, with years of experience in flying behind him. It shows in the way he speaks during his lessons about flying. I have, sometimes, difficulty keeping up with him, but he remains patient with me, which encourages my passion to learn more about flying; and he makes the hardship of learning feel fun, the way it should be. 

        Here he is on television: Flight School Takes Off  (In the footage, that is the nose of my Zizortail they show.)

        

Volunteers in My Garden: Sunflower

When birds messily spill seeds on the ground and forget to retrieve them, 

life emerges, beautifully.

Rose Prickly Poppy

Note: Posted this image a month late. Lone rose prickly poppy in Archer County.

Mucky Weather and My Nephew

     The weather may prevent me from flying my little airplane to visit my nephew and watch him graduate from Texas A & M. When we do not have wings, we have wheels! With wings or on wheels, I will journey to see my nephew and the rest of my remarkable family.