October Observations

October is a Perfect Month

Not hot, not cold, or maybe a little of both. It's even rained.Tourists are gone, Winter Texans are arriving, festivals are starting, islanders are happy. We are contented.

Dragonflies Have Arrived

Adam Rose, famous for his amazing photos you
may have seen, took this splenda shot.

Some sort of dragonflies are always around, but October is the time the big ones, whose names I've not looked up, arrive in large numbers.The air has been full of these passionate pilots looking for a little action. It's hard to tell if the purpose of their aggression is the joy of life, the desire to stun a mate into submission, or to attack competition, but it feels quite violent to observe. Bashing head-on at 40 mph makes quite a crash, and feels it, too, when I happened to step in the path of one of those giants. What fun otherwise to stand in the midst of the passion playing out all around me.

Monarchs Have Arrived

This isn't one of our monarchs, who are too quick
for me to focus on, but ours look identical to it.

The Monarchs have arrived and I was seeing at least one every time I looked over from this screen and out a window. Two weeks ago (when I first wrote this line, thinking I'd publish more quickly than I have), I saw two in the time it took to write that previous sentence. And three more as I wrote the next one. I've watched them intentionally pass by the roses, the Mist flowers, the Mexican ruellias. Then they see the milkweed and they're done. They take a long drink, flap to the next flower, then another, and then rise in the air to locate the next milkweed. They work their way around the yard to each bunch, then to the front for the bunches they find there. So satisfying to know these beauties can find us as they navigate this long, long island on their long journey south.

Blackbirds Have Arrived

Our pseudo-blackbirds, grackles, are here all year, entertaining and irritating. They're attractive, but their voices aren't so great, though Ray seems to enjoy squawking back at them in the yard. Then suddenly, the Red-wing blackbirds arrived on the 8th and put them to shame. Smaller, shorter legs and tails, and, oh, their voices. I heard the flock coming and leaned out to look. The flock was landing in the cattails in waves till there were several dozen. Of course, some of them took flight again by the time I managed to find my phone. This is a view from my office window. They've stayed with us all month, and who could blame them as they enjoy their wait for the zillion of silver leaf sunflowers to go to seed.

The plants in front are Padre Island mist flowers (Conoclinium betonicifolium), mixed with various grasses.

This Month's Favorite Native: Passion Flower (Passiflora foetida)

On an evening trek through Port Aransas' Charlies' Pasture, my step-son, Adam, and I came across this wonderful vine. It won the people's choice award of the week for its beauty, intricacies, and charming carnivorous nature. 

The rattlesnake won second place.