Blog Blues

This venue features diminishing entertainment value.  Maybe, we should quit.  Yet maybe we shall keep plugging along, aimlessly.

Turns out, Crumby also wishes he could have gotten closer to the damsel or the light had been better.

Crumby is Seriously Aggrieved

Consider this habitat depiction!

Now, consider which member of  Class Aves might choose to dwell within this particular habitat depiction.   Did you guess some avian with rock in its common name?  Like maybe rock wren?

So like Crumby has been searching for spots around Stinky Valley where he could fluff up his Big Ass Year list and yet drive only a little ways as opposed to a long, long ways.   Crumby, during his search, hit upon that great favorite of rock hounds and Isoetes lovers, Enchanted Rock.

Ha!  The Enchanted Rock bird checklist features rock wren as a common breeding bird.  Can't miss that.  Plus, I need rock wren for my Big Ass Year semi-tome, Crumby figured.

Off Crumby headed, first navigating the merged Oak Hill plus Dripping Springs shitholes before he found the open road.  Mercy!  This bedroom community is almost as bad a shithole as Beecaves, Crumby complained aloud as he motored along.  Consequently, the motorcar drive west from Stinky Valley took awhile, hampered by a million moron motorists plus all the traffic lights. Mercy!  Why are so many of them headed west?

Once clear of Dripping Toilet, Crumby decided on the RM 1323 and Eckard Road shortcut.   It's shorter and I won't have to go through Fredericksburg.  Wunderbar dumbkof!  No old fat people in shorts.  So that's what Crumby did, drive that route.  But he still arrived at the Enchanted Rock, bird late.  And,  millions preceded Crumby.  Plus many of the mostly no damn good millions that preceded Crumby proved capable hollerers or yodelers, whichever.  In fact,  Crumby soon realized that the human whooping would go down as his  noisiest noise pollution visit to a State Natural Area, ever.  Yippee!  A new first.

Upshot.  Crumby can not recommend Enchanted Rock State Natural Area as a place to espy the rock wren.  Go to Pantex instead.  It's further,  but Pantex actually has rock wrens.  Plus, you could get irradiated!

red-eyed cowbird

Say!  I bet that lady bug featured below rode the truck over from Tejas east.  It's a dang immigrant alien maybe.

But moving along.    Today, Crumby headed over to the Foghorn, I mean Longhorn, Dam,  hoping to fluff up his Big Ass Year list some more with a shorebird or two.  A feeble hope. 

Yet despair not ye unworthy and  miserable Sodomites.   Or whomever.  Despite the near absence of the shore friendly disposed of Class Aves,  Crumby did well.   For example, check out this red-eyed cowbird, #219, a poor but adequate documentation photo..  The red-eyed cowbird is  fixing to excape through the chain link fence at the nothwesternmost ball field after being told it was fixing to get baked  into a pie along with three and 20 others.  Goodness!   Also, Crumby finally got pictures for a  Couch's kingbird and wood ducks.  Moving right along on this Big Ass Year.

Lifer Lady Bug

The Canon 400mm 5.6 is  the economy standard for Class Aves picture taking.  But what happens when an average naturalist like Crumby is sporting his economy L glass, and an important bug shows up.  Well.  If it's a big bug, OK.  But if it's a little bug then Crumby is met with a lens that close focuses at 3.5m.   Mercy! 

Nevertheless,  with no alternative  lens handy, Crumby was not to be denied when this lady bug alit on his running board.  Is this particular lady bug common in these parts outsdie the CB?   

Not too great, but we'll take it.