An adorable regal jumping spider. It has the cutest brown booty.

Some beetles making more beetles.

Lots of bark lice all jumbled together. They are black with yellow stripes. Called tree cattle which is so funny

The dreaded summer insect, the deer fly. It has cool eyes, but it is a biter that I'd rather never see.

Enjoyed a morning of birding on Sunday. ☺️ As you can see, I am not a good birding partner...always looking for the little things. I might have gotten a bit too excited about finally seeing these 'tree cattle' bark lice. #arthropods #texasmasternaturalist #txstateparks #insects #spider #nature

A cute little yellow beetle with black spots.

A gorgeous beetle in shades of yellows and browns.

A black tiger beetle. So dang fast.

Sycamore tussock moth caterpillar. It looks like it's having a bad hair day. White and spiky with a few streaks of yellow.

Cool 🆒 insects at the park today! It was way too hot but I uploaded some new-to-me iNat observations! Yay! #texasstateparks #sheldonlakestatepark #htx #insects #beetles #moths #caterpillar #texasmasternaturalist

My hand, with a lovely blue dasher dragonfly perched on it.

My hand, with a lovely blue dasher dragonfly perched on it.

Having a Disney Princess moment today. I love these guys. #dragonflies #insects #htx #texasmasternaturalist

A super colorful insect with red and shades of orange. It is a nymph of a stink bug I think.

A beautiful red and black beetle. Almost all black with 4 red spots, two large, two small, on its back.

A super cute eyed click beetle. It's shades of black and white with big eyespots on its head.

A super fuzzy moth with lots of orange hair.

Some of my favorite finds from #citynaturechallenge. I ended up getting sick and missing half of it, but I had a blast when I did get out and managed to log 700 observations and ~350 species. #inaturalist #texasmasternaturalist #insects #htx

A shiny black and purple beetle with a long body.

A green stink bug with maroon edges and a little white heart on its back.

A dragonfly with a white body and black and clear wings.

A cute tortoise beetle. Orange with black freckles and antennae.

Some of our fun finds volunteering yesterday. I swear nature hikes are keeping me sane right now. So thankful the insects are back in full force. #texasmasternaturalist #arthropods #beetles #insects #bugs #iNaturalist #iNat #setx

A brown stink bug, think brown triangular, sitting on my finger. He was not invited, but...

A groundselbush beetle larvae. It's a shiny metallic caterpillar shaped insect.

A cute little brown spotted leaf beetle. He's like a rectangle with a head, legs, and antennae.

A gorgeous and bestest butterfly called a common Buckeye. It is brown/white/orange with some cool a heck eyespots.

Soooooo happy the insects are finally back!!! I was getting so tired of birds. 😆 They are my winter fun, but give me the insects any old day! (Although I did get to add Northern Parula to my life list this week). #texasmasternaturalist #insects #bugs #nature #texas #iNaturalist

Large gray and white bird standing in shallow water. It strongly resembles a dinosaur. 😆

Spent the morning volunteering as a #texasmasternaturalist. This giant dinosaur was our first bird sighting of the day. They look so prehistoric. #birds 🪶 #texas #naturewalk

What is the monetary value per one hour of volunteer work for a Texas Master Naturalist?🤔

#naturegirl #texasmasternaturalist #volunteersmakeadifference #volunteers #BlueskyBahais

Don’t know how long I had mud on my face. Lol!

Dream Team!

1 load of probably a dozen.

Mud shoes.

Muddy mess today, but we accomplished a lot! Removed dead & invasive shrubs. I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to get rid of invasives and make room for future native plants.☀️🤸🏻‍♀️

#naturegirl #nativeplantproject #planobahaicenter #texasmasternaturalist #BlueskyBahais

Egret. We also saw ducks and signs of hawk activity.

Limestone

American elm.

Bois d’Arc

My TX Master Naturalist neighbor and I explored a bit of forest in our neighborhood. We started identifying trees, shrubs, grasses. Planning to walk neighbors thru there for Earth Day to clean up & learn about its benefits.☀️🤸🏻‍♀️ #naturegirl #inaturalist #texasmasternaturalist #earthday #BlueskyBahais

Attended my 1st day of my 14 week course of becoming a master naturalist in my chapter in Texas. I’m super excited to see where this new path will lead me down. #masternaturalist #texasmasternaturalist #ecocareisselfcare

A large gray bird with long legs and a long beak.

I finally have a good heron pic to add! I see so many awesome ones and am always jealous. This cute dinosaur was beside the road when I turned into the area I was going birding yesterday. #birds #texasmasternaturalist #texas #trnwr

A brown pelican in the water. The reflections on the water almost look like a sunset with yellows and pinks.

A dark brown bird, a grackle, sitting on a metal pole.

A black bird, a grackle, sitting on a wooden fence.

Had a nice morning out birding. We saw an American kestrel, an adorable blue-gray gnatcatcher, tons of cormorants, some blue-winged teals, American pipits, etc. We also saw some more common birbs and a bazillion yellow-rumped warblers. 🪶 #birds #texasmasternaturalist

What’s the Traditional Gift for Your Sixteenth Anniversary? I didn’t look it up, so I’m not sure what the official gift is. But, according to my friends Tarrin and Teddy, the gift is a nice rooster ( as opposed to a mean one). As-yet unnamed rooster. The ro…

Saving a lonely rooster and documenting doomed plants. That’s a fun day. #Texasmasternaturalist #inaturalist #roosterrescue

thehermitsrest.blog/2024/12/03/w...

New here. Politically moderate, news junkie, former PR pro and professor, manic college basketball fan of #BBN, certified #Texasmasternaturalist, nature lover, cat lady, musician, foodie, community and church volunteer.