More Hill Country Ranch Photos

Visiting Family in The Hill Country

My visit to the Austin,Texas area provided amazing vistas for viewing in the early morning.  My daughter and son-in-law live on a ranch in this beautiful hill country.  I was blessed to sit on the front porch early in the morning and drink in the beauty before me. The coffee was awesome also!  I captured the first photos here looking out over their property.  The morning light filtered through the trees showcasing the rugged bark. The sunrise on this morning was beautiful. My son-in-law raises exotic deer. Over the years peacocks,buffalo,elk and other animals have lived here. A zebra named Chloe is a new member of the family. They have a donkey named Action Jackson. He and Chloe are great buddies. The Belted Galloway Cattle were a gift for my daughter.  I enjoy seeing all the wildlife. My grandson took me for a ride to see the animals as he checked on them.This was great fun allowing me to get a closer look at the animals. One morning  I watched a "Pepe Le Pew" Skunk amble through the tall grasses as the morning light brightened.  He was going to his day home after a night out roaming around. I hope you enjoy the photos of my visit. Blessings to all!

Northern Harrier

 I have been extremely busy with the move to our new home. Blogging has been on the back burner!
 A couple of days ago my spouse and I were traveling to the old residence or coming back to the new, not sure which way we were going. Never mind the particulars, we saw a bird flying low to the field.  We both realized it was not our usual Red-Tailed Hawk. We usually see hawks or American Kestrels along our journey. This was actually the second time I had seen this bird in the same area. Today, my spouse of a birder, pulled to the side of the road so that I could capture these photos.  We did not identify the bird till later. This is the great part of getting a photo for positive identification. We enjoyed watching him fly so low and dip down and fly up with all that amazing gracefulness. I had seen Harriers before but never at such close distance. I had always seen them flying high overhead or seen their white from behind as they soared. I looked for him today as I passed the place we had seen him, not there.  Hope you enjoy the pictures. Blessings!

New Winter Visitors to the Yard

 On this particular day, an Eastern Towhee was partaking of the water in my birdbath.  This was the first time I had witnessed this bird in the yard in a very long time.  Some days are incredibly surprising as to which birds you might have the opportunity to see in your own yard.  I love this and I usually have the good fortune to see more than one new one on these special days.
The Red-breasted Nuthatch with his cute little chatter caught my eye flying from the tree to the seed feeder.  He brought friends and several entertained me flying back and forth so quickly my eyes were having a hard time following them. I had never seen him in the yard.
Later on the same day I looked out my window and on the tree snag sat a Wren. This was not my usual little Carolina Wren. I had never seen this wren at my house. This was a House Wren. It is a common wren seen in this part of the country but new to my yard. Wow! I felt so happy to be given the opportunity to witness new visitors.  I had read that other Bird watchers had Hummingbirds staying over in the winter but this had not happened to me. Well, What a surprise, a female Rufous Hummingbird stop by my flowers and nectar and decide to stay. She is still here. I see her most days. If you are a Birder and I assume you are interested in birds or you would not enjoy my blog, I call this day"awesome". Stay tuned for new birding adventures as my husband and I will be moving into a new area and new birds will come to visit.