Odd Mexican Hat Flowers

While walking our dogs recently, I noticed a Mexican Hat with an odd flower, beside our road.

It looked like multiple flowers glued together. The plant had several of these, the widest containing about 11 normal flowers. The stem was also wider than normal and looked like a flat ribbon rather than the usual round stem. These photos show this one.

You can see the normal flowers from the same plant. They have a single cone and round stems.

The others I observed had about 3 and 6 conjoined flowers, although counting them is a bit difficult. This photo show these. The 6 conjoined flowers are near the center of the photo and the 3 conjoined flowers are below it, near the edge.

There were other Mexican Hat plants around the one with the odd flowers, but I didn't see any other funny ones.

I did a little searching on the web and found the term fasciation or cresting. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasciation. Fasciation can be caused by mutation, bacteria, parasites, or chemical damage.

I thought that's what this was, but I'm not a biologist. I posted to our Hays County Master Naturalist Forum to get confirmation from our experts. One of our members, who is a retired biologist, confirmed it and said biologists refer to them as teratologies. Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development.

I can rule out the use of herbicides or pesticides as the cause of this example. We've owned the property for 15 years and have lived on it for 8. The only agricultural activity on the property and in the vicinity is cattle grazing. I think this one falls under the category of random mutation.

It's apparently rare and I've been looking for other examples with no success.

Have you ever seen anything like this? Please let me know if you spot one!

Black and white versions of hike photos

My favorite part of the Hill Country Photography Club meetings is the critique section. Members submit photos for critique by the other members. I find it an invaluable way to get feedback on my photography and I've learned much. It's also great to see what other people are doing.

Here are two of my photos I had critiqued at the last meeting. They are both versions of photos which I posted last time.

First, the Whitemouth Dayflower:

Next, the Black-eyed Susans:

Making the images black and white emphasizes different aspects than the color versions. You get a better impression of the shapes, forms, and textures. It certainly provides a different way to appreciate nature.

Perhaps you can play "find the differences" and see what else I did besides the black and white conversion!

Take A Hike!

If you can, take a camera, too!

That's what I did one recent morning. I wasn't out long, about an hour. Here are a few photos of what I saw.

Just as I was starting, before I even left our driveway, I saw this small lizard. It's a ground skink, Scincella lateralis, about 6 inches long. It was warming itself on the pavement and didn't run away when I approached.

Here's a photo of a Whitemouth dayflower, Commelina erecta. It was growing in the dappled shade of some trees and still had a bit of dew on it. It actually has 3 petals - the 2 large blue ones and a small white one in between and below. That might be the origin of the name.

Next, I came across a woolly caterpillar. The photo isn't taken from the best angle, but I didn't want to disturb the caterpillar. I haven't been able to identify it, so any help would be appreciated. We've seen several of these recently, so I'm quite curious to learn what it is.

This is a tiny lace cactus, Echinocereus reichenbachii. It's only about one inch in diameter and was growing by itself among some rocks. I normally see them in groups or clumps, so this lonely specimen was interesting. I'm fascinated by the regular, geometric symmetry of the needles.

As I was walking along a dirt road, I saw these animal tracks. The ground was a bit soft from recent rains and you could clearly see the path the animal had taken and which I was inadvertently following. I can't identify the animal, but I suspect a coyote or a fox. As before, I would appreciate any help.

This little starburst is Mountain Pink, Centaurium beyrichii.

Here's a Narrowleaf yucca, Yucca glauca. The flowers are at the end of a 4 to 5 foot spike. This year, because of all the rains, many yuccas are flowering, but most I've seen have the flower spike eaten by white tailed deer long before the blooms open.

There are many Black-eyed Susans, Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima, in bloom right now. They tend to occur in large groups, covering a big area, and forming dense patches. These grow in the full sun.

The Winecups, Callirhoe digitata, are also out, but are not nearly as common as the Black-eyed Susans. You have to be alert to spot them, but their bright red wine color helps.

Here's another Black-eyed Susan, with an interesting color variation. While the ones I saw earlier had uniformly yellow petals, this one had brown patches at the petal base.

That's not a bad haul for a one hour hike! I've learned to slow down on my hikes and really look at what's around. It doesn't take much effort or fancy equipment, just awareness.

I hope you get a chance to go on your own hikes and observe nature's beauty.

Spotted a Feral Pig

We saw a feral pig outside our east gate this morning.

It was about 7am and Beau, our Great Pyrenees, started barking. He was looking out our kitchen window. Our other dogs joined in and were frantically trying to get out.

Mary looked to see what they were so excited about, saw the pig, and called me over.

He was just outside our east gate and was mottled with brown and black. He looked pretty big - I estimate at least 200 pounds and almost 3 feet high. He didn't stay very long so I didn't have time to get my camera. He walked away heading south.

Feral pigs are non-native and very destructive to the environment because they destroy habitat with their rooting. You can read more about their impact at the USDA invasive species database here.

A friend of ours who hunts on our property has taken several in the last few years. Texas Parks and Wildlife has an information page here. Basically, they are always in season and there are no bag limits.

Baby Wrens Update 2

Here are 3 more photos of the Carolina Wren chicks at days 8, 10, and 12. It's interesting to see them developing.

On day 8, their eyes are beginning to open and their feathers are mostly black. 

On day 10, their eyes are fully open and their feathers are turning brown.

On day 12, they're starting to look like adult wrens. You can see the white stripe above the eye. They're noticeably larger, too. The nest is looking pretty crowded. They are almost ready to fly.

The baby wrens finally fledged on Sunday, May 30th. By my reckoning, this was day 14 after they hatched, which agrees with what I read about their development time line.

My last photos of them were on Friday, May 28th or day 12. I did take a photo of the empty nest, just for completeness. I checked on them Saturday morning and they were still in the nest and also when I checked in the evening.

I checked on them Sunday morning and they were still there. When I checked in the afternoon, however, they were all gone.

I've seen them flying around inside and around the garage. It seems they're still learning their way because they look a bit clumsy, especially when landing. I also noticed that I'm seeing them less and less, so I think as they gain ability and confidence, they're roaming farther.

I'm glad I got to follow their development. It's something I never before had a chance to do and I learned quite a bit. Their average lifespan in the wild is about 6 years, and I'm sure I'll see them around.

Prickly Pear Water Purification

I came across this article in New Scientist about using Prickly Pear for water purification.

Cactus gum could make clean water cheap for millions

Basically, the cactus' mucilage causes the sediment and bacteria in water to join together and settle to the bottom. This promises to be a cheap and simple way to purify water in the developing world. 19th century Mexican communities used it this way.

We have prickly pear plants on our property and I mostly consider them a nuisance, just behind the Ashe Junipers, in terms of undesirability. I appreciate the reminder that what I consider to be a nuisance is mostly a human concept and that it all depends on your perspective. All plants are good and potentially useful. We just need to keep an open mind and appreciate all life.

In fact, Prickly Pear are also edible, both the pads (nopalitos) and the fruit (pears). It also has medicinal uses and can be used as an intoxicant.

When I get a chance, I'm going to conduct my own experiment and see how well it works.