Spotted on a pier, South Padre Island, Texas March 2019
Yeah, because defacing a public space with graffiti is totally fine. But heavens, no, not gum!
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Erin
Coddiwompling through life, guided by my love of nature and insatiable curiosity.Wasplike Wiggling
This small odonate is a female Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly (Perithemis tenera). This species measures just under an inch and mimics similarly sized wasps in order to avoid predation. In addition to being tiny and shy, her wiggling made it difficult for me to capture a good photo. Ah well, you get the idea.
Pooping Order
We’ve all heard of the natural phenomenon that is the pecking order. For Turkey Vultures along the Texas Gulf Coast, that hierarchy leaves a visible mark. Since the region lacks sizable trees, young, or tardy, or just plain unlucky vultures are forced to roost on lower limbs under the rest of their committee. Which means they often end up painted in feces, like this one I met recently. Poor bugger!
Defense Mechanism
While beautiful and fragile-looking, the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) is not to be trifled with. This species is unique in that it has glands on its abdomen that release a noxious odor when threatened, prompting birds to move on to other, less smelly prey. While the view from above is striking, I find the silvery spots on the underside equally alluring.
Lively Gray
The White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) is one aptly named bird! Compared to any of the other vireos that pale eye is incredibly distinctive. Though, to be finicky, I would call that color light gray or ash. A technicality supported by its scientific name as griseus is Latin for gray. It is a handsome little bird that I was very fortunate to get a good look at (they spend most of their time flitting busily through the shrubbery, took me fifteen minutes to even locate this one). Which is where the first part of their binomial comes into play, vireo means lively or full of vigor.
Proper Pollination
This American Bumblebee is demonstrating the correct entomophily (insect pollination) technique. As it wiggles into the flower to slurp some sweet nectar, pollen grains attach to the bee’s body. At the next flower, some of the pollen (aka plant sperm) will brush off, helping to fertilize that flower’s egg cells. Practicing safe plant sex leaves all parties satisfied!
Nectar Robber
This American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) is stealing from this little flower. Instead of the usual plant-pollinator interaction, where the pollinator earns a sweet treat in exchange for carrying off pollen and sharing it with other flowers, this bumblebee has cut to the chase.
Only in Texas
Texas is a proud state and Texans are fiercely loyal to Texas originals. Dr. Pepper and Shiner Bock are two such creations. Dr Pepper was invented by a pharmacist in Waco in the 1880s. While the Spoetzel Brewery, the oldest in the state, began producing Shiner in 1913. I enjoy each of these beverages (believe it or not, they both make a great ice cream float) but I think these products that I found in the store push the limit:
Rollin’ with the Flow
“Once was thought inside my head,
‘fore I reached thirty I’d be dead,
somehow on and on I go,
I keep on rollin’ with the flow”
This is one of the songs that I can’t listen to just once, I have to hear it at least three times before I can allow iTunes to shuffle on. I prefer Mark Chestnutt’s version as it reminds me of his concert at Gruene Hall a dozen years ago. It was a fun and intimate show in a historic venue. Mark was laid back, sharing stories and jokes in between songs. These lyrics resonated with me then and they still do, 
Mark Chestnutt, Gruene Hall, Gruene, Texas February 2007
Dollarweed
This tough, water-loving little plant is the bane of anyone who desires a perfect lawn down here along the Texas Coastal Bend. There are roughly 100 species of Hydrocotyles around the world, two of which are found in this area. At least the common name here is a bit of an inflation, elsewhere, they are known as pennywort.
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