Magical Morning at Little Piney At 7 am mist floats above the front field. Spiders’ webs fly like white surrender flags in the dawn. The webs hold hundreds of Lynx spiders’ eggs guarded by watchful mothers. Sparrows and Cardinals chip and sing in the tall fading field. A Lincoln’s Sparrow, just back for the winter,Continue reading
Category: Bastrop Lost Pines Birds
Birds of Bastrop Texas as seen and photographed at Little Piney, country home and wildlife habitat in the Lost Pines.
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Magical Morning at Little Piney
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Red-shouldered Hawk’s Crunchy Breakfast
Red-shouldered Hawk Sometimes all I see of the Red-shouldered Hawk is a dark shadow passing over the field, sometimes, a familiar shape disappearing at the edge of vision. She is in front of me, then behind me when I never saw her move. Sometimes, I turn around, and she is only feet away calm andContinue reading
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When I’m Birding It’s Totally Up to the Birds
It’s Totally Up to the Birds I have to confess, on my first few “birding walks” led by expert birders, I asked myself “Are they making this up?” Most of the time, I never saw the bird they pointed out. When I did, I saw a gray silhouette against the morning sky while the guideContinue reading
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Autumn’s Creeping in Slowly in the Lost Pines
Autumn’s Creeping In Slowly Autumn’s creeping in slowly this year in the Lost Pines. The elms leaves disappeared without any showy display of yellow. The invasive but lovely Chinese Tallows have yet to flame orange or red. Bird feeders in Bastrop County are hanging full in quiet yards, and the autumn birds are slow inContinue reading
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Painting Birds at Little Piney
Painting Birds After painting yet another landscape in June, I felt restless to try something new. I wanted to paint in a looser style, and I wanted to paint some birds! I pulled out my pastels for a change of pace and some favorite photos for references and got started. I collected some old acrylicContinue reading
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Yellow Warblers and Central Texans Singin’ in the Rain
Relief from Triple Digits Came with Rain! Just when we thought we couldn’t take it anymore, rain and cooler air both moved in over the weekend! What a relief. I spent much of the weekend outside on the porch or out in the rain with my rubber boots on. As the rain arrived, so didContinue reading
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August Heat Wave
New Trees When the heat index hits 110, it’s tempting to stay indoors, but chores and pleasure draw me outside at Little Piney. For one thing, I have young trees to water. In the early spring, we planted 9 trees or shrubs that produce fruit and berries for the birds. The Mulberry, Fig, Rusty BlackContinue reading
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Beauty Magnified–Zooming In On Birds
Zooming in on Birds Birds move fast. That’s why photographers often create a natural looking perch above a feeder, or play recorded bird sounds to lure a bird in front of the their tripod mounted camera. There’s nothing wrong with a tripod or staged bird photography but recorded bird calls interrupt the bird’s natural behaviors.Continue reading
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What’s New at Little Piney
Fresh Spring Photos from Little Piney Place your cursor over the image to see a description of what’s new at Little Piney.
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Spring Flies By Like a Butterfly
Spring at Little Piney Spring flies by like a butterfly–beautiful, colorful, swiftly gone. I know it’s not over yet, but in the flurry of over-scheduled days away from Little Piney, I feel a sense of loss. I didn’t have enough days with the Bluebonnets which are already going to seed, or with the Cedar WaxwingsContinue reading