{"id":824,"date":"2015-09-23T10:25:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=824"},"modified":"2016-03-10T00:37:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-10T06:37:30","slug":"nature-writes-her-own-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=824","title":{"rendered":"Nature Writes Her Own Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Shouldered Hawks<\/h3>\n

Last Sunday, I planned\u00a0to spend the morning discovering fall migrants–the warblers, orioles, hummingbirds, etc. that birders all over Texas reported daily for the past week.\u00a0I didn’t have much luck with that plan, though. \u00a0Instead, Sunday’s story was about larger birds. \u00a0Red Shouldered Hawks patroled at Little Piney all day. \u00a0I saw them near the house; I saw them by the lake; on the ground, in a tree– almost every which way I turned. \u00a0When I didn’t see them I heard their cries.<\/p>\n

It took me awhile to make the connection, but I assume the small birds were playing it quiet and safe while the radar\u00a0eyes of hawks scanned Little Piney for prey. \u00a0The hawks endured\u00a0my company until I got too close for hawk comfort. Sometimes they scolded me as they flew off.<\/p>\n

Two hawks perched on this tree as I \u00a0approached. \u00a0Disturbed, the pair\u00a0left something white on the short branch to the left. \u00a0I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of prey they dropped there, but it was gone when I walked by an hour later.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/a>
Red Shouldered Hawk prey left on a short branch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

.<\/p>\n

This sun-struck Red Shouldered Hawk kept an eye on me by the lake.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/a>
Red Shouldered Hawk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A watchful hunter perched high in the pine canopy.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/a>
Red Shouldered Hawk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Great Blue Heron<\/h3>\n

Earlier in the morning Ken\u00a0and I launched the canoe with passengers aboard–twenty- month- old Fisher, and his mom, Nissa. \u00a0As we embarked, blue mist rose off the lake and clung to the shore. \u00a0Just around the second bend appeared\u00a0the graceful\u00a0form of a Great Blue Heron in the haze. \u00a0He stood still and alert as the canoe slid forward, and I\u00a0clicked a dozen photos before he flew.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/a>
Great Blue Heron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ending a short round trip a half hour later, we found the beautiful bird back at\u00a0Little Piney in the shallows near the dam. In this lucky photo,\u00a0he trails water\u00a0as he lifts into flight. \u00a0Again he allowed us to admire him for a nice long minute or two before leaving.<\/p>\n

Is this the same bird that shared only a startle rear aerial view\u00a0just four\u00a0weeks\u00a0ago, now grown accustomed\u00a0to us; or has a friendlier heron taken his place? \u00a0I like to think he’s the same bird, and that he lives with us at Little Piney.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/a>
Great Blue Heron at Little Piney, Bastrop TX Lost Pines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Spider’s Life<\/h3>\n
\"Egg<\/a>
Egg sac of Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Argiope aurantia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Argiope aurantia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Black and Yellow Garden Spider,\u00a0Argiope aurantia, <\/b><\/i>Is a common sight at Little Piney. \u00a0This lovely weaver has spun a silk egg sac and attached to an outer wall. \u00a0 Sadly, she will die soon now that she has laid her eggs. \u00a0The young spiders hatch in the fall but \u00a0remain tucked into the silk sac until they immerse in spring–unless a lizard dines on them of course. \u00a0The question comes to mind whether we should move the sac of orphaned spiders to a safer place than a bare white wall; then I remember that nature writes her own story. \u00a0I leave the lovely weaving where it hangs alone as if on a \u00a0gallery wall.<\/p>\n

Update: \u00a0March 10, and the sac of spider eggs is still hanging on the wall. \u00a0Mama spider didn’t day\u00a0wishing a few days, I had expected. \u00a0She was around a least a few weeks before she vanished.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red Shouldered Hawks Last Sunday, I planned\u00a0to spend the morning discovering fall migrants–the warblers, orioles, hummingbirds, etc. that birders all over Texas reported daily for the past week.\u00a0I didn’t have much luck with that plan, though. \u00a0Instead, Sunday’s story was about larger birds. \u00a0Red Shouldered Hawks patroled at Little Piney all day. \u00a0I saw themContinue reading<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,22,41],"tags":[11,5,32,30,37,160,34,6,7,161],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bastrop-lost-pines-birds","category-bastrop-lost-pines-nature","category-lost-pines-life","tag-bastrop-birds","tag-bastrop-tx","tag-bastrop-tx-lost-pines","tag-bastrop-wildlife","tag-birding-bastrop-tx","tag-garden-spider","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-lost-pines","tag-red-shouldered-hawk","tag-spider-egg-sac"],"yoast_head":"\nNature's Story Life Cycle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Although my 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