Texas Wildflowers

It's no secret that Texas has the most beautiful wildflowers.  

We spend every Wednesday afternoon at a local park where all of the homeschoolers in the area get together for the kids to play and the moms to chat.  Today I just had to wander off on my own to visit this amazing patch of flowers.

There were Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta).

The beautiful Lemon Bee Balm aka Horsemint (Monarda punctata).

And my favorite wildflower, the Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella).

As I walked around the park, I noticed some amazing chalk drawings on the sidewalk.  This one says, "United We Stand...6 feet apart".

Here Rapunzel is locked away in her tower as she says, "Oh, you're tired of social distancing? That's cute."

The Incredible Hulk

And this infamous portrait of an Afghan girl.

Question Mark Butterfly

The kids found a butterfly in the backyard today.  It let them hold it for quite a while so they were able to study it closely and I was able to get some good pictures of it.

The undersides of the wings look like a dead leaf.  God designed this natural camouflage to protect it from predators.

The top of the wings are orange with black trim and four large black dots across the top part of each wing.

The butterfly didn't seem to be injured but he didn't try to fly away.  We thought maybe he was thirsty so we got a new kitchen sponge and soaked it in water.  Do you see the red line going from his mouth to the sponge?  That is his proboscis!  It is a tube-like appendage that they use like a straw to sip nectar, tree sap, or in this case, water.

It didn't take long to research what kind of butterfly this is.  It is called a Question Mark butterfly.  It can be identified by the colors and four dots on the top wings.  However, it gets its name from the little white "question mark" on the underside of its wing.  We had never heard of this butterfly before so it was really interesting to spend some time learning about him.

He flew away shortly after sipping the water and he seemed to be doing just fine when he left.

For more information about butterflies, check out these websites:

• North American Butterfly Association
• Audubon Butterfly Identification
• Butterflies of America

Fossil Hunting in Post Oak Creek

We went on an adventure to try a fossil hunting site that I just learned about called Post Oak Creek in Grayson County, Texas.  At one time this area was all under water and this is an easy site to access and hunt for fossilized shark teeth and other fossils of marine life that date back to the Great Flood (or the Cretaceous period which is believed to be 60-145 millions years ago). 

I am proud that my kids are up for exploring new places with me, even if they dress fancier than any explorer would ever consider dressing.  I love this little girl so much!

The site is about an hour from our house but we also had to stop at Tractor Supply to pick up rain boots since we were going to be walking through a creek.

The area that most people go to access the creek is at the Travis Street bridge in Sherman.  The path to the creek was well-worn.  There were several families and groups already in the creek on this day.

The creek was shallow and lined with trees.  It was easy to wade through but we were glad to have our rain boots.  

This is what we saw as we looked into the water.  Lots of little pieces of rocks and probably some fossils mixed in.

Nicholas quickly found a tooth!

The kids wandered down the creek but Stuart had a lot of success just staying in one area where wading in the creek wasn't necessary.

It is very helpful to bring some sieves or even kitchen strainers to help sift through the small gravel.  I got a set of 5 different size sifters from Amazon and the kids had fun sifting for fossils.

It is also good to bring some hand trowels and something to carry your finds in like a bucket or backpack.

More teeth!

Rachel was wearing rain boots but some of the spots in the creek were deeper than her boots were tall.  She didn't mind.  I always expect my kids to get wet if there is a creek around.

If you get tired of wading in the water to search the bottom of the creek, you can also search along the bank.  It all looks the same and there are lots of fossils throughout both of them.

We wandered down the creek some to explore.  The water got deeper as we walked and at times the bank disappeared so we were limited in how far we could walk.  It was a nice little hike and we searched for fossils all along the way.

When we get home from fossil hunting, we always clean our finds and spread them out on a towel to dry.  Here is an overview of our collective bounty.  I was able to ask some members of the Dallas Paleontological Society for help in identifying some of these.  I'll post their comments below in quotes.

We found more teeth than we have ever found on a fossil hunting trip!

Stuart had the coolest find of the trip.  It looks like a vertebrae of some kind.  "It doesn't look like the typical vertebral body that is usually found.  I am thinking it could be an intact neural arch from a fish vertebrae without the vertebral body.  If so that would be a fairly rare find.  Nothing of great value or anything, but rare because these parts are fairly fragile and rarely survive.  When they do, they are usually still attached to the vertebral body."

I don't know what these two things are.  I still need to research them.

We thought this might be some type of a vertebrae but someone from the Dallas Paleontological Society thinks it is an oyster fragment.

The piece below is "from the Kamp Ranch limestone.  It is the 2nd layer from the top of the Eagle Ford group.  It underlies the Arcadia Park formation.  It looks like a possible ichnofossil aka trace fossil from a burrowing creature.  My personal belief from personal observations in the field is that it is the trace burrow of a bivalve."  Note: I think of a trace fossil as a fossilized evidence of a creature's movement through or across a substance.  It is different than a fossilized impression of the creature's actual body.  A burrow is the remainder of a tunnel that a creature created in the ground or sea floor.  Burrows are trace fossils.

I really thought this piece below looked like a piece of bone.  But two DPS members agreed that is is a burrow cast in limestone.  Not as exciting as a bone but still amazing to me to find something like this.

This piece of bone has a clean cut so it is probably from a modern cow from a slaughterhouse that is up the creek.

The following is "a fragment of an Eagle Ford septarian nodule.  Looks to be largely calcite in yellow to cream.  The brown, root beer colored crystals may be aragonite."

The following is a cluster of Bellaplicata oysters.

This piece below is a mystery.  It could be man-made but it is too light to be concrete.  Someone from the Dallas Paleontological Society said, "I don't think it is concrete.  It see a fragment of a Pectin bivalve.  Probably an off layer of Kamp Ranch Limestone."  The line through the middle could be a burrow from some kind of small critter.   I don't know what it is but it is interesting looking.

The easiest access to Post Oak Creek and the way we entered was in Sherman on Travis Street where it crosses the creek.  Park on the road near Bob's Muffler Shop and Danny's Paint and Body Shop.  This is a well-known spot for fossil hunting and cars park here everyday.  The people in the town don't seem to mind at all.  You will see a path going down to the creek.  There is one steep area to get down to the creek but it wasn't too difficult.  I would love to see pictures of your fossil finds if you go!

Feeling Stressed? Get Outdoors!

We have been staying home for most of March and we needed to get out of the house.  But we still wanted to avoid being around other people since we just aren't sure how easily coronavirus is transmitted.  So we decided to keep to ourselves and go on a family bike ride down to the duck pond.  When I'm stressed I just want to get outside and explore.  There are many studies that show how the great outdoors can help with stress management.  Check out this article, How Being Outdoors and Getting Active Impacts Stress Management.  It is a great way to get us all out of the house, soak up some immune-building Vitamin D, get some exercise, and get a breath of fresh air. 

We made the ride to the pond and got off our bikes for a while to enjoy the scenery.  These "ducks in a row" made me smile. 

My teenager who used to love being in front of the camera now rolls his eyes at Mom taking pictures of him.

But Little Bit still smiles for Mommy.

I loved that someone had set up a small community pantry of items on the picnic tables.  The signs say "If you are out, take some.  If you have extras, leave some."  There were various food items and the highly coveted toilet paper.  What a wonderful blessing for the neighborhood!

We decided to keep riding.  We often go to the end of this particular trail and take a break at the bench.  I first found this spot about 15 years ago when I was walking with Nicholas in a stroller.  We used to stop here and I would let him out of the stroller to feed him a snack while we sat together on the bench.

A beautiful dandelion!  While these are typically considered to be weeds, they are actually a very edible herb.  The leaves and roots have medicinal qualities.  They contain anti-oxidants and they also reduce inflammation, cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure.  The roasted roots can be used to make a great alternative to coffee.  Our local farmers market actually sells dandelion leaves next to the lettuce in the produce section.

We kept riding until we made it to Fish City Grill.  

The restaurant's dining area was closed but we were able to go in to place an order for takeout.

It was sad and almost eerie seeing the restaurant so empty and unused.  I'm sure their business and so many other restaurants are really hurting during all of this.

We were able to use their restroom and wash our hands.  I love their sign about washing your hands!

We each ordered a cup of gumbo.  Oh it was so delicious.  Now that is Cajun comfort food.

Time to head back home.

On the way back, we stopped and played in a creek that we love.

It made me happy to look at the buds and new growth on the plants as if it was reminding me that this virus will soon pass and the shut downs will be over and we will all be able to get back to normal life with a brand new outlook and a fresh start of our own.

Boys always love playing with sticks.  As they get older the sticks just get bigger.

And they must be used as a tool to make a big splash!

If a big stick was fun then a whole tree might be even better....

I know it is hard to read the chalk writing in this picture but it says, "The whole country would be tested by morning if Chick-fil-a was running the drive thru testing centers".

I love the shirt Stuart wore today.  Our church gave it to him to wear when he baptized Rachel.  We could all use a little Hope these days.  

Notice the little blessings all around you and you will soon find joy and hope in your heart again. 

If you are feeling stressed and anxious, take some time to go outside.  Here are some publications and research studies which support the idea of Nature Therapy for healing the body and mind:

• Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy (research study)
• Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (book)
• Using Nature as a Therapeutic Partner (article in Counseling Today)