2023 at Josey Ranch

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I am starting a series of posts that feature slideshows of pictures accumulated during 2023 of some favorite places that I visit almost every month. This post about the ponds and Pocket Prairie at Josey Ranch in Carrollton is the first in the series.

The changing of the birds over the course of the seasons: northern shovelers, scaups, widgeons, and coots in the cold months…baby birds (like geese) in the spring and juvenile birds (grackles and little blue heron) later in the warm months. The birds around all the time are swans, great egrets, mallards, and great blue herons. Bluebirds, grebes and cormorants are not seen frequently….are a pleasant surprise when they are around.

Josey Ranch is an easy place for me to get a nature fix….and enjoy some photography too. Some of my favorite photos are from an early morning jaunt in the summer…the light around a great blue heron and a swan sleeping on the water…a special moment that created a different sort of image.

The flowers bloom in the warmer months although last summer many flowers cooked in the long period of very hot weather without any rain. In the fall – the dried husks of seeds/stems is often photogenic too.

Josey Ranch – August 2023

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The low temperature of the day was in the 80s…first thing in the morning. Josey Ranch Park (Carrollton, TX) just after sunrise was the most comfortable it would be for the day. The water level in the largest pond was low – the cattails no longer standing in water, lots of dirt ‘beach’, cracks in the soil along the banks, soil pulling away from the sidewalks.

The ducks were maturing. The only male ducks I saw were ones that were just growing their adult plumage.

The two swans were on the opposite shore where the water was a little deeper.

A group of killdeers were feeding on recently exposed mud. The pond was going to shrink more with temperatures still soaring above 100 degrees almost every day and no rain.

A flock of pigeons welcomed the morning from the roof of the Senior Center.

A Great Egret was looking for breakfast but I didn’t see it find anything.

I headed over to the pocket prairie. It must get watered occasionally but there were still big cracks in the paths.

A few plants were blooming.

Around the smaller pond, there was a tree that looked like it had fall foliage although it might have been more sinister – a tree so heat stressed that the leaves (or maybe the tree) was dying. A great blue heron was under the tree - looking toward the water for breakfast.

The was a hot morning and I opted to head back to the air conditioning rather than do more walking!

Josey Ranch Plants – July 2023

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Some plants of note at Josey Ranch (Carrollton, TX).…noticed while I was looking at birds….

In the garden between the big pond and library/senior center – I realized there were quite a few beautyberries. Most of them were doing great. There was one that was wilted (as was the redbud tree growing near it). I guessed that the sprinkler system was not working properly. Even native plants are challenged by days and days (maybe weeks and weeks) of 100+ temperatures with very little rain!

In the Pocket Prairie area – the sunflowers were still growing very well.

There was a surprise zinnia. Not sure why it was there with the native plants but it was growing quite happily.

In the area just outside the Pocket Prairie, there where cracks in the sod/soil and some strange features. At first, I thought they were roots but now I am not sure.

Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie – June 2023

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My original plan was to walk around the Pocket Prairie and take macro pictures with my phone. It was a good thing my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) since the morning was very breezy…too much for getting close shots with the phone. The optical zoom on the bridge camera was the only option.

The trash cans near the picnic table are Carrollton themed! Are they new this season? I don’t remember them from before.

The prairie area is full of May flowers setting seed and then the full summer flowers in bloom. I particularly enjoy the sunflowers (buds and flowers).

Across the pond from the Pocket Prairie – a Great Egret was looking for breakfast.

Maybe the morning I go in July will be less breezy and the macro plan will work….and there might be more insects too!

Ducklings

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On the same morning as I photographed the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at the Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie, I noticed some almost grown Mallard ducks on the nearby pond with their mom. There may have been more than four in the brood originally, but 4 surviving past the stage where turtles can drown them is wonderful to see. They looked good in the morning light.

On the shore I saw a female duck in some taller grass. She looked very alert…and soon I saw why.

Ducklings! They must have been the second wave of young this season. The little ones were very active and heading toward the water.

I took a video – observing the mother trying to keep the ducklings close to the shore…probably aware of the turtles lurking in the pond. It was a breezy day, and the ducklings didn’t always stay in a tight group! It is surprising how quickly they move….how they can maneuver through the tall grass and bob in water shallow enough that the mother is standing. There were 5 of them. I’ll look again for the group in late July which I will be back in the Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) area.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

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I saw scissor-tailed flycatchers flying along the roadside in my April and May road trips between Missouri and Texas. The bird is easily identified because of its long tail. I saw several in Oklahoma at first – to be expected since it is the the state bird. Then I saw several on the May morning I visited Hagerman. I could never photograph them because I was driving. I finally got lucky in June and spotted one getting breakfast the morning I went to the Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie in June.

The bird was sitting on a snag…periodically leaving to swoop over the grass…then would return to the snag. It was a breezy day and the long tail seemed to me a bit of a disadvantage; the movements of the bird to catch insects in flight were very dramatic. It was great to simply stand and watch the bird. Being able to finally photograph the bird was the highpoint of my morning!

Sunflowers

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The plant-of-the-month I chose for June is the sunflower. They’ll be blooming for most of the summer, but late May and June is when they begin. I saw them at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge near Sherman TX and at Josey Ranch’s Pocket Prairie. They are large plants…sometimes grow in groups…dominating prairie type spaces.

I like them from every perspective and maturity. Even on windy days, I can get zoomed pictures. I like the structure of the buds when they are green…and then when the yellow petals begin to peek through. The bud structure can still be seen in the back view of the flower. Sometimes the petals are wrinkle free…sometimes they look like crepe paper. The flowers turn toward the sun so it is not uncommon to have a plant full of flowers with brown centers in view….or the stem and petals extending from bud remnants of the back of the flower.

The plants attract insects…and later will provide food for birds.

There is a lot to like about the sunny sunflower!

Pocket Prairie and Josey Ranch – May 2023

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The Pocket Prairie at Josey ranch was blooming when I was there in May. The gardeners have worked hard to help it recover after last summer’s heat/drought. It will take a few years to fill in between the clumps that were planted new this year.

My favorites are the sunflowers. I like them from every angle!

The goslings that I noticed in April were in the same area in May. They have grown….and there are only 3 of the 5 left. Even though there are 2 diligent adults nearby, predators still take a toll. I wondered what the top predator would be in this urban park…maybe turtles…maybe unleashed dogs?

On the larger pond, there were mallard ducklings. There were 5 of them with a female. The males steer clear…seemed to be in all male groups.

The grackles were active and noisy.

They didn’t seem to disturb the great egret’s concentration as it searched for breakfast.

The swans were across the pond from where I stood. There seemed to be a lot of feathers on the shore. I wondered if the swans were molting or if something had attacked one of them.

I’ll be back in Carrollton by mid-June….looking forward to more sunflowers!

Pocket Prairie/Josie Ranch

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When I was in Carrollton, Texas in late April there were a lot of rainy days…but I managed a brief visit to the Josey Ranch area one morning. The Pocket Prairie area suffered last summer and the gardeners have done work to restore it this year. A bluebird was sitting on a post as I got out of my car…a great start to my visit.

A few flowers were beginning to bloom. I could tell that the rain garden area was planted to be better than ever.

When I retraced my steps toward the car, I noticed Canada Geese in the distance: a pair with 5 goslings! Hopefully everyone will give them space…avoid being attached by the parents!

The lake seemed relatively empty…between seasons. There was a Great Blue Heron preening in the shallows. The cattail area that had dried out last summer seems to be back to its normal watery condition.

Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie – December 2022

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The landscape views of the pocket prairie looked very wintry during the cold snap at Christmas this year. The Pocket Prairie is sleeping.

I switched into macro photography mode (with my Samsung Galaxy S10e)…and found a few blooms, wilted greens, and lots of dried textures. Can you spot the dandelion flower in the slideshow below? There was more than one even though the nighttime temperatures were in the 20s and the sunny day temperature when I was walking around the area was barely into the 40s. I noticed that the flowers were very close to the ground and wondered if there was a microclimate that was sustaining the dandelion growth.

I noticed that the gardeners of the Pocket Prairie had put cardboard under mulch; it’s a good way to reduce weed growth and improve the soil at the same time. Some of the mulch had blown or washed away making the cardboard visible in some places; if the cardboard is too dry, the microbes and bugs won’t find it very palatable. I’ll have to remember that issue since I am going to use cardboard as part of the prep for the area I’ll plant with native shrubs in my back yard!

(Side note – January 3 was my grandfather’s birthday…122 years ago. He died in the 1970s but I have lots of memories of him that always flare into my thinking in the days around January 3rd.)

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2021

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Half of July was at home in Maryland…and half was a road trip from Maryland to Missouri to Texas.

Wegmans. I celebrated being comfortable doing my own grocery shopping in the store (early morning….still masked). Maryland’s vaccination rate is high and the infection rate low (although trending upward). The pandemic has honed my appreciation of ordinary activities….things that were curtailed during the peaks of COVID-19.

Getting a haircut. Another ordinary activity that I didn’t do (or put off) during the pandemic. I wore my KF-94 mask and discovered that my stylist is South Korean (he commented…”this is a good mask, made in my country”).

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Starting the morning outdoors (on the deck). Last summer I developed an appreciation for being out on the deck in the early morning -  enjoying a light meal, reading or making a Zentangle tile. It is a little celebration at the beginning of the day.

Farmer’s Market. What a thrill to buy my favorite veggies from the Farmers Market. I love the changes in selection as the season progresses. Celebrating the ongoing harvest!

South Mountain rest stop encounter. One of the deprivations of the pandemic was causal encounters…so the trucker that I encountered at the vending machines during the first rest stop of my road trip was something to celebrate. A little conversation…a wonderful beginning for my travels.

Scenic drive through Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky. I enjoyed the 8 hour drive from my home in Maryland (between Washington DC and Baltimore) to Frankfort, Kentucky… a celebration of curvy highway through lots of forest…no traffic problems.

Springfield Botanical Garden. Celebrating hydrangeas, hostas and day lilies…on an early summer morning.

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Xeriscape Garden. A small, lush oasis within walking distance of my daughter’s house in Springfield! It’s another reason to celebrate their neighborhood.

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Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie in Carrollton, Texas. I celebrated the place looking more and more like a real prairie!

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Green herons. I saw three green herons at Josey Ranch Lake; probably one adult and 2 juveniles. They are so well camflauged – I always celebrate seeing these birds and three at one time was a special treat.

Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie – July 2021

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The Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie in Carrollton, Texas is a place I visit almost every time I am in the area (since I found in Spring 2019). It’s been interesting to see the place develop over the years. Last week when I visited in the morning – before the day got seriously hot – it seemed like it was mostly tall grass at first.

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Taking a closer look - there were wildflowers still blooming. Many also had seed pods too. They are hidden gems in the tall grass. There was a large rabbit that was on one of the paths, already in motion before I saw it. This small prairie surrounding by ball fields and tightly packed houses across the busy street is an oasis for more than the plants!

Here are some posts from previous visits to the Pocket Prairie:

April 2021

July 2019

April 2019

Pocket Prairie at Josey Ranch

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My morning walk at Josey Ranch (Carrollton, Texas) started at the Pocket Prairie which is easily accessed from the library parking lot. This is a great time of year for wildflowers. The grasses are high this year and make the wildflowers harder to see; on the plus side – the grasses probably protected the flowers from the colder temperatures over the past week. The insects still find the flowers when the temperatures get warm enough for insects to be active. I was disappointed that the only bluebonnets I saw were ones that has been cut by the weed eater during trail maintenance. There were probably more down in the grass that I missed. There were bluebonnets growing along the interstate from Tyler to Dallas, so they are probably not done with their season yet. I’ll go to the Pocket Prairie again next week.

I left my car parked near the Pocket Prairie when I walked over to the lake (to photograph birds). Along the way, I noticed the grackles all leaving the trees with noise of a train and positioned myself to get a picture of it (and some fishermen). Evidently the trains are not as frequently as they were in years past; I was in accidentally in the right place at the right time!

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Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie – July 2019

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The Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie has gotten taller since I visited back in April. At first glance the dominant colors are greens and browns. It takes a closer look to notice the wild flowers that are still in bloom and the seed pods that many are already beginning to form. I thought about what it would be like to walk through a larger prairie – that continued for as far as the eye could see – it would not be an easy stroll. The plants are intertwined and densely packed. They are at least waist high. And there would be no shade from the heat. Streams large enough to support trees would be precious.

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The flowers are like jewels in the greens and browns. I used the zoom to get flower pictures and stayed on the path. It was still early enough in the day that the temperature was cool, and I was the only one in the pocket prairie even though the morning commuter traffic was just yards away. I was alone but not too alone.

Kudos to the crew that established and maintain the Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie!

Ten Little Celebrations – April 2019

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April has been a busy month – only at home for a week out of the month and not all at the same time. There was plenty to celebrate with spring in full swing and the travel to see it in different places.

Certified Zentangle® Trainer (CZT) class. There were so many perspectives of the CZT class to celebrate: the beauty of the creations everyone was making, the conversations, the food…the challenge of being a student…the Zen.

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Train ride home. I don’t go many places where taking the train is feasible…but the CZT class was one of them. I celebrated the low stress hours going home…a fitting finale to the class.

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4th and 5th grade field trips. The early April field trips happened with great weather and the students enjoying being outdoors to learn about the Patapsco heritage (land, water, and rocks) and BioBlitz. It’s always inspiring to see their curiosity and enthusiasm --- celebrating a spring field trip.


Getting to Dallas. I had to travel to Dallas quickly and it was easier than a thought it would be. And I celebrated that I was less stressed by the rapid change in plans (maybe the Zentangle class providing an added benefit.

Spring days. Noticing the rapidly developing blossoms of spring is fodder for many celebrations – oxalis is probably one of my favorites right now. It blooms when the sun is shining!

Rainy day (spent indoors). After busy days – having a rainy day spent indoors is something to celebrate…with homemade soup for lunch!

Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie. A little bit of prairie – carefully tended by volunteers – in a Dallas suburb! Right now it is a celebration of spring wildflowers.

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Cedar waxwings. Birds are migrating and there are serendipity sightings of birds that don’t stay around the area long. I celebrated seeing a small flock of cedar waxwings last week.

Botanical reminders of my grandmother. Many flowers in my parents’ Carrollton yard were planted by my grandmother…good memories to celebrate.

Home again. Providence, Rhode Island to home to Carrollton, Texas to home to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Smith Island to home. I like to travel…but coming home is celebratory too.

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Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie

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Last week I discovered the Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie near the Carrollton (Texas) Public Library. At first it looked mostly like a sea of plants blowing in the breeze…then I began noticing the flowers.

I walked around the path slowly using the zoom on my camera to see the flowers better (and photograph them). There were a lot to see. Some I recognized – the bluebonnets, Indian blanket, Indian paint brush, and pink evening primrose. Others I didn’t. I’ll have to go back and get more detailed pictures to identify them. Spring is a great time to see wildflowers!

I’ll have to remember to take a turn around this pocket prairie when I come to Carrollton in the summer and fall…see it in difference seasons. There seems to be a group of volunteers maintaining the area. There were piles of some invasive plants that had been pulled out and were ready for pickup. The rain garden area seemed almost new. If it rains while I am here – I’ll go over in my rain gear to see how it works!