Little big-eyed skippers flash a bit of orange

Little orange skippers are tough for me to identify.

My guess: At least one of these is a Fiery Skipper. And could there be a Least Skipper in the mix?

Colorful grackles descend

Grackles found my feeder this week. I know they are common and often considered a nuisance, but they sure are pretty.

I think this hummingbird called me a 'poopy head'

The hummingbird landed on a branch near me.

It took a closer look at me.

Then it released its opinion of me.

Dragonfly sexcapades

I was walking along a trail when I realized a dragonfly orgy was going on around me.

Dragonflies were buzzing and dipping toward the water around the edge of a pond. A closer look revealed several couples clinging to the grass.

I guess they know what they're doing.

Nooner at the pond.

Even after couples had paired off, another dragonfly would sometimes try to break it up.

Color of the day: Orange as in Monarch or Hairstreak's spot

Monday morning Monarch moseying among the milkweed.

Good luck, Monarch, on your journey.

With a one-inch wingspan, the much smaller Gray Hairstreak was checking out the Lantana across the way.

The Gray Hairstreak is the most common Hairstreak in North America.

Little tails on their hindwings are hard to see.

Super 'shroom pops up

After five days of rain, my yard has quite a collection of mushrooms. Most are rather bland looking, Of the beige variety.

But this big orangey-red mushroom stood out.

My buddy Marilyn L. says:

You have found "The Mushroom of Immortality," according to "The Mushroom Forager" website.

Ganoderma Lucidum or Reishi "is reputed to have analgesic, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor, antiviral, anti-HIV and blood pressure reducing effect."

Now if you could harvest a crop and exact a dosage... Lana Pharma!

Alas, there is not enough to harvest a crop.

This one was found at the site where a big tree came down during Hurricane Ike, and the stump was ground into sawdust.

On the stump mound I have an old Cadillac hubcap that I picked up during a trip to the family farm in West Texas. The deep well of the hubcap is a perfect water dish for critters, mostly Bluejays that swoop in for a drink.

And I recently discovered a toad lives under the hubcap.

The toad and I both jumped when I picked up the hubcap to rinse it.

Morning encounter with a coyote

Spotted about 11 a.m. on a sunny September day.

You never know what you will see on the trails at Baytown Nature Center.

Last week -- before the rains -- I saw this coyote as I was leaving. I didn't get out of the car to snap these photos.

When I stopped the car to take a photo, the coyote turned around to avoid me but stayed on the road.

Earlier this month our dog went crazy when she saw a coyote trotting along the brush line behind our house.

Some land on the other side of the highway is being cleared, and I wonder of some of the wildlife is finding its way to our little strip along Slap Out Gully.