Our Southwestern Christmas

This post is really for my Mum and Dad because they wanted to see how we had decorated the house for Christmas but, of course, anyone else who is into Christmas is welcome to read on too. Where else to start but at the front door, festive with red bow.


Where does that messy wire on the left of the picture lead too? To our little baby Saguaro Cactus who is decked out for the holidays. It looks very pretty at night all lit up, however during the day the hummingbirds get very angry when they can't get any nectar out of the red bulbs and they keep buzzing it.


Inside the front hall we have a pressed metal Christmas tree from Mexico


My mate was a little perturbed when he saw me dragging a large branch in through the front door (it barely fit) but he liked the end result.


A place to put all the 'fuzzy' animal decorations that we have collected over the years.


They seem much more in their element in a natural wood setting rather than amongst twinkling Christmas lights.


There is a very brief nod towards the concept of a white Christmas but nothing remotely chilly here.


I didn't clear the wrapping stuff off the table for the photo but you get the general idea, simple and red.


Chilli's always feature strongly and they make a very festive wreath (smells pretty yummy too!)


The fireplace is swathed and I was so excited when I managed to find Christmas stockings with Saguaro Cactus on them! Who would have thought?


Last but not least is of course the Christmas tree and I have had a great time over the last couple of months scouring ebay, shops and farmers markets looking for appropriate ornaments.


A buffalo


Prickly Pear Cactus


The omnipresent chili peppers


Reptiles of numerous species and colours


The Wily Coyote howling at the moon


And of course, no tree would be complete without several different Saguaro Cactus ornaments


Happy Christmas everyone and I hope you all have a very Happy and Healthy Festive Season wherever you may be in the world.

Friday at Last

What was with this week? It just seemed to go on and on and on! On Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday, on Wednesday I thought it was Thursday and by Thursday I was done. It is not as if it was a particularly stressful week, well no more than usual anyway. It just felt like it would never end. So by the end of the work day today I felt in need of a little 'me time'. I meandered slowly through the park on my way home, making the most of the soft, evening sunlight


and enjoyed the soothing colours of the remaining Autumn foliage


When I got home I raided my stash of English chocolate (sorry but American chocolate just doesn't cut it!)


And then a total 'veg - out' in front of the TV while the mighty Blackhawks kept me entertained.


And my final reward for surviving the week? - a 'wee dram' of the wonderous Laphroaig. Cheers! Here's to the weekend :)

Going, Going (But Not Quite) Gone.

The pond has a strong population of herons during the summer months with three species represented. The weather is changing and now the numbers are thinning out fast. This seems to be the last Great Blue Heron.


All the mature Black-crowned Night Herons have moved south but there are still a few juveniles making the most of the masses of Blue Gills living in the pond to feast on and fatten up before they fly to warmer climes.


A heron fishing is the definition of focus.


Do not disturb!



Nature Notes hosted by Michelle at Rambling Woods

Sunlit Seed-heads

I love how many different forms of seed-heads grasses produce and the late afternoon autumn sunlight shows them off perfectly.





Nature Notes hosted by Michelle at Rambling Woods

The Wonderful Wood Duck

Is there anything more opulent than the glorious male Wood Duck in his magnificent breeding plumage? He just looks so handsome.

Siesta Time

The animals in the park certainly seem to be making the most of the beautiful autumn weather we have been having. Happy, sleepy ducks :)


This squirrel had obviously just been wading on the waters edge and was using the warm afternoon sun to dry off and warm up.




Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Autumn Colours

I have a kind of love/hate relationship with Autumn. I love the season for itself, the colours, the smells and the crunch of dried leaves underfoot but at the same time I can't help but feel that it is a harbinger of doom. It indicates that very soon the temperatures will plummet to minus who-knows-what and we will be layered in ice and snow for months on end. That just takes the edge off all the beauty of Autumn for me unfortunately.

As Busy As A .......................

Well September may have been lousy but we are being blessed with a few beautiful autumn days now that October has arrived. The honey bees from our hives are certainly making the most of the sunshine and gathering the last of the years pollen to tide them through the long, cold months ahead.

Changing Things Up

I am amazed how many of my friends' blogs I have read recently who have either been considering no longer continuing their blog or just feel like they have nothing to say. What is going on? I have felt as if my blog has been in extended death throes for months now but rather than pull the trigger I have been trying to work out why I wasn't spending time blogging any more.
I have another blog which I thoroughly enjoy and, of course, there is also the dreaded facebook. So what gives? Why is 'the rambling' just not happening?
I think I have come up with a solution - I am always posting about work!!! All work and no play............. so a new leaf has been turned. I am going to try to do shorter posts, some photos of something that catches my eye, something that makes me smile during my day and leave it at that for a while. If this involves something at work then fine but we'll see.
And so with that in mind, today's post - fun with fungus.

Fun in the Field

So it seems my resolution of trying to post every week has degenerated to the point where I post once a month! Oh well, it is better than nothing I suppose.
We have been trying for several weeks to schedule our annual department field/collecting trip but it seemed every time we set a date the weather thwarted us. Firstly there were monsoon level thunderstorms, then there was excessive heat which our team member who harks from Alaska couldn't quite face, then there were various vacations to work round but finally, rather like the proverbial herding of cats we managed to all get together on the same day.



The primary objective of the day was to collect some more native fish species to replenish our tanks, on display in the 'Riverworks' exhibit. This is most successfully done using a seine net to scoop the fish gently out without injuring them and then selecting the species we need from the net before releasing the rest.


Another activity that I always encourage is the gathering of crayfish. There is a very aggressive invasive species throughout Illinois called the Rusty Crayfish which is out-competing many native species. We scoop up as many of these as we can because we have lots of aquatic turtles in our collections who like nothing more than hunting and eating crayfish! Boy did they get a big treat - a whole bucketload!



I have been particularly lucky to have some really fantastic interns this year so it's always a great pleasure to be able to give them the treat of a day out in the field. And as you can see they were extremely enthusiastic about joining in with whatever was going on.


Here is Alex proving that chest waders are optional!


And also proving that 'girls rock!!' Because Amy didn't feel the need for them either :)


So who the ones wearing the waders? Our two male interns!!! YOU GO GIRLS!!
It wasn't all water though. We did get the chance to see some beautiful butterflies mud-puddling along the shores of the river.


These are Giant Swallowtails Papilio cresphontes
and this is a Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax


A little less flamboyant but no less beautiful is this Hackberry Emperor Asterocampa celtis. Drove me crazy trying to get it to stay still enough for a photo though.


And of course, the damselflies were not to be ignored either.


Another highlight of the day? I finally got to 'christen' my new wellies on their first ever field trip :)


What a great day. We all came home hot, sweaty, muddy, tired and happy. What more could we ask for?


Photo Credits - CJT