Gorgeous!

(gôr'js)!

The Terlingua Sunset this evening- 050813

The past few days have been wonderful as usual here in Terlingua country. If you recall a while back in a previous post, we address a sunset here in Terlingua as, "Another dang Terlingua Sunset!" We also say, It's another beautiful day today. But we say that almost every day. The temperatures have been in the lovely 100's and I am down with that. I'm so ready for the warm weather. We have started a small raised bed garden with quite a few veggies and flowers and such. This year, (unlike last year-this is said with a whisper) we are prepared to protect our garden from the small but lethal fury of the dreaded hail. Last year, it mowed down our tomates and chiles. A lawn mower could not have done a better job of it let me tell ya! This year it is in a protected space half way under the front porch. We also have a breathable cover used for plant nurseries that we can throw over it in case of emergencies. The tomate stakes will keep the cover from damaging the plants.

The Front Porch Garden

In the front is lettuce, butternut squash. In the middle are two different kinds of sun and wind resistant tomatoes and chiles. In the back are carrots and recao. The recao was ordered by mail from it's native Puerto Rico. Recao aroma resembles cilantro but it is not. The english word for it is culantro. Again, not to be confused with cilantro. I can't wait to taste it in our homemade pico de gallo and chimichurri!

This really is a small flower that I have cropped for a closer look. This is such a beautiful flowering plant
It just grows everywhere here in the desert.

Research will be ongoing to find out which one this is of all the members in the daisy family
that grow and flourish here in the Terlingua area.

I don't know what this beetle is called but they have literally invaded every nook and cranny of the desert it seems. I found this one inside the house. I hope it's not poisonous. I found that it is called a Box Elder Bug. According to a source online, they are harmless and congregate in groups. (Well, they certainly do.)

I will close this evening with a Terlingua Sunset that was taken a few days ago. There was a chance of showers but the only thing it gave us was a beautiful cloud strewn sunset.

Terlingua Sunset 050613

Have a great day!!!

The world is what we make it.

Charlton

A Golden Sunset

Normally I don't take photos of the sunset if there are no clouds but this evening, the air was nice and warm with a slight warm breeze, which I enjoy because it evens out the small, insignificant fact that I spend most of the evening inside the lobby with the AC. I don't really have anything against A/C...I just don't care for it. Does that make sense? No? Okay. I still don't like it. I love the warm weather. The sunset this evening seemed to compliment the warm weather.

A caramel Terlingua Sunset 050413

The mountains behind the resort create a wonderful backdrop to the sunset. Below are some photos of the mountains which surround us to the north and east.

Tule Butte is just inside Big Bend National Park about ten minutes drive from here.
This is slightly to the south and east of us. This is the view from the back of the BBRA Lobby.

To the east and back of the BBRA Lobby is the wonderful view of the Chisos Mountains and Basin
located inside the center of Big Bend National Park.

North of us is the view of the Christmas Mountains right off of Hwy 118 heading north to Alpine.
This is also the view from the rear of the BBRA Lobby.

One of the many thousands of bell like blooms of the yucca blossoming around us. They always remind me of
a chandelier in the desert.

I hope the rest of our days are like today. At least for a time before it gets blazing hot...which if I have shade and wide-brimmed hat, is just fine with me. Nothing like a cold soda or a wonderful glass of chilled milk enjoyed on a hot day.

Have a great day!
The world is what we make it.

Charlton

Great Balls o' Fire!

Wow. 50 mph winds since early this morning! I thought for sure I was going to wake up and see daylight through the rafters by morning. The temperature has been in the fifties as well. I haven't seen this sort of weather in years since I've been living here. Usually our last cold spell is by at least the second week in March. It seems lately that every other week there is a cold front coming down from the north. Winter just does not want to let go of it's hold. I'm ready for some hot weather.  There was so much dust in the air this evening that the sunset was a glowing ball of fire on the horizon right before it dipped below the clouds in the distance.

Tomorrow morning I hope it's better photo weather with calmer winds.

Terlingua Sunset, Great Balls o' Fire 050213

Have a wonderful day!!!

Charlton

On The Hunt for Terlingua Ranch Wildflowers

I made an appointment to have my truck inspected for yesterday morning. It was that time of year again. Beechie is the local mechanic that inspects vehicles here in the Terlingua area. So, this morning I grabbed my camera and took off for Beechie's out on the ranch. Afterwards I took my time driving out since yesterday and today are my days off I planned on photographing the wildflower blooms. No sooner had I drove away from Beechie's place just about a hundred yards down the road I spotted my first photo subject. A very large Prickly Poppy plant with about a dozen blooms on it and bees buzzing around made for some good shots. I went out to my property on the way back and a few hours later I had acquired quite a few photos. Some of them are below. It was a beautiful day yesterday and today I will be out there again in the desert taking some more photos. This time I will bring my tripod and hoping there's not any wind this morning.

Enjoy.

Lady Bug on a Pickly Poppy

Bees gathering nectar on a Prickly Poppy bloom

Butterfly on a Desert Willow getting ready to bloom

Tansy Aster. One of my favorite blooms

Tansy Aster, Terlingua Ranch Main Road

Desert Verbena, Terlingua Ranch property

Desert Baileya Terlingua Ranch property

Terlingua Ranch property

Prickly Pear bloom, My property on Terlingua Ranch property

Prickly Pear bloom, Terlingua Ranch property

Terlingua Ranch property

Terlingua Ranch property

Acacia Bloom, Terlingua Ranch property

Have a great day!

Charlton

A Terlingua Sunset

A beautiful Terlingua Spring sunset.

On June 21, 2013, Summer Solstice, the sun will be setting on the far right of this photograph. Storm clouds in the distance help assist the sky with a wonderful sunset yesterday evening.

Have a great day.

Charlton

Profusion:

/prəəˈfyo͞oZHn

On my hour and a half drive from Terlingua to return the engine core to Autozone in Alpine I was amazed by the abundance of blooming wildflowers along both sides of the highway. For eighty miles I saw nothing but a variety of blooms and color. The urgent need to stop was something I could not ignore. I had to return to Terlingua and the reality of employment by 2:00pm. I had left early in order to have the time to stop and photograph this possible spring event. At the time that I was leaving the resort property I had no idea that the blooms would be this numerous or abundant.

I stopped a few times on the way to gather photographs but then I forged ahead to Alpine, dropped off the core ran an errand to pick up a prescription for the General Manager. I was already in my truck and getting ready to pull out of the parking lot when I spotted some blooms along the roadside in town! It was incredible! There were flowers everywhere. I got out my camera and took some photos of them. I finally finished the errand running, grabbed some lunch at the local restaurant and I was on the Highway 118 once more. I began stopping almost immediately every couple of miles and began shooting photos of the flowers. In the five years I have lived in the Big Bend Area I have never witnessed this amount of blooming. It seems as if every plant that ever was is now blooming this Spring. Some of the blooms I shot were published in the previous post. I will post the remainder as I am able to process them....there were numerous blooms.

I think this is a Mallow of some kind. More research.

A member of the Daisy family

Another Mallow member

These Primroses were everywhere. Carpeting yards and yards of the roadside.

Another member of the Daisy family.

Another Mallow member

Daisy family

Not sure what this was but I loved the color.

Daisy family...I think.

There are more blooms to be processed. I'm telling you, there were many blooms that day. I will update the names as I find them in my research.

Have a great day.

Charlton

Brewster County Nature Drive

Yesterday I drove to Alpine in my newly repaired truck to return the short block engine core to Autozone. On the drive I could not believe my eyes. I have never seen it like this in the five years I have lived here. There were so many flowers blooming. Some I had never seen before. It was amazing.

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja elmeri)

Nodding Thistle (Carduus nutans)

Tansy Aster (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia)

Still researching some of these.

Charlton