We escaped the Houston heat and humidity with a few days in Northern California. We had perfect outdoor weather with highs in low 70s and lows in 50s the whole time. Our longtime traveling partners, Dave and Dian Wallis, met us in San Francisco and from there we traveled up the coast as far as Eureka which became our home away from home for a few days.
The photos:
We were lucky to be in the backyard at just the right time to observe this beauty as it flitted around our Chaste bush gathering nectar. The Tiger Swallowtail is the largest butterfly species in North America with wingspan up to 6 inches
Uncapping honeycombs with electric hot knife is a tedious job but necessary to open the honeycomb cells so the honey will flow out of the cells when spun in the extractor (centrifuge). When doing this job you have to accept that there will be a few bees buzzing around you and your hands are going to get sticky.
The capping wax being cut off by the knife is dried and will be melted down in a later process to make candles.
Fun morning fishing with grand kids and Kurt near Galveston causeway. Everyone was catching fish but not many keepers. Species list included sand trout, speckled trout, black drum, croaker, bonnet head shark, stingray, hardhead catfish and gafftop. Luca was the champion fisherman today.
This native American artifact found near Plum Creek in Caldwell County is referred to as a "boat stone" due to it"s shape. The primary use of a boat stone was as a balancing weight on an atlatl (spear thrower).
Photos #1 and #2 are of the Plum Creek boat stone. Photo #3 is a photo of two boat stones from another collection. Photo #4 shows how the boat stone was attached to the atlatl. Attaching the stone in just the right position would increase the throwing distance and speed of the spear.
Thanks Reagan Ploetz for helping with identification.
I especially wanted to share share this video that I took at Brazos Bend this morning. This was my first time encounter with a bellowing gator at close range where I could watch the body movements. Turn up your volume and listen to this male declare his territory.
Memorial Day outing with family and friends on the Frio river at Garner State Park. Spent lots of time sitting in the river and staying hydrated. The family photo is missing Lucy, Brayden and Grace but they reported in with photos of their activity.
