A cute little critter we saw a while back

Hello, everyone.  I had meant to post this a couple of weeks ago and forgot. Oops!

We were walking at Bentsen State Park and almost stepped on this little guy.

This is a young tortoise, who was crossing the path. He was about the size of my palm. As he was in the middle of the path, we moved him over to where he was going so he wouldn't get stepped on or run over.

Desert Rose in bloom

Hello, everyone.  Today will be a short post: the Desert Rose flower bud is open! 

Isn't it beautiful. 

New tranquilizer, er, beads

Hello, everyone.  I have been  a little high-strung lately, and found myself stringing seed beads. First one strand. Then a second. And on and on, until 7 strands, mostly mixes but some straight from the little box. 

After that it was, how can I hang a cross from it? I had a St. Benedict medal crucifix in stash. Found a pretty round disk to put in back of it, and a little bail to hold them together.  But. The little bail had no hope of enclosing the seven strands of seed beads.

Enter peyote stitch. I started at the fat part and did decreases down to four across. Then made a loop for a hanger, which goes through the bail. Then went back to the fay part and repeated down to the four across. Made another loop for hanging, but at the center bead I went through the center bead of the existing loop, parting from it after to go up to the four across. I think there are about 4 strands of Fireline going through that center bead!

Still, stringing and weaving the beads was very relaxing and helped me to maintain calm during some tense days.

Here is the necklace:

Seen while walking

Hello, everyone. 

Among the native birds to this area is the Whistling Tree Duck. There is also a black one, which has black patches, I think on the wings.

They're called Whistling Ducks because instead of quacking like mallards, they make a sort of squeaky, whistling sound when they fly.

They're fairly comfortable living near people,  too.

as witness this flock we saw while out on a training walk. 

Turkeys strutting their stuff

Hello, everyone. A few days ago we went back to Bentsen State Park and were walking during the bird feeding time.

(They're still filling the bird feeders now.)

Aren't they gorgeous? 

The bird blind by the resaca was full of birds. I thought they were the teen-ager male turkeys. 

I know people often use "turkey" as a synonym for fool, but these wild birds have obviously figured out that the park is a safe place for them.

Another little bowl filler

Hello,everyone. It probably seems like a lot of bowl fillers, pincushions, and potential wrist rests appear here. That is because they're so relaxing to make. Especially when I am in the middle of a big project like a quilt, it's restful to take a short break, use up some scraps, and finish something. 

Today's bowl filler is about 4 inches across. 

Training for our next Camino walk

Hello, everyone. Yes, we're getting ready to walk again. We are now officially training: defined as the last 3 days we have walked about 2-ish miles each day. (3 km about) Today we went down to the Hike and Bike and did the 5K loop. (3.1 miles) between the blooming mesquite trees. The trail was very busy today! And amongst the many walkers, bikers, and runners, the natural wildlife just keeps on keeping on.

The javelina trotted across the trail about 20 feet ahead of that group of walkers. The roadrunner, one of 2 or 3 we saw, crossed ahead of us and started pecking at things in the scrub.