Today Lee and I spontained, which is our cute couple’s word for doing something on the spur of the moment. He needed to get out of the house, so we did. We ran off to Waco (because any iNat observations I made there would count for my City Nature Challenge totals).
We went to the Waco Mammoth National Monument, which neither of us had ever been to before. I hoped to get lots of iNat observations, but it didn’t matter much, since I’d already gone out in the morning and got sightings of crawfish, a turtle, catfish, and Ssssindy the snake.
We enjoyed the monument very much. The actual mammoth dig site is preserved with a cool roof and walls system that protects it. The walkway people go on in tours is suspended from the ceiling, so the bones are safe.
I don’t think I realized before that this site has lots of mammoth fossils (and a camel). It’s the only such “nursery herd” site ever discovered in the US. Many bones are in a museum at Baylor University, but the ones we saw have been left in situ, and work is still ongoing with them.
It’s incredible that this mass death of mammoths happened, apparently more than once, when the Bosque River suddenly flooded. I’m amazed that these animals were here only 10,000 years ago, too.
Anyway, we enjoyed talking to a college student who was there with her archeology club, to another young adult who helped me get my National Park stamps going, and to the park rangers. I know that helped cheer Lee up.
And after looking at the dig site, we walked on some trails and found some plants and insects. Mostly it was hedge parsley and more hedge parsley, but we found other stuff.
It was nice having Lee help me. He spotted a few bugs! I must be rubbing off on him.
Back at the ranch, I found many interesting bugs and spiders on prairie parsley. If you want more butterflies, grow this! I also got a great look at a kingbird. The buntings and dickcissels are very loud but are also good at hiding.
It was so windy that I gave up on birds. Tomorrow I’m going over to Sara’s to see if she has any interesting plants. I’d probably win the challenge if I was able to go to Tarrin’s, but she’s out of town and I wouldn’t want to impose on her family. Maybe next year!
All in all, a little spontaining was good for us both.
The Hermits' Rest 
Love it! You’ve added to my knowledge of archaeology and nature all in one blog. Thank you. I’d love to visit Waco and see the mammoth bones, by golly!
Glad you were able to have the spontaining trip!
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It was fun. And you could easily manage it!
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Does the Texas Native Animal Zoo in Victoria still exist? I danced with an owl there once. Amelia and I last visited there maybe 25 yrs ago so I don’t know if it’s still there, but we really enjoyed the visit. Also, there was a rose garden nearby, but was closed for restoration or something like that. It might be interesting as well, if it exists.
We’d made the trip up that way to have lunch at the Doll House Cafe. I wanted her to see some of the places I had enjoyed, before they faded away.
We went back to Lake Jackson the next day by way of Brenham to catch 36 and stopped off at the Texas Antique Rose Emporium where they go around the state to cemeteries and abandoned estates to collect and bring back cuttings of ‘antique’ bushes that have usually been brought to Texas by pioneers. It’s a beautiful place for insects, butterflies and flowers. I could wander in there for hours.
Oh, I showed the photos on the blog to Amelia and we came to the photo of Lee on the bridge and I said, ‘there’s someone I used to know.’ She replied, ‘You mean the guy who looks like Mick on Time Team?’ Tell Lee that he now looks officially like a British celebrity. 😉😊
Much love to you all and the lovely dogs.
Trisha
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Funny enough, if I’d felt more social, I could have gone on a trip with Master Naturalists to that rose emporium yesterday. I’ll ask about the zoo. Kathleen is from there.
Lee is usually told he’s Willie Nelson, who he does not look like.
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Nope, his hair was never red 😉🤣🤣
I’m glad the Rose Emporium is still there. Amelia and I really loved visiting there until her bee phobia got so bad.
There are so many places to explore in that part of the state. 😊
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Apparently the zoo is still there. It floods often, apparently.
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