As I’m sure many of you know, it’s been pretty hot and dry in Texas this year.
Even though it’s located on the gulf coast, the refuge hasn’t been immune to these conditions. The pond behind the VIS is dry as a bone. It hasn’t seemed to inhibit the mosquito population, however. 
As I left for the VIS this morning, the cold front that moved through resulted in a 38* temperature. Brrr! Since it has been so hot up until this morning, the little heaters hadn’t been moved back to the VIS yet. I was wearing multiple layers and gloves as I opened shop this morning.
The clouds had been blown away overnight, and eventually the sun warmed things up. The butterfly gardens were alive with gulf fritillaries. I even found several of their caterpillars. As I walked the paths, they flitted about in little clouds.
There were also monarchs and several other varieties of butterflies taking advantage of the asters and Turk's caps. Finding them helped pass the time as there weren’t very many visitors today.
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There were a few warblers about, and the little rabbit that seems to live under the VIS shack. It was a long nine hours for my first day back to work. I’ll be back there tomorrow afternoon, but then I’ll have a day off to take care of chores. It will take a few days to get back in the groove for both Emma and me. Since she’s had me around the rig for the last six months, I’m sure she was a little surprised to be cooped up alone all day today. If she were calmer, I’d be able to take her with me. Maybe in another five or six years…
Don’t forget to turn your clocks back tonight. If I wake up at the usual time tomorrow, maybe Emma and I will take an early morning hike on the Skillern Tract. The moist soil units there have been kept hydrated, so there should be lots of birds. I’ll see if I can drag myself out of bed around six.
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
