Steve and Judy's Travels!

. . . . . . Danger.  Spider alert again. . . . . . . We can go years without seeing one.   Now we’ve seen two just a few weeks apart!   Driving down a remote sandy track.  There he was, just hanging out in the road. We had to drive around him when it was time to go on our way.   I put my glasses down close to him for perspective.   I guess he’s not quite as big as my head.   These tarantulas are pretty calm.  They aren’t aggressive to humans.  Mostly they just want to be left alone to eat insects and maybe the occasional small bird or reptile.  

  Gave us a good look.          

  We take a picture of this anhinga.   Sometimes called a “Snake Bird” because when he’s swimming in search of fish, his feathers get waterlogged and his body submerges, leaving only this long thin neck and head above the surface.   Next thing we know, there’s a ringed kingfisher sitting right next to him that we didn’t even see until we got home and looked at the photos!   The anhinga is a southern bird.  Here is its range map.   That ringed kingfisher is a South Texas specialty!  

  At work.   They carry leaf bits back to their underground nest, not just to eat, but to farm as well.  They create a garden underground and cultivate a fungus that grows on the leaves to produce a food for their larvae.   These ants live in large colonies and can excavate nests underground that are up to 100 feet wide!