Fields, Farms, Flowers -- Sat., Apr. 6

Disclaimer: Today's blog may not be exactly what you picture when you think of fields and farms.

At 9:00 a.m. we were at the Somerset, Texas, American Legion building, our start point for a 15K (9.3) mile Volksmarch. We could have done a 10K walk, but we decided to do all the optional add-ins.

The fields I'm talking about today are oil fields. Somerset has a long history of pumping oil as evidenced by this antique oil well, still pumping away. Don't you just love the fan belt?

Our scenery included regular fields too. This is our scenery on the Little DK Ranch. More wildflowers have bloomed since our big thunder/rainstorms on Wednesday and Thursday.

I think this is a cowpen daisy (verbesina encelioides).

Bob spotted this handsome, scissor-tailed flycatcher perched on a fence.

Scissor-tailed flycatcher

When we exited the ranch/oil company lease land, we walked along back roads and city streets. Many different wildflowers are in bloom.

Indian Blanket or Firewheel

Spiderwort

Common sunflower (Helianthus anuus)

We saw fields of firewheels.

Other unique sights on our walk in Somerset...

Bob was pointing up into a tree thinking he had found a bird nest. Oops, the whole thing was moving! Glad he didn't get his hand any closer.

Swarm of bees in a tree.

An interesting fence.

This planting is for the birds.

Solar energy farm...

Actually a very large solar energy farm, producing 10.6
megawatts of power per day, enough to power 1,600 homes.

What a weird sculpture!

St. Mary's Catholic Church (founded 1920)

Lawn ornamental sculpture

Beautiful sky (once it cleared up)

We also hiked around the perimeters of two different Little League parks. Games were in full swing, so to speak.

After we finished our walk, as we were heading to our next destination, we saw about 30-40 horses under some trees with a couple of support trailers nearby. The riders were taking a break, talking on their cell phones or running across the street to the convenience store. The sign on the trailers said something about Mexico to San Antonio. We did not stop to ask what the occasion was, but I did capture two photos.

We continued to Medina River Greenway and Natural Area which was on our way back to the RV park. We saw the park on the map and wanted to check it out. We will likely go back and hike all the trails, but today after walking 9.3 miles we opted to hike approximately 3/4 miles roundtrip to see the river. Both paved and unpaved trails are available in the park and there is a large pavilion for picnics and events. Here are photos of Medina River Greenway:

Lizards have claimed #97 as their spot.

Medina River

Susan at Medina River.

We had a great morning. In the afternoon we napped, then ate dinner. Laundry got done this evening.

Oil fields, solar energy farm and wildflowers. Quite a day.

Good night.