Kilfeather Photographs

My name is Kaylen and I am an intern here at Peaceful Springs this summer, as well as Karen's niece.  I'm here to update you on what we've been doing since my arrival! After becoming acquainted with the land and some of the more recognizable flora and fauna we got right to it.  First things first, the invasive and aggressive Johnson Grass patches had to be taken care of.  Snappin' heads and takin' stems, we had their (gr)asses running for the hills- meaning we were successful in pulling patches along the drive in and by the windmill pond.  Eight years of this treatment before I got here significantly cut down on the amount needing to be taken care of, and all without using machines or pesticides! As many of you probably already know, but I quickly was made aware of, this part of Texas has been in a drought for around eight years.  So, Aunt Karen, our friend Bill, and I trekked to examine a few springs on the property to see how they were doing.  Two of these wer

Well time is almost here to leave this beautiful country. I've been busy seeing as much as I can. Went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. WOW! At first I was a little scared sliding off the back of the big safe boat. Even though I had a life jacket on since I'm not a good swimmer.  I did have a GoPro underwater camera ready but it has been failing to start for the whole trip. I was upset because I have no photos while I was snorkeling. Will contact the company when I get back. Anyway, I had a blast with Kathy, she saw a white tip reef shark while we were out. I went on a glass bottom boat they had out there and saw a green sea turtle. We took a Helicopter ride back so we could see some of the reef.       I went to stay with some nice folks David and Cynthia meet while out on a reef tour. Jeff and Donna live up in a small town outside of Atherton. We spent some time checking out the area for David and Cynthia. We went to a few places and saw some neat bi

Hey everyone, Have been staying with Jarred and Kath from Sydney, and Kath is going up to Cairns with me for a few days. Been real busy seeing the country side.  Landed in Sydney on the 27th and next day went into town to see the Opera House and Royal Botanic Gardens. Nice place! Spotted a Masked Lapwing. A pretty Plover hanging out with a small group. Will try to catch up in a day or two. Got to Cairns on Saturday. Did some food shopping and got settled in. Took the train up to the top of the rainforest and took a little ride in an old army duck (car/boat) around a small river area. Got to see some water dragons but no photo, too quick. Went to this Butterfly Garden where you can walk among them. Will post photos of that in a day or two. Have not really stopped since landing. Had dinner with Kath who is up here in Cairns, she has me eating BUGS (small lobster like critters) and Prawns. Then she heads back to Sydney on Thursday. She has been teaching me how to drive on the other si

Hi everyone, on Monday I leave for 3 weeks for Australia ! I will try to post some stuff once a week or more depending. So I am off to learn about all the Birds, bugs and plants that like sting, bite and sing!

As dawn was coming, I heard the familiar sound of this guy calling to his girls. So I stepped out on the porch with my camera and waited for him to come up from bathing in the springs just down from the cabin. As the sun rose, up he come to the open field to strut his stuff. After awhile 2 girls arrived and joined him in eating some of the bugs in the grass.   White-eyed Vireo   The other good news is the Golden-cheeked Warblers have arrived, and 3 males have started singing and guarding Territories around the cabin.