“Morning, Bob,” I’d say as I sipped my coffee from the other side of the window. Bob was busy. He didn’t have time for chitchat.

According to an article penned by HCMN Mary Dow Ross, the initial caterpillar count was 36 in 1999. Compare that to the 5,000 wrangled this year.

There are places called Sentinel Peak from Arizona to South Africa, but this woodsy slope in Hays County would be hard to beat.

About twenty Hays County Master Naturalist class members gathered in the parking lot for the Hornsby Bend site visit.

In my ninth year of CoCoRaHS reporting, I thought it was time to stand back and draw some conclusions and maybe make some predictions.

As Mary O’Hara so aptly described it, “What a fine, filthy day!”

Gathered in a far west corner of Hays County, we awaited a break in the clouds for a peek at the elusive dance between Sun and Moon.

I’d been watching the weather forecast for days. Who knows how to shoot a total solar eclipse? Even in a clear sky.