Category: Uncategorized (Page 41 of 46)

Four of us (CarolC, Jacque, KathleenG, and Sallie) gathered at Bright Leaf Preserve for a docent (Jacque) led hike. Many of the varieties of wild flowers we saw during our spring hike were no longer blooming.

We hiked 3.25 miles according to my gps and 4.05 miles according to my Fitbit.  Hmmm.  The hike took about 2 hours.

Photos are attached. KathleenG spotted the tarantula. The Button Bush photo is not particularly good, but I do love that plant. The Balsam Gourd has very bright gourds this year.

Join us for the next Bright Leaf hike, which will be in the fall.

Jacque

Five of us hiked this morning, finishing by 10:30, but it was still quite warm. (Afterwards the air conditioning felt soooo perfect!)  CarolC, CarolynH (with six year old granddaughter Mamie), Gail, and Sallie joined me for this effort.

We hiked 2.15 miles with a moving average of 1.7 mph. The creek was full and moving well, and the waterfall was lovely. And let’s give young Mamie lots of credit — she hiked the entire way, spotted water striders, and carried her own binoculars.

Attached are several photos. The Mountains Pinks were in full bloom. The scat (1.5 inches long and 0.5 inches wide) is from a road runner.

Jacque

Kudos to Sallie for leading this hike! Five of us (Sallie with Maggie and her new friend Shaundra, plus Jacque with Sheba Diva) met at the swan pond at River Place Nature Trail.

Our hike started with a bit of high energy as there was a missing 15 year old young man in the area. Sallie helped by calming his mom. The emergency services folks arrived to assist. When we finished our hike the emergency vehicles were gone, so we assumed he was located.

We hiked the Lower Panther Trail, continued on the Canyon Trail, then returned to hike the Fern Trail. We ended by exiting via the maintenance trail. We walked 4.25+ miles with 10,000+ steps in about two hours. The creek is, of course, higher than usual and moving fast. My socks did stay dry. We had a pleasant breeze to reduce the humidity a bit.

We identified: plants (American beauty berry, Lindheimer silktassel, inland sea oats, four-nerve daisy, cottonwood trees), birds (northern cardinals, wrens, swan), spiders (deep funnel variety), dragonflies, butterflies, etc. The final challenge was to identify what variety of fish makes large circular sandy egg nests. Nests appeared to have a 2-2.5 feet diameter. Fish remain on the circle to protect the eggs. If you have suggestions for identification, please share with me.

We had a fun time, walking and talking. Join us next time!

Jacque

Many thanks to all who made the trip across Texas and the Panhandle Plains to see our very own “Grand Canyon of Texas,” with an elevation drop of 800 feet from the rim of the canyon to the floor. We had 19 attendees, including 3 husbands and 1 granddaughter! One attendee was a brand new member — we welcome Dawn Kidd to TOWN!

Despite all kinds of weather (yet typical, I’m told, for the Panhandle’s unpredictable weather), our Texas-tough campers rode it out. I was especially impressed with the tenters, as immediately following our wonderful Monday evening potluck gathering we had a fierce wind come from out of nowhere, followed by a frightening electrical storm with a pounding of hail stones and enough rain to shut down the trails on Tuesday.

So, instead of hiking Tuesday morning, we ended up taking an informative, afternoon van tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and we were glad to be in the cool air conditioned van. Afternoon temps in the canyon reached 106 degrees according to my auto thermometer. Evenings, however, were breezy and quite comfortable, and early mornings were cool enough for hikes.

Several good hikes were taken, including the well-known Lighthouse Trail (6 miles round trip), which five of us did on Monday. Other hikes were along the river and to explore caves in the sides of bluffs. We took many pictures of the colorful canyons and mesas with geological layers and formations. Do you know the difference between a hoodoo and a pinnacle?

The visitor’s center had fabulous views from its overlooks, great exhibits, and a 1 hour video on the history and story of Palo Duro (which means “hard wood”). We read about the exposed geological formations dating back 250 million years, and we learned about the area’s fossils and bones of prehistoric animals, and about prehistoric cultures. We also read about the Battle of Palo Duro (1874) where the cavalry destroyed the last Indian camp in the Texas Plains along with their supplies and horses, forcing the remaining Indians to move to the reservations in Oklahoma, opening the area for settlement. Then, in 1876, Charles Goodnight began his ranch in Palo Duro Canyon with 1,600 head of cattle, which he expanded to over 100,000 head. We read about and saw the work of the CCC and WPA during the 1930’s.

Of course, we saw the famous outdoor musical “Texas,” staged beneath a magnificent canyon and mountain backdrop. And we had great weather!

On Wednesday, many of us went on a horseback ride with nice topography, creek crossings, and beautiful scenery. Later that day and also on Thursday, several who drove into Canyon were amazed by all that the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum had to offer! You could get lost in there, and they had a little something for everyone! Some of us finished the camping trip with dinner at the “featured on TV” Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo; then later fought an unexpected, very strong wind and dust storm to make our TOWN mark at Cadillac Ranch! All in all, it was a good trip! I’d like to do it again someday in the cooler Fall season, and hike more trails.

After Palo Duro, our adventurous TOWNies took off in various directions: some to Caprock Canyons, 1 to Ruidoso New Mexico, 1 to Colorado, a couple to Kansas, and I headed to Oklahoma where I thoroughly enjoyed several more days.

First, I headed to Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, north of Amarillo where I camped with no need for air conditioning, and watched the sun set. The next morning, I toured the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument where the ancient Antelope Creek people lived 1150-1450 A.D. This was truly a cache of flint outcroppings in every possible color combination, some with clusters of sparkling crystals. As a rock hound, I was in heaven (but of course, I couldn’t collect any of the pieces). Next, my drive across the Texas Plains seemed to take forever, but I finally reached Oklahoma and got on Route 66 (IH 40), stopping to enjoy the outstanding Route 66 Museum in Clinton. It brought memories of earlier eras. Then on to my destination in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (near Medicine Park and Lawton). I really had a wonderful time in the Refuge among herds of wild Bison, Longhorn cattle, and Elk. I drove the scenic routes, took hundreds of pictures, hiked the trails, ate at historic restaurants, toured old Fort Sill, and drove to the top of awesome Mt. Scott, where I watched the sun set on one side of the mountain and the moon rise on the other side. The Wichitas look like Enchanted Rock and Inks Lake on steroids – rocky, granite mountains, except they are much bigger and much more expansive in area. They’re part of the oldest mountain range in the U.S.  I really loved the area and may plan a trip for our TOWN group some October or November when the Elk are bugling.

Until next time,

Carrie

Four of us plus two dogs met at Walnut Creek Metro Park for a 3+ mile walk on the recently-opened paved trail. The trail begins in Walnut Creek Park and runs uninterrupted to the medical center on Mopac near Parmer.

JenLaG, Susie, Sallie (with Mags), and I (with Sheba) met at 9 am. We talked and walked. It was obvious we should have started earlier. But we enjoyed the camaraderie and caught up on Jen and Susie’s recent trip to Knoxville and their visit with the one and only Dawn and her fireflies.

Jacque

Six eager women (Marie, Carrie, Tina, Paula, SandyO, and Janet) met in a South Austin neighborhood to meet with Tara Chapman of Two Hives Honey. We had a brief introduction to honeybee behavior and beekeeping, then it was time to don our bee suits. We all wore the special hood you have seen that zips all the way around to keep errant bees at bay. Two of us had hoods with a half-length jacket, and the rest wore full long-sleeve jackets. Of course, we all wore gloves that go all the way up the arm with elastic at the ends.

Many of you were at the last meeting when Tara explained all the ins and outs of bees, such as there are only 3 classes of bees: the queen (who lays about 1,000 eggs a day!); the drones (males, whose only function is to breed with the queen); and female workers (who make up 90% of the hive and do all other functions including foraging, nursery duties, and managing the nectar and pollen). Think of a beehive as one body, and each bee as a cellular unit making up the body. Everything they do is for the good of the hive. It takes about a million flowers to provide enough pollen for a pound of honey. One bee will make about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey.

Tara used a “smoker” to calm the bees down as she removed the top of a hive and pulled out frames of bees for us to view and hold. We could see the difference between the larger drones and the worker bees, but we did not see the queen. We saw brood (eggs and larva in their cells), with honey, along with bees carrying pollen on their hind legs.

We all were utterly fascinated by the tour. Each one of us had a taste of honey straight from the hive – it was delicious! It’s obvious Tara is very passionate about beekeeping and has a wealth of knowledge to share in her tours and classes. She reminded us that bees need flowering plants throughout the year, not just in the summer, and she gave us a packet of wildflower seeds to plant. We felt very fortunate to learn so much and vowed to never take for granted all the hard work that goes into making honey.

Afterwards, we had an excellent brunch at Austin Java to complete the morning. ‘Til next time!

Janet

Don’t forget – Bee friendly!

TOWN ladies, guests and two dogs (DJ and Red) enjoyed another great Memorial Day weekend campout! Attendees were: Cheryl, June, Carrie, Marie, Gloria, SandyB, SandyO, Margie, Susan, Eola, Janet, BarbaraW, and two guests, Flo and Donna.

We had two kayak trips — one on Friday because the weekend weather forecast was very unpredictable. For the first, we put in at the State Park and took out at Junction City Park. It was a beautiful float with clear skies and no rain! The second kayak trip was on Saturday and began at the river crossing above the upper section and ended at Boone’s crossing. Another beautiful, clear day of kayaking!

During the outing, many visited the four bird blinds (where Black Capped Vireos were sighted), and went on hikes, walks, and bike rides around the park. We took several refreshing dips in the river to cool off.

Friday night, the sky was very clear and full of stars. Even the moons of Jupiter could be seen through binoculars.

On Saturday, our evening pot luck was, of course, wonderful (so good, in fact, we did it again the next evening)! Later, some attended the park program — a herpetology talk by an interesting and distinguished Texas Tech professor. That night, although dark, ominous clouds and thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail were all around us, we again avoided all of the bad weather.

On Sunday, a few drove to Sonora to tour the Caverns and see their formations. Sunday evening, some went on a night hike and saw hundreds of lightning bugs, twinkling spider eyes, deer, a scorpion, and heard the hoots of a great horned owl.  It was a different weather situation for Sunday night, as we had torrential rains and lots of lightning during the night and early morning hours. Fortunately no one floated away, and the two brave people with tents stayed dry and survived it all.

Monday was another beautiful, sunny day, although the rangers informed us that if we wanted to leave the Park that day, we should leave right away as the river was rising and would go over the low water crossing! We all scrambled and made it out with the water near the top — with no time for dumping for three of us!

Until next year,
Carrie and June

The weather was hot and muggy, and uncertainty about rain kept the group to a minimum: Carolyn (not usually seen this far south), guest Debbie, and leader LindaF.

On Lady Bird Lake, cool breezes alternated with the warm and humid air. As we paddled slowly west toward the Tom Miller Dam, the lake was wide, flat, and unbelievably empty. Because of the humidity, a haze was forming in different pockets. The water felt unusually lively, and approaching the dam, we saw why — the current was pouring around the spot under the Emmett Shelton Bridge where the rocks are close to the surface and we must turn to the right. We turned around.

The air was quite thick, and our voices seemed to carry to each other without any effort, an unusual effect.

We saw five Great Blue Herons. And as Carolyn reminded us, no telling how many we didn’t see. Carolyn’s photo is below. The heron is sharing a rock with a turtle. Note the height and greenness of the trees in the second photo. The water is high and seething.

On our return, we slipped past the Rowing Dock and waited a bit to see if someone was going to walk the slackline set up between two pillars under the Lamar bridge. There are several Google entries for this new entertainment, and if you are thinking of trying it, the City has some guidelines which you can find online.

LindaF

To get us in the mood for birds and bees, JanetF-B shared a video showing baby-rearing in a bluebird nesting box, produced by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Guest speaker Tara Chapman then energetically and passionately described her work in honeybee education and her honey production company, Two Hives Honey (www.twohiveshoney.com).

After explaining that the honeybee is not native to the Americas, she established a rationale for beekeeping by demonstrating how many supermarket vegetables and fruit depend upon honeybee pollination, and contrasted our needs to the commercial honey industry’s non-sustainable practices. For example, she described monoculture of almond orchards requiring beehives to be transported on trucks.

Knowing her audience, Tara championed the hard-working female bees that keep a hive going in a structured protocol of labor. She also described the honeybee life cycle and how honey is produced, as well as what is “good honey” and what is adulterated for consumers. Please see the list below for a few details.

• 95% of the bee members in a honeybee hive are female
• The caste system within a honeybee hive includes worker, queen, and drone
• The worker bees advance through job positions from nurse, to architect, HVAC, bouncers, and foragers
• 80% of our flowering crops depend on pollination
• Other bees, native species, are actually more important to pollination than are honeybees
• Colony Collapse Disorder is a term used to describe a hive that has abandoned its young
• Persistent pesticides are suspected in causing CCD and disrupt the bees’ navigation systems
• Mites, lack of wildflowers, and habitat loss through commercial practices also disrupt hives
• Bees produce pheromones that engage other bees, such as when stinging, defending
• Smoke masks the pheromones that arouse the bees so people can work with the hive
• Bees have an elaborate dance that communicates to the other foragers in the hive where the flowers are
• Drone bees are males that only serve to impregnate flying queens
• In the lifetime of a honeybee she can be expected to produce 1/12-teaspoon of honey
• If you buy honey that has crystalized, it is the “good stuff”
• Dollar store honey may have high fructose corn syrup added to it

Marilyn

Ten TOWNies converged in a small space and tried to get out.  A room of locks and keys and comic books and codes . . . and occasional clues from our host . . . and if we had had TEN MORE MINUTES we could’ve escaped!  But, the clock ran out.  Everybody contributed ideas and insights, and somehow we got THIS close to a final solution.  Nicely, our host explained how we could have solved the final puzzle.

After working so hard, we went to Quality Seafood and noshed on some good things from the sea.

We agreed it was a fun — and challenging — time, and that it might have been a little easier with fewer than 10 people: maybe 6 or 8?  But there was no one in our group without whom we could have enjoyed ourselves so much.

The TOWN Puzzlers included:
JacqueA
LynneS
SusanW
JaniceB
RachelA
LindaBW
NancyL
SandyS
SanyO
MarilynF