Walk In The Park: October 2016

All day I've faced a barren waste

Without the taste of water, cool Water

Old Dan and I with throats burned dry

And souls that cry for water

Cool, clear, water

Cool Water ~ Bob Nolan (1936)

The view from a deck at Concordia University. They are located adjacent to a dedicated 250 acre nature preserve.*

About 20 people gathered at Concordia University to train for membership on the Texas Stream Team. ** Sponsored by the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University,*** certified team members test water and gather data regarding the waterways of the state. The team includes schools, colleges, river authorities, municipalities and other local governments, and environmental groups (like the Texas Master Naturalists).

DH and I attended to see if this is something we might want to do as part of our volunteer work in our community. Neither one of us has any great proficiency in chemistry and so we were cautious about our suitability as "citizen scientists."****

Will Butler (incredibly patient with this group of often overly-enthusiastic trainees) from the Meadows Center gave us an overview of the need for the team as well as how data is used. Then, using tap water, he walked us through the testing for water quality (pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity) as well as how to calibrate our meter, properly take temperatures and make accurate field observations (consistent with monitors across the state). Then we headed to the field.

It looks complicated.

But we had step-by-step instructions and tools.

At a small stream in the preserve we learned how to us a few more pieces of equipment and how to properly do a "bucket grab." Then we tested the stream water.

Watching Will demonstrate the "bucket grab."

My group had to repeat the dissolved oxygen test. We suspect our sulfuric acid (seriously, there was some chemistry happening) was too far past the expiration date (2013) to work. We borrowed another team's bottle and were successful on the second try.*****

As we left the training we were able to slow down on our walk back and take a good look at this part of the preserve. It is a remarkable place. We want to come back - soon.

There are interesting sites in the preserve.

Some of the paths are level.

There was a good deal of moss on the rocks in the area where we tested water.

Some paths were along the hillside and were a little less than level.

It was all beautiful.

Friendly ferns and moss.

More ferns.

And more.

In some places even the steps looked like they had always been there.

Looking back down the hillside.

What must this place look like in the spring? Here a mistflower waited for pollinators.

Yes, we are coming back.

NOTES:

*From the Concordia website :

          Concordia University Texas is located on a 386-acre tract in northwest Austin,
          four miles east of Lake Travis. The university dedicated approximately 250 acres
          of its campus as a nature and wildlife preserve as part of a conservation
          easement with Travis County. The campus is a “living classroom” for the study
          of responsible urban environmentalism and offers a unique opportunity to
          investigate and manage endangered species, native plants, hydrology, forestry,
          geology along with archeology in a spectacular setting crafted by God’s divine
          hand.

http://www.concordia.edu/about/visiting-ctx-and-austin/campus-information/nature-preserve/

** http://www.meadowscenter.txstate.edu/About/Our-Mission.html

***The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment aims to develop and promote programs, research and techniques for ensuring sustainable water resources for human needs, ecosystem health and economic development.

****Heavens, my last science class was in 1974. I took no science in college. Yes, I have a real degree. (I placed out of 6 hours of general science. --- Thank you, Mr. Goldman, Mr. Euton, and W.T. Henry for your patience and remarkable instruction!) But we have a stream in mind - part of a vision for a bigger project (and maybe just a dream - or nightmare). I have no idea of DH's preparation, but he's a history major, for goodness sake. In any event, we were willing to give it try.

*****I don't want to minimize the training. Training was 4.5 intense hours of detailed procedures for accurate and consistent monitoring.

I know a place where the trees lean together

I know a woods they forgot to take away

We could be standing under the green branches

We could go astray

While they're all talking, John Spillane

It was back to the river for some of the family.

DH and I arrived early. We walked the cliff and river paths. We shivered in the spring-fed river. We blessed the quiet noises of this place - the water flowing through the rocky rapids, the call of the frogs, the ticking of the Green Kingfisher, and the crazy whistling of the tree ducks.

The family began to gather from across the state. And we performed our rituals and tried new a few new ones. We held each other close and marveled at this time together. We ate, played games, floated the river, celebrated a birthday, stalked wildlife, took the traditional photos balancing on the cypress knees, and made each group promise to let us know when they arrived home safely.

DH and I stayed behind. We needed a little bit of regrouping and one last hike before going home.

It was cool and sunny, then slightly overcast on our last day. Some swear they felt raindrops.

After an all-too-short visit from a long-time friend, we hustled our gear back into the car and headed to the pond to feed the ducks and monster catfish our left-over corn tortillas before we too headed home where we would send out messages we were safe.

PHOTOS:

Each time we visit is precious....made more so by the difficulty in gathering all together and the threat of the sale of "our place." The trees watched as we wrestled every wonderful moment out of the weekend.

I pack in small containers - easier to pack and carry...

I cannot imagine what we had in there...this is a weekend's worth. We used to bring boats!

THE RIVER

One of the first things I do on each trip is head down the cliff trail. 54 years and counting. I am more careful these days as my step is less sure and my balance only adequate (Thank you, Tai Chi). The cliffs continue to crumble here and there.

I love the emerald green of the water and the rust of the cypress needles.

Looking down river, past the last rapids, to the cliff.

This all looks like early morning on the river. Looking down stream.

Heading along the path towards the swimming area.

Sunlight on the Cypress trunks.

How many hours did I spent sitting on this cliff - reading, writing, and doing whatever small project I could haul along with me. Note: The first time I ever saw Rock Squirrels was in and around the boulders in the center of this photo. I was stunned - black squirrels? What were they? Now I have seen them another time - at the dam near our home.

Sunlight through the Cypress crowns.

A good spot to read.

How many have carved their name in this stump. How many have jumped from here into the river.

Scars from the flooding.

In places the bedrock bottom of the river shows through...sometimes it is covered by loose rocks, but fast flooding can move the rocks (and boulders) downstream.

Looking upstream - Buffalo Creek enters the Frio just to the left of this photo. There is a "bobber-eating" tree right there. On this occasion there were some 3 (maybe 4) fishing bobbers caught up in the branches. Poor casts? I think not. Hungry tree.

[I walk the river trail and the cliff trail early in the morning and at dusk. I walk the trail when everyone is napping and I am at loose ends. I haunt the trails over and over until the last walk before heading home.

CREATURES

I know there is another posting with many of these, but I have reviewed the file and am posting all the photos here. We stalk deer and exotics along the roads. We stalk birds at the pond and on the river. This year we shared our photos on naturalist websites and received assistance in and confirmation of identification of species. Perhaps it is because of the number of people usually along the river. But we saw more lizards and such than I remember. I would love to make this trip every month in one year so that I could document one annual cycle. Hmmm.

FROGS and TOADS and LIZARDS (and other slithery/crawly things) - There are few changes since the first trip...just more photos here.

We ended up in conversation (I have the tapes) with Rio Grande Leopard Frogs at the pond, but we tried valiantly to call the Blanchard's Cricket Frogs we also know are in the area. We where told you could "call 'em" by clicking two rocks together. These are our "cricket frog calls." We weren't any good at it - never heard the cricket frogs. BUT...

I did see this one along the river. I wasn't sure what it was, but had help in the id.

I followed a rustling noise and took a number of photos of this small Texas Spiny Lizard. He attempted to blend into the trees along the pond.

I was out seed gathering and taking photos when I heard this guy climbing a large Ashe Juniper. I didn't see him at first. He has great camouflage. He too was a Texas Spiny Lizard. He was a giant (and so beautiful!).

Detail of photo.

Everyone knows the Green Anole is great at "blending in" with its surroundings as it can change colors from brown to bright green. I found a green one as we were unloading the car.

Another lovely creature.

SNAKE BREAK - This is a Prairie Ring-Necked Snake. They have a bright orange/pink stomach. We never saw it. He was moving fast and neither DH nor I choose to mess with an unfamiliar snake. Now that we know, we will check next time.

Another Green Anole showed up on a pile of driftwood across the river from our campgrounds.

I'm sure I would have missed him had the swimming area been full of busy folks. I heard him - then saw the movement. I watch carefully when investigating piles of wood as they are favorite places for creatures I don't want to meet.

Gulf Coast Toads - On our first trip down the trails DH and I noticed small "hoppers." We stopped and attempted (with no equipment) to document what we found. Of course I made the mistake of posting and having the biologists correct me. These were toads, not frogs. It took a while for the exact identification - Gulf Coast Toads. I am not sure I have every seen such tiny babies before. These are the toads I tormented as a child. We knew where they were at our house and at our neighbors' and would play with them. We only "measured" and photographed these...then let them hop on their way.

Very young Gulf Coast Toad on limestone boulder.

Photo enlarged.

We each attempted to use a dime to indicate the size of these little guys.

One more baby Gulf Coast Toad found on the river trail. There were a goodly number of them. It reminded me of a fishing trip to Camp Wood when I was a little girl. We caught "baby frogs" and used them for fishing bait. I was heartbroken and couldn't put one on my hook, but Daddy did. That trip was the first time I remembered Cottonwood trees. I gathered the cottony seeds to stuff pillows for my dolls.

Non-native Mediterranean House Gecko - seen one evening on the wall of our cottage. Many creatures were waiting to catch bugs under the lights (something we haven't done since the kids were in high school).

Bird love the pond - the Mallards that live there all year round - the transients we have seen through the years. On this trip we discovered Black-bellied Whistling Tree Ducks and a Great Egret. I stalked them a bit, hiding behind the large trees at the edge of the pond. I mostly used the phones and was pleased to capture the view I did.

The Great Egret

The Egret stayed a day or two.

I may have scared it.

Detail

I love these photos that show the bird and the plants and water surrounding it.

Here it has seen something...I'm not the only stalker...and I'm hoping it hasn't found one of the Rio Grande Leopard Frogs we had heard and spoken with the night before. [We heard them the first night and then sat by the pond to listen and tape the frog calls. After we recorded enough we discovered the frogs would respond to us. "Ribbet, ribbet." [Actually Rio Grande Leopard Frog vocalization is varied, so we could imitate it fairly easily.] Frogs still called after the Egret left the area - all was well at the pond.

I didn't know that we would see the Tree Ducks and Egret together. There was no interaction.

I counted 21 Black-bellied Whistling Tree Ducks. I heard them the first morning and noted them as they flew from the tree line along the river off to the north, northwest. Little did I know they had slept in the trees and were merely moving to the pond to feed. They reduced in numbers each day until they were all gone.

On one of the last days there were only seven (7) on the pond.

Eating at the pond's edge

Not sure who belongs to this feather.

The resident Mallards.

There are always plenty of vultures - here we have two. There are both Turkey and Black Vultures in the area - always plenty to "clean up."

One last little bird on the river. I guessed - Canyon Wren. Who knows?

We saw a bunch of Wild Turkeys, but this was the only one who let me take his photo. I think this was in Bandera, but there were 10 or more on the Rio Frio road as well.

And an arachnid or two (plenty):

Wolf spider (which did, in fact, make it through the screen and into our room. I swept it out and thought I might have been too rough. Nope, he was playing 'possum.

Crab spider?

There were a few bees and butterflies as well, but only this one posed.

From photos taken while waiting for tubers to return. I think these might have been Maximilian Sunflowers.

Mullein - they grow like crazy in the wasteland across the river from our camp.

Fungus

And the MILKWEED. This year I heard from multiple sources that the milkweed bloomed, seeded and repeated (perhaps because of our strange weather). We found it in every stage but the blooming. This is Pearl Milkweed. We know where to look for it, but found it in two spots that were new, as well. It is hard not to love the fluffy filaments that carry the seeds with the wind.

We spied the green seed pods hanging high in one of the trees along the road.

These pods were a long way from releasing seeds.

I kept my eyes open and saw a seed behind one of the cabins.

Well, if there are seeds, there is a seed pod here.

Sure enough.

This is what the pods look like as they start to dry.

And dryer still

Until the dry pods split.

And the seeds emerge.

Just a few more milkweed photos.

Seed containers from the Mexican Buckeye

Ball Moss

Ashe Juniper berries

Cypress "cones"

This Cypress on the bank of the pond is another "bobber eater."

A wild petunia of some kind.

White mistflower (shrubby boneset). Guess what it was used for in the past.

Mountain Laurel is everywhere.

I have heard this called all kinds of things - wild morning glory - pye vine. I've used the seeds for crafts.

The devil, Pyracantha (fire thorn), growing along the cliff trail.

There were a type of saw tooth yucca and twisted-leaf yucca on our hike in Bandera.

And, finally Deer. There were White-tailed deer and exotics.

A couple of does in a hay field.

An Axis doe and yearling were seen across the river from our camping area.

DH has a history with this exotic (Axis) buck.

He was waiting at the fence as we drove on the evening "game drive."

Three does in this field on the way to the Rio Frio low water crossing.

Detail.

The one looks weirdly "bunny-faced."

This odd antler-cross was found on a tree in the Rio Frio Cemetery.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Happy Birthday, dear OC!

Birthday balloons

Gotta have a bouquet of Tootsie Roll Pops.

Cooked supper - I have this business down to a fine art. I suspect this is the only meal other than breakfast I cooked.

Our sweet Park Ranger and grass-guide, Ranger Leanne Beauxbeannes. We went to the Hill Country State Natural Area for a winter wildflower and grasses hike before all the kids showed up. We didn't even think about native grasses at the time (other than my friend JK's Switchgrass. Now we are much better informed and "grass nerds" (in a way). I do notice the grasses on the side of the road and think, "Oh, there's Bushy Bluestem" and other nonsense. Nerds, I say!