Open Call For Manly Men & Wild Women To Bash Tandy Hills Brush Saturday January 31

On the last day of this first month of 2015 the Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area are inviting you to the 7th Annual Brush Bash. I know this because I just got an email telling me so, copied (for the most part) below....

In the beginning....

....wildfire and wildlife maintained the Tandy Hills prairie keeping it free of woody growth. The grasses and wildflowers flourished without the hand of woman or man. But those glory days are over, so...

One day a year, Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area with help from the City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Dept. hosts a Brush Bash to clear sections of the prairie of invasive and unwanted trees, brush and trash.

The brush has been cut and will be ready for volunteers to drag to waiting trucks for delivery to a composting facility. Your help REALLY makes a difference! Manly Men and Wild Women welcome.

WHO: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area
WHAT: 7th annual Brush Bash
WHEN: Saturday, January 31, 2015 9 A.M. - Noon
WHERE: Tandy Hills Natural Area
               3400 View Street
               Fort Worth, TX 76103
BRING: gloves, sturdy shoes, hat, water, lunch, tarps, rakes, small wagons and anything else you think might be useful to Bash Brush

Coffee, tea & morning snacks provided.

CONTACT - RSVP: Don Young <donyoungglass@earthlink.net>

Foggy Tandy Hills Hiking With Disappearing Trees

Fog Shrouded Downtown Fort Worth

When I exited my abode, intending to drive to the Tandy Hills, I was a bit surprised to discover that the ongoing foggy drizzle had rendered the ground at my location very damp.

As I drove west I decided to change my hill hike plan to a walk plan and go to Oakland Lake Park instead.

And then the further west I drove the drier the outer world became. So, I reverted back to the Tandy Hills hike plan.

I parked on top of Mount Tandy and began my foggy hike. As you can see in the above picture, the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth is barely visible through the fog shroud.

I was soon pleased to discover that the trails of the Tandy Hills were totally dry, no mud anywhere.

The picture below shows some of today's dry Tandy trails. And the fogginess.

That hill you see in the background, with a trail leading up it, well, when I hiked up that trail I was a bit startled to see that the big shade tree I've always seen there had disappeared. And then when I got to the top of the trail I was even more surprised to find the area pretty much stripped of all un-natural vegetation.

I had discovered the location, well, at least one of the locations, of last Saturday's Brush Bashing, that being the systematic removal of non-native plants from part of the Tandy Hills prairie.

The Brush Bashing left this area rather bare, as you can see in the above picture. In the heat of summer this used to be a location where I would stand for a bit under the shade of the aforementioned tree.

In the picture, in the center background, you might be able to make out the 8 benches that were recently installed on the Tandy Hills, creating the Tandy Hills Amphitheater, now with a lot more open space.

Today was my first time back on the Tandy Hills in quite some time. I rather enjoyed it. I was not alone in enjoying the Tandy Hills today. I saw several other people doing some salubrious hill hiking.

Checking On The Tandy Hills Brush Bashers & The No Longer Flowing Tandy Raw Sewage River

Tandy Brush Bashers In Action

Today, Saturday, was the day scheduled for those who feel the need to bash brush, to do so on the Tandy Hills.

Personally, I have no particular aversion to non-native vegetation wreaking havoc with the natural state of the Tandy Hills Natural Prairie.

So, I don't bash brush.

Now, if there was a Tandy Hills Wrecked Vehicles Bash, that I might participate in.

I probably would not participate in a Tandy Hills Creek Litter Bash, due to the fact that it seems so futile. You bash the litter, and then it quickly returns.

I might sign on to a Tandy Hills Sanitary Sewer Line Bash, due to the fact that the sewer lines which run through the Tandy Hills seem to regularly add an unwanted natural element to the hills.

Sanitary Sewer Workers Plugging A Raw Sewage Leak

Today I was pleased to see that the raging river of raw sewage that had turned the Tandy Highway into the Tandy Raw Sewage River, has been stopped.

As you can see in the picture, Fort Worth Sanitary Sewer work trucks were on the job today.

I walked up to one of the Sanitary Sewer workers. He asked if I was lost. I said I was not lost, I was hiking.

He then told me I did not want to go that way, pointing towards the former river of raw sewage, telling me that it was too muddy to walk on.

I told him I knew about the sewer break. I asked if it was fixed. He said that it was. He then shook his head and said it was really bad.

The Sanitary Sewer Worker then told me to "take care". Since English was not his first language I don't think he realized that this trite cliche was a bit out of place.

It is going to be awhile before I walk on the ground where so much raw sewage flowed. All that fertilizer should sprout some interesting vegetation in a couple months.

Brush Bash 2 Canceled But The Trout Lily Walk Will Walk As Scheduled

Tomorrow's Saturday February 20 Brush Bash has been canceled.

Fort Worth's Parks Department is unable to help due to still trying to clean up other brush left in the wake of last week's record breaking snowstorm.

The weather is also predicted be possibly a bit wet tomorrow.

The Trout Lily Walk with Master Naturalist, Jeff Quayle, is still going to take place.

If you need more info about the Tandy Hills Natural Area Trout Lily Walk you can email Don Young or call 817.731.2787.

BREAKING NEWS: Saturday's Tandy Hills Brush Bash Rescheduled

The Tandy Hills Natural Area and the rest of North Texas is wet. Very very wet.

So, due to all that excess moisture, the Tandy Hills Brush Bash, scheduled for February 6 has been postponed by Mother Nature and Her #1 Fort Worth Spokesperson, Don Young.

2010 Brush Bash 2 has been rescheduled for February 20th from 10am til 3pm.

I am pretty sure the other details of Brush Bash 2 remain the same, so I include them below.

Place: Tandy Hills Natural Area
3400 View Street
Fort Worth

What to Bring: Work gloves, water and a can-do spirit.

Lunch: > > > Bring your own or purchase, on-site, from Don’s Dawgs. (see menu below)

More Information: Contact Don Young at
donyoungglass@earthlink.net or 817-731-2787

See you on the prairie.

Don's Dawgs Menu for Brush Bash 2010

Hot Dogs - $3.00
Veggie Dogs - $3.00
Hot Links - $4.00
Nacho's - $3.00
Chili - $3.50

Above items include your choice of toppings. Chili, Cheese, Sauerkraut, Jalapeños, or Chopped Onions.

Assorted Chips - $1.00

Assorted Soft Drinks and Water - $1.00

Hot Chocolate - $1.50
Hot Spiced Cider - $1.50

We will accept Cash/Visa/MC/Discover

A Post Brush Bash Hike Over The New Tandy Hills Prairie

I was pleased to learn that almost 8 dozen Brush Bashers showed up on Saturday to Bash Brush on the Tandy Hills as part of an ongoing effort to remove invasive non-native, non-prairie type vegetation, and to rid the Tandy Hills of litter.

I made it to the Tandy Hills today around 3 in the afternoon. That was a very pleasant time to be there. Perfect temperature, no wind, nice blue sky light.

I was amazed at all the bags filled with litter that await removal. I thought Don Young might be exaggerating, a bit, when I read thousands of pounds of debris and litter were removed. I'm guessing multiple tons would not be exaggerating.

And all this was done in 3 and 1/2 hours, including a lunch break!

Tandy Hills 2010 Brush Bash Part II is scheduled for Saturday, February 6. Today I didn't see a lot of brush still awaiting being bashed to the main trail, compared to what I saw, pre-Brush Bash, but there is still a lot of work to be done, hence BBII.

The above picture shows a large section of the newly restored invasive species-free Tandy Hills Fort Worth Prairie, returned to its historical glory.

I learned today that one definitely needs to be wearing work gloves if you want to Bash Brush. I thought I'd drag out what I think was a chunk of Mesquite, today. Big mistake, whatever it was that I tried to drag, it had a thorny aspect to it that was not pleasant.

See you at the Tandy Hills Brush Bash Party February 6.

2010 Tandy Hills Brush Bash I Huge Success, Brush Bash II February 6

This past Saturday multiple events conspired to keep me from being able to join the Manly Men and Wild Women bashing brush on the Tandy Hills of Forth Worth, Texas.

I've heard from Don Young that the bashing was a huge success, with Brush Bash II scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2010.

The Brush Bash Report---

About 90 dedicated boys, girls, women and men showed up on a chilly Saturday morning to help restore the prairie at Tandy Hills Natural Area. This diverse team of individuals from all walks of life and throughout the Fort Worth area worked hard and did so cheerfully and with gusto. There was a sense of community and coming together to make a difference in this special place. The transformation of Tandy Hills Natural Area is well underway.

A huge swath of endangered Fort Worth prairie has been cleared of undesirable and invasive plants. Several large trucks hauled it away for composting. Thousands of pounds of trash and debris were removed. The rain forced us to stop at 1:30 pm so there is more work to be done this season. Please join us for round two.

The 2nd annual Brush Bash succeeded with help from the following groups:

--- Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

--- City of Fort Worth Parks & Community Service Department led by, Michelle Villafranca, and crew

--- Polytechnic High School Key Club, directed by, Mike Beaupre (highly disciplined and motivated group)

--- Boy Scout Troops 12 and 180 (the future leaders of Tandy Hills were well represented)

--- Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, Labor Detail

--- Don's Dawg's owner-operator, Mindy Billings (hot dog's never tasted so good)

A very big Thank You to all!

DY

Logging The Tandy Hills In Fort Worth For The Brush Bash

I did not make it to the Tandy Hills today til late in the afternoon. A flat tire around noon caused me a bit of unwanted adventure, none of which I photo documented, due to my camera not being present.

On the way to the Tandy Hills I had to go to my bank. There's one of those on Beach Street that is on my route, if I take the freeway.

That also let me see the Beach Street/Gateway Park Express Energy water sucking operation. At 4 in the afternoon I did not see a White Darth Vader Truck, with goons, guarding the site. Maybe they finished with their water removal for the day.

Or maybe they got arrested for damaging the Trinity River levee and for driving on the Trinity Trail. Yeah, I'm sure that's why the White Darth Vader Truck was gone. The goons are in jail.

On the Tandy Hills I saw that a lot more logging had taken place, since yesterday, in preparation for Saturday's Brush Bash. Some of the logs looked like they'd make good firewood. I wonder if those are mesquite logs? That'd make a good smelling fire. I have a fireplace that I never use.

We did not get to the predicted 72 today, only to 71. Tomorrow's predicted high is 75. These balmy temperatures have warmed up my pool. I lasted about 10 minutes this morning before I'd had enough.

I got an interesting tidbit of information this afternoon. I'll blog about it tomorrow when I'm back in top operating mode. Right now I'm tired.

Hot Martin Luther King Day Tandy Hills Hike Today In Fort Worth

It's almost 70 degrees, at half past 3 in the afternoon, this Happy Martin Luther King Day in Texas. All this HEAT had me staying in the pool, this morning, for once again, the longest duration of the new year.

I've got my windows open, so that refreshing asthma causing Fort Worth air can waft in and make me sneeze.

I figured the Tandy Hills would be dried out due to all this dryness we've been having. I was a bit wrong. I grew several inches taller as the hiking progressed, adding an ever thicker layer of mud to my shoes. I don't mind being taller, short little guy that I am, but 4 inches taller turns a bit precarious.

I saw a lot of brush that's been whacked in preparation for Saturday's Brush Bash. It looks like a clearcut former forest. Some of the brush went timber right on the trail, like you see in the picture.

Seeing all that Brush waiting to be Bashed had me wondering why a big Brush Bonfire couldn't be the disposal method. Burning that Brush wouldn't add anything worse to Fort Worth air than some of the stuff that is already being added to the air.