Tandy Hills Mascot Olive The Prairie Dog Is Still Missing

Someone named Anonymous made a comment on a blogging from earlier today, asking about Olive the Missing Prairie Dog....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "March Swimming Plotting Moving North Before Texas HOT Summer arrives": 

Any updates on Olive The Prairie Dog? 

I told Anonymous that I would post the latest info I had regarding the Mascot of the Tandy Hills, Olive the Prairie Dog, being missing. Which is what I posted above. This was from the Friends of the Tandy Hills Natural Area March Prairie Notes.

The text above the photo of Olive says....

Olive the Prairie Dog, beloved mascot of Friends of Tandy Hills and all-around incredible being, has been missing since February 15. She has a chip and tags with phone numbers. If you see her please let us know. 

The text below the photo of Olive says....

Olive the Prairie Dog knows Tandy Hills better than anyone.

Today Is North Texas Giving Day With Dorothy's Ruby Slippers On The Tandy Hills

A message from Dorothy and the Friends of the Tandy Hills...........

Dear Friends,

Today is the Day!

It’s North Texas Giving Day. Please choose Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area to be the recipient of your Environmental dollars on this special Giving Day.

From 6 a.m. until midnight, your donation of $25 or more will yield bonus funds and prizes which means that your tax deductible donation to Friends of Tandy Hills, TODAY ONLY, will go further.    

Need 32 good reasons to support us?
Go here: http://www.tandyhills.org/campaign

The direct link to donate to Friends of Tandy Hills is here:
www.northtexasgivingday.org/#npo/friends-of-tandy-hills-natural-area-inc

Olive The Prairie Dog Official Mascot Of The Tandy Hills Is In Wikipedia

This morning I Googled "Tandy Hills Natural Area" to learn that there is now a Wikipedia Tandy Hills Natural Area article.

I Googled "Tandy Hills Natural Area" because I was curious to see how the Tandy Hills was currently being indexed on Google.

A couple years ago Don Young emailed me asking if I could tell him why my Tandy Hills webpage, and various bloggings about the Tandy Hills, showed up in searches before the official Tandy Hills website.

I explained that my Tandy Hills webpage was likely getting ranked high by Google because I was linking to it every time I blogged about the Tandy Hills. I said I'd stopped doing that and that would likely fix the "problem".

So, I was pleased to see that the official Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area website now Googles #1. My Eyes on Texas Tandy Hills webpage is not only no longer #1, it doesn't not even show up on the first page of results!

The Wikipedia article about the Tandy Hills Natural Area is illustrated by a photo of Olive the Prairie Dog (Official Tandy Hills Mascot) playing in a field of wildflowers.

Below are the three paragraphs making up the Wikipedia article about the Tandy Hills Natural Area....

Tandy Hills Natural Area is a 160-acre (0.65 km2) indigenous remnant prairie located in Fort Worth, Texas. The land was obtained by the City of Fort Worth in 1960 and designated a natural area in 1987. The park is currently managed by the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.

Noted for its unusually complete collection of prairie flora, THNA contains more than 500 native plant species. The show of spring wildflowers is unsurpassed in the D/FW Metroplex. The land is a living demonstration of how most of Fort Worth appeared in predevelopment times.

THNA is adjacent to I-30 and less than 5 minutes from downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The fact that it has never been developed and survived into the 21st century in relatively pristine condition is extremely remarkable.

A Perfect Day On The Tandy Hills With Don Young & The Prairie Fest All Over The Place

The hiking temperature on the Tandy Hills today was about as near perfect as I can recollect ever experiencing.

The last Saturday of February is a beautiful day in North Texas.

On this incredibly prefect day I was the only sign of life I saw today on the Tandy Hills.

I did not get gas today, but I called my mom anyway to talk on the drive to the Tandy Hills.

My mom and dad are looking forward to the incoming visit from Spencer Jack in a couple weeks.

I was still talking to my mom when I got to my parking spot on View Street. A lady in a van drove up next to me and rolled down her window indicating she wanted to ask me something.

I rolled down my window after which the lady asked me if I knew where Don Young's house was. I did happen to know where that particular abode was and told her where to find it.

My mom then asked me who Don Young was and why I knew where his house was. I had no idea how to explain who Don Young was or why I know where his house is, so I just told my mom that Don Young is in the news a lot here and everyone knows where he lives.

Except for that lady in the van who stopped to ask me where Don Young's house was.

Apparently Don Young is destined to show up all over the place with me today. As in a couple emails about the upcoming Prairie Fests. I shall copy the latest one below.........

We all have a place that inspires us to take a stand against Big Gas & Oil. 

That place can be as vast as the Upper Delaware River Basin that inspired Josh Fox or a humble home in the suburbs. For me that place was and is, Tandy Hills Natural Area, in Fort Worth, Texas. 

I'm requesting your help to keep Tandy Hills "like it was."

The main thing you need to know about Tandy Hills is that it's one of the last of the breed. The few remnants of native Texas prairie are akin to Unicorns: Beautiful, exceedingly rare and hunted to near extinction.

The 160 acres of Tandy Hills prairie were stalked by the gas industry just like the mythical Unicorn hunters of old. Keeping them at bay has been one of the few victories in the local gas war. But it takes constant surveillance, unwavering commitment and creative subversion to keep them out of Tandy Hills.

That's what Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area (FOTHNA) does, but in a non-threatening, positive way. FOTHNA helps people fall in love with the place so they will fight to protect it. Most importantly, we help educate the future guardians of the place.

Prairie Fest and Kids on the Prairie may look like benign activities but they are actually part of a subversive campaign to save some of Fort Worth by raising public awareness via wildflowers, music, art and environmental education.

Here's how it works:

---> Prairie Fest began in my front yard in 2006 as a direct attempt to keep gas drilling out of the park. Since then, the solar-powered festival has become one of the largest green festivals in north Texas, winning the Best Outdoor Cultural Event in Fort Worth in 2010 while demonstrating environmental stewardship to thousands of Texans. It even received an honor from the City of Fort Worth.

---> Kids on the Prairie is a partnership outreach program between Friends of Tandy Hills and the Fort Worth ISD. Funds raised at Prairie Fest pay for hundreds of public school kids to have a field day of learning at Tandy Hills. Most of these kids are low-income. They are led by a group of Master Naturalists recruited by FOTHNA.

As founder of FWCanDo, I have never asked you for money. Any service I provided over the years was done out of a sense of love and duty. As founder-director of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, I ask you to help us save some of Fort Worth in one of the two E-Z ways listed below. 

• Membership in Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area
• Sponsorship of Prairie Fest.  
• Friends of Tandy Hills website

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is not directly affiliated with FWCanDo.

Don Young
FWCanDo
P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147

Happy Winter Solstice From That Thing Of Beauty Known As The Tandy Hills

In Spring The Tandy Hills Come Alive With Color

This morning I got an email from the Godfather of the Tandy Hills, Don Young, thanking me a mil to "Please consider a mention of the positive accomplishments of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area in your end-of-year coverage."

I did not know til I got this email that I was going to be doing any end of the year coverage.

The details contained in Godfather Don's email are below, minus the photos, except for the photo, you see above, of wildflowers coloring up the Tandy Hills...

Tandy Hills Natural Area is one of the few surviving examples of native, Fort Worth landscape. It is an important part of our history and heritage. 

Working closely with the City of Fort Worth, Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area are committed to year-round stewardship of this irreplaceable treasure.

As a member of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area (FOTHNA) you help insure that Tandy Hills survives and thrives. Your membership is, indeed, a thing of beauty.

It supports important Conservation and Restoration Efforts, like Education Outreach Programs for hundreds of FWISD school kids and full enactment of the Master Plan, so that everyone can better enjoy and appreciate the Tandy Hills.

Your 2012 membership comes with a variety of perks that make great gifts, for you or a friend. Check them out here.

Happy Winter Solstice from Tandy Hills!

Don Young

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147
817-731-2787