It is a bit past 3 this Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth. About a half hour ago a thunderstorm started up with heavy rain and wind. The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued 5 Alerts since 11:15 am---one Thunderstorm Alert, two Flood Alerts and two Tornado Alerts.
We are being very alert here.
Prior to the storm I went to Tandy Hills Park to get in some high humidity hiking. I was surprised to see the lady you see in the picture, painting the landscape. Last week, during the Prairie Fest, there seemed to be dozens of landscape painters. Today was the first time I saw a non-Prairie Fest landscape painter at the Tandy Hills.
There were more people hiking the Tandy Hills today than I've ever seen before, except on Prairie Fest day. Towards the end of today's hike a light rain started up. That felt good due to the high humidity making hiking like being in a mild steam bath. On the return pass by the landscape painter she was hurriedly packing up to get out of the rain. I saw a new wildflower today.
And I saw something disturbing. Someone had removed the Tandy Hills Shrine, up by the Fort Worth Space Needle. A lot of work went into building that shrine. It'll be hard to rebuild because a lot of litter has been removed from the park.
When I got back here, because of that hot, humidity thing, getting in the pool seemed like a good idea, even though it was raining and even though I'd already done my early morning swim.
The lightning continues to strike and the thunder to boom. But it seems to be letting up. For awhile there it was being so wild I was expecting to hear the tornado sirens. But all I heard was pounding rain and thunder booms.
The exercise endorphins are not doing their job today. Why I do not know.
I think, maybe, I may need to quit paying such close attention to the news. It's depressing. Usually, if anything, I am overly optimistic. But not right at this moment. Maybe I had a bad nightmare last night that I am not remembering.
The morning swim went well, but when I got out of the water I didn't feel all that energized. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that for the first time this year the air temperature was warmer than the water.
I got some bug bites yesterday. At least I assume that's what the red spots have been caused by. Maybe my foul mood is the result of insect venom being injected into me.
I continue to be made to feel dumb by two Washington women who keep beating me at Scrabble. I think they must be somehow cheating. Maybe I need to get the Scrabble for Dummies book.
At noon I did the usual hike around the Tandy Hills. Actually it was not the usual. At the top of each hill I was winded and had to bend over, hands on knees, to catch my breath. It was not being quite a Gar the Texan level of the vapors, but close. I think my blood sugar level was real low. I was really craving a non-diet Coke. One thing did brighten my spirits a bit whilst hiking the Tandy Hills. That was all the Buttermilk Primroses I was seeing. Those bright yellow flowers almost make me feel as good as seeing the Redrock of Utah. Utah Redrock has a very mysterious, I dunno, borderline mystical effect on me. Goes back to the first time I saw it and it's been that way every time since.
That's what I really need. A road trip to Moab and some mountain biking on trails surrounded by Redrock and the best works of Mother Nature.
In the meantime I'll just stare at Buttermilk Primroses. And feel forlorn.
Today a bus riding aficionado talked me into riding Fort Worth mass transit, in the form of a natural gas-powered bus, for the first time. The destination was Tandy Hills Park to do my usual Saturday mountain hike. The distance, about 4 miles.
The bus arrived right on schedule, the #21 bus, pulled up right at 11;52 am. The bus aficionado gave me his pass to swipe through the ticket machine while he bought another ticket for $1.75. He thought it was a round trip ticket. This turned out to be erroneous, we later learned. I have been on mass transit buses previously in other locales, that being Seattle and my old home zone of the Skagit Valley. In the Skagit Valley they were called SKAT buses, due to it being Skagit Area Transit. Bus rides in the Skagit Valley were free, back then, paid for by a slight increase to the sales tax.
In Seattle the buses are HUGE, long articulated things, meaning the bus is so long, two halves are connected by an accordion like thing so it can go around corners. The Fort Worth bus was quite small and noisy. I loved how the bus zoomed along, like some sort of ride in a theme park. At the most there were 8 passengers on the bus with me today. My last time on a Seattle bus, last summer, zipping through the Seattle bus tunnel, it was standing room only. On the way to the Tandy Hills the bus stop exit point was not were I was told it would be. This resulted in about a half mile walk on city streets to get to the park. We hiked around for about an hour, then hurried back to Oakland Street to catch a return bus. Got to the bus stop ahead of when the bus should get there.
15 minutes went by. No bus. Called the bus center. After about 5 minutes on the phone we were told the bus was late and had just left the transit station. That meant it should reach where I was standing in about 5 minutes, which it did. Getting back on the bus I swiped my pass. Then the bus aficionado swiped his and was told it was a one-way ticket, that he'd need to buy another ticket or a transfer pass for 75 cents. The bus aficionado somehow thought that $1.75 got him a roundtrip ticket to go 4 miles each way. When it actually cost $3.00 for a roundtrip ticket. This seemed a bit expensive to me, all things considered. I think I paid 50 cents the last time I took a Seattle bus from the north end to downtown, with Seattle buses being free in the downtown zone. When the bus aficionado bought the $1.75 ticket the driver asked if he wanted a transfer pass, to which the bus aficionado, not knowing what a transfer pass was, said no. With a transfer pass, apparently one could do the 4 mile round trip on one ticket. It all seemed way too confusing to me.
So, the bus aficionado asked me if I had 2 bucks. All I had was 2 ten dollar bills. After way too much brouhaha the super smiling sweet lady bus driver said she'd pay for it. And then we were on our way. A short distance later a lady got off the bus with a huge number of bags filled with groceries. The super sweet always smiling lady bus driver helped the lady get her bags off the bus, helping her get mobile on the sidewalk.
Early on in today's bus ride adventure I was thinking I'm liking this. I always do the driving, it was nice to be able to look around. And the ride was fun. But, by the end of the bus ride adventure it seemed like something I would likely not soon repeat. Even though the bus drivers were very nice.
But, it was a good hike around the Tandy Hills. I saw another illusive Celestial and the sky has now returned to total blue from that unfortunate wildfire haze we had going on a couple days ago.
Ride a Seattle bus with me through the Seattle bus tunnel last summer in the YouTube video below (note all the buses in the tunnel, all as crowded as the one I was on, unlike today's bus ride)....
I'm happy to report that the hazy, smelly wildfire sky has cleared up and Texas is back smelling good and looking purty as the wildflowers brighten the landscape, except in those unfortunate zones where they got toasted black by a raging wildfire.
It was a bit breezy at noon at the Tandy Hills. That strong breeze had blown yesterday's dark haze somewhere other than here.
When I was last at the Tandy Hills I reported on my frustrating inability to find one of the supposedly ubiquitous celestial wildflowers.
Today, I think I may have found one. It sort of looks like the wildflower that Don Young identified as a celestial. I await confirmation.
So, with great effort, I hauled myself to the Tandy Hills today a bit before noon, as per Mr. Young's suggestion, that being that by noon the one day wonders begin their fade to death.
I hiked and hiked and hiked, up hills, down hills, across prairies, along creek beds, through forested zones, the west side, the east side, the north side, the south side. I looked and looked and looked and I saw not a one of the vaunted Prairie Celestials, not a one.
Near as I could tell I exhausted all possible places where this saffron-spewing flower might be blooming. To no avail. But I did see a new wildflower coloring up the Tandy Hills today, that being the yellow flower you see in the picture. The picture almost does justice to how bright the yellow of this flower is, as in they glow in the noon sun like neon yellow.
It is supposed to freeze tonight. I don't know if that fragile looking yellow flower is going to be able to survive a freeze. I guess we will soon find out.
No. I am not talking about the signs of spring. Though those were sadly lacking today while hiking the Tandy Hills. Well, there was an extremely brisk wind that had blown the air clean. But there were no other fresh signs of spring.
As in no new wildflowers. I fear the earlier reports are accurate and due to the drought of last fall, which continued through winter and now into spring, the wildflowers this year in Texas are going to be a bit less colorful than the norm.
The signs I'm talking about seeing in the Tandy Hills Natural Area are the extremely unnatural signs you see in the photo. That particular one blocks a view of beautiful downtown Fort Worth. Next to the sign a cable stretches across the trail, adding a possible tripwire to the Tandy Hills hiker who isn't paying close attention. Such as me.
I don't know why these signs have been added. I have never seen a motorized vehicles wheeling over the Tandy Hills. It'd take a jeep or an ORV with big wheels. It is pretty rough terrain. I have also never seen a horse on these hills. I have seen a kid on a mountain bike. I remember asking him why? Due to the Tandy Trails not really being conducive to mountain biking. He told me he didn't realize the trails were so rough.
I hope this wind isn't blowing in anything wet or loud. Or cold. I like having my windows open.
It is another windy, gray day today in Texas. I needed to escape this chair and computer screen, so I went to the Tandy Hills around noon and saw my first Tandy Hills bluebonnet of the year, up close and very personal.
Bluebonnets are very photogenic. The one you see here was up by the Fort Worth Needle, that being a really tall communications tower. This was the only spot I saw bluebonnets today inside the Tandy Hills Park. I saw a lot of bluebonnets along side the roads on the way to Tandy Hills.
Bluebonnets are the State Flower of Texas and are very strongly protected by strict Texas law. You can look, you can take pictures, you can see if they smell good, but if you pick a bluebonnet there is a chance you may do a stint in Huntsville.
Imprisoned for picking a bluebonnet? And yet some wonder how America manages to imprison 756 inmates per 100,000 Americans, at a rate nearly 5 times the world's average. Speaking of crimes and jail time. For months now there has been a white wifebeater t-shirt hanging from a bush. Today it was blowing in the wind like some sort of ghostly apparition. Why would someone take off their wifebeater and leave it behind at this location in the Tandy Hills? Or did it blow in from some domestic dispute in some distant location? It's a puzzlement.
The first new Tandy Hills wildflower of today's hike appeared even before I exited my vehicle, in the open prairie zone viewable from View Street. I don't know what the name of this wildflower is, but it looked like an orange Indian Paintbrush that had been dyed pink. I'm pretty sure no one went to the bother of painting a field of Indian Paintbrush a new color.
It's less than a month til the 4th Annual Fort Worth Prairie Fest, Saturday, April 25, 2009, 10 AM - 8 PM.
I was so busy yesterday, preparing for the 4th annual Fort Worth Prairie Fest, that I forgot to look up when the center of the Sun crossed the equator in the celestial sphere at 8:44 am CDT. The vernal equinox has come and gone. Dang! I hate it when that happens. The winds of mid-March whistle through the TV towers above Tandy Hills like the ghosts of Indians past. The trees are adorned with kites and plastic bags. A pair of Screech Owls have arrived, testing the mettle of scurrying field mice. Tiny-legged Ground Skinks are on the move again, "swimming" like quicksilver through the mysterious world underfoot.
A Cooper's Hawk, sliced overhead yesterday, reminding me of who rules the air around here.
When I got back here a bit ago I checked email before I checked blogging and there was an email from Michael Moore. I'm pretty sure this is not the Michael Moore of movie-making fame. Mr. Moore emailed to thank me for mentioning the Tandy Hills frequently, saying he appreciated my efforts to make people aware of its beauty and accessibility.
I don't know if it's irony or coincidence, but I was on my way to blogging about today at the Tandy Hills when I read Mr. Moore's email.
When last I blogged about the Tandy Hills I mentioned an exotic yellow flower that had sprung up, pre-spring. Today a tree had bloomed with white blossoms. That's one of the blossoms in in the picture above. It looks like the blossom of a fruit tree, like a cherry tree, but I don't think I've ever seen any fruit in a tree in the Tandy Hills.
Regarding the beautiful, bright, exotic yellow flower that is blooming now on the Tandy Hills, a kind soul informed me that this wildflower is called a dandelion. What an exotic name for an exotic flower. Exotic and edible.
As for the first snakes of 2009. I have never seen a snake while hiking the Tandy Hills. But this afternoon I had to be in Arlington at 2. That was concluded faster than I'd anticipated, so I decided to pedal the River Legacy Park mountain bike trails, hoping to maybe get a picture of the Wild Boar Herd.
I saw no Boars today at River Legacy, but I did see 2 snakes. They were very little. I've no idea what brand of snake they were, but neither rattled and both looked perfectly safe, due to being so little.
I guess today is going to be an all about Tandy Hills day on my blog. It started of with news of a new Brush Bash next Saturday, followed by wondering what the story was behind the long gone Fort Worth Cattle Drive Restaurant that was located at the western edge of the Tandy Hills. And then to be informed that the Fort Worth Cattle Drive Restaurant started out as Luminaria, a Mexican Restaurant.
So, continuing on with today being all about the Tandy Hills.
LOST is a TV show on ABC, a lot of which is set on a tropical island with a lot of mysterious confounding stuff. Like underground stations, pipelines, abandoned vehicles and strange industrial looking installations. And there are also some normal looking houses straight out of suburbia on the island in LOST.
So, what does the Tandy Hills have in common with LOST? Besides also having some normal looking houses in the area. Well, the Tandy Hills is also sort of lost in time. It's a wild, natural area. Where unnatural things have gone on in its past. Like you'll be walking along and you'll come to a large metal grate in the ground. There are a lot of those.
On LOST there are monsters that you hear, but don't ever see. When walking in the Tandy Hills, at certain locations, you are greeted by very loud barking noises, but you never see where they are coming from.
On LOST there are rusted out vehicles that used to run on roads the jungle long ago reclaimed. While walking the Tandy Hills you come upon long abandoned vehicles that drove on primitive roads being reclaimed by Mother Nature. Today I came upon a long abandoned pickup. I've no idea how it came to be in that location. It's like the monster on LOST had thrown it there.
As the people lost on LOST slowly explored the island they learned they were not its first visitors. They'd discover things, like power lines going to an underwater station and other things that indicated men had been there before. Or were still there. When you walk around the Tandy Hills you see a lot of signs that it has not always been a natural area, like the aforementioned roads and big pipes.
On LOST the island has a lot of beautiful vegetation. So does the Tandy Hills. In a month or so it will get downright colorful. It's already being a bit colorful. While I've not been able to locate a Trout Lily, today I saw a very exotic yellow flower that was extremely delicate and put off an interesting scent. That's the yellow flower found at the Tandy Hills today, at the top.
On LOST there are abandoned industrial looking buildings, making humming noises. You come upon the same type thing when walking around the Tandy Hills. On LOST it was the Dharma Initiative that built all the humming industrial looking buildings. I don't know what initiative built the humming industrial looking buildings that you see when you walk around on the Tandy Hills.
This Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 1 pm, Master Naturalist, Jim Varnum of Farmers Branch, Texas will hold a Trout Lily Walk & Talk at the Tandy Hills Natural Area in beautiful Fort Worth, Texas.
Bring good walking/hiking shoes, water, hat, sunscreen, camera, a notebook and something to eat.
If you want more info you can get call Don Young at 817.731.2787.
Jim Varnum writes a newsletter called "Jim's This and That" devoted to Naturalist information. The latest "This and That" is devoted to Trout Lilies.
Below is an excerpt from the latest "This and That" about Trout Lilies.
What is a Trout Lily?
Spring comes early in North Central Texas. Dandelions and henbit aside, we spot one or two wildflowers by the end of January and a dozen or so by the end of February. But one February bloomer – the trout lily (Erythronium albidum) -- stands out to both the botanist and casual wildflower watcher as a true harbinger of spring. What an odd name -- “trout lily” -- it doesn’t look like a trout! It's also called a dog-tooth violet or fawn lily, but it doesn’t resemble those creatures either. Let's explore this interesting and amazing plant.
About 20 or so years ago I became interested in trout lilies (also called white dog-tooth violet and fawn lily) from Dr. Geoffrey Stanford founder of Greenhills Environmental Center (now Cedar Ridge Preserve). Since then I have scoured and scouted Texas near and far for this interesting plant.
When do Trout Lilies Bloom?
Trout lilies bloom from the middle of February until the end of March. Wow -- that is it for the year. Look in shady spots on chalky or blackland soil for one or two mottled green leaves rising from the leaf litter. (Someone once thought the leaves resembled the speckled trout, thus this plant’s common name). The flower sits atop a short stem or 'scape' about 4-5 inches above the ground. The stem bends over so the flower actually points toward the ground. The flower has 6 floral parts (3 petals and 3 sepals) that are white on the front and lavender on the back. These parts are ''recurved'' -- they curl backwards to resemble a small Easter lily. To get a good view you almost have to lie on the ground. Photographers, gently lift the flower with a pencil or twig, snap your photo and put it back.
How do Trout Lilies Grow?
How trout lilies propagate is an amazing story in itself. Remember the downward-pointing flower? After blooming, the plant produces a few seeds almost at ground level. The seed sends down a root, or bulblet, 3-5 inches underground. Some people believe this bulblet resembles a dog’s tooth, thus another common name for this plant, ''dog-tooth violet.'' For 6 years, the trout lily produces only one leaf and no flowers. In the 7th year, it produces 2 leaves and a flower, which will produce seeds and start this amazing cycle all over again.
In addition to spreading by seed, trout lilies, like many other species in the lily family, can reproduce by sending off underground rhizomes from the bulblet. New bulblets will be produced at the end of each rhizome, and those bulblets can produce their own flower, so many times when we see a patch of trout lilies, they are a colony of plants that all came from the spreading of one parent flower. Imagine trying to propagate trout lilies yourself. Dr. Geoffrey Stanford once transplanted some it took many years to see any results. They exist to today. There, if you made it this far you know than you ever thought you possibly could about a flower you've likely never heard of before. See you at Tandy Hills on Sunday!
I need to get this monkey off my back. This addiction to endorphins is wearing me out. By tomorrow morning it will get worse. My pool is back open. I was last in it 6 days before the Winter Solstice. We are now about a month from the Spring Equinox. It would seem this should mean the water is warmer than when I was last in it.
Before noon, after sitting too many hours in front of this computer, I went to the Tandy Hills again and ran up steep hills. That quickly gets the endorphin fix happening.
That's the Tandy Hills tower known as the Fort Worth Needle, in the picture at the top. It's really tall. It makes me dizzy to stand under it and look up. Part of that dizziness may have been due to having run up the hill to get under the Needle.
There's a library a short distance from my abode. I went there about 3 this afternoon to get some books. Reading too many books is the other monkey on my back addiction that is taxing me.
When I left the library I decided, why I do not know, craving more endorphins, maybe. For whatever reason, I went to River Legacy Park. I had not biked the mountain bike trails there in a long long time. I don't know why.
It has been so long that several new trails have been added. I've never seen the River Legacy Trails in such good shape. New bridges have been added. Bypasses and shortcuts have been added. Real good signage has been added.
One section is called "Fun Town," for Experts. There is a red skull and crossbones on the sign. Fun Town had some really steep drops and some really steeply banked turns. I should wear my helmet. The River Legacy Trail used to be so tame. Not anymore. And there were a lot of bikers there this afternoon. Word must be getting around, River Legacy has some really good mountain bike trails in really good shape.
I only went one time around, that's about 5 miles. My bike was making a weird squeaky noise. I knew it'd been too long since I'd greased all the moving parts. So, I cut it short and went to Wal-Mart and got some grease and some new bike shorts.
I see a return to biking and swimming in my immediate future. Weather permitting.
I really don't get enough aerobic exercise, so I went running around the Tandy Hills again today. When I was done with that I headed east on Meadowbrook, towards my favorite Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. You may not have one of these in your neighborhood yet. They are small versions of a Wal-Mart, sort of like a regular grocery store.
Looking east on Meadowbrook, at the stop light for the exit off I-820, there seems to be what looks like a mountain in the distance. In the northwest that is sort of what Mount Rainier can look like on the horizon.
But, it isn't a mountain. What it is is the nearly completed new Dallas Cowboy Stadium, clearly visible, as you can see in the picture, from Fort Worth.
I've wondered before, in this very venue, if the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium is visible from any vantage point in Dallas. Maybe from the lookout at the top of Reunion Tower. Or one of the other downtown Dallas skyscrapers.
I know the new stadium is not visible from the highest of the Tandy Hills. I was there today and there was no stadium to be seen.
I did see a lot less litter. I've been slowly removing the deluge of litter that clogged up one of the creek beds during our last heavy rain. It's a daunting task. I think the litter in that location has been reduced by half.
I had the best of intentions, today, to help move brush and stuff alien to the natural nature of the Tandy Hills Natural Area.
But, a sprained thumb rendered me worthless for such an endeavor. However, feeling guilty for not doing my part, I did send in a proxy to help and report back to me.
As it turned out, a small army, complete with heavy equipment was on duty today. And a lot more than invasive vegetation was dispatched.
Dozens of abandoned tires were removed. Dozens of bags of litter were collected. I've never seen a tire at the Tandy Hills. I have seen litter, a lot of it in the creek beds, but I don't think that was where today's litter was collected.
I believe it is going to take many more Saturdays to get this job done. I'm thinking dragging a solar-powered wood chipper deep into the park would be a much more efficient means to remove wood debris, than hauling it all the way to where trucks can reach it.
I decided this morning that I really do not get enough exercise, so I decided to go run up and down the hills at Tandy Hills Natural Area.
I figured I'd also check on the progress of the City of Fort Worth arborist's brush cutting project preparing for Saturday's onslaught of Tandy Hills Aficionados ready and eager to haul tons of brush to the road.
I ran and ran and ran over mile after mile of the Tandy Hills trails, looking for some cut brush. Finally, after what seemed hours, I came upon several clumps of Prickly Pear Cactus that had been sliced.
Surely this is not part of the City of Fort Worth brush cutting, I hoped. I continued on with my search. I looked on the west side of the main trail that leads from the main park entry. No cut brush.
I backtracked to the main entry part, that's where there is regular, planted and mowed lawn and a playground. Just a short distance after the planted lawn ends there is a seldom used trail that heads to the east and connects to more frequently used trails.
On that infrequently used trail I did find a small section where brush had been cut. If that is all the brush that needs to be bashed on Saturday, it doesn't appear it will take too long to clean it all up.
In the meantime I'm trying to find out if there is anything that can be done to save those decapitated cactus. In Arizona you can do jail time for decapitating a cactus, if it's a Saguaro. I don't know how they feel about Prickly Pear Cactus in Arizona.
Below is an excerpt from the FW Weekly article....click the above link to read the entire article.
The city’s best example of native grassland prairie isn’t all that great anymore. Trees have been taking over Tandy Hills Natural Area for years, choking out the wild grasses and flowers that have made the park unique in North Texas.
Now, after years of neglect, the city of Fort Worth is showing a renewed commitment to restoring the park to the way it looked back when wildfires periodically cleared the land of trees and promoted the growth of grasses that sustained huge herds of buffalo.
A crew of chainsaw-wielding tree-slayers will begin laying waste to the unwanted canopy this week, and volunteers will converge on the park on Saturday to drag the cuttings to the curb for removal. What’s more, the city is pledging to make the tree-clearing an annual effort, ensuring the grasslands remain intact for ensuing generations.
“This is a huge step forward,” said Don Young, one of numerous Eastside activists who have pleaded with the city to better maintain the park in recent years.
The informal group began calling themselves the Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area about four years ago, and created the Prairie Fest. The annual outdoor festival uses music, art, dance, environmental displays, and wildlife tours to bring attention to the park. That first year the festival attracted only a handful of vendors, visitors, and entertainers. Since then, however, the celebration has exploded. About 2,500 visitors attended in 2008, along with 100 vendors.
I saw my first wildflower of the year, this morning while jogging on the Tandy Hills. I don't know what the name of the purple wildflower is. I've not yet seen one of the shy Trout Lilies that are also currently blooming.
It's another gray day in North Texas, but not a cold, gray day. I had some good wild excitement while communing with nature this morning. I came over the crest of a hill to see 3 big dogs. When they saw me they started barking and running towards me. I took off at high speed in the opposite direction. I think I moved faster than when I thought a water moccasin was chasing me in Lake Grapevine.
I hope the dog incident does not cause a scary nightmare like what happened when I was chased by dogs at Oakland Lake Park. That night the dogs reappeared in dream form, which quickly turned nightmarish when the 6 dogs morphed into 6 hugely obese, extremely ugly, hideous fat women trying to bite me with their big mouths. I still shudder when I think of it. I thought today seemed like a good day to rebuild the Tandy Hills Shrine. It'd been destroyed by Shrine Vandals a couple months ago. I did not rebuild the Shrine as artfully as the original. I was in a hurry. So, pretty much all I did was take the Shrine Materials out of the grass and put them back on the trail.
I saw a very odd sign by the Tandy Hills Shrine. I'm sure it has always been there, but I never noticed it before. Why? I do not know. I've been at this location dozens of times. I must not be very observant. The sign warned "NO DRIVING OFF ROADWAY." The problem with that is there is no roadway to drive off. The sign didn't look all that old, so it's not like a long time ago there actually was a road requiring this now pointless sign. It's perplexing. There are a lot of mysteries in the Tandy Hills.
Don Young's latest Tandy Hills Prairie Notes.........
Prairie Notes: Winter NotebookFebruary 14, 2009
The 4th annual Fort Worth Prairie Fest is coming April 25. On that day, music, arts, dance, green business, environmental stewardship and floral fantasia will come together in joyful celebration. Until then, winter at Tandy Hills Natural Area holds many surprises for those who look closely. Come on in. The lovely, lilliputian Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum) resides stealthily in the deep shadows of Tandy Hills, nestled by thick blankets of fallen leaves. Also (mis)known as, Dog's-tooth Violet (it's a lily, not a violet), they are a cheerful reminder that Spring is near. For me, they are also a symbol of the amazing endurance of THNA.
This is the earliest date I have seen them blooming at THNA. They have been arriving about a week earlier each of the past few years. The nodding flowers, framed by a pair of specked trout-colored leaves, vary in shade from pure white to pale violet with mustard yellow centers. When you go "fishing" for Trout Lilies, please tread carefully. They are considered rare in Texas. Winter landscapes on the prairie have a special beauty. Powerful north winds created interesting cloud patterns in January. A hard freeze in late January combined with a dead-still, sunlit morning made the prairie feel like a distant planet.
I have observed more avian activity than usual at Tandy Hills this Winter. The hawks are back after a brief absence. An owl was spotted last week. The sky and trees are filled with a variety of migratory birds. Dozens of Robin-like birds, only smaller, has been swarming back and forth from my yard to the security of the park. On more than one occasion, after climbing a steep hill and turning to face the setting sun, I have seen large flocks of ducks passing overhead, close enough to feel their wake. There is nothing more breathtaking. A frosty, January morning on the prairie. Olive the Prairie Dog searches for signs of life.
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."
Big Steps are being taken to bring the Tandy Hills back to full health....
Tandy Hills Natural Area is getting a makeover. The City of Fort Worth is initiating the first phase of an ongoing effort to enact the recently published Master Plan.
Beginning next week, City of FW Parks and Community Services Department crews will begin cutting unwanted and invasive woody species from selected portions of the 160 acre park. They need our help dragging the cuttings to the curb. Without natural fire to control them "woody" species are shading out the native grasses and wildflowers that make THNA such a remarkable place. With your help, we can start reversing this trend. (see below)
My sombrero is off to the City of Fort Worth Parks Dept. staff for making this happen.
DY
PS: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area is now a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation.
VOLUNTEERS needed. >>> RSVP Help us celebrate this historic day on the prairie. Morning tea/coffee/pastries and water provided by FOTHNA. Bring a sack lunch if you can work all day.
WHO: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. That means YOU!
WHAT: Tandy Hills Brush Bash. Phase 1.
WHEN:Saturday, February 219 am - Noon1 pm - 3 pmWork one or both shifts.
(Rain Date, and possible second date, March 7)
WHERE: Tandy Hills Natural Area 3400 View Street Fort Worth, TX 76103
BRING: Gloves, work clothes, sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, picnic lunch.
CONTACT - RSVP: Don Young 817-731-2787
Most of the grays and greens in the below picture will be removed under the Master Plan, allowing the grasses and wildflowers to flourish.
That's downtown Fort Wort in the picture. Looking west from the Tandy Hills. As I was taking pictures a jogger zoomed by. You don't often see joggers in the Tandy Hills.
Today is the first day I've used my new camera outside. Yesterday (Sunday) hours were spent, by me, trying to figure it out. There is just way too much going on for this Senior Citizen's deteriorating thought powers to absorb.
Just deleting photos was confusing. My computer card reader recognized the media card, but wouldn't cooperate with it, so I had to leave the memory card on the camera. It was so easy to delete pictures with my old, now dead, camera.
And then I remembered my previous lesson learned regarding new electronic products that require a computer program to make them work. And that lesson is don't use the program that comes with the products. Use ones I already have or that are built into Windows. As in Windows Moviemaker works way better than the clunky program that came with my camcorder.
About 4 in the afternoon, yesterday, I found that Windows Camera/Scanner Wizard made taking the pictures off the camera and deleting them totally simple. After that I figured out the video part of the camera and I slowly quit thinking about taking it back and getting something less challenging, more geared toward the elderly. The water was running very clear in the Tandy Hills Creek, but it was not running enough water to make much of a waterfall at the Tandy Hills Waterfall.
I guess I'm happy now with the new camera. These type things always take awhile to get used to.
I'm out of here in a bit, heading to River Legacy Park to ride my bike to check out the state of damage there. Yesterday, I got an email from a guy named Jeff, as appalled as I was at what is being done at River Legacy. More dirty dealings with no public input. I'll see if I can get some good pictures. I've not been there in maybe 2 months.
I'll likely return here full of righteous umbrage. Speaking of righteous umbrage, I just got email from Don Young with a good dose of righteousness. I'll hit the publish button and then blog about Don Young's latest.
It is a bit past 3 this Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth. About a half hour ago a thunderstorm started up with heavy rain and wind. The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued 5 Alerts since 11:15 am---one Thunderstorm Alert, two Flood Alerts and two Tornado Alerts.
