Hello, friends. This blog is where the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists shares news, articles, and reflections. You’ll find our posts right under this introduction. We encourage your comments and likes, and of course, shares!
Our chapter meets monthly on the second Thursday of the month in the fellowship hall at All Saints Episcopal Church, 200 North Travis Avenue, Cameron, Texas. Presentations begin at 6 pm, after a potluck meal. All are welcome to attend.
Our Mission: To develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas.
If you happen to be in Dickens, TX, and head west on US 82 toward Crosbyton, you will soon find yourself crossing the White River, where there is a highway rest area. This is no ordinary rest stop, because it’s connected with historic Silver Falls Park. A series of steps lead down to the White River from the parking area. About two-thirds of the way down there is a font off to the right with a dribbling pipe sticking out from the back wall. The font has settled a bit, and a trickle of water flows across the bottom and down into a crack at the back.
I revisit the park periodically because someone else saw some large, unidentified wolf spiders there years ago. On May 28, I made another stop. I couldn’t use my headlamp until 9 PM because of the late sunset and then spent a futile hour looking for something interesting on both sides of the river. About a half dozen fireflies in one dark corner was the best I could find. Coming back up the steps while planning to leave, I looked to the left and saw a large wolf spider on the near rim of the font. I went closer and could see it was just what I wanted, and that it was a female with a lumpy abdomen. I tried to catch her, and she went down the inside wall to the back of the bottom. I stepped into the font and tried again. She went into the crack, and all I got for my trouble was some drips of water on my back and shoulders. It was obviously hopeless, so I went up the rest of the steps and to my car. Then I had to go back just in case. There she was on the far side of the font. I knew she’d be heading for the crack at the bottom again and was able to head her off into another crack between the side and the back. It took a while but eventually I was able to gently pry her out with a small stalk of something. Then I got her into a container and took her to be photographed.
She had lost two of her right legs and only had a few spiderlings left, possibly the results of a single earlier incident. Whatever it was, it all had happened before I started chasing her. She turned out to be a Gladicosa gulosa, the first I ever encountered in person.
Mother spider
Wolf spider behavior is pretty easy to understand. When thinking with their stomachs, they jump on anything that moves. Faster than can be seen, they decide if it’s food than can be subdued or something else that isn’t. If the latter, they immediately disengage and prepare to run long before even considering taking a bite. Subduction begins by pinning its prey against its sternum with as may legs as necessary. A spider may end up on its back so it can use all 8. Somehow they can flip themselves back upright while holding prey. Only then does it grasp the prey with chelicerae and inject venom. When not thinking with their stomachs, various evasive maneuvers are used. This time, the female was doing all she could to run off with her remaining spiderlings. After photos I released her on the far rim of the font. She immediately ran into the font and partway down the side as if she knew exactly where she was.
Members pruned, weeded, and watered in the Wildscape. They also took pictures of pollinators and worked on signs.
The highlight was seeing three Fairy Gardens designed and installed by Friend of the Wildscape, Jordan: Town Square, Frogs & Fairies, and Mushroom Valley.
I was just about to think the fritillary butterflies weren’t going to show this year. (They lay their eggs on native Passion Vines and I’ve been trying to grow those vines especially for them.) Last year the fritillary caterpillars ate my passion vines to the ground and I never even saw a bloom. This year, though, the passion vines have come back really strong and have multiplied like crazy. I’m hoping to see a bloom or two, but I’ll definitely settle for butterflies instead.
On a side note, I also planted some more passion vine in a different location. However, that passion vine must have been modified and the butterflies evidently knew that because they left those vines completely alone. I saw the butterflies flying around checking those vines out closely and noticed they never stayed long at all. Even though those vines were beautiful, I choose to stick with native plants, because our native wildlife require them to multiply, and I choose to share.
Hint: I was thinking if you watch nature closely, you could come up with some great science ideas and experiments.
This time of year brings so much nature right to our front AND back door. Songbirds singing and flowers blooming. Hummingbirds dive bombing each other over ownership of the sugar water feeder. And snakes, spiders and other creepy crawlers around every corner and under your feet. But every year about this time I also get a fun surprise from that pesky critter, the squirrel. I have A LOT of squirrels. Mostly Eastern Fox Squirrels. They entertain me as much as the hummingbirds. Always finding ways to get their share of bird seed from the feeders.
I put up a corncob wheel spinner and they don’t have any trouble getting that corn.
I had one in Florida and those squirrels would jump on and spin round and round, even getting thrown off trying to get it. But they weren’t as large as Texas squirrels.
Last summer I had this fellow show up.
I had never seen jet-black fur on a squirrel. I put it on iNat and no one made a peep about it. I looked it up to find out that it is the result of a rare genetic mutation causing excess pigmentation and that the odds of seeing one are estimated at only 1 in 10,000!
Then just today I was heading back to fill a deer feeder and passed a bird house with a cute little guy with big black eyes starring out at me. Baby squirrel, I thought, and grabbed my phone but only got pictures as it climbed the oak tree.
Once I got back inside and looked at the pictures, I found, to my surprise:
A Southern Flying squirrel!
I had never seen one. Research told me that they are mostly found in the eastern portion of our state, where mature hardwood forests are more common. They rely on natural tree hollows or old woodpecker cavities, or I guess an unused bird box for nesting. Their diet is omnivorous and includes nuts, seeds, fungi, berries, insects and probably the same treats I leave for my birds and ground squirrels. They can breed up to twice a year producing small litters of 2-6 young. And because of their nocturnal habits and small size, flying squirrels often go unnoticed by humans. I probably woke this guy up.
I am going to have to keep an eye out for them and my camera ready, as my husband said he wants proof of the flying action.
On Sunday morning, I went for a walk at sunrise. The fog made the morning quite beautiful over my property.
As I walked I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the garden spiders’ webs looked with frost on them.
The wildflowers added to the beauty!
I got curious and looked up how the dew and spiderwebs interact. The droplets condense on the webs, and when the sun comes out, the droplets can create prism effects.
Shiny!
The webs are present all the time, but usually the spider silk is so thin that we humans can’t see it. Thanks to Nature for providing these ephemeral beauties!
Nature Along the El Camino Real 