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.
We had perfect weather for the first workday in November. White Mist bushes and Chocolate Daisies were very fragrant. Terri and Rosie dug up many extra natives to transplant at WildWings. Ann was the seed collector for Sow&Grow. Come visit next Saturday for our second workday.
At our Chapter Meeting on September 10th , Tim Siegmund, TPWD Biologist provided information about collecting milkweed seeds for a project that he is working on. This project will continue until December 2027.
Since that date, I have been collecting Zizotes milkweed seeds in one of our pastures. We have between 30-40 plants in a 60-acre pasture. AND THE COWS DO NOT EAT THEM! It takes about 45 minutes to an hour every 2-3 days to collect the seeds before they blow away. Some days, I collect 3-4 pods that are just beginning to open (jump for joy!) and some have already opened and I pick up the seeds/parachutes in about a 3-foot area around the plant. That “parachute “that I call it is scientifically known as coma or floss – that consists of lightweight, silky filaments attached to each milkweed seed to help them catch the wind and travel. One day, the milkweed gods told them to open, and I collect 10-12 opening pods YAY!
Here’s a picture of a plant with multiple pods that will open in a few days.
This is my seed collecting area. All the paper bags are full of seed that will be separated from the “parachutes” or collected pods. This is not to be completed in the house as the parachutes float everywhere!
Here is a sample of what was collected on November 1st – a few of the seed pods and lots of loose seeds. And a picture where I was a little late in collecting but at least, they had not flown away.
This is the stash of seeds collected and separated from their “parachutes” and/or seed pods.
As of this posting, many of the plants are no longer producing seeds. Some still have 5- 6 seed pods on them that will open within a week or so. We will continue to make the milkweed rounds every few days. Happy Milkweed Seed hunting!
Nature doesn’t recognize manmade boundaries. During a recent visit to Tennessee, I stopped in northern Alabama to photograph and collect some spiders very similar to some seen a few places in Texas. The most recent literature suggests spiders west of the Mississippi River are Pardosa mercurialis and those to the east are Pardosa lapidicina. The literature also postulates mercurialis may be a subspecies of lapidicina. Both are extremely variable and share several distinctive forms. Their DNA would help answer the question, and that is our intention. This particular form is one of the most spectacular among wolf spiders. It camouflages them well along rivers bordered with limestone rocks and sand. These are small spiders that could easily sit on a dime with room to spare.
This year on the blackland prairie was a lot like 2019 with lots of tall sunflowers. In October there was a profusion of yellow flowers and tiny asters.
On the way back from the October chapter meeting I stopped by Alligator Creek. It’s a location that always has something to offer, and there is an early winter species I haven’t been able to identify yet for lack of an adult female.
I picked up two spiders that looked interesting. Both cringed and flattened themselves against the ground as I approached but obligingly ran into my contain when poked from behind.
They turned out to be adult male Tigrosa georgicola, a species which is common there. Once they were in my container, they appeared much larger when their long legs became fully visible. During photography, I used my smaller ventral chamber and immediately realized I should have used the larger Both were very mellow and just barely fit with their legs stretched out.
The chamber is 2.75″ in diameter so I was able to get a good idea of their overall size which was about 4 times their body length. Females tend to have longer bodies and shorter legs.
I took them back for release 8 hours later. The release of one was particularly gratifying. I dumped him from the container into my hand and he just stood there. Usually they’re off in a flash as soon as they land. As I lowered my hand toward the ground he leisurely walked to the edge of my hand and then hopped to the ground.
In my opinion, a ventral view is necessary for a positive species identification within this genus.
Last weekend, the All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Cameron held their annual Blessing of the Animals/Fall Festival. Our Master Naturalist Chapter was invited to have a table there this year, and we were thrilled to participate. This was a great educational public outreach opportunity to discuss the importance of pollinators, promote our seed libraries, and recruit members for our upcoming Master Naturalist class to begin in January 2027.
Thank you to our TMN volunteers who helped at this event: Debbi Harris, Scott Berger, Alan Rudd, Terri Brickey, Liz Lewis, and myself. We gave away 100 wildflower seed packets, shared information about fall planting of wildflowers and planting native to promote conservation to create essential pollinator habitat, disseminated brochures about being a friend to pollinators, and also recruited prospective candidates for our upcoming TMN class. It was a great success!
