March 2019 – Nature Along the El Camino Real

Annoyed by Trash

March 31, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Sue Ann Kendall

I’ve been thinking a lot about trash bags and how they endanger our domesticated and wild animal friends. So, you can imagine how perturbed I was when I got behind this garbage truck outside of Temple last week.

See the huge open bag? It was releasing its contents along the road. Above the caution sign at right is a genuine bit of trash that flew out.

The darned thing was blithely spewing trash, and plastic bags in particular, all along the highway. I couldn’t quite make out the license plate, though I was tempted to call this guy in for polluting the road.

I know this truck isn’t alone. The particular stretch of road we were on must be a trash route, because there was a LOT of debris on the roadside. What made us most sad was the plain evidence that people had quite recently walked the road and picked up trash, since there were black trash bags evenly spaced among the fresh new mess.

We really have a lot of education and enforcement work to do, don’t we?

We Had a Little Spring. Now Chilly.

March 31, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

Sharing this post, since it’s all about the spring blossoms and our crazy weather! Remember to send me your ideas and nature sightings, fellow Master Naturalists–Sue Ann

The Hermits' Rest

My friends the blue-eyed grass have returned.

Well, shoot, just when I was really getting into long walks and frolicking amid the wildflowers, a late cold front has driven me indoors. Yesterday, we hosted an event at 11 am at our office. The front showed up right as all the attendees were coming in or trying to find us. A big wind and brief rain surprised everyone, and blew away my meeting signs. March decided not to go out like a lamb after all!

We have a patch of pink evening primrose that is nearly white. It’s striking against the green grass.

But, I did get a lot of flower-viewing, pet walking, and iNaturalist uploading done before the front! It’s a great year for flowers, thanks to the winter rains, so I know I’ll be out finding more to share soon.

Yellow Flowers

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Suet Bird Block Recipe

March 22, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

At the March 2019 Chapter Meeting, Cindy Travis shared her recipe for home-made suet blocks for bird feeders. These attract warblers, woodpeckers, chickadees, wrens, and more. She’s agreed to share it with readers of our blog!

This red-bellied woodpecker likes the inexpensive feeder from Lowe’s. Photo from Lowe’s

Cindy says you can easily double or triple the recipe, so you’ll have plenty. The blocks freeze well.

Ingredients

1 cup lard
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup raisins, seeds, or crumbled eggshells (optional)
(Cindy recommends currants as fruit, because they are small)

Instructions

Dump all ingredients in a pot and heat over medium heat until the lard and peanut butter melt. Stir thoroughly.

Pour into a square pan, bread pan (you can slice the blocks), or into a Ziploc-type plastic storage container the size of your bird feeder.

Cool until solid, then hang in your block feeder.

This flicker likes the feeder with tail rest from Amazon. Photo from Amazon.

PS: You can easily find suet feeders in home improvement stores (Lowe’s Home Depot) or big box stores with garden departments (Target, Wal-Mart, etc.). Specialty wild bird feeding stores will have a larger selection, and of course you can find them online (here is a sampling from Wild Birds Unlimited). You can attach them to trees, hang them on poles, etc.

Progress on the Milam Wildscape Project

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

By Catherine Johnson

Volunteers from our chapter have been hard at work! The Milam Wildscape Project that we’ve reporteed on before is progressing quite quickly.

The team has managed to install fencing, arrange some of the cool metal structures at the site, and installed gates so people can get into the garden, but hungry animals stay out.

Here you can see the sturdy new raised path to the chicken house and future raised beds.

El Camino Real Chapter member Larry Kocian is designing pathways and garden plots. He knows the pathways need to be handicap accessible, so they will be wide and smooth.

The next phase is planting. We are now beginning to gather plants.

How are those animals?

So glad you asked! The beautiful kittens and all those hundreds of chicks are growing up at the farm. If you’re looking for chickens, it’s a great time to get some!

The heritage Rio Grande Turkeys are not allowed to roam now, like they used to, as they are old enough that they would run off to make a nest and not come back at night. We don’t want that!

We can always use more volunteers. Check out Bird and Bee Farm for more information.

Hiking the El Camino de los Tejas National Historic Trail in Milam County

March 19, 2019March 20, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

By Joyce and Mike Conner

Figure 1: Part of the Previously Discovered Trail

On Saturday, March 9, 2019, thirteen students; their teacher, Dr. Nichole Wiedemann, from the University of Texas School of Architecture; and Steven Gonzales, Director of El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association (ELCAT), arrived at Cedar Hill Ranch in Gause to hike a small part of El Camino de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

Figure 2: Dr. Estell Meets the UT Students

There they met Dr. Lucile Estell who explained how she and the late historian Joy Graham worked to get the approximately 2580 miles of trail nationally recognized as the 19^th National Historic Trail in the United States in 2004 and then subsequently worked to get signage placed throughout most of Milam County. (Dr. Estell has authored/co-authored several books including El Camino Real de lost Tejas (Images of America) and Historic Bridges of Milam County; and served on the board of ELCAT for many years since its beginning, including as president and vice-president.)

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