Blog of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists, Milam County, Texas
Author: Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall
The person behind The Hermits' Rest blog and many others. I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist and love the nature of Milam County. I manage technical writers in Austin, help with Hearts Homes and Hands, a personal assistance service, in Cameron, and serve on three nonprofit boards. You may know me from La Leche League, knitting, iNaturalist, or Facebook. I'm interested in ALL of you!
Yesterday morning, while watching Sunday Morning, I finally focused on the flutter and excitement happening in my front yard.
“Turns out that Robins also like to start their day with a little gossip around the water cooler.” By David Patrick Dunn, January 15, 2023, used with permission
The robins were passing through that morning! They were everywhere. Weaving in and out of the trees on the fence line, flying to and fro – ground to tree to roof of the house, and kicking up the red oak leaf litter with childish abandon! They were looking and listening for prey.
I checked them out in my copy of Birds of Texas and found they had passed through “in the hundreds” February 29, 2020, at 8:30 am.
Yesterday, there were many to watch, but not hundreds.
Pamela originally wrote “February” and our editor just took her word for it. It’s fixed now!
But it is nice today and there are some really neat things out there. Just look for them.
I do have the little native bees out foraging. It’s hard to catch a photo of them since they are quick.
I have some neat-looking mushrooms and moss also. In the sun they are very pretty and nice to touch. Close your eyes as you gently touch and listen to Mother Earth.
Also, there are still too many fritillary chrysalis hanging everywhere, even on “Babe.”
So, before it gets down to sub-freezing weather again, go outside. Take your dogs with you and enjoy the weather.
By the way, if you happened to be outside late last night, the stars and dark blue sky can be wondrous. You can look up and imagine the millions of other beings looking up at us.
Our Texas song we have heard most of our lives, if we were born here, kept playing in my head.
Go ahead and sing it…
The stars at night are big and bright, boom boom boom, deep in the heart of Texas!!
Now get outside, like Linda Jo Conn tells us every week.
OK, very soon our beautiful Martins will be sending out scouts to look for their summer homes. They are in Brazil right now. The Martins in Central Texas will be showing up around Valentine’s Day (February 14th). Is it too cold then? Yes, it is.
The climate has moved our seasons a little, but our friends have not changed their timetables. Not a good thing for them.
This is one of the hazards of climate change. The weather is changing faster than many birds or animals can adapt. If you watch the birds or keep records of your vegetable gardens you will know what I mean.
Observations are especially important to know what is going on in our world.
This is the time when you need to get your housing ready for them. You do NOT want to open the houses, just get them installed, cleaned or however you prepare your houses. You will open the entrances after you see them arrive. You also want to have any housing you hope to attract Martins to up before they arrive. Their arrivals are different across the US.
Repairs or cleaning should be done now if you have not already done it. Old nesting material should be removed, and the house cleaned. You can add some pine-needles to the house (or gourd) if you like.
Plugging the entrances to any housing is critical to keep unwanted visitors out.
The Martins will let you know when they arrive. You will be able to hear them calling you. It is the song all Martin landlords cannot wait to hear again.
No matter how often I hear them sing the “dawn song” to call for mates I never mistake it. It is wonderful and reminds us why nature is so important to the world. It is unlike any other bird’s song.
Here are the pictures of both of my houses right now. Within the next couple of weeks, they will be open for business.
Our chapter was in charge of the First Friday Coffee at the Lucy Hill Patterson Library in Rockdale for January. This event is held the first Friday of the month and gives people in and around the Rockdale area the chance to learn about businesses and groups available to them. Chapter member Victoria St. John was the coordinator of this event.
Chapter members who attended the presentation
This was a first-time event for our chapter. We had twelve members, two spouses, and one friend of the chapter soon to be a member attend. There was a total of forty visitors who came to the library to talk to us, which was a great turnout. In fact, the library staff said it was the best turnout they have had.
People enjoying coffee and conversation with us
So, it looks like there are people in our county who are interested in nature. Several attendees expressed an interest in joining our group.
The library staff were helpful to us during the time we were there.
Members of the El Camino Real de los Tejas Historical Trail Association who attended
The El Camino Real de los Tejas Trail Association was also there with information for the public. Joyce and Mike Conner worked at that table as well as talking about our chapter events.
Chapter members who attended were:
John Pruett, Joyce and Mike Conner, Ann Collins, Sandra Dworaczyk, Jackie Thornton, Scott Berger, Linda Burgess, Linda Jo Conn, and Donna Lewis.
Visitors were interested in the El Camino Real Trail, butterflies, purple martins, pollinator plants and many other subjects. We had members to answer all their questions.
This would be a good event to do once a year going forward.
We made one last trip to the Milam Wildscape after the freeze.
Evergreens Wax Myrtle, Gardenia, Sumac, and Iceplant looked pretty with the Fall colors. We accidentally trapped a cow in a fenced area but were able to free it without letting the sheep or Scruffy the donkey out!
Kim planted blue Salvia and Rock Rose, and Rosie started a Bluebonnet patch. Mexican Plum and Arroya Sweetwood are the next additions.
The Boy Scouts have installed bee houses and plan to construct a grape arbor.
Come visit in the Spring when baby plants and Mason bees emerge and Nature’s cycle starts all over again.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 