by Catherine Johnson
Here are some photo memories of another week of our November Nature Days series. Thanks to all who came out to volunteer or visit!
Nature Days Memories
Category: community outreach
Great Weather for Nature Days
by Catherine Johnson
The weather turned out great for everyone at Nature Days this year. Guests took home native plants and nature gifts.
As usual, the best part was getting to know people from distant towns including Dallas, Centerville, and McAllen, as well as neighbors from Hutto, Sommerville, and College Station.
This first day, we met with some Master Gardeners. Stay tuned for the next Nature Days blog.
Here are some of the beautiful plants we have been seeing in this late fall time.
We apologize that all the photos didn’t appear when the post initially went up. There was an internet issue, and also the photos were in high definition, so they were very large. We’re all learning here, so sometimes things mess up!
We’ve Been Busy
Our Chapter President, Carolyn Henderson, was asked to put together ten photos of activities our group has engaged in over the past year, so they can be shared at next week’s Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting in McAllen, Texas (we will get to see the eclipse there!). We want to share this recap with all our blog readers and Facebook friends, too.
We look forward to more fun the rest of the year and in the future. Join us if you want to! You don’t have to be a member to attend our meetings and activities.
Master Naturalists Share with Master Gardeners
by Carolyn Henderson
Little River Master Gardeners gathered at the El Camino Real Master Naturalist Wildscape last Wednesday to learn about native plant gardening. The Master Naturalists have a wildscape out on FM 334 to learn, teach, and share with each other about keeping it native.
Connie Anderle, a member of both chapters, introduced everyone then turned it over to Catherine Johnson, manager of the wildscape for ECRMN, to explain the layout and where the plants come from to be planted. Linda Jo Conn then talked to the group about why growing native plants is better for everyone and all native species of insects, birds and animals. Jackie Thornton spoke about the beauty of native species and read excerpts from a children’s book titled A Prairie Garden. Gene and Cindy Rek also spoke about their contribution, which is a lot, to the project.
Ann Collins made refreshments for the attendees and Ellen Luckey helped serve. There was a great deal of debate over which of Ann’s multiple types of cookies was the best.
After the speeches, all the guests toured the wildscape with members guiding and explaining what each section is about. There were 32 Master Gardeners in attendance.
Bur Oaks Planted in April Still Alive – but Watering Needed
by Carolyn Henderson
Several members and some spouse helpers planted three Bur Oaks in April on Earth Day, and they are still alive – so far. They are planted at Cameron City Park, Orchard Park and Wilson Ledbetter Park. I see the Orchard Park tree on a daily basis. I see the Cameron City Park tree about every two weeks. The last one not so often.
They all took a serious wind storm hit about a week (or so) after they were planted. It caused two of them to lean notably, but a little action was taken to try and set them upright. The Wilson Ledbetter Park tree was nearly on the ground. They did seem to recover from that event. Then came the heat. About three weeks ago, I drove by the city park to take a look at it and found it leafless. The leaves had died on the tree and fallen around it. This was a surprise because it seemed to be doing very well. It didn’t even lean over in the storm. I got out of my car to take a closer look. It appeared like it was going to bud out again. A week later it had new leaves. I don’t know what made the leaves die, but the theory is transplant shock.
The Orchard Park tree has looked very good until just this week. It is losing some leaves. On close inspection, it looks like some of them are being eaten by something. There are still mostly green leaves on it. The Wilson Ledbetter tree is the one that was laid over from that storm. It still leans a lot, but it is putting up new leaves from the ground. I’m not sure what to do about the still leaning part. The tilt is about a 45 degree angle.
What they all need right now is regular watering. If you volunteered, please don’t forget to take them a drink as often as you can. Wilson Ledbetter Park has a working faucet right by the American Legion, or you can dip it from the little lake. The Orchard Park tree is right beside the pond, so it can be dipped from there. The Cameron City Park requires transporting the water. If they have made it this far, I think some regular watering can get them through to cooler, wetter weather.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 