Blog of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists, Milam County, Texas
by Donna Lewis
Hi all,
Not many colorful mushrooms in our woods right now, but I found these little beauties…
I don’t know what they are, but I certainly wouldn’t eat any of them.
It’s always interesting to see what Mother Nature has growing outside for us to see.
Mother Nature gardens for us.
by Catherine Johnson
Beautiful day, awesome quests, and fun.
by Donna Lewis
Hello all! As usual, I walked around this week looking at nature on our property. I was in our small, wooded area looking for tracks of various animals. I noticed small bits of leaves moving. Upon closer inspection I saw that the leaves were being carried by Leaf Cutter Ants. I watched them for a while because they were so interesting and amazing.
You have to be paying attention to notice such activity.
These ants are one of the strongest living things for their size. There are about 40 different species of them. The members in the colony who are responsible for actually cutting the leaves have jaws like chainsaws!
Each ant can carry up to 50 times its own body weight. I’d say that’s Olympic medal weight lifting. Their colonies are huge. Each one can house up to 10 million ants.
Another interesting fact is that the ants do not eat the leaves. They make a fungus from them and eat the fungus. Pretty amazing.
These little animals are not too popular with farmers. They strip leaves from plants humans like. But you have to give it to them, they are very resourceful.
They know who they are gardening for.
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!
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!
