A Northern Shoveler drake in full breeding plumage at Wetland Cell G, Lower Chain of Wetlands, Dallas, Texas The shortest days of the year in North Texas usually signal the peak residency times of overwintering migratory ducks for this part of the Trinity River Basin. 2013 saw a very slow start to the migratory fowl …
Continue reading “Northern Shovelers in the Lower Chain of Wetlands on the Trinity River”
Dallasite and endurance mountain biker Ray Porter overlooking the Trinity River from the Trinity River Trail bridge near the Audubon Center, 2013 Who is the best mountain biker you ever saw. Ray Porter is who. The best. Ray Porter’s Memorial Service Facebook information
Sabal Minor Palms in Dallas County Texas It is most likely one of the farthest northwestern natural palm tree colonies in North America. Perhaps a remnant holdout of a long ago time when glaciers covered much of the continent and the area known as Dallas County was a wet swamp of a place. Frankly, little …
Continue reading “The Wild Palm Trees Of Dallas County — Relics From The Last Ice Age?”
Thick ice fog gathers at dawn along the Lower Chain of Wetlands Winter comes a little early to North Texas in 2013. A cold winter ahead maybe? The stories of West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes are rotated out for that of white knuckle driving on Texas highest overpasses. What escapes many is that while the …
Continue reading “Great Trinity Forest In Deep Freeze — Winter Forecasting With Persimmons”
The howling obscenities of coyotes are some of the only sounds heard at this distant place. Far removed from the modern world, exploring this part of the Trinity in Dallas County shows the river in the raw. Waterfowl and deer abound here in great numbers. The haunting hoot of Barred Owls are a constant companion. …
Continue reading “Riverbend Preserve — 100th Anniversary of Trinity River Lock and Dam #4”
The most unused park benches with the best view in all the City of Dallas on Piedmont Ridge overlooking White Rock Creek and the Trinity River Valley If there were ever an an award for the most unused park bench in Dallas it would likely be here. The bench would also get an award, easily, …
Continue reading “Texas Fall Color On Dallas Lower White Rock Creek Escarpment”
Honey Springs Branch, Historic Joppa Freedman’s Community, Dallas, Texas The big rambling farmhouses that once commanded the views of this place were the focal points of now long gone pioneer family homesteads. Far ranging in scope and size, the Miller and Overton farms dominated this part of Texas for the latter half of the 19th …
Continue reading “Honey Springs on the Trinity River — Off The Beaten Path”
American White Pelican at the Trinity River Wetland Cells, Dallas Texas, November 2013 As the days grow shorter and the temperature begins to drop the chain of wetland cells in South Dallas often host a random mix of feathered visitors from afar. The Trinity River makes a gradual bend here, a slow graceful bow as …
A dozen feral pigs crossing a hike and bike trail in Dallas, Texas Trinity River Trail October 2013 The vast expanse of territory inside the boundaries of Texas contains some of the most diverse environments found anywhere in the world. From the picturesque canyons of the North to the fertile alluvial areas along the South …
Continue reading “Running Wild With Urban Feral Hogs In Dallas — The Trinity River Forest Trails”
The former Jenkins Farm as it looked during tree clearing for the future Texas Horse Park. Pictured are Sean Fitzgerald with the orange helmet and Tim Dalbey who are extracting tree trunk samples from a huge downed Post Oak estimated to be over 150+ years old The rough edged realities of progress come quick to …
Continue reading “Big Spring Plant Survey Flora Data and Discovering Texas Tree Ring Science”
Riding the Trinity River with the best brush cowboys in North Texas, Fall 2013 The most obscure but rooted sense of place, by my reckoning in Dallas, must be here. Those who get the notion of the woods down in these parts, the pure authenticity of what remains of a real Texas among ever growing …
Monarch butterflies feeding and preparing for a night roost in Dallas Texas on the evening of October 8, 2013 It’s a sure sign of autumn and a rare sight for Dallas, a massing of over a hundred migrating Monarch butterflies in a single tree. Something one would usually travel a thousand miles away and into …
