Upcoming Eventstxmn.org/bc/files/2014/01/Dec-Jan-2012-13-Newsletter...Part 2 begins with page 13 and concludes with page 23. The Prickly Pear December 2012—January 2013 Page 2 From

Upcoming Events By Judy Hetherington

Dec 2012—Jan 2013

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DATE EVENT

December 14 Star Party at Abilene State Park for the public. The

night will offer remnants of the Geminid meteor

shower, a thin sliver of a new crescent moon, and

the transit of one of Jupiter’s inner moons, Europa,

which will be seen as a black spot rolling across the

surface of our solar system’s largest planet. Come

one and all, beginning about 5:00 pm.

December 20 Big Country Chapter Christmas

Party! Bring your White Elephant

gift for a fun-filled, present-

swapping evening. RSVP to Mari-

anne Marugg at

[email protected]

December 21 Winter Solstice at Paint Rock.

Arrive at 9:30 am to assist with signing waiver, di-

rect to parking lot, answer questions, and enjoy

what the Mayans say is the end of the world. Bring

your own lunch and water. Dress for the weather!

January 17 Big Country Chapter Meeting at Extension Office.

Cathy McGinty of TPWD will present a program on

mammals.

February 19-20 Farm, Ranch & Wildlife Expo. BCMN will have a

booth as well as ½ day of free training. Jan

Carrington is the leader and will provide more info

as the date gets closer. Let Jan know if you can

help out at the booth.

February 21 Big Country Chapter meeting at Thomas Elementary

School. Program to be announced.

February ?? Bluebird Nestbox assembly session. Brian and Judy

Hetherington will have another 250 nestboxes ready

for assembly. Date to be finalized.

The Prickly Pear is a bi-monthly publication of the Big Country Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program

NOTE: Our newsletter is growing and changing. This edition will

be in two parts. Part 1 consists of pages 1—12. Part 2 begins with

page 13 and concludes with page 23.

mailto:[email protected]

Page 2 The Prickly Pear December 2012—January 2013

From the President by Jimmy Shipp

This was an unusual year for me weather

wise, but then I think most years do have

some unusual weather. My annual aver-

age first frost date is November 17, but

this year my first frost was on October

8th! While that might have been a freak

occurrence, the thermometer dipped to

27.0 degrees on October 28th, 30.4 de-

grees on the 29th, and in the mid-20’s (!)

on November 12th, 13th and 14th. Six

freezes before the annual average, with

the first one almost six weeks early. So

when Jan Carrington asked me to provide

plant samples for her presentation on the

Texas Top Ten plant families it was like

the early 70’s at my place—I only had

stems and seeds.

During the Elm Creek Nature Trail at Abi-

lene State Park, Brian Hetherington ex-

plained to me what is considered

“normal” weather. See Brian for an accurate version but I believe he said that “normal” is the av-

erage for the past three decades, ending with the end of the last decade, which until the end of

this decade will be the period of time from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 2010. Now you

know (or at least you know my version of it).

This is the last newsletter for the year and I guess I should go over our major events. Unfortu-

nately, the most notable was the loss of one of our members, Clark Beasley. Clark contributed so

much to our group and was a very enthusiastic member. I think I speak for all in saying that he is

missed. In looking back over the pictures that I have from this year, I am struck by how fast the

year went by. In February we had the Farm and Ranch Show, and a workday at Thomas Elemen-

tary.

In March we had a workday at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR), planting quail

habitats. In April we had Larry Millar give a personal tour of his exhibit at a gallery, and I was in-

troduced to seemingly hundreds of screaming kids at the Johnston Elementary field trip at Cedar

Gap farm (but I concede that it was a fun day). In May we attended the workshops for the am-

phibian, fresh-water mussel and horned lizard nature watches, followed by numerous field trips for

the next several months. And John English even spotted a tiny horned lizard during our August

horned lizard watch. Last month we had BCMN day at the RPQRR and a few days later had a great

presentation by Dr. Barron Rector on plant identification. Finally, in November we had a produc-

tive workday on the Elm Creek Nature Trail at Abilene State Park, and also a fun time participating

at Frontier Day, also at Abilene State Park.

For 2013 I would like to do two things differently. First I would like to hear from you as to your

areas of interest and what activities YOU would like to see. Besides having a lousy memory my

clairvoyance is also in remission, so you will have to speak up! And second, I would like to add an

emphasis on outreach so that our association has more exposure to the community. Finally, I

want to thank each of you for your contribution to making this a wonderful year for our associa-

tion, and I hope your holidays are both happy and safe. Cheers!

Plant ID Clinic By E. B. Dotson


The clinic was opened to the public for attendance. A number of area residents in addition to

twelve members of the Big Country Master Naturalists attended the event. The sponsors were

very pleased with the response by the community. Based on the comments of those attending

the clinic, the experience was very much worth the price of admission.

Dr. Rector is highly acclaimed for his knowledge of Texas native plants and land conservation

through proper planting and cultivation of native plant life. Indeed, it was appropriate to have

the event held at the Friendship Baptist Church, as Dr. Rector presented his program with the

energy and fervor of an old time Southern Baptist preacher. While presenting a large amount of

information, Dr. Rector peppered his presentation with much enjoyable humor.

How we manage

the land today, will

determine the value

of the land in the

future.

The Big Country Master Naturalists had a unique

opportunity to attend the Plant Identification

Clinic held on Monday evening, October 22, 2012,

at the Friendship Baptist Church activity center in

Albany, Texas. The event was sponsored Big

Country Master Naturalists and the Texas A&M

AgriLife Extension Service - Schackelford County

(Rocky Vinson), Taylor County (Robert Pritz) and

Callahan County (Jerry Warren).

The featured speaker for the evening was Dr.

Barron Rector, AgriLife Extension Range Spe-

cialist. The theme for the event was "Know

your plants and how to appreciate their value",

including topics such as plant identification,

plant value, inventory, plant diversity and plant

ecology. The program was designed not only

for the enjoyment and education of the Master

Naturalists, but also for livestock and wildlife

producers, and anyone else interested in learn-

ing the names and values of plants found in

West Central Texas that are of benefit to live-

stock as well as wildlife.

Plant ID Clinic continued


Originally, the event was to begin with a field trip at the Newell Ranch outside of Albany, followed by a

meal and lecture at the activity center. However, due to one of our rare rain events, the field trip por-

tion had to be cancelled in order to prevent possible damage to the native plant life on the ranch,

owned by K. C. Jones. K. C. has hosted several Big Country Master Naturalist field trips in past years.

Not to be hindered by a little rain,

the AgriLife extension agents went

out to the Newell Ranch before the

event and collected a large num-

ber of plant life examples for the

clinic; the only difference from the

field trip portion being that the

plants were brought inside for

identification.

After a moment for digestion of

the meal, the clinic continued with

Dr. Rector taking the group

through several tables full of vari-

ous plants, speaking with authori-

ty regarding how to identify each

plant, as well as the positive and

negative features of the plants. As plants were identified, volunteers wrote the names of the plants

and posted the labels by each specimen. The speaker presented so much information that it was all

one could do to absorb as much as possible in the limited amount of time available.

Some of the interesting points made by

Dr. Rector and remembered by this writ-

er are that mesquite trees are native to

the area, with the largest stand being

south of Ft. Worth, two local native

plants that are sold for food are pecans

and prickly pear, and that Dallas grass

(in spite of its name) is not native to the

northern hemisphere.


Plant ID Clinic continued

Dr. Rector: Native plant life is

necessary for retention of

rainwater in the soil. Land

with proper native plant life

will usually result in no water

runoff into tanks and ponds,

due to the rain water being

soaked into the ground, rather

than being wasted as runoff.

If several hours of presentation was not

enough for the attendees, Dr. Rector

made available a large number of

handouts on subjects such as "What

Was the Fire Frequency Just Before Eu-

ropean Settlement?", "Principals of

Ecology and Range Management: Are

You a Successful Ecosystem Manager?",

"Plant Identification", Terrestrial Eco-

regions of North America, A Conserva-

tion Assessment", "Know Your Grasses"

and "Common Brush and Weed Man-

agement Mistakes", among a number of

other helpful brochures. He also pre-

sented examples of books available for

further education on plant identification

and conservation.

In all aspects, the sponsors considered

the event an unequivocal success. The

clinic was an opportunity to hear a top

expert in the subject of plant identification, the event was well

attended by the community, and a good meal and fellowship was

enjoyed by all.

Photo credits: David Herd and Jimmy Shipp


2012 State Conference By Jan Carrington

This year’s State Conference and Meeting was in

Navasota, Texas, at Camp Allen Retreat Center, in

the Piney Woods. More than 80 training sessions

were offered for participants to attend. Three

members of the Big Country Master Naturalists

attended the conference: Mary Haney, Marianne

Marugg, and Jan Carrington. Although we could-

n’t attend all the events, we went to as many as

possible.

Training sessions we attended included:

Bumblebees of Texas

Night Hikes 101

Native Bee Management Practices

World of the Monarch Butterfly

Wildlife Tracking

Tracking Hummingbirds Across Texas

Bird Feather Identification

Top Ten Texas Plant Families

Interpreting From a Trunk

How Preschoolers Think and Learn

We also attended several meetings as representa-

tives of BCMN:

Texas Nature Trackers Partners Meeting

Chapter President’s Breakfast

Keynote Address by John Davis, TPWD

Junior Master Naturalist Working Group

Even BCMN members who were not able to attend

the conference this year found ways to participate

by contributing items for the Silent Auction. The

auction is used to raise money for the conference

to pay speakers and presenters, and also to pro-

vide scholarships for members to attend. This

year, the Silent Auction raised over $4000 for the

Texas Master Naturalist program. And our chap-

ter helped! We submitted 8 items for the auction.

A special event after the conference was a tour of

the S. M. Tracy Herbarium (TAES) at Texas A&M

University, led by Curator Dale A. Kruse. Dr.

Kruse showed us how and where plant samples

are stored, as well as how they are prepared for

preservation, and how samples are used for stu-

dent and professional research. Dr. Kruse ex-

plained that samples are preserved as both a

‘holotype’ and an ‘isotype.’ Holotypes are main-

tained as the original at TAES, and isotypes are

kept as back-up copies and sent to other Herbari-

ums for safe-keeping in the event of fire or loss of

the original.

Bird Feather Identification Session


2012 State Conference By Jan Carrington

Samples are also shipped to other places around

the world for use by other scientists. They may

be pressed and then boxed up for shipping.

The most amazing sample we saw was one col-

lected in 1849 by Lindenheimer himself!!! TAES

has several original Lindheimer samples. The la-

bel is even handwritten by Lindheimer. Take a

look at how well preserved and almost like new

this sample is. And see if you can tell what spe-

cies it is.

The 2012 State Texas Master Naturalist Con-

ference was a great success. We met many

people and enjoyed the training, as well as the

walks in the beautiful Piney Woods. Next

year’s meeting will be held at the T-Bar-M

Ranch in New Braunfels. I hope more mem-

bers of BCMN will be able to attend.


Frontier Day at Abilene State Park


Frontier Day at ASP

By Judy Hetherington

Frontier Day at Abilene State Park included longhorns, Indi-

an teepees, vintage baseball, re-enactors, lots of firing of

vintage guns, and many booths for information from TPWD,

McMurray University and, of course, us!

Ryan Hunter picked a great area for us next to the CCC wa-

ter tower, under beautiful trees. The weather was great

although the breeze was a bit cool in the shade. Jan Car-

rington did a great job organizing the day. Also participat-

ing were Jimmy Shipp, David Herd, Marianne Marugg, Mary

Haney, Pam Yeaman, Brian & Judy Hetherington. Mike Car-

rington and grandson Van visited and helped as they could.

Jan put together a Popcorn Garland Station with popcorn,

grapes, cranberries and fruit loop cereal. Kids of all ages

were happy to sit on the blue tarp and string food for the

birds on pieces of wire. When the garlands were finished,

Jan twisted the wire into loops so they could be hung from

trees or on bushes.

Jan also organized a station with a “Metamorphosis Box”,

which showed the life stages of ants, butterflies and frogs.

The frog skeleton amazed lots of folks when they realized

that frogs don’t have ribs. Jan also brought a pair of glass-

es that showed how various insects see which were popular

with all. The table also included information on the Big

Country Master Naturalists and a training sign-up sheet.

We collected some real good prospects for our next training

sessions.

Marianne brought her spinning wheel and accoutrements.

Kids and adults alike were fascinated watching Marianne

make yarn from a puff of cotton. I saw one little girl stand-

ing there with her mouth open in amazement.

Pine Cone Bird Feeder Station - Jean and

EB Dotson gathered over 100 pine cones

and attached yarn for hanging even

though they were unable to make the

day. Mary and Pam ran the station,

showing the kids how to smear peanut

butter on the pine cones and then roll

them in birdseed to complete the bird

feeders. There should be a lot of happy

birds out there!

Brian & Judy put together the Native Plant

Seedball station. Thanks to Jan for col-

lecting so many seeds from her backyard

and getting more seeds from Jackson

Brothers. Brian sifted the compost to a

fine texture and added red art clay and

the seeds. Then water was added to just

the right texture for rolling around in your

hands to create a small marble sized ball.

Each “kid” (some of them were older than

me!) made 3 seedballs and took them

home in a plastic envelope which had in-

structions on drying and scattering. As

the kids were making the seedballs, we

showed them picutres of the flowers that

could grow from the seeds and explained

how the seedballs help ensure germina-

tion. Of course, we had wet towels for

cleaning the “mud” off the hands. What

kid doesn’t like playing in the mud? With

their parent’s permission too!

It was hard to keep track of all the folks

at the stations as they seem to come in

groups. The highest counts that were

captured were 54 adults and 65 kids.

This was a great way to fulfill our mission

for outreach and have fun at the same

time!


Frontier Day at ASP


Frontier Day at ASP

Metamorphosis & Bug Eyes


Bluebird Nestboxes

Master Naturalists Brian and Judy Hetherington are members of the Texas Bluebird

Society. As a service, they produce bluebird nestboxes which are sold or distributed

to new members of the Texas Bluebird Society. By educating the public and providing

appropriate habitat, the Society strives to increase the population of bluebirds in

Texas.

Several Master Naturalists met at the Abilene

State Park before Thanksgiving to assemble

bluebird nestboxes as a service project. The

Hetheringtons precut and predrilled the wood

pieces, brought them to the Wagon Wheel

building at the park and provided step by step

directions. With their expert guidance and pa-

tience, 136 nestboxes were assembled. Jean

and E.B. Dotson, Mary Haney, Jimmy Shipp

and Pam Yeaman helped in finishing the boxes.

Bob Houck, also a member of the Texas Blue-

bird Society, joined in the fun.

Of course every Master Naturalist event has to

include food! Judy also brought everything for

a soup lunch which was shared over questiona-

ble mealtime conversation (you’ll just have to

ask). Brian and Judy will deliver the boxes to

the Texas Bluebird Society in Kyle. Brian and

Judy have produced over 7,000 nest boxes

over the last few years! What a great partner-

ship for our Big Country Master Naturalist

Chapter!

Bob Houck, Master nestbox builder & assembler!

Brian speeding his way through the pieces

Mary, Jimmy & Pam working hard at their stations

Jean And EB hard at work

By Pam Yeaman

Documents

Upcoming Eventstxmn.org/bc/files/2014/01/Dec-Jan-2012-13-Newsletter...Part 2 begins with page 13 and concludes with page 23. The Prickly Pear December 2012—January 2013 Page 2 From