Leon Creek Greenway, Fox Park Trailhead, North

Today's photos:

This morning was a beautiful morning for a walk even if it got hot again this afternoon. This is definitely a desert type air mass. I walked from the Fox Park Trailhead on Hausman Rd north to UTSA Blvd and back to the parking lot. This section of the creek is a large "S" shaped meander. Or, I guess more correctly, a backward "S" from east to west in the downstream direction.

I'm not sure how much it had to do with the weather and how much with the proximity to the UTSA campus and Valero Energy's corporate headquarters, but there were more cyclists and joggers on the trail than there had been on any of my previous walks. A few are lost in their own iPod world, but most are very friendly, acknowledging each other with at least a passing greeting.

The disadvantage to that is it tends to send any larger mammals and birds into hiding. I saw a white-tailed deer doe and a roadrunner, but neither stuck around long enough for me to get their photo. However, I in no way intend that to sound like a complaint. A cheerful, "Good morning!" from a total stranger is amazingly refreshing.

As can be seen in today's photos, their presence didn't distract me from getting some really amazing photos. The mockingbirds and doves aren't intimidated at all by a human presence. One jogger even paused to see what I was photographing when I was taking the photo of the yellow elm leaf which had fallen perfectly upright into the spines on top of a prickly pear pad. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable walk. I hope that joy comes through in the photos.

Drought and Wildfire Update:

Yesterday (Sunday, September 11) another wildfire burned about 125 acres in San Antonio in the Salado Creek Greenway area just east of Wetmore Rd. It was apparently started by sparks from an electrical line. A San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson pointed out that given the area burned, it's amazing no structures were burned.

Fortunately, the wind was relatively light and variable. While not the geographic center of the San Antonio metropolitan area, this was very close to the demographic center. The previous fires last week were all outside Loop 1604.

The drought continues with no end in sight. While the Texas cedar elm tends to turn yellow and drop its leaves earlier in the fall than other trees, this is happening much earlier this year. And I have been seeing more plants like prickly pear and yucca that are highly drought tolerant beginning to dry up at an alarming rate.

One of the residents close to yesterday's wildfire was quoted as saying he was fed up with the wildfires. There really isn't much that can be done other than to educate the public on the need to be extraordinarily careful. There are still idiots thoughtlessly throwing lit cigarettes out of car windows.