February "Snow" in San Antonio

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Snowy Egrets live year round in Bexar County. The Mission Reach of the San Antonio River provides an excellent restored habitat for these splendid birds. They find much to eat along the riffles, along the shallow banks of the river and in the quiet backwater of the embayments:

This February has been unusually mild so far, but weather can change abruptly here in South Texas, so with a month of winter left, I hope I'm not speaking too soon. It is highly unlikely we will see anything resembling real snow this winter. The Snowy Egrets are as close as we typically get to seeing anything "snowy" here in South Texas.

These photographs were taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead this past Monday, February 15, 2016.

Green Lines, Translucent Patterns, Yellow Spheres

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Branching green lines (with thorns) of Retama...

Patterns of translucent leaves crisscrossed by dark branches and yellow spherical flowers of Huisache...

Both Retama and Huisache are small. multi-trunk trees growing abundantly throughout the hill and brush country of South Texas. The Huisache is one of the first trees to bloom each year, typically beginning in mid-February. From what I have seen the past couple weeks, it looks like the Huisache are set to bloom prolifically in the next week or so here in Bexar County.

These photographs were taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead this past Monday, February 15, 2016.

Dynamic Adaptaion

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

One of the most fundamental and essential aspects of life is the ability to dynamically adapt to changes in the surrounding environment. Something just over a year and a half have elapsed since the last post was added to While on a Walk. The time has come to slowly resume the Walk.

The original intent of this blog as stated in its mission was and still remains: "The photographs in this project are about the sky, the earth, the plants and animals, and about the experience of being in their presence, the experience of their spirit, the experience of wonder and awe and delight. They are intended to be catalysts for contemplation, for leaving oneself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature."

The only text I will include in posts going forward will be limited to the general location and any supplemental information needed to give the photographs a context. If the viewer is interested in flora and fauna identification beyond any included in a post, feel free to do your own research. In the meantime, leave yourself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature, to appreciate the Earth for all its own innate beauty and spirit:

This set of photographs was taken on a walk yesterday, Monday, February 15, 2016, along the same section of the San Antonio River Mission Reach downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead where I left off in the last post on July 9, 2014.

It was a rather warm, but beautiful mid-winter day. From the high cirrus clouds to the sky blue reflection on the surface of the river water, the river was as magical as ever.

As discussed in the July 9, 2014 post, this is the river healing and renewing itself. Continuous erosion and deposition dynamically reshape the channel. Black Willow, dormant for the winter, both stabilize the river bank soil and provide a perch for numerous smaller birds. Pairs of American Wigeons were abundant and actively feeding in the shallow areas of the river. And, of course, there are many more photos from this walk for future posts.