Monday Along the Salado Creek

Monday, April 15, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead,
Morningstar Boardwalk

Today's photos:

I am preparing this post for publication on Saturday evening (April 20th) in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. I first heard about the Boston bombings when I returned to my car following this walk on Monday.

I wrote the paragraph I am using as the Mission Statement for While on a Walk about a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thus the inspiration for the concluding sentence: "In the tormented, torn world we live in, this project is a testament to the power of the human spirit to find delight in God’s awesome creation and to communicate that delight to others, to share in the discourse of revelation and healing."

In this spirit, I dedicate all the posts dated the week of April 15, 2013 to the victims of both the Boston attacks and the West, Texas explosion.

To be clear, the delay in the publication of the posts for this week has nothing directly to do with these events. Purely and simply, I finally ran up against the limits of my stamina. However, I did manage three walks for the week.

The walk presented in this set of photos is from the Salado Creek wetland along the Morningstar Boardwalk. For reasons I have yet to explain fully understand, this section of the Salado Creek isn't as wet as it has been in the past, even during the 2011 drought. I suspect there are multiple underlying causes for the drier creek channel, but until I am able to verify any or all of them, I will refrain from speculation.

• The first two photos are of Turk's Cap flowers. These are excellent plants for nativescapes. They grow particularly well in shaded areas. This relative of the hibiscus has numerous common names including Manzanilla and Mexican Apple. The leaves, flowers and fruit are all edible.
• The third photo is Silver-leaf Nightshade, also known as Trompillo. This plant is NOT edible. As with almost all plants in the family Solanaceae, all parts of this plant are poisonous. (Tomatoes and potatoes are the two best known edible nightshade exceptions.) (I was reminded after publishing this that egg plant and peppers are also edible exceptions.)
• The fourth photo is Wild Onion. These are growing in great abundance along the eastern end of the Morningstar Boardwalk. I probably should mention I have read mixed reviews on how safe it is to eat these onions.
• The fifth photo is a Venus' Looking Glass. 
• The sixth photo is Pink Evening Primrose. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the flowers can range from pure white to a deep rose pink. The two flowers in this photo are an example of the deep rose pink variety.
• The seventh and eighth photos are Scarlet Pimpernel. This plant originated in Europe and North Africa, but now has a worldwide distribution.
• The ninth and tenth photos are a pair of Mallard ducks. Mallards are the origin of all domestic ducks except Muscovy ducks. Anyone who has spent much time on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio has likely witnessed the relatively tame nature of these birds. Mallards can be downright persistent and not the least bit shy with any human willing to share a bite to eat.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. The twelfth photo is the male. Males and females look almost identical, but the males are somewhat larger.
• The thirteenth and fourteenth photos are a Familiar Bluet damselfly. 

Serendipity

Friday, January 4, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Roosevelt Park Trailhead downstream

Today's photos:

This series of photos is from the end of my walk today. There are two more sets of photos from the walk that I will post separately. This particular series came about, as so often happens in photography, serendipitously; purely as the result of a coincidence of timing and proximity.

In order to get the photo of the honey mesquite tree on the opposite bank of the river from the angle I desired, I had to get right up to the edge of the water and crouch lower to the ground. As I was getting into position, the mockingbird flew up and landed on the electrical line high above the opposite side of the river channel. Concerned that it would fly off, I took its photo before taking the photo of the tree.

I have photographed this mesquite tree before from other angles. The curve of its branches, typical of mesquites, has always fascinated me. This particular angle highlights these curves more effectively than my previous attempts.

When I first approached the edge of the river to position myself to photograph the tree, the mallard couple swam to the opposite side of the river. Mallards are monogamous. Once they have paired, the male and female usually remain in fairly close proximity of each other. Being crouched down at the rivers edge placed me at the perfect angle to photograph this couple.

As something of a side note, almost all, if not all, of the photographs I have taken and posted while on my walks have been from a full standing position. Given my lower extremity weakness, it is difficult for me to return to a standing position if I crouch down, so I try to avoid it. That is one of the greatest frustrations I have in doing nature photography.

Finally, after I managed to get back up to a standing position and was preparing to return to my car, the snowy egret flew in and landed a short distance upstream, almost as if to say, "Wait a minute. You can't leave without taking my picture."

Cormorants, Mallards and an Egret

Thursday, November 15, 2012

As autumn fades into winter, there isn't as wide a variety of birds along the river as there was during the summer, but the cormorants, mallards and egrets are year-round residents:

These photos were taken on my walk along the San Antonio River yesterday, November 14.