A Sure Sign of Autumn's Approach

The recent rain has been a very welcome change in the weather. The first major cool front of the season is forecast to arrive just in time for the first day of Autumn on Sunday. One of the best indicators that Fall is fast approaching are the beautiful yellow flowers beginning to open on the Lindheimer's Senna:

This set of photos was taken along the Panther Spring Creek trail at Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Natural Area on Wednesday, September 11, 2013.

Eryngo

Eryngo sounds like it should be the name of a cartoon character or maybe an action hero. It is in fact the name of a unique, fascinating plant.

At first glance, Eryngo looks as if it should be classified with the thistles in the Asteraceae (also known as Compositae) Family, but it is really a member of the Apiaceae (also known as Umbelliferae) (Parsley and Carrot) Family.

Eryngo's multi-lobed purple leaves vaguely resemble the leaves of Agarita. The leaves are stiff with very sharp spines at the tip and lining the edges. As with Agarita, a thick pair of gloves are highly recommended when handling the plant.

The cylindrical flower heads are tight clusters of small purple flowers. Most of the plant is purple. The blue "fibers" protruding from the flowers are the flowers' anthers:

This set of photos was taken on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on the east bank not very far south of the S.E. Military Dr bridge on Friday, August 23, 2013.

Indiangrass

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash) is one of the four primary Tallgrass Prairie grasses. The other three are Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Switchgrass. Its distinctive yellow, some may say golden, inflorescence begins to bloom in August and continues well into autumn:

This set of photographs was taken at the savanna restoration site in Phil Hardberger Park on Wednesday, September 4, 2013.

Changes in Direction and Pace; A Long Awaited Announcement

Sunday, September 15, 2013

"River" is a common metaphor for life. Streams of all kinds, from ephemeral streams that only flow immediately after a rain to the mightiest of perennial rivers like the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, are living, dynamic systems. They are constantly changing. The changes are typically occurring at too slow a pace to be perceived. But occasionally, the changes are quick and dramatic. Such is life.

During the past few months, I have continued my walks and have continued to record my experience through photography. Unfortunately, I have found the time to sit at the computer and prepare the material for publication here on While on a Walk to be rather scarce. New possibilities and directions have opened for me to pursue.

For the past several weeks, I have been asked at least once almost everyday how my books are coming along and when they will be ready for publication. These questions are coming from a wide range of people. Obviously, the time is right.

I am pleased to announce that for the foreseeable future, the primary focus of my time and energy will be on completing the manuscripts and bringing the books to publication. Yes, they are long overdue.

Going forward, my goal for While on a Walk is to publish at least one or a small set of photos everyday from the material I have accumulated and that continues to grow. The posts will likely not follow a chronological order. I will probably have to experiment with some minor changes in formatting to make this work.

To give visual expression to the river metaphor, the following two photos were taken on Monday, August 19, 2013 from the pedestrian bridge looking downstream along the San Antonio River toward the first Mission Rd bridge. This section of the channel is one of the major hydrological stress points in the Mission Reach Restoration Project and was severely impacted and altered by the May 25th flood.

The first photo is a full overview of the channel. The second photo* is a closer view of the riffle in the foreground of the first photo. If one looks closely, there is a Snowy Egret toward the left side of the lower end of the riffle and a Great Egret on the right side:

To show how the  channel has changed in the past two years, here is a photo taken with a somewhat shorter focal length lens from the same location on Friday, September 30, 2011:

* Not seen to the right in the first two photos is a backhoe that was busy repairing the riffle. I was fascinated that the two egrets and a cormorant that is also outside the frame were not the least frightened by all the banging, clanking, movement and engine noise of this large piece of machinery. In fact the birds were taking full advantage of all the food stirred up by its rearranging the rocks and boulders.

For the Love of Nature

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Medina River Natural Area,
El Chaparral > Nogales > Rio Medina > El Camino trail loop

Today's photos:

It is that time of year again in South Texas when everyone is beginning to wonder if Autumn will ever arrive and bring cooler weather. In spite of the seemingly endless high temperature and to some extent, because of the high temperature, the South Texas landscape retains a vibrant character. My intense curiosity and passionate love of Nature irresistibly draw me out to experience the rich beauty of her elegant living tapestry:

• The first three photos are of a Snowy Egret feeding in the pond beside the El Chaparral Trail.
• The fourth through sixth photos are of Purple Threeawn. The inflorescence has fully matured losing its characteristic purple color and is beginning to disarticulate.
• The seventh and eighth photos are of fully ripe, bright orange Granjeno berries.
• The ninth photo is of a Turkscap patch with a couple of Common Wild Petunias peeking out in the center of the patch. The Turkscap are one of the more abundant flowers blooming in the hot, dry weather right now providing a rich source of nectar that will help the pollinators survive through the harsh South Texas summer.
• The tenth photo is a Common Mestra butterfly on Canadian Wildrye.
• The eleventh through fourteenth photos are of a Gulf Fritillary butterfly enjoying the Turkscap nectar.
• The fifteenth photo is a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly on an Alamo Vine flower.
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are a Turkey Vulture soaring high overhead.
• The eighteenth photo is the shell of a freshwater mussel with a couple of river worn rocks on a mat of algae at the edge of the river.
• The nineteenth photo is an overview of the Medina River. This is the large pool looking upstream form the "River Crossing" interpretive area.
• The twentieth photo is a Texas Rose-bellied Lizard.

In the Heat of the Summer

Friday, July 26, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Roosevelt Park trailhead

Today's photo:

The Texas heat high is building and taking firm hold as it typically does this time of year. High temperatures will likely remain in the upper 90s to low 100s (F) for the remainder of the summer. Surface water of any kind, especially flowing water like the San Antonio River, literally becomes very attractive to wildlife.

• The first and second photos are of the characteristic mature inflorescence of Sideoats Grama (the official State Grass of Texas). The detail in the second photo shows the alternate spikelets hanging down from the stem.
• The third and fourth photos are of Maximilian Sunflowers. In the third photo, a Paper Wasp (Polistes sp.) is flying toward the sunflowers. This stand of Maximilian Sunflowers is close to ten feet tall.
• The fifth and sixth photos, the best I can tell, are of a female Powdered Dancer damselfly (Argia moesta). The female Powdered Dancer can easily be mistaken for a male Blue-fronted Dancer, but this one looks more like the Powdered Dancer to me.
• The seventh through tenth photos are of Ceraunus Blue butterflies on Brazilian Vervain. There are two varieties of Ceraunus Blues. These are the Southwest variety. It is worth noting, the Brazilian Vervain (Verbena brasilienses Vell.) is a native, as the name implies, to South America. It has been sold widely in the U.S. as a landscape plant that has become a nuisance invasive crowding out the native Texas Vevain (Verbena halei Small).
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are of a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron quietly watching over its section of the river. This bird has been living here since mid-May. I have seen it on one of these rocks every time I have walked by since then.
• The thirteenth photo is a pair of Mourning Doves enjoying an afternoon on the riverbank.
• The fourteenth photo is a Fox Squirrel having an afternoon picnic in the shade of a Honey Mesquite tree. It isn't visible in this photo, but the squirrel was having a feast on the mesquite bean seed pods scattered on the ground under the tree.
• The fifteenth photo is a general overview of the vegetation on the west side of the River. There is an American Sycamore tree growing among the rocks at the end of the weir. This is probably a volunteer, although the sycamore is one of the more common trees being planted in the restoration project. Sycamore do very well in riparian areas. If one looks closely, a Great Egret can be seen feeding along the riverbank just left of center in the photo.
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are of a Neotropic Cormorant drying its wings in the sun as cormorants have to do. Cormorants dive and remain submerged under the surface of the water for relatively long periods of time while they are fishing. To make this more efficient, their feathers are not coated with oil the way many other water birds, such as ducks, are coated to keep their feathers dry. Therefore, the cormorants must hold their wings out to let them dry following a dive.