Visitors to Austin are usually surprised by how green it appears, especially when they're looking down into a canyon full of Texas (or Escarpment) live oaks, Quercus fuisiformis . Over the past few days, those live oaks have been creating a symphony of deep popping, crashing sounds as their leafy canopies and limbs became heavy with ice, causing them to split and crash to the ground. It's not pretty. It's not fun. But an energetic person with heavy gloves and a chainsaw could put a couple of kids through college by digging us all out. It would seem many are doing just that. On a personal level, I learned a few things. First, my neighbor's elm has looked like it's been on its last limb for at least five years now. We've mentioned the very large, dangling limb that could fall with a slight breeze. She ignored us. She seemed to decide we were evil as a result. Interactions became somewhat chilly. And yet, when that and another enormous branch became ice
Here's a link to the story of how a wildlife film maker in Bristol, England, made use of his time during the COVID lockdown, and the discoveries he was able to make in his own yard. Grab your bowl of popcorn and click here to enjoy! The sounds are almost as good as the photography. After you've enjoyed that visual feast, you might hop over to Sam Drogge's "Eye Candy" page on flickr . His bee pictures allow you to get up close and personal with many of our native bees. And if you haven't already heard of Carol Leonardi Clark - as a Texas Master Naturalist, a very active member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, as a Monarch Steward working tirelessly as chairperson to Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas, as a math coach, or as an amazing photographer - well, let me hurry up and make the introduction! As you can tell from the few of her many "hats" mentioned here, she's an incredible advocate for the natural world, especially here