Playin' Outside

  For lack of a better way to reach everyone in person and online who attended my presentation to Williamson County Master Gardeners on 08 May 2023, I'm posting a handout here.  These are only the slides that were particularly info dense, so forgive the lack of context if you weren't an attendee.  Note that the list in the handout is only suggested for Travis and Williamson Counties - the Wildflower Center will have suggestions tailored to your specific location, and NOT just in Texas! These are live links to some of the items shown:  The Wildflower Center , The Jha Bee Lab , NPSOT's plant lists by Texas region , NPSOT Wilco ,  and finally, Lynne & Jim Weber (their books are available at your local bookstore & on Amazon.) T here's a world of other resources, too!  Check out Sam Drogge's incredible photography at the USGS Bee Inventory , follow Heather Holm on Facebook and read her books, follow Carol Clark on her blog "Carol's World" .  Seri...

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 anot...