Prairie Notes #199 - Back In Black
Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fauna sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry humor and a bit of philosophy.
They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list.
Back In Black
Prairie Notes #199
July 1, 2023
1) Back In Black
2) Field Report: June
3) Valiant Volunteers!
4) New Species - June
5) Summer Reading
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
7) In Praise of Pollinators
8) Prairie Proverb - Pierre August Renoir
1) Back In BLack
“I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.”
- Pierre August Renoir, French artist (1841 - 1919)
Consciously or unconsciously, the first thing you notice about a color photograph, drawing or logo with a saturated black background, is how the vivid details of the subject demand your attention. There is no background distraction.
For a few examples, think, the Apple Computer logo when it flickers back on screen after a restart; the Nike slash logo on a black TV screen; the Batman logo on a black t-shirt; the Ghostbusters logo; even the old Playboy logo. (I know, I’m dating myself.) The background blackness of those logos helps the logo pop and look elegant at the same time. In other words, it helps sell them.
Similarly, there is something dramatic about fireworks, fireflies, and bonfires in the night sky. The sharp contrast that grabs people. Perhaps, something primal is going on.
As a summer project, I am revisiting some of my favorite nature photos from Tandy Hills, and experimenting with blackening the backgrounds. I first saw this done in the 1987 book, Wildflowers of the Texas HIll Country, by Marshall Enquist. For the book, he shot hundreds of photos of native wildflowers on a black background. (The process was recently perfected by a fellow named, Ted Lee Eubanks.)
One of my goals in this, re-processing of old photos, is to help the viewer see and appreciate, with new eyes, the amazing plants and creatures of Tandy Hills without the distraction of background “noise”. That said, my process has more to do with art than science.
Not to take anything away from the original photos. In fact, most of these pictured below originally appeared in previous Prairie Notes, au naturel. Here they are again, back in black. You can see the full gallery of 100 Black Series photos, HERE.
DY
2) Field Report - June
Summer officially arrived on June 21. At that time we were still enjoying fairly moderate weather and occasional rain showers. But by the end of June, the temps were above 100 degrees with very little rain. Due to the weather and minor health issues, I was home-bound in early June. But on the 17th, with the tolerable weather, I took a deep dive into some of my favorite places at Tandy Hills. Even in the heat of summer, the place never fails to deliver. Come on in!
3) Valiant Volunteers!
On a hot morning in late June, a group of 35 young men and women spent 2 hours cleaning up trash and debris from Tandy Hills. The students are all a part of the, Texas Wesleyan University-based, Upward Bound program. It assists first-generation and/or low-income high school students with the college process. The students attend several different high schools in the Fort Worth area. Community service is part of the program.
The students were led by Upward Bound Project Coordinator, Abel Cerros. As a child, Abel spent time at Tandy Hills and recalls the experience fondly. In 2013, while attending Northside High School, he happened to hear about the Kids On the Prairie (KOP) program at Tandy Hills. He offered to help raise money for the program by setting up a booth at an Earth Day event at his school. He raised more than $300 for KOP. Not only that, the very next day, he volunteered at Prairie Fest. We are VERY grateful to Abel and the students for their volunteer service at Tandy Hills.
4) New Species - June
The species count was mostly unchanged in June, ending up at 1939. There were, however, two new species discovered: Climbing Milkweed (Funastrum cynanchoides) and Obi-Wan Conobea (Leucospora multifida). Yes, that’s it’s real name. See those below and see all 1,939 species at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
5) Summer Reading
There were a couple of notable newspaper reports in June that I highly recommend reading. On June 14th, The Fort Worth Weekly, published a surprisingly good cover story by, Eric Stone, titled, Summer Birds. Specifically, Fort Worth, summer birds. The writing is especially poetic as are the dozen photos. Here’s a quote from the article:
“One soft summer morning, I heard a Carolina wren singing teakettle, teakettle, teakettle, perched on a bald cypress twig, chirping signs for territory, sexual desire, or warnings, alien to humanity yet an unmistakable language of Earth.
Check it out HERE.
The New York Times has many talented nature writers. I especially like, Margaret Renkl’s essays on nature. On June 10, they published a Guest Essay by, Robert Langellier, titled, When Chopping Down Trees Is a Gift to the Environment. The subject of the essay, cutting down trees to help restore grasslands in the Missouri Ozarks, is remarkably similar to our restoration efforts at Tandy Hills. Check out this quote from the essay:
“If the glade had remained covered in trees for a couple more decades, it might have been too late. But with the tree cover gone and sunlight pouring in, woodland species are now giving way to the grassland species.”
That is exactly what we have discovered as we attempt to remove acres of Privet and other woody species from Tandy Hills. Highly recommended. You can read it free HERE.
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
The next event is, Saturday, July 22nd. Check website for more info HERE.
Here is your July sky commentary by Fort Worth Astronomical Society rep, John McCrea:
For our July 22nd, FWAS/Tandy Hills star party, we will enjoy a summer under the stars with some of our favorite constellations. The center of our galaxy can be found in the constellation, Sagittarius (the archer). Also, visible will be some of the well-known constellation such as: Scorpius (the scorpion), Lyra (the lyre), and Cygnus (the swan). The remaining are Ursa Major, Cancer, Virgo, and Hercules. The Summer Triangle (Vega, Deneb, and Altair) will be visible.
The sun will set about 8:34 PM on July 22nd. The moon will be 41% illuminated (6.6-day old waxing gibbous) and will be in the constellation Virgo (the virgin). The planets Venus and Mars will be visible during the star party in the constellation Leo. Venus will set about 9:20 PM.
The globular cluster, Ω-Centauri will barely be visible. It will be at 204O compass heading (southwest) or RA 13hr 28’, Dec -47O 37’.
7) In Praise of Pollinators
June 17 - 24 was National Pollinator Week. As you may have heard, pollinators are essential to human survival. More than 80 percent of the world's flowering plants need a pollinator to reproduce. Our food, including fruits, vegetables, chocolate, coffee, nuts, and spices, is created with the aid of pollinators. Bees, moths and butterflies, birds, bats, beetles and other animals are our friends and deserve our appreciation.
Tandy Hills, of course, has a plentiful supply of pollinators because it has plentiful supply of wildflowers. When working on the Black Series, I had to enlarge the photos. After doing so, I was surprised that nearly all of them had at least one pollinator hiding out on the wildflowers that I had not noticed before. Check out Pollinator Partnership website for lots of useful info.
9) Prairie Proverb - Pierre August Renoir
“I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black..”
Photo by, Dornac, c.1910
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Prairie Notes© is the official newsletter of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. All content by Don Young except where otherwise noted.
