Prairie Notes #196 - One Clover, a Bee, and. . . a Brush-hog
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.
One Clover, a Bee, and. . .
a Brush-hog
Prairie Notes #196
April 1, 2023
1) One Clover, a Bee and . . . a Brush-Hog
2) Field Report: March
3) Tandy Hills / Broadcast Hill Field Trip
4) New Species - March
5) Trout Lily Walk Report
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
7) Asking for a “Friend”
8) Prairie Proverb - Sam Kieschnick
1) One Clover, A Bee, . . . and A Brush-Hog
“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.”-Emily Dickinson, (1830-1886)
Sometimes, it takes more to make a prairie than a clover and one bee mentioned in Emily Dickinson’s famous little poem. Last month at Tandy Hills, the City of Fort Worth’s recent, Open Space grant, allowed us to speed up the process by “brush-hogging” a few acres of Chinese Privet into mulch.
Stewart Ranch Services, the company hired to do the deed calls it, land reclamation. I call it land liberation. Either phrase is an apt description, but trying to remove the stuff by hand, as volunteers have done here for many years, can cause a person to, ahem, use salty language.
The Privet patches at Tandy Hills have grown so dense over the years that walking through them is impossible. Hundreds of volunteer hours have barely slowed their progress. Most importantly, it is spreading exponentially where native prairie plants were meant to be. Brush-hogging is the first step in reclaiming, not just the land, but the prairie grasses and wildflowers. That’s when the “revery” will begin.
Michelle Villafranca, a Natural Resource Planner in the Park & Recreation Department, is leading the project for the City. I asked her to describe this massive experiment and the ultimate goals of the project.
“As part of the Conservation and Environment Fund grant from the North Texas Community Foundation, we were able to begin forestry mulching privet. We originally intended to mulch in late February while the prairie was mostly dormant. Due to weekly rain, we had a narrow opening to mulch before Spring wildflower season. We were able to mulch in several priority areas covering nearly half of the 50 acres slated for mulching across Tandy Hills, Stratford and Broadcast Hill. We will assess the growing season in August to determine whether we can continue mulching at that time.
After mulching, we will follow up targeted herbicide of privet resprouts where we mulched. During the summer, we will hire a trail design consultant to design and construct 2 miles of trails connecting Tandy Hills, Stratford and Broadcast Hill together. We will also develop interpretive signs for 3 trailhead entrances. Additionally, we will hire interns for the summer. They will be responsible for public engagement, flora and fauna surveys, and trail maintenance.”
DY
2) Field Report - March
True to form, the month of March came in like a lion with a destructive T-storm, hail, strong winds and a tornado. And with it came a plague of, Crane Flies, which now inhabit every house in Texas. The rain also helped along the early spring wildflowers such as, Narrowleaf Puccoon, Bigroot Springparsley, Purple Paintbrush and the intoxicating blossoms of, Creek Plum trees. A few critters turned up including 3 Eastern Cottontail Rabbits. You can watch a video of them frolicking HERE. Let’s hope March goes out a little meeker than it came in.
3) Tandy HIlls / Broadcast Hill Field Trip
The Fort Worth Chapter of, Native Prairies Association of Texas (FWNPAT), will host a field trip to Tandy Hills on April 16 at 10 AM. Join FWNPAT and Friends of Tandy Hills co-founder and prairie steward, Don Young, for a guided field trip on Fort Worth's most successful urban prairie. Michelle Villafranca with the City of Fort Worth will introduce you to Broadcast Hill Open Space.
You can register for the event HERE.
4) New Species - March
Thanks mostly to, Sam Kieschnick, the species count increased by 22 in March from 1818 to 1840. The additions include, two new beetles, a blue bee, a butterfly, a colorful fungi and several microscopic critters and plants. See a few of them below and see them all at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
5) Trout Lily Walk Report
We had a BIG turnout on March 5th for the 15th annual Trout Lily Walk w/ Sam Kieschnick. About 50 people got to hear Sam at his best on a perfect day. As is his custom, Sam walked and stopped frequently to observe and describe a number of plants other than Trout Lilies.
Sam also filmed a short video at Tandy Hills the same day. Watch it HERE.
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
The 2023 season started off with a bang on March 25th. More than 50 people showed up to view the heavens above while standing on heavenly ground known as, Tandy Hills Natural Area. Members of the Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) were on hand to share their scopes and knowledge. Next event is, Saturday, April 29th. Check website for more info HERE.
Here is your April sky commentary by FWAS rep, John McCrea:
For our April star party, we will have our familiar spring constellations. The most popular can be seen in the night sky from about late March to late June. Although there are about fifteen springtime constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere, seven prominent constellations stand out and are generally associated with springtime. These include Ursa Major, Boötes, Cancer, Leo, Coma Berenices, Virgo, and Hydra.
It's time to say farewell to our old friend the Pleiades*, It will still be visible early in the month. as well as Orion, Canis Major and Minor, but remember these stars set 4 minutes earlier each day and the sun sets later, so they will be gone very soon. M44 in Cancer the crab will be readily visible on the ecliptic. Just after sunset, in the western sky, on April 9-12, Venus, and The Pleiades will be in conjunction.
On April 29th, the night of the monthly star party, the sun will set around 8:09 PM and the moon will be 9 ½ days old and in the Constellation Leo. The two planets visible will be Mars and Venus in the western sky.
*The Pleiades were very important in the lives of the ancient people of Teotihuacan (30 BCE - 750 CE), in Mexico, and the Incas in Peru. The east/west line in the ceremonial city of Teotihuacan is thought to have been based on the rising and setting points of the Pleiades. The nighttime appearance was an indicator that winter would be soon. In the temple/city of Machu Picchu (1300’s CE – 1600 CE), in Peru, they had a special window for viewing its setting in early May, which heralded the onset of winter a few short weeks away. In both locations the time to plant and harvest crops were of existential importance.
* “Echoes of the Ancient Skies” by Dr. E. C. Krupp
7) Asking for a “Friend”
Your generous donations help us “keep it like it was”. Become a, Friend of Tandy Hills, HERE.
8) Prairie Proverb
“Today, we’re going to explore Tandy Hills at the speed of botany.”
Photo by, Susan Austin. Used with permission.
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.
