Prairie Notes #212 - Liatris Land
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.
Liatris Land
Prairie Notes #212
August 1, 2024
1) Liatris Land
2) Prairie Artist of the Month - Jen Schultes
3) Field Report - July
4) New Species Report - July
5) Moth-ing After Dark - August 10th
6) PrairieSky / StarParty Report
7) Interns & (Gasp!) Burns
8) Prairie Proverb - Kamala Harris
1) Liatris land
Liatris is one of the most recognizable and beautiful prairie wildflowers. According to various sources, there are more than 50 species of Liatris. Two of them are found at Tandy Hills: Liatris punctata and Liatris aestivalis. Common names include: Gayfeather, Blazing Star, Dotted Gayfeather, Dotted Blazing Star and Summer Gayfeather. Thanks to regular rain showers this spring, they are enjoying an exceptional year with thick stands of them scattered across the natural area.
Distinguishing between the two, very similar species, is difficult. Even experts I spoke with have trouble identifying which is which because of significant overlap. Historically, Summer Gayfeather (L. aestivalis) blooms from July - September while Dotted Gayfeather (L. punctata) blooms from August to October. That is how most people identify them. However, climate change is making identification by flowering date even more challenging.
Whatever name you call them by, Liatris is one one of the few wildflower species blooming in mid-summer. They are an insect magnet, making them an essential, life-giving food source in mid-late summer. They typically grow 18” - 36” tall and are slow-growing and long-lived, with specimens estimated to be over 35 years old.
It’s a great joy to round a bend on the trail and see a large swath of pink-ish-purple-ish spikes tilting in the sun with bees and butterflies swarming them. This year, I found a hidden meadow that was dense with Liatris and a swarm of pollinators. I invite you to come on in while the temps are relatively mild and do some prairie bathing and nature connecting.
> > > Click on photos to view them un-cropped.
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Liatris in winter.
2) Prairie Artist of the Month - Jen Schultes
Jen Schultes has been visiting Tandy Hills since at least 2010. She served on the Board of Friends of Tandy Hills for many years providing invaluable service. She was the webmaster, she designed the Tandy Hills Bioblitz logo and a several Prairie Fest posters, the Kids on the Prairie logo and Field Guide and was co-director of Prairie Fest #10 in 2015. Currently, she is on the staff at Stage West Theater.
Bio
Jen Schultes makes things—mostly art—every day and has done so for much of her life. With degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Rutgers University, she has made her career as a graphic designer and marketer from NYC to Montreal to Fort Worth. Her artwork has been shown in all those places too. She currently lives in Fort Worth with her partner Ben and her husky-malamute Zeus. You can find her work on Etsy or via her website https://tingtingdesign.com.
Connection to THNA as artist
I’ve lived as an artist in this world long enough to know that I have to surround myself with nature and birdsong and beautiful colors. Woe be to me when I’ve blocked that impulse, whether due to fear or distraction. Tandy Hills has been a source of inspiration for me since I moved back to North Texas in 2010. My art-making is a restorative self-care practice, being as it follows long hours of working for other people and generally looking at a computer screen. In the last few years, as I have dipped my toes into showing and selling my artwork more, I’ve seen that my images can delight and soothe other people too. That feeling is magical!
CLICK each image to view it un-cropped.
Prairie Shadow, digital print, 8"x10"
Untitled sketchbook spread; watercolor, pen, pencil 5"x16"
Untitled sketchbook spread; watercolor, pencil 5"x16"
3) Field Report - July
You may have heard that July 23rd and 24th were the hottest days on earth, EVER. That is troubling news, but we have been relatively lucky in Fort Worth this summer with moderate temps and more rain than usual. Still, it is summertime. The heat-tolerant wildflowers of summer are doing pretty good, so far, thanks to the recent rain. The Barn Swallows and Western Kingbirds that had been feeding off the insects last month have moved on and the American Basketflowers are now crispy brown. It is nice to see that toads and Bumble Bees surviving and thriving at Tandy Hills. Both are somewhat endangered by climate change. Even in summer, there is a plenty to see in this bio-wonderland.
CLICK each photo for best viewing.
Summer is heating up but is now 1/3 over.
A Cooper’s Hawk soaring against a strong south wind above Liatris Land on July 30th.
Knotroot Bristlegrass (Setaria parviflora) brightening up the July prairie. It is one of 70 species of grass found at Tandy Hills.
4) New Species Report - July
The summer interns and other naturalists helped observe and identify 9 new species in July, ending the month at 2,130. One of them was a Pond Slider Turtle that was possibly dumped here. We decided to transport it to the Trinity River where it has access to water. Here are a few of the notable new species found in July. You can check them all out on the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
5) Moth-ing After Dark
Moth-ing with Texas Park & Wildlife Department’s Urban Biologist – Sam Kieschnick
Saturday, August 10 at 8pm
Tandy Hills Natural Area
3400 View Street, Fort Worth
This FREE event is co-hosted by Fort Worth chapter of Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) and Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area.
National Moth Week was the last week of July, but we will celebrate on August 10th. Come on in and learn all about moths with Sam Kieschnick! Although they may not be as famous as their day-flying cousins the butterflies, moths are extremely important in the ecosystem. As a matter of fact, the diversity of moths can tell us a lot about the plant diversity in an area. We’ll have some light traps up to examine moths up close and learn about their incredible diversity and life habits.
Data collected will contribute data and link vegetation surveys and privet removal to invertebrate species diversity in an ongoing prairie restoration project at Tandy Hills.
> > > Register HERE: https://texasprairie.org/event/explore-the-dark-mothing-at-tandy-hills-natural-area/
Both, Moonseed Moth (Plusiodonta compressipalpis) and Green Oak-Slug Moth (Euclea incisa) have been observed at Tandy Hills. Photos by, Annika Lindqvist
6) Prairie Sky / Star Party report
Thank you to everyone that came out in July to the FW Astronomical Society / Tandy Hills Star Party. Despite the heat, wind, Saharan dust, and murky skies, we had 8 scopes and members and about 25 members of the public in attendance.
The next star party will be, Saturday, August 10th, 2024. Read the August sky-watching forecast from FWAS rep, John McCrea, below. View the full 2024 PrairieSky / StarParty schedule HERE.
“For our August 10th FWAS/Tandy Hills star party, we will continue summer under the stars with our favorite summer constellations. The center of our galaxy can be found in the constellation, Sagittarius (the archer). Also, visible will be some of the well-known constellations 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 (25 LY), Deneb (1,411 LY), and Altair (17 LY)) will be visible. Vega will be at its highest point of the year, almost on the Zenith.
The sun will set at 8:18 PM on August 10th. The moon will be a 6.6-day old waxing crescent and will be in the constellation Virgo. The planet Saturn (♄) will rise shortly after 10 PM and will be in the constellation Aquarius (the water bearer), and about 815 million miles away. When we view Saturn, and other distant objects, our telescopes will become time machines and we become time travelers, providing a look into the past as Saturn was, about 1 1/4 hours earlier.”
7) INterns & Burns (gasp!)
The summer Interns have been super busy this year with land management, plant / wildlife surveys and chasing after vandals. In July, they got a taste of prescribed burns. Not at Tandy Hills, YET, but at a few other Fort Worth parks. Here’s a note about that from FW Park & Rec Operations and Natural Resource Planner, Michelle Villafranca:
“The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department, Fort Worth Fire Department, and local partners have been busy this summer conducting prescribed burns at several parks. Our goal is to improve habitat, reduce vegetation density to mitigate wildfires, and provide training opportunities for staff. I'm so proud of the great strides the Park Department has made in recent years.”
I am promised by FW Parks officials that Tandy Hills will get its first prescribed burn this year. More about that soon.
8) Prairie Proverb - Kamala Harris
> Note: In 2024, all Prairie Proverbs will be from inspiring women.
“On this issue of the environment, it is going to be about rejecting false choices and suggesting that you’re either in favor of the economy or you’re in favor of the environment. That’s nonsense. That’s a false choice which we just reject. We can do both.”
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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.
