Prairie Notes #181 - Pics & Proverbs - 2021
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.
Pics & Proverbs - 2021
Prairie Notes #181
January 1, 2022
01) Pics & Proverbs 2021
02) Your MEMBERSHIP Matters
03) New Species - December 2021
04) MM&WW HIke the HIlls is TODAY - 13th Annual
05) Videos of the Year 2021
06) Prairie Proverb - Megan Mayhew Bergman
01) Pics & Proverbs 2021
With Tandy Hills more or less at rest, January is a good time to review and reflect on the past year via 2021's Prairie Proverbs and a few favorite and timely pics from each of the past 12 issues of Prairie Notes.
2021 quotations include the usual quirky mix of naturalists, artists, scientists, environmentalists, etc. Each quote had a particular fit for the issue in which quoted, from the inspiring quote by newly appointed Interior Secretary, Deb Halland to the perenially relevant words of Henry David Thoreau and Confucious. And I always find room for a few off-beat, unexpected quotes that reflect what was going on at the time.
Herewith, Prairie Proverbs I - XII from 2021, with photos of the quoted authors and selected pics from the same issue. Thanks for reading and for your continued support!
Scroll SLOWLY for best results. And please let these photos be a reminder of how incredibly special and vital Tandy HIlls is to us all.
DY
The faces of 2021's Prairie Proverbs.
Prairie Notes #169, (Pics & Proverbs 2021) January 1, 2021
“A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior. Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land. . . As our country faces the impacts of climate change and environmental injustice, the Interior Department has a role to address these challenges. The president-elect’s goals, driven by justice and empowering communities who have shouldered the burdens of environmental negligence, we will ensure that the decisions at Interior will once again be driven by science.”
Prairie Notes #170, (Big Trees) February 1, 2021
“When in the midst of this great Oak wood, you look around, you are struck by the great mass of gray-barked wood that fills the air. The leaves of these old Oaks are now fairly fallen, and the ground is densely covered with their rustling reddish-brown scales.”
Prairie Notes #171, (Chilly Scenes of Winter) March 1, 2021
“Look around,
Leaves are brown,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.
Look around,
Leaves are brown,
There’s a patch of snow on the ground.”
Prairie Notes #172, (Blue Star Gazing) April 1, 2021
“We have, I fear, confused power with greatness...Plans to protect air, water, wilderness and wildlife are, in fact, plans to protect man.”
Prairie Notes #173 (Hygh On Hyacinth) May 1, 2021
“People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.”
Prairie Notes #174, (High Drama Prairie), June 1, 2021
“There is no way that this winter is ever going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.”
Prairie Notes #175 (Silphium's Summer Splendor) July 1, 2021
“I am quite seriously proposing that we give legal rights to forests, oceans, rivers and other so-called ‘natural objects’ in the environment — indeed, to the natural environment as a whole.”
Prairie Notes #176, (A Spiders Tale) August 1, 2021
“Is there anything in the universe more beautiful and protective than the simple complexity of a spider’s web?”
Prairie Notes #177 (After the Rain) September 1, 2021
“Now comes good sailing.”
Prairie Notes #178 (Creepy Critters of Tandy Hills) October 1, 2021
“Snakes…why’d it have to be snakes?”
Prairie Notes ###, (Issue Title) November DD, YYY
“The orchids grow in the woods, even though no one is there to admire them. They release their fragrant smell even though no one may be there to appreciate it.”
Prairie Notes #180, (Those Were the Days My Friends) December 1, 2021
“Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la la la”
02) Your MEMBERSHIP Matters
2021 was another productive year for Friends of Tandy Hills and 2022 looks promising and challenging. Our main goals are Habitat Restoration and Outdoor Education. We hope our accomplishments will inspire you to make a donation today.
Your Donations In Action:
> Secured and managed grant from Texas Parks & Wildlife and hired S&S Trails to create all new trails system
> Worked with City of FW officals to increase protection of Tandy HIlls from commercial photographers
> Kids on the Prairie (KOP) hosted and led hikes for several groups
> Prairie Posse volunteers restored key sections of Tandy Hills habitat
> Reported 885 volunteer hours to FW Park & Rec
Specific goals for 2022:
- Complete the new trails system & GPS mapping
- Restore key sections of prairie and woodlands
- Update trail signage & info-kisok at trailhead
- Increased protection of View Street meadows
- Resume efforts to get pavilion constructed
You can show your support for these and other initiatives with a 2022 Membership donation. Go HERE to become a Friend of Tandy Hills: http://www.tandyhills.org/donate
Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Tandy Hills.
03) New Species - December 2021
There were 6 new species added in December, bringing the new count to 1643. Key observations were made by, Sam Kieschnick, and Bob O’Kennon. See a few notables below and the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/tandy-hills-natural-area-stratford-...
04) MM & WW Hike the Hills is New Years Day
Baby it might be cold outside but don't let that keep you from participating in the 13th Annual Manly Men Wild Women Hike the Hills on New Years Day (& weekend). The hike starts at the Trailhead at the end of the sidewalk, just north of the playground and is marked with a sign (see below). PINK ribbons and paint will mark the entire hike which is about 3 miles total.
NOTE---Like last year, due the Covid concerns, the hike is NOT at a specific time or as an organized group. Get your important details here:
http://www.tandyhills.org/events/manly-men-and-wild-women-hike-hills
05) Videos of the Year
If you prefer moving pictures, four short videos showing the amazing diversity and wonderment of Tandy Hills were recorded throughout 202. Click on each image below or access all of them from the About Us page.
06) Prairie Proverb - Megan Mayhew Bergman
“If there was ever a time to bridge the gulf between science and faith, or to integrate a reverence for nature into one’s belief system, it is now, when suffering and loss are more constant than episodic, and the cost of our species’ greed has become evident.”
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.
