Ft. Worth - Where the West Begins

Ft. Worth, Texas
Courthouse Tower
Driving down Main Street
Looking North

Have you been here?
Have you visited,
Friendly Texas Skies?

Ft. Worth's Motto - "Where the West Begins"

Leave a comment.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

LBJ National Grasslands

SWF

Todays post is to clear up a popular misconception about the National Grasslands in Texas. The Grasslands are not great expanses of grass as far as the eye can see. At least not today. The early settlers moved in with homesteading, farming and ranching. The establishment of national grasslands has saved old remnants and added to these by purchasing adjacent farms and ranches as they became available.

However, even in early history, the grasslands were/and are cut with rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, and wooded valleys(see photo below). White-tailed deer, small mammals, coyotes, bobcats, red fox, waterfowl, bobwhite quail, turkey, and songbirds thrive in the diverse habitats provided by the Grasslands. Largemouth bass, blue and channel catfish, and various sunfish species are common catches at the many lakes that dot the Grasslands' landscape.

A Wooded Valley Cutting Across the Grasslands
Photo from a small hill on the LBJ National Grasslands
You can see for miles under the clear sky!

Be sure to click on the photo and scroll to its bottom
to see some of the native grass.

As of 30 September 2007, the total area of all 20 National Grasslands(click here) was 3,843,037 acres (15,552 km2).
Click on the link and read the short article. It's really interesting.

Do you live near a native grassland or have you visited one?
Leave a comment.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

.

Big Alligator

Question: What does a 12' Texas Alligator eat ?

Answer: Anything that he wants to !

We saw this big fella at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge near the town of Anahuac.

The nearby town of Anahuac has a Gatorfest. 13 footers have been recorded there. This one may have been that long, but I couldn't get a good estimate because the end of the tail was hidden. this photo was taken before Hurricane Ike. Unfortunately the Alligator population was decimated by the ocean surge of salt water that overran the Reserve.

Here's a link. Click here.

.

Last Days of Summer

SWF

Where Sky meets Sand and Surf
Bolivar Peninsula

East of Galveston Texas
Pre-Hurricane Ike

I am posting this on the anniversary of Ike
and to honor the recovery efforts.

Comments appreciated.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

.

LBJ National Grasslands

SWF

I'm posting a bit early as Martha and I have been busy lately working on our certification for 'Texas Master Naturalists'.

I have also been spending a fair bit of time working on our new nature blog "I C U Nature"(click here). It's a 'nature photography only blog' with lots of information included. Visit and leave a comment. Tell us what you think.

Now, for today's memories "lost under the sky"!
This old house is located on the National Grasslands of North Central Texas. It's a favorite spot for a day trip and only about an hour away. It's a great place for birding and seeing everything from Painted Buntings to Road Runners, not to mention Hawks soaring lazily overhead and Quail calling in the distance. Just the idea makes me want to go this weekend.

Lost under the Sky
With only Memories

(Click on the photo for a closer look)

Idea by Martha
Photo by Troy: Nikon D70

The Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) National Grasslands are located in two areas northeast and northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. They not only provide grazing land for cattle and habitat for wildlife, but offer a variety of recreation. The most popular activities are hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, mountain biking, wildlife viewing, and photography.

White-tailed deer, small mammals, coyotes, bobcats, red fox, waterfowl, bobwhite quail, turkey, and songbirds thrive in the diverse habitats provided by the Grasslands. Largemouth bass, blue and channel catfish, and various sunfish species are common catches at the many lakes that dot the Grasslands' landscape.

The LBJ is comprised of more than 20,250 acres with one developed recreation area located at Black Creek Lake. The recreation area consists of seven picnic units, seven walk-in camp units, one improved boat ramp and an accessible fishing bridge. No drinking water is available. The lake is approximately 30 acres in size. The discharge of firearms and hunting is prohibited on and around the lake.

Cottonwood Lake, located 5 miles north of Black Creek Lake, is approximately 40 acres in size and has one improved boat ramp. No recreation facilities are provided. The discharge of firearms is prohibited in the vicinity of Cottonwood Lake. However, from November 1 through February 28, the use of shotguns, excluding slugs and buckshot, for legally hunting game birds and game animals during state designated seasons is permitted.

The Cottonwood-Black Creek Hiking Trail is 4 miles long and connects the two lakes. It is rated moderately difficult. There are nearly 75 miles of multipurpose trails which run in the Cottonwood Lake vicinity.

TADRA Point is a designated trailhead camping facility that is a primary access point for the 75 mile LBJ Multi-use Trail system. Only a few restrooms and parking facilities are provided.


For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

.

Harris Hawk

SWF

King of the Sky Taking a Rest

Harris Hawk
Rio Grande Valley, South Texas

Please, leave a comment here and
Be sure to visit our new 'Nature Only' blog, named 'I C U Nature'.
Your opinion is important !!!
Tell us what you think about the format and appearance
of the new site at WordPress.

Click here to see I C U Nature.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

.

Hot Texas Sun

SWF

It was hot this day, 100+ °F. in the shade.

I was on a Nature Hike at the Ft. Worth nature Center & Refuge with Michelle Villafranca. We were in the "Prairie Barrens" area and I was interested in studying the plant communities on the 'barrens' a little more closely. This photo is near the edge of a barrens area approaching some glades.

click on the photo for a better view

This photo is an example of a statement that I have said in previous posts. When you take a photo, try to remember not only what it looked like, but the weather, what birds you were hearing (titmice, or other sounds), time of day, what smells were in the air (dry hot grass in this instance), any breezes stirring the air, anything unusual about the geology, etc.. It will enhance the pleasure of viewing the photo later.

Note the characteristic color of 'Little Bluestem' on the left.

Google 'prairie barrens' for more information.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy

.

My World Tuesday

.
My World Texas,

Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today in Texas
Cowboy Boots


What do you do with your old Cowboy Boots here in Texas,
when they are all worn out?


Why you hang them out on the fence of course.....

Photograph taken in a light rain, cloudy day, from the inside of the car.

Click on the photo for a better look.

If you like the photo, leave a comment,
and scroll down and see some of the other Texas posts lately.

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.Troy & Martha

Ft. Worth Nature Center Marsh

.

Sky Watch
Looking for the Rain

120° Panorama

Boardwalk at the Marsh

Click on the photo and scroll back and forth
to see the receding water and drying marsh.

A skywatch for a serious reason. Looking for needed rain.

For other SWF posts,
see the SkyWatch site here.

Troy
.

Three-banded Grasshopper

.

Hadrotettix trifasciatusBe sure to click on the photo for a better view
of the network pattern in the wings and the colors

According to the 'Wyoming Agricultrial Experiment Station Bulletin 912,

"The Three-banded Grasshopper ranges widely in the grasslands of the West in the middle third of the continent. It is a common species of the shortgrass, desert, and mixedgrass prairies. It is less abundant in other prairies and is rare in grass-shrub communities of the intermountain basins. In the tallgrass prairie it occupies areas of sparse vegetation on gravelly hilltops and slopes. This particular species is not considered a serious agricultural pest.

Its feeding on good forage grasses would tend to give it pest status, but research has shown that it feeds more heavily on poor forage plants and plants poisonous to livestock (death camus, milkweeds, some milkvetches, and others). It feeds on grasses, forbs, sedges, dead and weakened insects, plant litter, and dry cattle dung. It feeds chiefly on forbs, with as many as 40 species recorded from analyses of crop contents and direct observations in nature. Examination of 152 specimens collected from several habitats near North Platte, Nebraska revealed that 75 percent of crop contents consisted of forbs, 21 percent grasses and sedge, and 4 percent arthropod parts."

This one was photographed at the Ft. Worth Nature Center and Refuge.
Lower prairie setting close to the West fork of the Trinity River.

I have been seeing a lot of band-winged grasshoppers and tons of slant-faced grasshoppers there, but this is the first of this species that I have seen this year. Maybe I haven't been looking closely enough.

Leave a comment (if you like hoppers) and tell me what you think.
Photo with my Canon G10 'point and shoot'

Troy
.

My World Tuesday, Part 7

My World Texas,

Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today in Texas
A Sunday Drive to Hagerman

Yesterday was a nice day for a drive in the country and we decided to go up to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. The temperature was about 75 degrees and the birding, from inside the car, was pretty good despite a 30 - 40 mph wind.

Hagerman is located on the Texas side of Lake Texoma, which is the The Texas - Oklahoma border. We had not been up there since the Geese returned. There were several thousand geese, mostly Snow Geese (including the Blue goose), some Ross's Geese, a few Greater White-fronted Geese, and a very few Canadian Geese. We saw 33 species of birds in all. Most of the sparrows and small grass birds were down out of the wind (can't say I blame them).

Click on the photos for full page views.

We Started Early
(photo by Martha at the What-a-Burger), while I ordered Breakfast.


Thousands of Geese
(photo by Martha)


Coots Surprised
When I walked up to the edge of a cliff, and grabbed this snapshot,
they started walking on water,

Leave a comment for your favorite photo.

Troy and Martha

Location of Hagerman and Lake Texoma
Hagerman NWR is located on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma.

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.

.

My World Tuesday, Part 6

My World Texas,

Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today in Texas
Waiting for the Return
Of the winter birds

We are impatiently waiting for the return of the wintering birds here in North Texas.

Here are the last views back at the first of the year in Early Spring.

Where are those Geese and Goldfinches??????

Click on the photos for full page views.

American Goldfinch
Our Back Yard


Snow Geese (with some blue forms)
and a few Ross's Geese
Hagarman Wildlife Refuge

Leave a comment if you have seen these wayward birds.

Troy and Martha

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.

.
.

Lost Maples State Park

Sky Watch Friday

Happy Thanksgiving

Perfect Big Tooth Maple
Photo shot in the rain. D200

The photo speaks for itself.

Click on the photo for a full page view.

Lost Maples State Park is here. Click here.

For other SWF posts,
see The SkyWatch site here.

Troy and Martha

.

My World Tuesday, Part 6

My World Texas,
Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today in Texas
Dreaming of Warmer Weather
and one of Texas Beaches on the Gulf of Mexico

One of our favorite parts of Texas.
The Bolivar Beach on the Gulf of Mexico.
It's 300 miles from Ft. Worth as the Crow flies.
It's a lot further if you take the back roads like we do.
The photos were taken while we were on a trip to the coast,
during the Spring Migration looking for migrating Warblers, 3/22/08.

(Click on the photos for full page views)

Early Morning Beach
Bolivar Peninsula

I am sure it will be sad to return to this area next Spring.
Huge amounts of the beach were lost to Hurricane Ike.
It was sad that so many people lost their homes to this devasting hurricane.

Beach Evening Primrose
Back lighting by early morning Sun

Galveston Bay and Bolivar Peninsula

Photo locations: 29 deg 32' North, 94 deg 25' West

There were no shorebirds coming by,
so Martha was looking for shells and other treasures,
and I was photographing early wildflowers.


To see Texas' 624 mile coastline map (tidewater), (click here),
from the Sabine River Pass entrance in the NE to the Rio Grande mouth in the SW.

Everyone has different perceptions of color.
How would you describe the shade of yellow of the Primrose?

Leave a comment. I'll try to return the favor.

Scroll down one post for a view of the beach 6 weeks later.

Troy and Martha

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.

.
.

The Storm Rolls Away

Sky Watch Friday.

The Sky Clears

It had been raining for most of the morning while we were bird watching (birding). It was lunch time, so we drove to the beach and sat in the rain, watching the waves crash in, and ate our lunch in the 4Runner. By the time we had finished dessert, the sky was clearing. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves. I guess the rain scared everyone off. The tide had been steadily going out and revealing the treasures of the sea left behind on the beach.

Texas Beach - Gulf of Mexico

Treasures left behind by High Tide and the Storm
Near High Island, Texas

There is always beauty and sometimes....
Something valuable....
Something interesting....
Something collectible....
And for some, maybe something disgusting....

Leave a comment and let us know what interesting things you have found on the beach.

What is your favorite beach?
We never saw a beach that we didn't like.

For other SWF posts,
see The SkyWatch site here.

Troy and Martha

.

My World Tuesday, Part 5

My World Texas,
Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today in Texas
End of the Season for Color

(Click on the photo for a full page view)

Caddo Lake in the Fall

Cypress Trees (Scanned slide)

The hardest part for photographing this shot, was waiting for the bass to quit jumping. It was probably a good day for fishermen but it was sure hard for still reflections. There was no sunlight, as the Sun was still hidden in the mist over the lake.

Caddo Lake (French: Lac Caddo) is a 25,400 acre (103 km²) lake and wetland located on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County and southern Marion County in Texas and western Caddo Parish in Louisiana. The lake is named after the Southeastern culture of Native Americans called Caddo or Caddoans, who lived in the area from the 16th century until their expulsion in the 19th century. It is an Internationally protected wetland under the RAMSAR treaty and is the largest natural fresh water lake in the South, and the largest Cypress forest in the world. It used to be Texas' only natural lake until it was artificially dammed in the 1900s.

According to Caddo legend, the lake was formed by the 1811 New Madrid Earthquake. There may be some truth to the legend, as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee was formed by that earthquake, but most geologists now feel that Caddo Lake was formed gradually rather than catastrophically. The lake was formed, either gradually or catastrophically, by the "Great Raft," a 100 mile (160 km) log jam on the Red River in Louisiana.

Since 1965 Texas' Caddo Lake has had hundreds of Bigfoot 'sightings' according to the Texas Big Foot Research Center (TBRC) as told on the Travel Channel 2006 Documentary "Bigfoot."

Leave a comment.
Thanks.

Troy and Martha

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.

.

Texas (Our Part of the world) #3

My World Tuesday Part#3
Texas, Based in Ft. Worth, Texas

Today's Topic:
End of the Season for Insects
Butterflies, Skippers, Dragonflies, Damselflies

(Click on the photos for full page views)

It's just about the end of the season for insects here in Ft. Worth, Texas, USA. We will be having a hard freeze soon. Outside of town there have already been a couple of light frosts. The good news is that we can hook up the camper and go down to the Rio Grand Valley in extreme southern Texas during the winter. It almost never freezes down there and there are always a few hardy butterflies flying on warm days. It's also good birding in the Valley in the winter.

For your viewing pleasure
Here are some Fall insects from both here and the Valley.
I hope you enjoy them.
Photographs by Troy and Martha

Guava Skipper


American Rubyspot

Blue-ringed Dancer


Crimson Patch


Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Ringtail


Gulf Fritillary


Long-tailed Skipper

Lyside Sulphur


Phaon Crescent


Neon Skimmer

Sleepy Orange


Red-bordered Pixie


White-striped Longtail




We hope you have enjoyed a few of the insects from our small part of the world, and we look forward to your return. We sincerely hope you will bookmark us and return often.

What is your favorite Insect photo?
Leave a comment. Thanks.

Photography by
Troy and Martha

Please visit "That's my World" for other great places of the Earth.





.