So most of Friday’s drive-about was in the car. Furthermore, most of time outside the car was at the NCTC campus looking at the Cymopterus. The rest of the things found at the campus and on the roads in Cooke County follow.
As we stepped out the car, the first creature was a butterfly . The butterfly was surprisingly active despite the chilly air.
After several attempts, I was able to get close to the Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)! Lovely!
The Rabbit’s Tobacco (Diaperia prolifera syn Evax prolifera) skeleton from last season.
The dandelion really is a pretty flower,. Many insects will utilizes it.
At WWII Camp Howze (north of Gainesville), the concrete piers are all that remain. The 59,000 acres camp was built in 1942. Three hundred farmers were forced to give up their land. Its main purpose was a training facility for 30,000 soldiers. However almost 3,000 German POW were incarcerated there too. In the fall of 1946, the camp was torn down. Then the land was offered back to farmers. The Santa Fe Depot Morton Museum of Cooke County has a short history of the camp.
Next stop, Moss Lake. Coots and one Pied-billed Grebe gently bobbed on the lake. The grebe is not in the photo.
We could see the distant fires in Oklahoma across the Red River. Moreover we hoped it was a prescribed burn.
Last stop was at this small lake. However the ducks were pretty far off. Thus I was only able to ID wigeons and gadwalls.
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know
5 Comments
We were on a guided tour in Colorado long ago, maybe Ouray, and the guide told us about dandelions. That they were brought to the area by the miners for a source of vitamin C. It was hard to have this much needed nutrient in the snow covered mountains but dandelions did fine. At least that is what he told us. You never know what is lore and what is truth.
I’ve never heard of Camp Howze until now. I agree with Judy’s sentiment – sad for the farmers who lost their means of livelihood. I hope some or most were able to reclaim their former properties.
We were on a guided tour in Colorado long ago, maybe Ouray, and the guide told us about dandelions. That they were brought to the area by the miners for a source of vitamin C. It was hard to have this much needed nutrient in the snow covered mountains but dandelions did fine. At least that is what he told us. You never know what is lore and what is truth.
I have seen the dandelions in the mountains areas somewhere and the plants were huge and full. And I agree about the lore and truth.
Sad about the farmers and the WWII camp.
I’ve never heard of Camp Howze until now. I agree with Judy’s sentiment – sad for the farmers who lost their means of livelihood. I hope some or most were able to reclaim their former properties.
It would be interesting to know how many of the farmers were able to buy back there lands. It appears to pastures now.