Welcome to my nature blog! I love sharing my photos of North Texas! I will keep looking out and hope you do too.
Comments welcome. Thank you, Mary
Only 4 days to the eclipse! Are you ready? I am and very excited for it. Fingers crossed the clouds and rain hold off. Indeed spring is fun! When Trees Fall, Mercury Rises: Unveiling a Hidden Environmental Threat Shadow bands are a solar eclipse mystery (and not everyone sees them) Spring 2024 Plant Sales Keep…
Today was the First Wednesday outing. So there are various gates that are locked on the grasslands for various reasons. However today we were going to see a special plant and had permission to get closer. Indeed what a wonderful day! Moreover the LBJ/Caddo Forest Service staff deserve a big ole thank you for a…
I heard through the grapevine about a new plant found at the grasslands. This is always exciting! It was a population first found by Yelenich and Campos. Many of you probably recognize the names from iNaturalist. Two very talented botanists. What a cool discovery for North Texas! Check it out to see other observations on…
Last week it all came together for Jeanne and I to go see Tiny Tim or as some call it Earth-fruit at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. The scientific name is Geocarpon minimum. However new phylogenetic work suggests it should be placed in the genus Mononeuria. And it is now known as Mononeuria minima. In…
Did the Easter Bunny come to your house? Maybe you got an Easter basket filled with eggs. And while I checked the box, mama got quite upset with me. Indeed, we have a nice assortment of Easter eggs; blue, speckled, and green! And the bunny too! This Common Backyard Insect Is Helping Scientists Develop Invisibility…
Nature uses many ways to deceive for many purposes. It might be to lure or an avoidance tactic. Mimicry is one way which is the close resemblance of plant or another animal. An example is the Viceroy butterfly mimicing a Monarch. Others go for camouflage. Spiders masquerade as ants to scare predators away, study finds…
The adventure continued at the Caddo NG! Does a snail go slow because it doesn’t want to miss a thing? Hmmm, I have a lot in common with the snail. Moon reserves? Astronomers call for ‘urgent action’ to protect the Moon Planting Trees in ‘Wrong Places’ Actually Boosts Global Warming Spring 2024 Plant Sales 11…
I constantly see things in nature. And I find that many times someone seems to be watching me. Well, it looks that way to me. Thus I am never alone. Here are some of those that we saw in Fannin County. Only 12 days to the eclipse! Wild Birds Gesture ‘After You’ to Insist Their…
Bryophytes are a group of non-vascular plants that includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. This group does not produce seeds but instead produces spores. We saw a wide assortment of them. Most will have to be ID’d at later date. Moreover Fannin County will now be well documented for species of bryophytes! Evolutionary Origins of Hair…