Author: Anita Westervelt
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Anita’s Blog — Startling Garden Finds
I couldn’t believe my luck! The most awesome find in my garden was pure magic. It was SO exciting, I probably wasted three seconds in open-mouthed stupor while my mind circled between disbelief and eye-mind cognizance before I began taking photos with my phone camera. Lebeau’s silk moth, Rothschildia labeau: Initially, I thought the large…
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Searching for caterpillars for summertime fun
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Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist While you’re perhaps still staying close to home — and looking for new activities as springtime turns to summer — be on the lookout for caterpillars, they may be anywhere. Surprisingly, the now-blooming yellow cascades of lluvia do oro (Cassis fistula) may be full of yellow-colored…
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Anita’s Blog — Great Caterpillar Finds
I was so overcome by the spectacular beauty of a trio of lluvia de oro flowering cascades one morning I nearly gathered them in my arms for a grateful hug — until I was unceremoniously halted by horizontal black stipes right before my nose! A caterpillar! One of the most beautiful trees in the world,…
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Behold, what’s on that smelly vine!
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Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist It’s always exciting to find a big caterpillar munching away on leaves of vines or other plants. Recently, a really big caterpillar appeared before my eyes as I was eradicating a vine that was over-powering a huge Berlandier’s fiddlewood shrub (Citharexylum berlandieri). The vine was what…
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Anita’s Blog — Dandelions Part 2
They weren’t always weeds. Somewhere before recorded history, amid the Dark Ages (5th – 15th centuries), the common dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, was an herb — an important medicine and food plant. By the mid-1600s, European settlers had brought this rare and precious plant to America. Jump through history to the present and Texas Master Naturalists,…
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Anita’s blog — Of Dandelions & Ditches
The Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) was the most observed species — globally — in this year’s iNaturalist/City Nature Challenge. How cool is that?! — 246 cities in 40 countries joined the annual event — 12 more countries participated than in 2019. Who doesn’t love a dandelion? Every kid’s first delight as soon as they’re let…