Author: Anita Westervelt
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Anita’s Blog — But it’s So Pretty
I should have listened to Sylvia. I knew the beautiful, hot-pink queen’s wreath, AKA corona de reina, (Antigonon leptopus) vine was invasive when I planted it. But it’s so pretty! And then last year, a friend had told Sylvia — who told me — that he had watched caterpillars eat the leaves of the queen’s…
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Anita’s Blog — A Time to Plant
It’s tree planting time — the annual winter mantra here in the Valley. Lately, it’s been perfect to be outdoors — except maybe for those 50-mile-an-hour gusts and high winds the other day! Winter here is mainly for the birds. January was busy with the Christmas Bird Count and backyard feeder count. Read to the…
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Native plants are the true survivors
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Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist If you ask the Internet what is the definition of a native plant, you are afforded a multitude of answers from a wide range of federal and state agencies and state and local plant groups. As Texas Master Naturalists, here in the Deep South of Texas,…
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The Great Valley Challenge of 2018
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By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist SAN BENITO, TEXAS–This is big! Mark your calendars for April 27 – 30. It’s the great international City Nature Challenge. Some call it a Bio-Blitz, and it’s worldwide for the first time. Given the Valley’s plant and animal diversity, the Valley’s Texas Master Naturalist chapters want the Valley to…
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A banner year for Texas mountain laurel
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By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist The calendar may not say it’s spring just yet, but the trees are talking with the news that winter’s over in the Deep South of Texas. The planets must have come into perfect alignment this year because the persnickety purple clusters of highly fragrant, early-spring-blooming Texas mountain laurel (Sophora…
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Friends in low places – Texas Indigo snakes
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By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist. If you’ve never seen a big, beautiful Texas Indigo snake, it’s an amazing sight. They are active in the day time, although much of their time is spent hiding. You are most likely to see one of these beauties in lightly vegetative areas near a permanent water source. They…