Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist With a little imagination, and a couple of hints, our Valley nature parks might be seen to decorate themselves for the holidays — naturally. One such obvious plant is tasajillo (Opuntia leptocaulis), a pencil-thin, slender, jointed cactus often called Christmas cactus because its fruit turns red…

Story and photo by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist One reptile, the diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer), may still be observed in the Valley while temperatures remain pleasant. Diamondback water snakes have a broad range which includes all of the Rio Grande Valley counties and all but the northwest counties of Texas. The range extends…

Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Gifts come in many forms. To Texas Master Naturalists it might be a “life” bird, a “first ever” sighting of an uncommon butterfly or a native plant surprise that’s just appeared in the yard. A butterfly that created quite a stir a couple of years ago…

Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Several years ago, I dedicated a partially dead mesquite tree as a natural trellis for a native climbing milkweed (Funastrum cynanchoides). The vine travelled up the trunk and reached the highest branches by the second spring. Lovely globes of pink-edged white blooms peppered the vine in…

Story and photos by Anita Westervelt Ash trees seem to shed most of their leaves with the first fall wind event, revealing what might previously have been hidden — like the magnificent architecture of an Altamira oriole’s nest. The female Altamira oriole builds an interesting and elaborate nest, sometimes taking as many as three weeks…