Chachalaca refers to the RGVCTMN newsletter.
This tiny Mexican Smilisca (Smilisca baudnii) huddled at the back side of my moth sheet the first week of November. Discovering the frog was significant because it has been a long, drought- stricken summer, without the usual visits from these little tree frogs – nor other frogs and toads that generally hang out around
the moth sheet, free-loading for easy food.
When I first started gardening two years ago, I never put much thought into planting annual plants in my yard. Not to say that the colorful array of annual flowers like marigolds, pansies, and mums never caught my eye, but the thought of having to replace annuals after a season or two did not appeal to me. I wanted to brighten up the yard with attractive foliage and blooms that would last a few years.
It all started during the pandemic, a vision for an Eagle Scout service project created by his love for nature. Robert “Zeke” Schmidt presented his vision to The Meadow’s Home Owners Association and obtained permission to proceed with a small community garden located off Sugar Road, between Vance and McKee Streets in Edinburg. His vision involved a place for reflection and meditation, a Serenity Garden filled with native plants to attract
butterflies and other pollinating insects.
Rio Grande Valley grade school students aren’t too young to learn about nature’s dangerous predator/prey modus vivendi, especially when Texas Master Naturalists (TMN) like Bill Rich involve the children in a rowdy game of coyotes and rabbits.
Under the halo of my flashlight, tiny specks of greenish glitter— like shiny dewdrops—dotted my scraggly nighttime lawn, each sparkle alerting me to a wolf spider hunting in the grassy, weedy soil.
New to the Rio Grande Valley, I set off to beautify my surroundings with trees and shrubs that are native to this area. After surveying a number of yards and plant nurseries, I decided on the addition of a Texas wild olive tree (Cordia
boissieri), also known as a Mexican olive,
Anacahuita, or Anacahuite. The genus name, Cordia, is named after Valerius Cordus, a German botanist, while the species name, boissieri, is dedicated to the French botanist Boissier.