I’ve hesitated to speak aloud the word drought, in case it would make it real, but without an abundance of water, things “they are a-changin,’” as Bob Dylan wrote in a 1963 folk song. The abnormally hot June and July temperatures, lack of rain and persistent wind have caused many water sources to dry up.…

Thanks to this edition contributors.

For many years, I have sought out opportunities to experience, firsthand, the dance of the male Bronzed Cowbird. His dance involves vocalizations and a series of postures, ruffling of feathers, and an impressive hovering and helicoptering flight pattern above a female Bronzed Cowbird. The sole purpose of all this is to catch the eye (and…

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The world is my oyster?” Well in a way, that applied to me in my childhood, as I grew up in a small town in Virginia that was heavily involved in the harvesting and processing of oysters. The shells of the processed oysters were often so plentiful that they…

September 2023 Chachalaca newsletter.

There are many rewarding experiences when gardening with plants native to Deep South Texas but one of the most spectacular for me was this third of August bloom of over 40 heartleaf hibiscus flowers in our front yard in Rancho Viejo.