Orb Weavers

The Orb Weaver or Garden Spider is a familiar sight in central Texas. They can grow quite large. The first one below was over 6 inches from leg tip to tip.

Their webs usually have a distinctive zig-zag pattern in the center. I searched to see if I had any photos of the pattern but couldn't find any. It's on my list now of things to photograph on one of my hikes.

If you search on the web, you'll find one. The pattern is called a stabilimentum and is thought to have several possible uses. It might be a lure to attract insects or it might be a marker to keep birds away and thus protect the web from damage. It might also be camouflage for the spider when it sits in the center of the web. Recent research suggests that the zig-zag pattern might actually decrease the visibility of the web to insects.

This is one of the things that fascinates me about nature and evolution. Although we may not know what purpose the pattern serves, the spider probably doesn't know either. No one needs to know actually, because the only thing that matters is that spiders that make this pattern in their webs are reproductively more successful. What a concept! It's also interesting that there is still uncertainty and debate about such a small, common feature. There is plenty of science left to do!

I photographed this one while working at the Onion Creek Water Quality Protection Lands. The wooden structure on the right is the top of a cedar (Ashe Juniper) fence post.

This one was near our garage. It wasn't as big as the one at Onion Creek but it looks very similar.

Hail To The Chief

I was elected to serve as President of the Hill Country Photography Club at the last club meeting. Also elected were Tom Delaney and Carol Serur as co-Vice Presidents. Tom Bender will continue as Secretary and Winifred Simon will continue as Treasurer.

I'm looking forward to serving and helping the Club operate. I've been a member for 3 years and have learned a lot about photography from the members. I first heard about the Club when I saw an advertisement for its annual Naturescapes photography contest and exhibition. I had just purchased my DSLR camera, a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and decided to enter the contest. As luck would have it, one of my entries, entitled "Freeman Ranch" won First Place in the Hays County Division.

Freeman Ranch

I was hooked and joined the Club at the next meeting. I had first taken up photography in the early 1980s with a Canon AE-1 film camera, which I have to admit I bought because Cheryl Tiegs was promoting them. I took a class at a community college in San Antonio, learned the basics and even learned how to develop and print in a darkroom, but for some reason, my interest died out.

I was enrolled in the Hays County Master Naturalist Class in 2007 when I became interested in photography again. There were plenty of opportunities during the class field trips and when doing volunteer work in the field for nature photography and my camera became a constant companion. In fact, I took "Freeman Ranch" during a butterfly class at the Freeman Ranch, which is operated by Texas State University. The photo show two large agave (Agave americana) plants with massive, about 30 feet tall, flower stalks.

As President, I'll work with the Vice-Presidents and plan and coordinate our club meetings, field trips, and other events. We usually have a guest speaker at the meetings and they're always a great source of knowledge and inspiration. Sometimes we'll have a lesson or demonstration about photography software or equipment. We also have a critique session in which members submit photographs for critique by the other members. These are a great way to learn.

The Club meets monthly, usually on the third Thursday of the month, in the Horizon Bay dining room. Be sure to check out the Club's blog for the latest information about meetings or events.

A Plum Assignment

I was on a hike of our property last March when I came across a small flowering tree. I frequently hike the property for several reasons.

First, it lets me keep an eye on things. The landscape changes constantly and I'm always surprised to see something new when walking over a familiar patch. The obvious change is with the season, but the time of day and even the quality of the light - cloudy, sunny, foggy, etc. make a difference in emphasis and observability and thus bring different aspects to my attention.

Second, it's good exercise. In addition to the benefit of an hour or two spent walking, a hike also presents a varied workout. The terrain changes and the footing, especially through tall grass and rocky and uneven ground, is always a challenge. Ducking and dodging tree branches provide interest too.

Third, I frequently carry my camera, looking for opportunities to photograph. It's not too heavy and slung over my shoulder, I hardly notice it. There's an element of a hunt at play. I wonder what I'll see and whether I'll capture its image properly. Part of the challenge of photography is to portray a scene, either on a computer monitor or as a print, as I saw it with my eyes. This sounds simple, but I've learned that what the camera sees is not what I see.

On this particular hike, I saw a small tree covered with white flowers by the rock wall which runs along the north edge of our property. It was almost at the northeast corner of the property where the rock wall intersects a barbed wire fence which is our eastern border. I'd walked by there many times, but had never noticed the tree until it flowered.

I didn't know what it was so I took the following photos of the flowers and young leaves hoping to be able to identify it later.

After some investigating, I've identified it as a Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana). There are other native plums including the Chickasaw Plum or the American Plum, but I think this one is a Mexican. It's also known as a Bigtree Plum and grows to about 15 to 35 feet tall. This one was at the short end of the range. The plums can be eaten fresh and are also made into preserves. Birds and mammals eat the fruit.

I went out later in the year, at the end of May to see if I could find plums on it, but I didn't see any. The flowers were gone and the branches were fully leafed out. The bark is fairly smooth and has beautiful light and dark bands. The mature leaves are a darker green than in March and are quite a bit bigger.

 

This tree is rare on our property. I've seen another one, but I didn't get too close to it or take photos, so I'm not sure.

This year, I'll revisit the tree and do a better job of photographing it's development. I'll also try to find the other one I've seen and confirm its identity.

A Tale of Two Hollies

Two of the hollies native to our area are very visible right now because they're covered with bright red berries. I'm sure you've seen them as you drive through our rural areas. They frequently grow wild along fence lines or under power lines, because birds eat the berries and them drop them when they're sitting on the fences or lines.

They are the Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) and the Possumhaw Holly (Ilex decidua). The genus Ilex includes all the hollies. They are probably best known as a Christmas decoration.

It's my impression that the Yaupon is the more common of the two, but I don't know that for certain. They are both shrubs or small trees. The main difference in appearance is that the Yaupon is evergreen while the Possumhaw is deciduous.

The Yaupon holly has an interesting history. The species name, vomitoria, comes from it's use by Native Americans as a vomit-inducing drink. The leaves and twigs contain caffeine and the Native Americans made a tea with them and then drank large quantities in ceremonies. The tea itself didn't actually cause the vomiting, but the association stuck.

Yaupon holly along the road near our property.

 

The Yaupon holly is a popular landscape plant. The leaves are small and dark green and the gray bark usually has white patches. It's a great choice since it's adapted to our area and it can be trimmed into hedges. You may want to give them a try.

Yaupon berries.

The Possumhaw holly is deciduous, hence it's species name, decidua. The leaves are glossy, oval, toothed and dark green. They turn yellow in the autumn and drop off. The bark is gray or white.

A Possumhaw holly.

While the Yaupon's berries are sometimes hard to see because of the leaves, the Possumhaw's stand out beautifully against it's white bark.

Possumhaw berries.

Hog Wild

I went out deer hunting again last Wednesday. I've only gotten one doe this year and I think I need at least two deer to keep us in meat for the year. I've been out several times and haven't even seen any deer so I was hoping this would be my lucky day.

I rode the four-wheeler out to the north blind and got ready. As dawn approached, at about 7 am, I got my binoculars ready since they let me to see fairly well in the dim light. Once again, I didn't see any deer.

I waited until about 8 and decided to head back. At least the morning wasn't bitterly cold like the last time. I have to admit, too, that it's very nice to be outdoors when the day breaks. It's very quiet and peaceful. As it starts to get light, you can hear the animals, mostly birds, starting to move around.

I drove back on the dirt road toward my truck. The feral hog trap is along this road, so as I drove by, I glanced in its direction. There were two small hogs in the trap!

They were probably in the cage when I drove by them earlier, but I couldn't see them in the dark. They were just standing when I drove up, but as I got close and got out of the four-wheeler, they became agitated. It had been raining overnight and the ground was wet. The cage has the same wire-mesh on the floor, but you can see how they've churned it up and turned it to mud.

I estimate that the large one weighed about 100 pounds and the small one maybe 75. I was able to lug them around by myself although I was sore the next day. After sending them to hog heaven, I had a bit of trouble getting them out of the trap because they both fell in front of the doors, on the left in the photo. After some tugging and pushing I managed to move the larger one away from the door and that was enough to easily get them both out and loaded on the four-wheeler.

They were both female, which may explain their smaller size. Paul got a large, 210 pound male in early December. The trap's been out for about a year and hadn't any success until now. We're not doing badly though - we've managed to remove 3 hogs from our property and I'm sure there are others around. As I've noted before, here and here, feral hogs can cause quite a bit of damage to the environment by digging up and destroying native species plants and habitats. Texas Parks and Wildlife has an information page here.

I took these to Granzin's Meat Market in New Braunfels and they'll come back in about 2 weeks as pork chops, breakfast sausage, and smoked sausage. The hogs along with the doe may be enough to keep us for the year, but I'm going to try to get another deer, just to make sure.