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Season's Greetings |
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Make a gift donation to Westcave this holiday season in honor of a friend, family member, child, teacher, or just because you love Westcave!
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"In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.
-- Baba Dioum, Senegalese Conservationist
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Christmas Bird Count #108
-- a phenomenal event you will never, ever, forget.
 The very first Christmas Bird Count was held on Christmas Day in 1900. The bird count offered an alternative to an event called the "side hunt" where people chose sides and then went out and shot as many birds as they could. The group that came back with the greatest number of dead birds won. Frank Chapman, a famed ornithologist, recognized that declining bird populations could not withstand such sport, and proposed to count birds on Christmas Day rather than shoot them. The tradition continues.
Imagine wandering over hills and valleys, identifying and counting every single bird you see from dewy dawn to hazy sunset. Last year, thousands of birds - more than 100 species - were tallied in a 15 mile diameter circle centered in Bee Caves.
All you need are decent eyes and binoculars, a small pack with snacks and water, a notebook and pencil. Groups head out in field parties where novices are paired with seasoned bird count veterans.
For more information contact Dan Callaway at (512) 251-3501.
We will meet at the McDonald's Restaurant in Bee Cave.
When: December 17, 6:30 a.m.
Fee: $5.00
If Monday doesn't work for you, then on
Tuesday you can join the Shield Ranch's annual bird count. Contact Terri Siegenthaler for more information 512-658-0631. |
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| Come out and See Stars
--star parties at Westcave Preserve |
 Westcave Preserve has been called the Gem of the Hill County by renowned naturalist Victor Emanuel. At night, the gems are above the Hill Country. Come out to Westcave, escape the city lights and see the heavens. Find the Milky Way. Sip hot apple cider. Learn to read the stars. Look through a really, really nice telescope and see distant light from binary stars, nebulae and galaxies - light that has been traveling through space for millions of years. Also, come see our extraordinary Sky Watch exhibit.
The events will consist of a 45 minute indoor talk followed by a star party. Bring water and snacks if you like. Contact John at Westcave Preserve (830) 825-3442 to sign up for one of the dates. Check back for updates since the star party is "sky permitting."
When: Saturday, December 15th @ 6:30
Saturday, January 12th @ 6:30
Saturday, February 9th @6:30 |
The Hill Country Roundtable #3
--The Cultural History of Our Neck in the Woods; swap stories, tell tall tales, learn from the old timers.
You will certainly be entertained, and are guaranteed to learn a great deal about the people and places that make our area of the Hill Country so special. Folks from all around the Westcave area will gather to swap stories, share tasty pot-luck appetizers, and hear what has happened in the neighborhood, generation after generation, from 10,256 B.C. to Present. A virtual who's who's of local talent, and wisdom, will provide interpretations of the local historical experience.
The goal of the Roundtable is to bring neighbors together to share information for solving issues and answering common questions that we all have as folks who love this part of the Hill Country and want to see that our kids and grandkids enjoy it too.
Join us, January 24, 6:30 PM at the Warren Skaaren Environmental Learning Center at Westcave Preserve. Please bring a pot-luck appetizer or dessert to share.
RSVP with John (830) 825-3442. |
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| It's happening at Westcave
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On Tuesday evening, November 13, John Ahrns saw a little brown bat flying around the residence at Westcave. He said to a neighbor, "I think that's the bat who hangs out in the cave." The next morning, sure enough, we discovered the bat, who had not been seen in awhile, had returned to it's little ceiling cavity where it rests during the day. A small Middle School group was excited to be the first visitors to see it in the cave this autumn. Leader, David Bennett later noticed that a second bat has also found a niche in the cave.
A few days later, while pausing with some elementary school students to listen to nature, a substantial puff of wind swept down the trail and showered us with leaves. "Is that fall?" one of them enthusiastically
inquired. "Yep," I said, "that's fall."
And speaking of autumn, this season is a magnificent time to walk the trail. The cedar elms have been giving off a golden hue against the yellow hackberry leaves, and the bald cypress trees have been shedding
their needles in abundance and laying down a golden brown carpet of cyprus snow. The cooler weather makes hiking a pure pleasure, and a dozen or two bird species are chirping and singing and flitting about. Scores of turkeys and a handsome buck have also been recently spotted in the canyon.
The flowers are mostly done with their blooming, but a clump of pale violet and blue asters still clings to some color near the pool and the vibrant purple American beautyberries are a sight to behold. Of course, many flowering plants are still impressive without their blooms: violets, columbine, and passionflower are just a few examples with fascinating leaves. And the ferns continue to share their lush greens along the trail and around the pool and stream.
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| Coming Soon: Winter Solstice |
Saturday, December 22, 2007 is the shortest day of the year, marking the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere. If the sun is shining at Westcave at local noon, it will illuminate the most northern point on our floor solar display at (because the sun will be at its most southern point in the sky).
Come on over and check it out.
It only happens once a year. | |
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Beyrl's Pearls
No tree is sacred,
but the forest is a holy place...
...that is to say, when making decisions relating to the clearing and management of closed canopy woodland, a very important habitat type for songbirds in the Texas Hill Country.
If a certain tree, or small group of trees, needs to be removed to allow for a particular use of the land, take care not to interrupt the canopy any more than is necessary.
For example, a landowner might wish to open a sightline for a sunset view, or clear a small road through a woodland. The selective removal of trees and shrubs under the dripline of other trees along with the pruning, or removal, of lower limbs that no longer reach the canopy may provide enough cleared space to meet these goals without interrupting the canopy. If not, careful removal of a tree here and there, in an irregular pattern that imitating natural forest openings, will often meet the landowner's goals while still protecting the integrity of the canopy and reducing the "edge" (openings that allow raptors, Jays and Cowbirds easy access to songbirds and their nests).
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