A Gem in our own Backyard!

Deciding to take a break from everyday chores, I  invited my friend, Becky, to the Mineola Preserve. This is one of my all time favorite places to go. I had not been there in a while and could not believe the new ponds and trails that had been added. I congratulate the Mineola city planners, the state of Texas, Wood County officials and Texas Parks and Wildlife for their foresight in saving this important parcel of land for future generations.

Can you see the pavilion?

The preserve consists of 2911 acres on the Sabine River and is open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk every day. After you enter the gates and park, you will notice a covered pavilion, picnic tables and restroom area which is on top of the highest hill in the Preserve. This area, landscaped by the Wood County Master Gardeners, contains a sensory garden – one having plants that stimulate the senses. There is even a playground and a place to play horseshoes!

Steel truss bridge
photo courtesy of Becky Sheridan

A new aquatic loop and the Pullen Pond were built through contributions from Ozarka Brand Natural Spring Water, Texas Parks and Wildlife and local enthusiasts. A grant received by the city of Mineola was used to develop walking, hiking, biking and equestrian trails. A historic locally-constructed steel truss bridge has been added to the railroad walking trail. Here canoes and kayaks can be launched onto the Sabine River. This area was at one time home to the Hasinai Tribe of the Caddo Indian Nation. Much of the preserve consists of pristine wetlands which are on the west side (on the east side of Highway 69).

193 species of birds have been identified along with numerous butterflies and other creepy crawlies. Other critters include: opossums, bats, squirrels, voles, moles, shrews, gophers, armadillos, skunks, weasels, bobcat, cougar, rabbits, mice, rats, raccoon, otters, coyote, foxes, deer, feral hogs, beaver, nutria, longhorn and buffalo. 

From the vantage point of the pavilion you can see the wildlife corridors (senderos), created to draw the wildlife out into the open meadow to graze. This will be a great place in the spring or fall to see and photograph birds on the wing as well as deer, hogs, turkey, etc. A wonderful breeze was blowing and it was coolish.

Native Plant Area
picture taken last spring

We started out on the paved path and followed it down toward the beaver pond. Right off the bat we came upon two interesting things. The Wood County Master Gardeners have created a native plant and memorial garden and have labeled all the plants. There are even benches so you can sit a spell and take it all in. A little further down the path is a place to view bees working but the bees have been relocated. 

The paved path continued until it merged with an old railroad bed (built in the 1880's) that has been “paved” with decomposed granite which makes a great walking trail. The crunch, crunch of our footsteps did not drown out the birds or that other creepy noise we heard, which we determined was frogs. There are several boardwalks, hunting blinds and wildlife platforms built out into the ponds so that wildlife and waterfowl can be viewed undetected. 

Johnnie Bendy

Many of the trails and ponds have names. Later I found out that these names came from Mrs. Johnnie Bendy a retired Mineola educator who fished in the ponds and walked along the railroad track as a child. She is the primary resource for the preserve's history. Many of the names such as Bridge Bob, Goggle Eyed Pond, White Perch Hole and Turkey Island, all come from her childhood memories. 

Moi teaching animal tracking

Since 2005, the preserve has been home NatureFest which is held in May. The event includes exciting exhibits, hikes and activities including nature walks by Dr. Neil Ford of UT Tyler, The Creature Teacher, The Turtle Lady, The Butterfly Guy, kids fishing and kite flying, nature photography, tree identification hike, face painting, build your own bird-house, frog loggin (frog identification), nighttime owl prowls, chuck wagon dinner, cowboy campfire, storytellers and a look at the stars on Friday night with East Texas Astronomers. It is truly fun for the whole family. 

Check out the Mineola Nature Preserve – you, your family, your children and grandchildren will have a grand time at this GEM!

It Was a Natural Christmas

Before the holidays, my friend, Lenore, and I were out in the woods gathering greens and berries for our natural Christmas “displays.” We came back to our homes with arms loads of cedar, pine, soap berries, cherry laurel berries, smilax berries and possum-haw berries. And, I came home with the best of the best. An animal skull!! But my happiness was short lived when the family would not let me put it on the top of the Christmas tree.

After the holidays and the decorations stored, I decided to research my “find.”  Identification can be determined by several methods. The best way to identifying a skull to species is with the use of a dichotomous key. This tool allows a person, through a series of questions, to identify an organism to species by process of elimination. The questions are “either/or” (dichotomous) choices. These choices are arranged in “couplets,” or pairs of statements. From each couplet, you choose the statement that best describes the skull. This map will lead you to the name of the mammal or group of mammals or to another couplet. You have to have to patience to work through the steps in sequence until you have a tentative identification.

My photo

Internet photo

In my Master Naturalist classes, we used a dental formula - counting the teeth. Even though some of the teeth are missing in my skull I was able to determine this skull has 40 teeth, and so does a raccoon. The dental formula for a raccoon is 3 incisors, 1 canine, 4 premolars and 2 molars or 40 teeth. It is written as such:

Another way to tell is turn the skull over and look at the hard palate bone (the roof of its mouth). In a raccoon, this bone will go past the molars.

Raccoon palate

Raccoons are opportunistic omnivores with a very broad diet. Their diet consists of roadkill, insects, frogs, birds, snakes, small mammals, slugs, and earthworms. Some of their favorite foods are fruits and MY tomatoes. Omnivore
 teeth 
are
 a
 mix
 of
 herbivore 
and
 carnivore 
teeth. Their sharp-edged incisors and long canines look like those of carnivores, though the canines are not as sharp. The cheek teeth are a blend of herbivore and carnivore teeth - they do not have the tall, sharp points of the carnivore, but do have more groves and blunt points than herbivore teeth.

And, there you have it! Next time you find a skull, try using a dichotomous key and also a dental formula. The cat is getting suspicious and the family doesn't like the ickyness of a dead animal on the kitchen table, so I must dispose of the skull. Naw, maybe I will just hide it.)

Shameless plug here - a new Master Naturalist class is beginning at the Tyler Nature Center on February 23. It is sponsored by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Check out their web site:

http://txmn.org/etwd/.

I am a Master Naturalist

Animal Tracking at NatureFest

Speckled king snake

Building a crappie habitat

Recently, I completed a three month long in-depth course of study regarding nature. I am sure you think me crazy! However, the classes offered by Smith County Agri-Life and Texas Parks and Wildlife have qualified me to teach and lead interpretive programs in all aspects of nature. Some of the curriculum covered was: geology, soils, weather, climate, ecosystems, archeology, mammology, ecology, herpetology, ichthyology, entomology, rangeland management, wetlands, forestry, ornithology, plant naming, aquatic ecology, and urban systems. Whew!!! Some trivia for you - Texas has 1200 different types of soil, the oldest rocks in Texas are in the trans- Pecos, the state fish is the Guadalupe Bass, and birds' bones are hollow. Recently 3 other MNs and I plus two Texas Parks and Wildlife guys went to the Old Sabine River Bottom around 6:00 p.m. We pulled up turtle and minnow traps and turned over coverboards. We identified two Western Ribbon Snakes, a Western Mud Snake, a Speckled King Snake, a Leopard Frog, two Bullfrogs, a five-lined skink, a ground skink, a few mice, assorted tadpoles, crawfish and dragonfly nymphs. The only thing biting were the mosquitoes.