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We will post results of the Lake Ray Hubbard count from Sunday once we have all the area leader reports.....currently we have Area 2 (Rasmussen/Edwards), Area 3(Burgy/Berry), Area 1 (Sears/Prather), Area 4(Gibbons/team) and Area 5(Hill/ Dr. Assmann). The weather was unseasonably warm, droughty, and windy. Birds seemed spotty at best, mostly around water bodies and or/in thick vegetation out of the wind.  Several observations made note of decreasing or modified bird habitat in the count circle.   Thanks to all of you who participated in the Lake Hubbard Count, Dallas Count, and nationally!

Texbirders
 
This is a preemptive message.  To preempt a long trip to Rockwall for 
the wigeon.  When I first saw this bird two days ago I thought 
immediately that it looked like a hybrid.
 
Derek Hill posted images to his website.  They are poor quality 
because it was dark and overcast when we saw the bird.  Here are the 
links
 
http://nctexasbirding.com/wigeon1.jpg
http://nctexasbirding.com/wigeon2.jpg
http://nctexasbirding.com/wigeon3.jpg
 
ID frontiers readers, Europeans and east and west coast N Am birders, 
all think that there is no way it is a pure Eurasian Wigeon.
 
Just an FYI
 
Brian Gibbons
Dallas

Texbirders,
 
Wanted to put the word out on a great bird found during today's Lake Ray Hubbard CBC.  Judy Burgy and Vernon Berry found a male Eurasian Wigeon at Harry Myers Park, just east of downtown Rockwall in Rockwall County.  The bird was seen this morning  (Sunday 17 Dec.) around 11am at the main large pond, at very close range and associating with American Wigeons.  Hopefully this fine drake will stick around through tomorrow's storm front.  Having never visited this park I can't give better directions, although if you google "901 E. Washington Street, Rockwall, TX" it pulls up a good map.
 
Good birding
 
Derek Hill
Richardson TX
 

Hi,
 
As promised, I'm filling in the all the dates and contacts for the 
nearby Christmas Bird Counts that are happening between now and the end
of the year.  As members of the Blackland Prairie chapter of Texas
Master Naturalists, our participation will be appreciated.
 
Hagerman NWR - 12/16 - I've done this one before and will again this
year.  This count will meet at the refuge headquarters building at 7:00
am for area assignments.  Contact Wayne Meyer at
wmeyer@austincollege.edu.
 
Dallas - 12/16 - Although I've never been on this count, some excellent
birds have always been reported.  Contact Reba Collins - 972-530-2412.
 
Caddo National Grasslands - 12/16 -  This is another one in which I've
not yet participated.  Contact Doug Wood at dwood@sosu.edu for meeting
times and place. 
 
Lake Ray Hubbard - 12/17 - This was an interesting count last year and
I wish I could do it again this year.  Contact Jack Hill at
jflash1511@hotmail.com 
 
McKinney - 12/26 - I've been on this count for about five years and
will again this year.  This one usually meets at 7:00 am at the Heard
Museum for area assignments.  Contact Dan Smith at
asmithfamily@comcast.net.  
  
Lake Lewisville - 12/27 - This one generally meets at the McDonald's on
Main Street west of I-35E in Lewisville at 7:00 am.  I've always had
lots of interesting winter sparrows on this count.  Unfortunately, I
won't be able to participate this year.  Contact Keith Lockhart at
keithlockhart@comcast.net for details.
 
Lake Tawakoni - 12/30 -This one meets in Edgewood at 7:00 am but
Richard is always late.  This years' count has been moved up about a
week so it will be interesting to see what we find.  Contact Richard
Kinney at RDKRSH@aol.com.  
 
Just to restate the importance of your participation in these events,
there is no better way to make a meaningful contribution to our
knowledge about winter birds than through the Christmas Bird Counts. 
You will be assigned to a team with a specific area of the count circle
then spend the day searching your assigned territory for all the birds
you can find, including birds you would more than likely pass over -
House Sparrows, grackles, starlings and the like.  Later, your counts
are totaled and added to the others for the count circle.  This grand
total, in turn, is added to the national count statistics.  One count
for one year may not mean very much but when coupled with several
hundred other counts for the same period and repeated for 107 years,
certain trends start to emerge.
 
I do hope you find the time to get involved with this project at one or
more of the locations above.  It's eyes and ears that carry the day and
not any particular bird expertise.  I promise you your efforts will be
appreciated and your enjoyment will be immeasureable.  At the end of
the day, you should at least have learned how to accurately count a
flock of 10,000+ Red-winged Blackbirds - count the wings and divide by
2, of course.  And, if you're gonna fudge, don't do it multiples of 5.
 
Please let me know if you still have any questions.
 
Mike

New Texas Audubon website announced:

November 28

Fall colors near the confluence of Beck Branch and Rowlett Creek in Richardson. Spring Creek also 

drains into Rowlett Creek...

The Great Plains Restoration Council is fighting to preserve a Ft. Worth native prairie. Dallas

Morning News article

Nomar G. sends us this photo of a Snout Butterfly and 
"The Badlands"  taken on the north side of Spring Creek. Thanks!

November 17   Two American Rubyspots use old Sycamore roots by Spring Creek for display...

more images on image page.

Barbara Baynham, President of the Society has brought this to our attention:

Project FeederWatch Electronic Newsletter
November 3, 2006
 
Just one more week until the 20th season of FeederWatch begins on 
November 11!
 
The number of FeederWatch participants is currently lower than last 
year, and we are asking for your help to recruit new friends to the 
FeederWatch family. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has issued four press
 
releases highlighting recent findings and calling for new and continuing
 
participants to join in as we embark on our 20th season. To read the 
press releases, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/MediaCorner.htm .

Project FeederWatch needs your help to keep track of the birds at your 
feeders this winter. Count birds as often as two days each week from 
November 11 to April 6. Your counts will help scientists monitor changes
 
in feeder bird populations. New participants receive a research kit with
 
easy to follow instructions, the FeederWatcher's handbook, a 
bird-identification poster, a calendar, and a subscription to the 
newsletter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (U.S.) or Bird Studies 
Canada (Canada). For more information or to sign up in the U.S., please 
visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ or call (800) 843-2473; if in 
Canada, please visit http://www.bsc-eoc.org/national/pfw.html or call 
(888) 448-2473. A $15 fee ($35 in Canada) makes the program possible.
 
FeederWatch contact information
 
For US participants:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Project FeederWatch
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 254-2427
feederwatch@cornell.edu
<http://birds.cornell.edu/pfw>http://birds.cornell.edu/pfw

November 10 Other Fall images at http://dallasjackal.wordpress.com

Update:  Gymopus acervatus? this is classified in the genus Collybia in older field guides. Inedible.

Sept. 2

Arapaho Park ( Located just off Meandering Way one block south of Arapaho in Richardson)

With the continued drought and triple digit weather, even insects must find water where they can......I found dozens of wasps and honeybees drinking water from saturated moss and along floating leaves in Spring Creek.  Since there have been no scouring floods since spring, many of the sand and gravel bars in the creek have become vegetated with vines and tree seedlings and grasses.  Some parts of the creek have nice stands of aquatic vascular plants such as coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) third from left, Potamogeton,  and Ludwigia peploides (far right) as well as green filamentous algae.

As the class D4 exceptional drought continues in North Central Texas, one of rarest flowers around is blooming in just a few spots in Dallas...this species was once widespread on native blackland prairies and its deep roots make it drought tolerant.   I took these images of the beautiful Bluebell Gentian (Eustoma russellianum), part of a small colony which still persists on a  parcel of frontage property adjacent to  I-30 West not far from where it merges with US 80.  The rarest variation of the Bluebell is the middle image, white with a purple center.

Nine year old girl discovers a tree we did not have identified on the master plant list,

the Tree-of-Heaven or Smoketree (Ailianthus altissima). This species was introduced from China and is toxic to other plants (allelopathic) and is toxic to humans if they ingest the leaves.

  She also a finds a Tawny Emporer (Asterocampa clyton). The caterpillar feeds on hackberry, a common floodplain tree here.

When commercial development threatens to destroy a remnant prairie with buildings and asphalt, I would argue it's time to make an exception to the unwritten rule against public disclosure about its location....the maps below show the locations of the field trip stops of these biodiverse prairies, now peppered with survey flags:

Prairie and Timbers Audubon :

Debbie Deese leads some visitors from The Colony on a fossil hunt along Spring Creek, keeping cool as the temperature climbs to 100 today. Debbie is leader of the Dallas-Plano Pug Meetup Group as well as Vice President of the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest

Douglas Barricklow sent me this video of gray fox with this story: ...a couple of weekends ago, my wife, daughter and I looked out in our backyard and saw a Grey Fox snooping around.  Our home backs up to a tributary of Duck Creek.  We're only three houses from where our tributary dumps into Duck Creek, and we're very near the KRLD tower site.

Here's the video:
http://www.coffeeshoptimes.com/GreyFox-MediumQuicktime.mov

Since blogging has hit the mainstream, we have included a downloadable pdf file so you can browse a few of the thousands of blogs on the www.  The Society does not officially endorse any of these since no one has the time to screen everything.  Enjoy! 

 A team of botanists and ecologists; Dr. Ken Steigman (LLELA), Dr. Bob O'Kennon (BRIT, NAPA), and Richard Freihelt (LLELA) visited several escarpment prairies in north Garland today. They are coordinating efforts to locate, document, and preserve native plant communities before they are completely lost to development near the Highway 190/President George Bush Turnpike and in other areas.  These rare escarpment prairies, located on shallow rocky soils, and are home to many globally significant forbs and grasses.  Many of these species are adapted for life in shallow calcareous soil and extreme droughts.

Freihelt, Steigman, O'Kennon

Escarpment prairie with Liatris, Eriogonum, Stillingia, Ditaxis, Dallia and other indicator plants.

Plains Nipple Cactus (Escobaria missouriensis)

Wooly Ironweed (Vernonia lindheimeri)

Comet Milkweed (Viridis viridiflora)

Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

Derek's birding page still isn't up to date due to server hosting problems and since he now is working at the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory in Brighton Colorado....here is a snippet of his travels in Rocky Mountain National Park with his supervisor.... Our first target bird of the day in RMNP was rosy-finch, which we missed but while we were searching I spotted our next target... I attached a pic and see if you can spot and identify the mystery bird.  The scenery in the park was amazing and the air was brisk as a 99 cent green tea. After giving up on the rosy finches (they nest around lava cliffs and permanent snow fields) we went down slope to Upper Beaver Meadow to look for sapsuckers and owls and whatnot. ....So far 9 bird lifers in order of seeing them: Brewer's Sparrow, Mountain Plover, Hammond's Flycatcher, Clark's Nutcracker, Sage Thrasher, Dusky Flycatcher, White-tailed Ptarmigan, American Dipper, Cassin's Finch

Earlier this summer someone else had reported a very rare occurrence of nesting Eastern Bluebirds in the park where only Western and Mountain Bluebirds are expected. Tony and I found the pair at their nest but to our surprise the male was Eastern and the female was a Western! There's only one record ever of a hybrid Eastern X Western Bluebird so Tony says he's going to net and band the birds and write a paper on it...  I spotted my lifer American Dipper in the creek not 20 feet away. What a crazy little bird, the dang thing hops around on rocks in fast flowing creeks and runs around underwater catching aquatic bug larvae. When he blinks you can see the silvery nictitating membrane that allows him to see underwater.  Well I think I'm going back to Mount Evans again tomorrow to look for rosy-finch and Gray Jay before I have to resume work.  Hasta luego
 

June 20  Western Ironweed, a dry upland forb,  is abundant on the Preserve

this last day of spring.  Drought conditions continue.

Drought continues with lake levels near Spring Creek dropping. Lake Lavon, a water supply reservoir for Plano and Richardson, is now 10 feet below normal pool elevation.  Low rainfall conditions until October will not improve lake conditions....Two links have been added on the links pages

Lake Ray Hubbard - hydrologic conditions - Spring Creek drains into this Flood Control Reservoir

Lake Lavon - hydrologic conditions - located upstream of Lake Ray Hubbard

Reakirt's Blue dorsal

Reakirt's Blue ventral

unidentified camouflaged moth

Polistes wasps colonize an old blue bird box

Duskywing sp. skipper on Prairie Bluets

Dusky-blue Groundstreak

Honey bees and small beetles on Thistle

Prairie Larkspur and Purple Coneflower in bloom

Sightings based on several observers

Please wear mud boots if you plan on birding Prairie Creek...the new path is muddy along the east side of Prairie Creek park.

Prairie Creek Park 5/5/06 3:30- 5:00pm
Later list:
Green Heron – 1
Least Flycatcher - 10
Great Crested Flycatcher – 2-3
RC Kinglet – 8-10
Gray Catbird – 2
Warbling Vireo – 1-2
Blue-headed Vireo – 1-2
Swainson’s Thrush – 4
Tennessee Warbler – 1
Nashville Warbler – 10
Northern Parula – 2
Black-and-white Warbler – 2-3
American Redstart – 3-4
Yellow Warbler – 5
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 3
Magnolia Warbler - 4
Wilson’s Warbler - 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak – 1 heard only

Yellow-bellied Watersnake – 1 with full gut

Prairie Creek Park 5/6/06 7:45am – 4:00pm

Mississippi Kite – 1
Red-tailed Hawk – 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 1-2
E. Wood-Pewee – 3
“Traill’s” Flycatcher – 3
?Alder Flycatcher – 1 based on sharper call note
Least Flycatcher – 10+
E. Phoebe – 2-3 nearly full-grown fledglings
Great Crested Flycatcher – 3-4, probably resident
E. Kingbird – 5 flyover migrants
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – 1-2
House Wren – 1
RC Kinglet – 10, above avg.
Swainson’s Thrush – 5
Gray-cheeked Thrush – 1, rare
Veery – 1, rare
Gray Catbird – 3-4
Blue-headed Vireo – 2
White-eyed Vireo – 1
Bell’s Vireo – 1, uncommon
Tennessee Warbler – 3-4, scarce
Orange-crowned Warbler – 1
Nashville Warbler – 20
Northern Parula – 2
Yellow Warbler – 6-8
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 4
Magnolia Warbler – 6-8
Black-throated Green Warbler – 2-3
Blackburnian Warbler – 2
Black-and-white Warbler – 5
American Redstart – 10+
Ovenbird – 5+
Northern Waterthrush – 1
Common Yellowthroat – 3-4
Wilson’s Warbler – 5+
Dickcissel – 2-3 flyovers
Spizella sp. – 1 heard only
Baltimore Oriole – 3-4

May 4  Rain last night again Prairie Creek:

Nashville, Tennessee, Black and White, Yellow, Wilson's, Magnolia, Parula, Blackburnian Chesnut-Sided, Orange-Crowned, Black and White Warblers;

Redstart, Warbling, and Blue-Headed Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Ovenbird, Orchard Oriole, Epidonax sp. and Great Crested Flycatcher. Blue-Winged Warbler

May 3 Prairie Creek:  Black-Throated Green, Nashville, Tennessee, Black and White, Yellow, Wilson's, Magnolia Warblers, Redstart, Indigo Bunting, Philadelphia, Warbling, and Blue-Headed Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Waterthrush, Brown Thrasher, Epidonax sp. and Great Crested Flycatcher. At one point there were 5 Swainson's Thrushes and a Catbird all on one shrub in someone's front yard on Prairie Creek East. Golden-Winged Warbler

May 2 Last evening's rains have brought us a little fallout of early neotropical migrants at Prairie Creek in Richardson:

Prairie Creek: Chestnut-Sided (2), Black-Throated Green, Nashville (dozens), Tennessee (5), Black and White(2), Yellow (3) Wilson's Warblers (frequent), Swainson's Thrush (5), Ovenbird (3), Catbird, Blue-headed Vireo

Prairie Creek: Nashville, Tennessee, Blackpoll Warblers reported along with Swainson's Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Flower list from the April 19 SAIL Wildlflower Class at Spring Creek Preserve. Thanks Wanda Rubrecht!

Flowers Identified at Spring Creek Park Preserve
by the SAIL Wildflower Class 4-19-06

fleabane daisy
four-nerve daisy
blue flax
skullcap - Drummond’s
horse nettle
prairie verbena
cut-leaf daisy
antelope horn milkweed
purple flowered milkweed vine
Indian paintbrush
wild blackberry vine
larkspur
annual wine cup
square-bud primrose
New Jersey tea
old plainsman (woolly white)
golden Alexanders
umbrellawort
prairie phlox
Barbara’s button
green milkweed
poison ivy (in blossom)
buttermilk (Missouri primrose) Observed but not yet blooming:
foxglove purple coneflower
sensitive briar krameria (prairie sand bur)
wild petunia snake herb
mealy blue sage
coral honeysuckle
wild onion
blue-eyed-grass
Texas white honeysuckle

Other plants of interest were: inland sea oats, Alabama supple-jack, and tic clover

April  28 is National Arbor Day    

What is Arbor Day?  Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care.   

Other links: http://www.arbor-day.net/arbor-day-state-dates.htm
             

In bloom at Spring Creek Preserve: Prairie Spiderwort, Fringed Puccoon, Golden Alexander, Prairie Verbena, Texas Paintbrush, Golden Groundsel, New Jersey Tea (Redroot), Slender Leaf Hymenoxis, Wild Hyacinth, Stork’s Bill (Filaree), Scarlet Honeysuckle, Texas Honeysuckle, Wooly Ironweed, Ground Plum, Meadow Flax, Blue-Eyed Grass, Crow Poison, Prairie Phlox, Ten Pedal Anemone

 Red-Shouldered Hawk nest – seen by birding group on March 25 across Spring Creek on private land. Fay Danahy showed me the nest today! Thanks Fay.

April 1 - Privet control work day - thanks to Circle Ten Council's Scout Troop 600 and Crew 72, Wanda and J. Rubrecht, Mike Farkas, Tom Heath,  Ann McKay, Fay Danahy, Jack Hill, and Marvin Rogers for their volunteering to remove invasive privet this morning at Spring Creek Forest! Images soon.

March 25 - Pileated Woodpecker at Spring Creek Forest !!!! Thanks group for adding bird species #167 to our master bird list!!!! The group included Rhonda, Sheila, Dotty, and Ed>

A group of birders reported seeing a pileated woodpecker Saturday: After the bird walk at 1787 Holford some group membersI decided to walk on the other side of the park. They heard crows mobbing a tree and then Ed Tajchman spotted a great horned owl. There was also a

hawk joining the action (I think we decided it was a red-shouldered). About the same time some caught a quick glimpse of the pileated woodpecker and luckily, he reappeared about 15 minutes later and all got a good look! Other birds included a carolina wren and eastern phoebe.

Note:  The pileated woodpecker has declined over the years as have other birds dependent on mature forests with foraging and nesting habitat......including large snag trees and large contiguous areas of forest.
 
March 24 - After hearing a rumor that my favorite birding place was being destroyed at Prairie Creek Park in Richardson, your webmaster visited the park today:

Left: the old footpath has been widened up to 12 feet in places for a concrete path. In this photo the old footpath is to the left of the new trail.

Middle: new trail through the "Grotto" ....a 10-12 foot swath of destruction in prime neotropical migratory songbird habitat. City of Richardson and Prairie Creek residents.....what were you thinking... that this is an "improvement"????

Right: Upper Trail follows old trail but has been drastically widened and cleared of vegetation.

March 19 - Torrential rains hit Spring Creek and most of Dallas County today. The rain gage at Webb Middle School registered 7.74 inches by 10:11 pm which is incredible! Thanks to Marvin Rogers for sending these photos of Spring Creek at close to peak flow!

March 8 -  A new colony of Trout Lilies was found on the north side of Spring Creek Preserve and numbered in the hundreds. The habitat is similar in topography to the Trout Lily Walk habitat at 1770 Holford Road : south-facing mesic slopes north of the creek.

Geology notes (pdf ) from March 7 presentation by Dr. Jim Cunliffe

Scenic Overlook Restoration: thanks to all 25 participants today as we completed our overlook project by noon!  Represented were public volunteers, Society members, Native Plant Society, Texas Master Naturalists, City of Garland Parks & Recreation, Leadership Garland, and Explorer Troop 600.  The project restored the view of the forest after the hillside and glade were cleared of small cedar and shrubs that had obstructed the view over the last decade.

The US Geological Survey Water Resources Division reports on pesticides in our streams. The news release and detailed pdf report is available at http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1450 

Water quality should always be of concern in our local streams, reservoirs, and ground water in North Central Texas...after all we do drink it!  The report portrays typical urban streams such as Spring Creek as containing a host of pesticides and degradation products, and is also in fish tissue in many of the nation's streams.

Thanks to James Rush for sending us recent photos of some big trees in Spring Creek Forest:

Despite the rain, we had a good turnout for the annual Trout Lily Walk led by Tom Frey, Landscape Architect for the City of Garland!  The Trout lilies didn't appear to be fully in bloom, but we all enjoyed the day! Thanks Tom!  Spring Creek was swollen from recent rainfall, but a partial relief from our drought.

Thanks to Douglas Barricklow for researching early tribes around Spring Creek. We have added his information under Blackland Prairie.

Thanks to Judy Bond for identifying a cloud image from last April as a circumhorizon arc rather than a sundog.  This is a very large halo caused by sunlight refraction through plate ice crystals and related crystals in cirrus clouds. Refer to Atmospheric Optics for more details.

Feb 16 - Measured more big trees and found an early trout lily up right by the path! This seems early for the lily. I checked other sites on the Forest Preserve and couldn't find any more.

Feb 9 -  Went out to try to find trout lilies but didn't see any leaves.  I did find two old trees which we will have measured by Texas Forest Service forester Matt Gribisich, who has suggested that the Society get the oldest trees put on the Texas Forest Service's web site as a  Texas Tree Virtual Trail

Left: Bois D'Arc or Osage Orange

Middle: Eastern Red Cedar

Right: Chinkapin Oak

Feb 4 Jim Varnum reports that although he didn't see any trout lilies at Spring Creek Forest Preserve after a recent workday he visited Breckinridge Park in Richardson and found three plants, each with one leaf 1/2 inch tall and still curled up.  Jim also listed the 6 upcoming trout lily walks which we have posted above under the Spring Creek Trout Lily Walk.

Thanks Jim!

In the process of relinking flower photos with our Plant List. Links were lost when we switched from Virtualave to Lunarpages.

Thanks Wayne!

for posting the cardinal photos....we sometimes take for granted one of our most colorful birds... This guy was extremely cooperative.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/astros/tags/cardinal/

Just wanted to share.
Wayne
 

January 25

Saw a Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)....early for this species, the host plant, milkweeds and milkweed vines aren't out yet.  My guess is that someone's weather-protected backyard provided the early food source for this one.

Thanks for posted this Mike!

Hello Texbirders
visited one eleven ranch and spring creek forest preserve today and braved the cold wind and had not a bad couple of hours of birding

One Eleven Ranch

ruby crowned kinglet, gold crowned kinglet, blue headed vireo, red bellied woodpecker, yellow bellied sapsucker, downy woodpecker, yellow shafted flicker, yellow rumped warbler, brown creeper, northern cardinal, redwing blackbird, carolina chickadee, carolina wren, blue jay, tufted titmouse, red tailed hawk, great blue heron, belted kingfisher(heard), rock dove, american goldfinch, american crow, mockingbird, eastern phoebe

Spring Creek Forest Preserve

pretty much same species as above highlighted by the blue headed vireo and we did manage to flush out a barred owl

not too bad of a half day considering the conditions

Mike Meyers
from dried up lake lavon
princeton Tx

FYI

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Moore [mailto:Jmoore@ci.grapevine.tx.us] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:23 PM
To: Joe Moore

Subject: American Hiking Society Announces Its 14th Annual
National Trails Day

Let's make this the most trail events ever in the state of Texas!  We
are dedicating two trails here in Grapevine.  I am sure everyone can
come up with a dedication or even a trail awareness event that they
could hold.  

Let's pick up the momentum for trail recognition through this and by
marking your calendar to attend the 2006 Texas State Trails Conference
in Grapevine, November 3, 4 & 5.  Stay tuned for more information or if
you are interested playing in this game, let me know and we'll work
together.

Happy Trails all!

Joe Moore 
817-410-3121
817-410-3005 Fax
817-999-4108 Cell
jmoore@ci.grapevine.tx.us
Play Often - Play Grapevine

January 11:

Thanks,  Eric for sending us information about your new organization:

Overview of StormwaterAuthority.org
http://www.stormwaterauthority.org

StormwaterAuthority.org is a resource of comprehensive and relevant information, 

news, events, and education on stormwater.  The mission of StormwaterAuthority.org
is to assist professionals on making educated and environmentally sound decisions 

about stormwater management and treatment.

Eric Ward (on behalf of StormwaterAuthority.org)
eric@ericward.com

Work Day: Thanks to Marvin Rogers, Mike Farkas, Jim Varnum, J. and Wanda Rubrecht, Tom Heath, Ralph and Ann McKay, Wayne Young, Scot Wingo, and Barbara Baynham for working on our trails and controlling privet! It was a beautiful morning.  Thanks to Wayne for providing some work day photos:

Below: J. Rubrecht chops down some privet!