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Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
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An unusually early freeze last night killed the last lingering green leaves. Sugarberries, white ashes, and red mulberries were most affected, while scalybark and Shumard oaks show a bit more color this morning. Within a few hours the air temperature approaches seventy degrees as I stroll along the creek, where pools of shallow water were muddied by raccoons finger fishing for crawdads and tadpoles last night. I walk upslope through Owl Hollow along thin-bedded layers and eroded ledges with deep cracks, fissures, and flagstones. This spot is a perfect snake den, where I sit with the wild, basking in afternoon sun. |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
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