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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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The cold front passes, and the dawn is freezingly clear. Despite the temperature, a few resident birds sing briefly, celebrating the sunshine, reminding me that spring is a little over a month away. I rely on the avian ensemble to let me know that days are getting longer, because I won't notice it directly for another week or two. In just three hours the temperature rises from twenty-eight to forty degrees, and melting ice rains from tree branches and roofs. In the acre around my house, three big oaks are lying on the ground amidst lesser prunings. By early afternoon ice remains on only north-facing exposures, as the thawing landscape drips. |
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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