Walking Continues

Come to the park when it's dark and different, To the water and moss and mud. Watch and listen For  the creatures that fly and hop and run  And those that slither and crawl . Frogs and toads were calling long before sunset. Oh, how I love an evening in the park, after most people have headed home. It's the time when community scientists head out with flashlights, buckets, nets, and enthusiasm. And on 5-17-24 I had the opportunity to lead such a group of young naturalists and their family members at BSP&P where we observed amphibians* (and a few other things). But first things first - five of the seven 2024 graduates of the Good Water Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist Junior Naturalist Course received their graduation certificates before the field trip. They worked hard throughout the school year to achieve this recognition. Only after the certificates were secured in a safe spot did we pass around the equipment for the field trip. This was to be a modified "amphibian

Against the windows the storm comes dashing, Through tattered foliage the hail tears crashing,     The blue lightning flashes,     The rapid hail clashes,   The white waves are tumbling,     And, in one baffled roar,                                  Like the toothless sea mumbling     A rock-bristled shore,   The thunder is rumbling   And crashing and crumbling,-- Will silence return nevermore? ~ James Russell Lowell, from Summer Storm Oh,  hail! "God love the farmer," I keep thinking/praying after today's storm. Everything turns on the weather. How do they do it...wait out this season of rain and hail and tornadoes and then the hurricane risk of the late summer? It's a giant gamble...a cosmic game of craps. Will there be a crop or not. Will we have money for the mortgage, the crop loans, the kids' shoes, repairs and so on. Will we have food for the year. My people (as far back as I know - from memory and research) - farmed. I've walked the family fields in so