Beginning on Saturday, 17 March 2007, the "Walk in the Park" series originally begun in 2001 resumed.  Each weekend, following the schedule shown below, we are spending up to two hours walking through one of the parks in the Fern Bluff MUD.  Each walk is spent studying the wild flowers and other plants, and observing the wild animals, reptiles, birds, and insects we find. 

Anyone interested in nature is invited to join in on each walk.  Young children should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Individuals, as well as groups associated with church, scout, nature, photography, school and related organizations, are invited to attend (though it is recommended that groups contact me, at 512-331-1111, in advance of the scheduled date to insure proper coordination for your group).  Each group in attendance should have a leader who will keep their group together, as larger numbers than ordinary on the day of the walk may require breaking up into several, individual nature walks supervised by each group's leader.  Bring your cameras and wildflower, insect, and nature guidebooks along.

I usually arrive in the park two hours ahead of time, to do a pre-walk survey of natural features that are most prominent on that day.  About fifteen minutes before each walk begins, I'll go over to the meeting place where the walk is slated to start, and wait for those who intend to come along to congregate.  After a short introduction, a discussion about proper nature-walk protocol, and a brief discussion about the features we will be looking at on this walk, the walk will begin (usually about 10:15).  If you arrive late and want to join a walk already in progress, call me on my cell phone, at 512-331-1111 to find out where we are.

After each walk has been completed, a report will be published here, usually in the late afternoon of the day of the walk (exigencies may, however, prevent full posting of photos and text for several days). Photos and discoveries collected by all participants will be included. 

If you spend time studying the flora and fauna in our parks at other times during the week, you are invited to submit your photos and discoveries for inclusion in the next report for the park involved. Some of the wildflowers that pop up during the year (for example, the celestial ghost iris) last but a few days and are gone until next year, and may not be visible during the short, scheduled walk. If you happen upon one of these, your photos and narrative descriptions will fill in important gaps for everyone to share.  All submitted photos and narratives will be given attribution to their author/contributors, usually  by posting last names and first initials only, to protect the author/contributor's privacy.

The schedule printed below is tentative, and should be consulted again several hours prior to the walk to insure nothing has changed.  The Fern Bluff MUD Board of Directors are assisting me in setting up a Walk schedule that won't conflict with major scheduled events in these parks on the same dates.  If such conflicts occur, or if weather or other conditions intervene, schedule changes may have to be made on a moment's notice. 

DATE                                     TIME                         WHERE                         MEET AT

17 March 2007                   10:00-12:00                   Fern Bluff Park                     Pavilion

24 March 2007                   10:00-12:00                   Veteran's Park                      Waterfall

           Note: initially, a previously scheduled walk on 31 March conflicted with the Easter Egg Hunt scheduled in Fern Bluff Park, and was moved to 7 April.  No walk was scheduled on 31 March, but the Easter Egg Hunt was rained out, and was rescheduled for Sunday, April 1, 2007 (No fooling, honest) at 11AM. 

1  April 2007                       11:00-12:00                  Fern Bluff Park                       Pavilion

7  April 2007                       10:00-12:00                  Brightwater Park                     Pavilion

          Note: the walk scheduled for 7 April 2007 was cancelled due to inclement weather.  The temperature at 8:00AM was 37 degrees F, with a wind chill temperature of 30 degrees F, and a light drizzle was falling.  Chance of rain at 8:00AM was 40%, increasing an additional 10% per hour through the early afternoon. Rather than change the schedule listed below, the walk scheduled for 14 April started in Olson Meadows, and proceeded from there to Brightwater Park--thus we covered both parks in one walk.

14 April 2007                      10:00-12:00                  Olson Meadows Park             Playscape

21 April 2007                      10:00-12:00                   Cheatham Park                      Pavilion

          Note: the walk scheduled for 21 April 2007 went as scheduled.  At 9:00 AM this morning the temperature was 67 degrees F, overcast, with zero chance of precipitation.  A SSE wind at 11mph kept the flags flapping a bit.  Many thanks to those who joined me at Cheatham Park. Click on the link for a map. 

28 April 2007                      10:00-11:00                   Friendly Oaks Park                Pavilion

          Note: the walk in Friendly Oaks Park (click on the link for a map) on 28 April 2007 started promptly at 10:00 and lasted one hour.  It was a beautiful day, with lots of clouds in a bright blue sky; temperature was 63 at 8:00AM, and warmed to 73 by the end of the walk--perfect for a walk in the park. We saw lots of flowers today. Join me for our next walk on the 5th of May and let's do some serious flower hunting... 

05 May 2007                    10:00-12:00                    Fern Bluff Park                    Pavilion

          Note: The walk in Fern Bluff Park (click on the link for a map) on 5 May 2007 took place as scheduled.  The weather at 10:00AM turned out to be overcast with a temperature of 75 degrees, a persistent SSE wind of 15-20 mph, and a misting of rain, on and off.  By noon, temperatures rose to 78 degrees, wind increased to 20-25 mph, and a 10% chance of rain, from a darkening, cloudy sky, kept many away.  Still, we met a lot of nice people and  found a lot of flowers.  I've processed most of the photos, and should be able to post them early Sunday.

12 May 2007                    10:00-12:00                    Veterans Park                      Waterfall

          Note: The walk in Veterans Memorial Park (click on the link for a map) conducted today enjoyed excellent weather. 8:00AM temperature hovered at 70 degrees, under a sunny sky and less than 10% chance of precipitation.  Temperatures climbed slowly, to 80 degrees at noon.  Many thanks to Marguerite for joining me and making this a very worthwhile walk.  I am processing the photos, and will try to post them this afternoon.

19 May 2007                    10:00-12:00                    Brightwater Park                  Pavilion

          Note: The walk in Brightwater Park (click on the link for a map) went as scheduled. Weather conditions should be good, with temperatures hovering in the high 60's when we started at 10:00, and moving up to the mid 70's when we finished at noon. The sky was a bit cloudy, and there was a 10% chance of rain, but it didn't dampen our spirits.  The photos I took on this walk are in process and will be posted in time for our next walk on June 9th.  Sorry for the delay, but end of month scheduling gets tricky, and in May several other things get into the mix to make time very scarce...

26 May 2007               MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND  No Walk Scheduled for this date---Happy Holiday!

02 June 2007                    10:00-12:00                    Olson Meadows Park           Pavilion

          Note: The walk in Olson Meadows Park (click on the link for a map) scheduled for 2 June 2007, has been moved forward one week due to Inclement Weather conditions. Plan to walk with me in Olson Meadows Park on Saturday, 9 June 2007.  Amazing how the weather cleared up by 11AM on June 2nd. We could have had a good time looking for flowers... BUT I still needed to mow the lawn, and take care of a few chores around the house that I'd neglected while traversing Texas this past week, so all was not lost... at least for me.  See you next Saturday!

09 June 2007                    10:00-12:00                    Olson Meadows Park           Pavilion

          Note: The walk in Olson Meadows Park (click on the link for a map) scheduled for 8 June 2007 took place  as scheduled.  Weather conditions were marginal, with mostly cloudy skies at 10AM, and a 10% chance of rain, increasing to 20% by 11AM, and to 30% at noon.  Still, I photographed many more flowers than I have had time to process and post...

16 June 2007                     10:00-12:00                    Fern Bluff Park                     Pavilion

          Note: The walk in Fern Bluff Park scheduled for 16 June 2007, has been cancelled due to inclement weather.  We are now in the beginning of our normal hot, dry summer season. I will be spending much time in each of our parks throughout each week, but have suspended regularly scheduled walks until the fall when temperatures should moderate somewhat. 

Previous Walks in the Park are posted at the following links:

Archives of previous walks in the park: 12 May 2007,  05 May 2007; 28 April 2007, 21 April 2007, 14 April 2007,  1 April 2007 Easter Egg Hunt; 24 March 2007,  17 March 2007; Nov. 03, 2001; April 04, 2001; March 25, 15, 10-11, 04, 2001; February 24,  18, 10, 2001

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