Dirt Under My Fingernails

One of the hardest things about giving up a piece of real estate, for me, is giving up having a yard and garden to provide my preferred choice of therapy. When we arrived at Balcones I mentioned that I was open to, even eager to get a chance to help in any way they had available to learn about native Texas plants and get my hands in the dirt here doing whatever they needed.

By far, the most rewarding project I have participated in, so far, is a post-burn planting of Green Sumac. Scott Rowan, the refuge biologist heard about my interest and allowed me to help him. Not only did I get to take part but Scott explained in laymen's terms to me purpose of all we were doing.

Enter the Black Capped Vireo... 

This little guy is one of the reasons the refuge was established. As I understand, they come from Mexico in the spring and this little part of Texas is their only nesting habitat in the world. Not only are they geographically picky about where they nest, they also have some pretty specific needs in terms of the type of foliage, especially the height. They like to nest low, 4-5' above the ground in shrubby type trees and bushes. One off their favorites is the Live Oak that is prominent in Texas Hill Country.  Theirs is a real success story in the endangered species world.  Through the efforts of the refuge and other conservationists in the area, the Black Capped Vireo has made a robust comeback over the last 25 years   So much so that they are being considered for graduation from the Endangered Species list to Protected Species.

Lesson 1 from Scott was the basics of Habitat Succession.  Dirt, Grass, Shrubs and finally Trees.  The Black Capped Vireo requires the Shrub Stage but not necessarily the dense grass that usually accompanies it.  To add to their narrow scope of needs, Live Oaks like to grow much taller that 4'.  That is where the prescribed burn comes in.  The biologists select a nesting area that is becoming less used by the birds and assess the plant, height and density and variety, then design a prescribed burn. It is quite surgical in nature.  The large Live Oaks are cut back and very selective burning takes place to expose the dirt, get rid of the dense grass and stimulate other small shrubby plants to germinate that require the fire to pop the seed open.

[caption id="attachment_176" align="alignnone" width="300"] Post burn planting area[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignright" width="192"] Green Sumac saplings grown in the refuge greenhouse[/caption]

After the burn we went in and planted around 75 Green Sumac saplings among the, now stunted, Live Oaks,  Prickly Pear Cactus, and exposed rocks. Scott explained that Green Sumac was chosen because of its tollerance for drought, resistance to fire and a mature height of about 4 feet tall.

I have to stop here and mention that planting in Texas Hill Country is much different from planting in Iowa.  Most noticeable is the absence of top soil. It is quite an experience to plant with heavy cutting spades and pick axes to get through the ever-present rocks just below the surface.  This area was shallow ocean bottom a mere few million years ago.

We hit something of a gardeners jackpot in terms of weather. It rained quite a lot in the days previous to the planting. It was quite muddy the day we planted but they needed to available moisture to get a good start after the transplant. It took some doing to get to the site and it isn't exactly out the back door near a hydrant.

[caption id="attachment_175" align="alignright" width="169"] Getting dirty[/caption]

A nice cool day in the upper 60's was our work day and then as luck would have it we had 80 degree days and a couple of days of good rain a few days apart in the 10 days that followed.  I haven't been back yet to see how they are doing. The recent rain has probably made the area unaccessable by truck.  I do plan to go back before we leave in 5 weeks just to let my gardener's heart see that they are growing and happy in their new home.

In 5 years or so this little slice of the refuge will be thriving nesting habitat for the Black Capped Vireo and I will have the joy of knowing I got to be a part of something like this. When someone asks me "What do you hope to get from this work camping lifestyle?" This is it in it's true spirit.

[caption id="attachment_177" align="alignnone" width="300"] All finished up[/caption]

In the mean time I have focused my energy on the flower beds in front of the Refuge Headquarters but I'll save that for next time.

Until then..........

 

Working at Balcones

It's hard to call what we do here 'work'.  Not that it isn't physically demanding at times but we do things that we enjoy.  One month into our 3 month gig here we have settled into something of a routine for our 3 day work weeks.

On Monday we go to the three Public Use Areas and clean the vault bathrooms ( not nearly as bad as it sounds) and stock trail maps and interpretive guides in the kiosks and pick up litter.  I am surprised at how little litter there is. It is refreshing to see evidence that the people who visit here have an appreciation for where they are and do their share to keep it clean and as undisturbed as they can while they enjoy it.

[caption id="attachment_163" align="alignright" width="169"] Taking a break on a glorious day.[/caption]

If you want to check out more about the refuge and it's mission you can go to their  website:

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/balcones_canyonlands/ . In a nutshell it was established 25 years ago to provide nesting habitat for two endangered bird species. The Golden Cheek Warbler and Black Capped Vireo. Fish and Wildlife Services manages over 27,000 acres of habitat.

One of the best parts of our job is to walk the trails regularly and not only pick up trash, if there is any, and trim back branches that may be in the way and remove obstacles that have fallen from trees onto the trails.  It is by far the best part of my week.

[caption id="attachment_152" align="alignright" width="300"] Beth and I Assessing Creek Trail[/caption]

A fellow volunteer who is also from Iowa often joins us. Other days we work on other public areas removing branches that are growing out onto the roadway to make passing on the narrow roads easier on the rare occasion that you meet another car while going up one of the access roads.

We have also been tasked with creating a couple of new displays for the Visitor's Center while we are here.

[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignnone" width="300"] Getting ready to transform our Cedar Trunk[/caption]

The fun part is we are working to build them as much as possible out of resources reclaimed from the refuge. I can't wait to show off pictures of the finished products in a couple of weeks. We'll have a tree to display Native Plant cuttings and a Library Table and Book Stand made from Cedar Posts of decades old fence lines that are being removed.

Tuesdays I work in the Visitors Center and get to talk to people from all over the country who are often, experiencing a place like this for the first time.

Tomorrow, Champ and I will go with one of the biologists and plant  Green Sumac saplings in an area that has just undergone a prescribed burn. I am learning so much about how a refuge operates, fire management's role in the success of the species here and all sorts of other things I have never had the opportunity to be a part of.

As the refuge fauna begins to wake up from it's winter rest and birds begin to  migrate from Mexico, everyday is a new experience here.  I am completely taken with all of the different plant species, the very fluid growing season that exists here after 51 years of living in a climate where things grow April to May without much deviation. I marvel at wildflowers waking up in Mid February instead of Mid April

We have some fun projects to look forward to and not only am I looking forward to working on them and leaving my own small mark on this beautiful place after we leave. I  look forward to sharing it with all of you!

Until Next Time...

 

What Hasn't Changed

The last year of our lives has most certainly been boldly defined by change. We turned countless nights of campfire fantasizing and years of imagining a distant pipe dream into reality.  We changed everything about where and how we live our lives together and completely upset the family dynamic as the central hub around which our blended family of 3 kids and 9 grandkids exist as a unit.

Five months into our first calendar year, my biggest surprise is how much of how we live day to day as a couple has stayed the same. People (including us sometimes) marvel at how much we gave up to live this lifestyle. I have written about things I think I will miss, like being away from the kids in the winter and my jacuzzi tub in my old house.

Everyone has heard the cliché “the more things change the more they stay the same”.  There is nothing like a major life change to make one understand that saying. I experienced this some 19 years ago, when my first husband died suddenly and I found myself alone in the world with two traumatized kids to raise. This time it is a much more pleasant circumstance and less chaotic even though it is a monumental change to sell everything, pull up your roots, put 1500 miles of distance between and all that defines us, family, friends, and old neighbors, for the duration of a Midwest winter. But, let me focus on what is the same.  That is where the comfort zone is in a lifestyle such as that of the Full Time Workcamper.

A typical week for us (when I wasn’t at work) used to involve going out for dinner, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with friends or family once a week or so. Not much has changed. We go out with our volunteer compadres’ and some of their friends from the area every Tuesday night for Taco Tuesday at a locally owned restaurant that quite frankly expects us each week.

Our cat's still think they need to eat everytime they walk past the threshold of the doorway. They still have to sleep, segregate from us, lest they decide to run an obstacle course over our faces at 3:30 AM

Instead of sitting on our deck in Williams and visiting with neighbors who inevitably stop by (by the way we loved that about Williams) and enjoyed the deck, a lawn chair and maybe a cocktail fairly frequently, we have impromptu happy hours in front of one RV or another after the workday,  before we all disperse for dinner and our evening routines.

Sunday mornings haven’t changed a bit.  I still cook a breakfast that would horrify a cardiologist and play Van Morrison, until CBS Sunday Morning comes on the TV.  I can’t warm up to the newspapers in Texas, I think they are too conservative. I read the Des Moines Register online and print the New York Times Sunday Crossword. I still do it in ink, the only difference is it’s on copy paper from my printer instead of the Iowa Life Section, folded 6 says from, well next Sunday, to make it manageable.

It’s spring so I’m reading seed catalogs, like they are the answer to life.  I will plant everything in containers instead of in raised garden beds.  We do lot of DIY projects but instead of working on ‘the house’ we are working on ‘the house’ aka 2015 Montana 5^th wheel.  Our friends and family won’t recognize this thing by the time we get home.

We are separated from our grandkids and kids, now, but we will be home soon and the regular visits and overnight stays with one grandkid or another will start again.  The kids are no strangers to our camper and campsites. Kids will come, grandkids will stay for 2  or  6 days depending on what’s going on and how greedy we feel.

Yes, we gave up a lot of status quo type things, and we facilitated unprecedented change, but the comfort in this life style and the key to adapting is to focus on what has not changed. For all the people, we have met in 5 months adding richness to our lives I can’t imagine how many people we will know 10 years from now.

The scenery may change but the important things, connections to other people, connections to nature and of course the presence of a nearby Super Wal Mart to satisfy our basic material needs and consistent store layout have stayed the same.

Happy Camping!

 

 

Immersion

 

[caption id="attachment_110" align="alignnone" width="300"] Refuge Entrance[/caption]

Greetings from Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge! We arrived here in late December to do a 90 day tour volunteering here in exchange for the privilege of living, working and having access to the  27,000 acre backyard that the general public will never see.

[caption id="attachment_108" align="alignright" width="300"] Path we walk up to the RV pads from HQ[/caption]

We joined 2 other couples and two single volunteers. We occupy 5 RV pads located a half mile walk uphill from the headquarters complex that houses refuge biologists, managers, and a large regional fire management crew.  Getting the rig up here was our first challenge.  Like many older campgrounds, the roads leading to the sites were built back in the days when 30 feet was considered large for an RV and 40 feet was unheard of.  Needless to say,  our 1-ton dually hauling a 40’ 5^th wheel up very steep, rutted and narrow gravel roads with several sharp 90 degree turns and trees up against the side of the road put even Champ’s experience to the test. But we are situated nicely on our site and enjoying this little slice of heaven that is our home until April.

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 specifically to preserve and manage nesting habitat for two endangered song birds who’s nesting area is exclusive to this area of Texas Hill Country.  They are the Golden Cheek Warbler and the Black Cap Vireo.  Over 90% of the 27,000 acres here are not accessible to the public.  There are however 2 public areas that provide over 20 miles of trails of various difficulty and views of the terrain and wildlife.

[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignright" width="300"] View of Lake Travis from the Sunset Observation Deck[/caption]

A third area provides a viewing deck over the very specialized nesting habitat of the birds, but no trails so as not to disturb the area and discourage them from nesting.  The balancing act of protecting the habitat and providing opportunity for nature lovers to come and experience the refuge is where we come in.

Our duties are widely varied. Everything from manning the desk and reception area at the Visitors Center to cleaning vault restrooms at the trail heads, to performing repairs and improvements to the facilities.

Our RV volunteer group has meshed well and we have become quick friends and do things together socially as well as enjoy our time working together.  One of the biggest draws to the full time RV work camp lifestyle was the opportunity to meet people from all over.  We have not been disappointed! Our group represents eight professional backgrounds and 5 states between us and share the common thread of a desire to be outdoors and give back to these beautiful areas of the country that we have previously enjoyed as tourists.

During our first thirty days here, I have contemplated the lesson that will take with me when I leave. For me it has been a lesson in immersion.  I wonder how much of the world I have missed in my lifetime whizzing through each day on my way to whatever the day required and only really skimming, at best, the world around me.

This lesson took hold after we had been here for about 3 weeks and I participated in a morning bird walk led by another volunteer who is something of an expert in birding in this area. I was in a group of 4 bird enthusiasts who signed up and another volunteer along to help John and take pictures. We spent 3 hours walking in a 20 acre area of the refuge headquarters area that I move about in everyday.  I marveled at the variety of wildlife, mostly birds that occupy this space! As we walked into a large pollination field that lies in front of the headquarters building, John rattled of a list of birds we would see. As I looked with my untrained naked eye all I saw was tall dormant grass, large bare limbed trees and scrubby bushes.  He said we would see Bluebirds and he had my attention.  As I stood there looking through binoculars at the trees in front of me I was astounded at what was there that had gone completely unnoticed by me all this time. Very quickly I found a beautiful Eastern Bluebird. Overall, we identified over a dozen bird species in that small area. He also pointed out the starts of several wildflower species that are starting to wake up and will fill the field with a kaleidoscope of color soon. Up to this point, as someone who prefers the outdoors to sitting inside and believes I’m paying attention to nature, I realized how much I was missing, simply because I apparently have never understood what ‘taking time to smell the roses’ really means.  This wonderful place is teaching me that finally, at 51 years old. If only I could have learned this lesson earlier in life.

Since that morning,  I have made it a practice to be more ‘present’ as Eckhart Tolle teaches in his book The Power of Now, that I read several years ago. The seed planted in my heart by is words is finally starting to germinate.  Each time I walk a trail, to pick up litter I don’t worry about how long it might take I pay attention to where I am at that moment and play a game to see how much I can identify around me at any given moment.  If I’m out hiking or taking pictures I continue to be amazed at the activity going on around me.  One generally perceives a place like a park or a hill top away from the city as a quiet, peaceful place and indeed it is to our urban perceptions of what it means to be busy.  I sit in front of my camper in my lawn chair and watch the thicket in front of me and realize how many creatures are living in there going about their daily task of survival and it is as busy in the 100 sq.ft. area as any busy urban area of the same size.  The only difference is organics vs industry. Among the many birds is a Cardinal couple currently fully engaged in courtship. My guess is there are around 20 birds. I've managed to identify 5 species, thanks to the birding field guide I borrowed from the office and who knows how many rodents. The snakes are still hibernating. Soon enough, the thicket could indeed become quite a densly populated neighborhood as the birds begin no nest and hatch babies.

In its own subtle, quiet way the flora and fauna here go about their busy existence all the while teaching this burnt out professional how to slow down and smell the roses.  Not only will I take away pictures of this beautiful place and the people we currently share it with as memories of my stay here, I’ll take away the beginning of this wonderful lesson in how to ‘be more present’ and understand the space I am occupying at a given time and my role in it.

A person doesn’t need to live on a wildlife refuge to learn this. I challenge everyone who reads this to take note of some area they occupy regularly. Maybe it is a tree that shades your car, or your back yard deck. Sit in that place for at least 15 minutes, use binoculars if you wish. But sit and really listen to the space you are in, look deeply into the tree or the patch of grass under you and note as many things as you can about what is going on around you.  You’ll be surprised at what you miss on a given day.

The lesson of my first 30 days here is simple.

“It’s not where you are but ‘how’ you are a part of it, that really matters. “

Until next time….