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..........