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Brazos Bend State Park: Sunrise Birding #1
It was early in the morning on a Saturday, and the park wasn’t officially open yet. My friend Janey and I are walking in that slow, quiet gait that birders develop along the southeast section of 40 Acre Lake, scanning the tree tops for signs of the Barred Owl that has been spotted out there.…
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Bastrop State Park: Lichen What We See
It’s a crisp February morning at Bastrop State Park, and our family is clustered around a park host named Ann with a dozen other explorers, listening to the story of the park’s recovery from the devastating fire of 2011. It is Ann’s first day in the role of interpreting this story, and so she has…
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Mason Creek Birthday Walk
It’s Jason’s fortieth birthday, so I let him choose our weekend activity. He chose to take us hiking along Mason Creek, where the paved hike and bike ends at a trail that enters George Bush Park. This is what is great about us – we share the same interests. I would have chosen to go…
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Martin Creek Lake State Park
A spectral light shines through the mist at the end of the road. It’s New Year’s weekend, and the campground is practically abandoned. Dark shutters close off the ends of screened shelters sitting quiet in the night. One could almost imagine spooky shadows rising out of them. The spirit of the early settlers that passed…