The Drought Continues

Before you begin this post, you may want to look at my postings of June 7 and June 14th concerning the drought.

Water transfer. Phototgraph taken by J. David.

The seriousness of this drought cannot be overstated. Four households on the ranch now depend on a spring that is now producing slightly less than a gallon per minute. At best, that’s 1,440 gallons or 360 gallons per household per day. We can easily get along with this, but the dry, hot weather continues with no end in sight and the spring flow weakens daily. Last week all livestock, principally cattle, were removed from the corrals and traps around the pens. Would you believe that one cow can consume 25 gallons of water per day? Here is the method we developed to transport 500 gallons of water per trip. We were transporting water from the west side of the ranch where we had only one household to the east side where we have four. This task required 8 hours each day. Scott Grote, Ranch Manager, solved this by moving all the cattle to the west side, but herein lies another problem: because of the drought there isn’t much forage available over there for them. Well, that’s ranching! You can only hold out so long and then the cattle must be sold. Buying feed for cattle in July, August, September – this early in the season is a guaranteed prescription for financial failure. Selling cattle in a drought also hurts because the market is flooded with cattle experiencing the same conditions.

Watering trough. Photograph taken by J. David.

I’ve bragged for years that because of the restoration here, we had no functioning water wells. This was true, but not now. An old inoperative well that delivers small amounts of gipwater - non potable water – has been explored and equipped with a submersible pump. While it’s only good for a few gallons per minute, we’re using it in watering troughs and carrying it into waterless pastures for wildlife. It’s a bit ironic that we’re struggling to keep deer, turkey, raccoons and other critters alive so that we can shoot them during hunting season!

Math Camp – Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

Fortunately, our “people ranching” is over until September. These large groups of young people were challenged by Colleen Gardner, Executive Director, to use our solar toilet as it requires no water. She’s been making the challenge all summer, but I think this group of Math Camp kids from Texas State University broke the record - 283 uses saving the ranch 1,132 gallons of water. There were 68 kids.

There is a long spoken phrase “everyone talks about the weather, but no one can do anything about it.” If you believe as I do that global warming – climate change – is for real then the statement is not totally true. Our actions as a society are the cause and we can do something about it. Time is running out though, so we need to act. What an opportunity this nation has to provide the model, the leadership to the world. Let’s quit wasting lives and resources on war and lead the world by example.

Spanish Oak. Photograph taken by J. David.

Bald Cypress. Photograph taken by J. David.

Pecan. Photograph taken by J. David.

Bigtooth Maple. Photograph taken by J. David.

Carolina Buckthorn. Photograph taken by J. David.

Wafer Ash. Photograph taken by J. David.

Escarpment Cherry. Photograph taken by J. David.

Fig. Photograph taken by J. David.

The Spanish Oaks (Texas Oaks) have taken the worst beating of the drought. I counted 113 dead from the Wildlife Preserve to the Chiroptorium. That’s a small area when you consider 5,500 acres. Robert Edmonson of the Texas Forest Service said we’d probably lost 1,000!

I looked closely at these trees. It may be, that some have “shut down” to save themselves – we won’t know until next spring although I’m not encouraged. There are 47 Bald Cypress suffering. A lot of these shut down last year and came back, but with basically no water this year I don’t see how they can survive. I have pushed the Cypress to the limit by planting at higher elevations than nature did. The Pecan is a surprise. This is probably a 50 year old tree. Only three of the Bigtooth Maples look this way. I’m surprised at the Carolina Buckthorn and the Wafer Ash as they are naturals. I didn’t plant them. The Cherry and Fig I planted and they have been watered, but the extreme heat seems to have won.

Last year I stuck stubbornly by my preaching and refused to water trees I planted after their first summer. I lost a beautiful Monterrey Oak. It was 18 foot tall with an 8 inch diameter trunk. This was in the “forest” across from the Country Store. While I still teach this principle, I now agree that if it’s one or two trees in your yard or some strategic place then go ahead and water it.

Berries and Seeds in mid-December

Saturday (Dec. 15th) was chilly and very windy. Below are a couple of pictures of grasses blowing in the wind. The grass below is little bluestem, in spite of the fact that the typical rusty color isn't seen because of the angle of the sun.


Canyon muhly is a little taller than little bluestem and has an open seedhead that is very visible and is quite elegant when blowing in the wind. The rusty color of the little bluestem can be seen in this photograph.


As I was walking, I noticed that there are quite a few plants with fruit or berries. I've always loved seeing berries in winter when a bit of color, or the presence of something juicy, is notable.

Below is Mistletoe, which is difficult to see on a tree when it is covered with green leaves. When trees lose their leaves mistletoe is easy to see because it is the only green on the bare branches. There are 5 different kinds of mistletoes in Texas, and the one pictured below is the most common, Phoradendron tomentosum. All are parasitic and their roots are embedded in tree branches. They produce their own starches using photosynthesis, but rely on a host tree for water and minerals. All parts of the plant are poisonous to most species of animals. However, birds feed on the berries and leave seeds, fertilized with their droppings, on branches.


Juniper, or cedar as it is known locally, has an abundance of berries on the female plant. The male plant is the source of the gold-orange pollen that drives people with an allergy to it crazy with symptoms. There are eight different species in Texas. The juniper here in the eastern Hill Country is mountain juniper or Ash Juniper (Juniperus ashei). The "berries" look like berries, but in reality are woody cones that are covered with a fleshy coat. All parts of the plant contain an astringent resin that makes the berries taste terrible and can cause abdominal distress. The taste usually keeps people from ingesting a toxic amount (2 or more berries). They can be used in small amounts in cooking, and a European juniper berry is used in making gin.

I have seen Cedar Waxwings (a handsome bird seen in Texas in the winter) in winter flocks on cedars, but what they really love is Pyracantha berries, which are bright red. (a non-native that is abundant in areas where it was introduced). Pyracantha is found in this area, but here on the ranch we try to eradicate them.

One of our employees was talking to a group of women here on a tour. He told them that we removed small cedar in order to establish grasslands, but told them that we don't remove the big Ash Junipers, especially those near a creek. The ladies misunderstood the word "ash" and told him that they understood the need to remove cedar but they didn't like his language. In the end, when they understood their mistake, they all had a good laugh.


A very prickly vine that is the bane of gardeners and hikers is called Greenbriar or Catbriar, Smilax bona-nox. It has very sharp thorns which can be seen in the photograph below. I have been scratched many times when I've run into a vine, gotten blood on my clothes and cursed the perpetrator of my pain. In the spring there are tiny flowers on the females, and the berries are green at first, then turn dark blue-black in the fall. The berries are probably not toxic, though eating them is not recommended.


Flameleaf sumac (Rhus lanceolata) berries persist after the leaves have fallen. Red when they first ripen, they turn black later in the winter. Malic acid makes the fruits tart, and you can make a drink called Sumac-ade. There is a recipe in Delena Tull's book "Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest". I've never made it, though it sounds good. See picture in my blog of Dec. 9 for the color of its leaves in fall. Note: this plant is related to Poison Ivy and some people are allergic to it, and get a skin rash. (I am very allergic to Poison Ivy but not to any of its relatives.)


A handsome bush in winter is Possumhaw, or Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua). The red-orange berries appear on the female plants before the leaves fall off, and persist through the winter. The berries are eaten by birds and small mammals. To the side are two pictures taken on the same day. One of the plants is in a valley, and still is holding many of its leaves. The other is in a small canyon near the plateau hill-tops. I'm guessing that it was colder and perhaps more windy on the top, and warmer in the valley.

Many of the crab-apples on the ranch don't produce fruit every year. This year, one that we think is a Prairie Crab-apple, produced an amazing amount of fruit. It is a healthy small tree on one of our trails. I think this is the first year we've seen fruit on it.  J. David planted it probably in the 80's. (The picture below is of that tree).

We have a native crab-apple here on the ranch called a Blanco Crab-apple (Malus ioensis var texana). It has a slightly larger, green & bitter fruit. It is a small and very slow growing tree that deer love to eat when young and tender. Heavy deer populations in the Hill Country threaten this species.


Wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata) blooms in the spring and produces a fruit that is wrapped in flat, paper-like wings that start out green, and in fall become tan as they dry out. The flowers are very fragrant and the leaves have a mild skunk-like smell, and some people refer to it as "skunk-bush". I happen to like the smell but when my dog comes home after being sprayed by a skunk, I don't like that smell at all.


The Chili-piquin plant produces a bright red fruit in the fall that are irresistible to song birds and lovers of very hot peppers. Apparently chickens and guineas also eat them. There are many wild and cultivated varieties of the Piquins. Capsicum annuium, the original piquin, lived in southern Brazil and Bolivia, and migrated north to Central America, Mexico, and the southern US. Gardeners plant them, but they also spread on their own without help.

I had a personal experience with the peppers when I was a little kid in New Orleans. I was pretending I was lost in the jungle and had to find my own food. I noted the delicious looking berries of a Chili-piquin and picked 4 or 5 of them and popped them into my mouth. I remember the searing heat, screaming, trying to get rid of them, and in the process got the juice on my arms which burned as badly as my mouth and the skin around my mouth. I'm still not a fan of very hot peppers ---- I wonder why!


These photographs were all taken on Saturday, December 15 by me with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi SLR. I love my camera, and figure it will take years for me to learn all the tricks that it can do.