What’s Happening on the Ranch?

J. David at work writing the blog. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

The Gallery is one of my favorite places in the house. I like to read and write there as it gives me a panoramic view of the ranch. It’s a good thinking spot. A gallery definition is a room that opens into every room in the house. Ours has sliding glass windows on three sides and is 90 foot long. Guests are usually there because of “The Code of the West”. What’s that you may ask? Well, if you’re visiting on a ranch at meal time, you’ll share a meal with us. We have very few meals alone!

Margaret began writing this blog in January of 2008. It was like a prescription she wrote to extend her life by keeping her connected to the ranch. Thanks to her planning “What’s Happening at the Ranch” gets me off the hook in writing this week’s blog.

My excuse is that I am very much under the weather with a deluxe case of shingles (Herpes Zoster). I’ve had one trip to the emergency room at Fredericksburg Memorial Hospital, more pain than I can handle. I’d exchange it gladly for water boarding – and enough pain killer prescriptions to keep me stoned through the day! Shingles are very serious. It is the chicken pox virus, we had as children, that attacks the nervous system later. The older we get the more vulnerable we are. Other things that may bring it on are physical or emotional stress or anything that weakens the immune system. There is a vaccine available now. My advice: GET THE VACCINE!! – I have never in my life had anything so painful and with the poor prospect of a long recovery.

Please check in next week. I have on my list of blog topics: ants, exclosures, fungi and lichens, greenhouse and chipper. There is much more too! By the way, shingles is only contagious to those who have never had chickenpox, so check our website for our tour and workshop schedules and come see us.

What’s It All About?

I believe that everything starts from a philosophy, but it seems to me that so much of our life is gone before we have, as an individual, developed a philosophy. Just what is a personal philosophy? Is it some course taken in a college classroom or some path we chose to achieve financial success or public acclaim? Did your parents or someone you admire lead you to it? Surely, a baptism as an infant didn’t cause it – so when did you reflect on your life and adopt or develop a plan with an overall vision of your life’s purpose? If so, how old were you when this philosophy was reflected in your actions? Did you or have you stuck to your philosophy?

Philosophy is not necessarily your religion. However, all faiths share principles that are certainly vital to any plan for our lives. Thomas Jefferson said, “Ask me not about my religion, let my life reflect it.” In essence, our lives should reflect our beliefs – to me that’s a philosophy!

Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve exists here today and into the future because of my own philosophy and that of my soul mate, Margaret, who joined me in 1992. Life seems so short when you find yourself alone at 81. When you no longer share excitement over every detail of your day with someone who loves and respects every living thing as you do and is willing to share it with everyone, but my personal philosophy has sustained me through these difficult times.

As a child I well remember how poor we all were, except for Jackie whose father had a job on the railroad. So Jackie was the only source of a ball and bat. Each day we waited anxiously for Jackie to come out and, of course, bring his ball and bat. But Jackie was not any good at any part of the game and so was always the last to be chosen. I didn’t ponder this until later in my life as my personal philosophy developed. One day Jackie came out, but quickly announced that since he owned the ball and bat he got to make the rules for the game. He would get four strikes, have to run only two bases, choose the teams, etc.... It wasn’t long at all before no one sat on the curb waiting for Jackie and therefore there was no one for him to play with. The moral of this true life story is that he who owns the ball and bat and makes all the rules without sharing will play a lonely game. Thus, another part of my personal philosophy was born.

I was ecstatic a few weeks ago to be told that money was being raised by our Board of Directors for an 81st birthday present for me. It was to be a surprise, but you know how difficult that is.... There is absolutely nothing I need and I’m quite frugal having been born into poverty and from a very early age probably unconsciously listed the first part of my personal philosophy which has continued with me to this day and that is “don’t buy things you don’t really need and don’t buy on credit.” So another component of my personal philosophy was born.

So what’s it all about? My personal philosophy sustained me throughout the biggest part of my 81 years. A big part of that philosophy has to do with my responsibility to Mother Nature and my relationship and connection to all living things. The Board of Directors of Selah are volunteers. They are people who see the value to society to protect land from fragmentation, to respect all living things, and to share this treasure of 5,500 acres with others. With their help and perhaps yours, too, this institution represented by this beautiful stone, my 81st birthday present, will be here forever.

This big stone had been laid aside from the others. It weighed over 2,000 pounds. Leroy Petri, Ranch Engineer, chained it to his loader in order to lift it since it was too big to fit in the bucket. Photograph taken by J. David.

All the stone was quarried here on the ranch – enough to build 25 houses! Photograph taken by J. David.

A concrete footer had to be poured to hold the monument upright. Photograph taken by J. David.

We had to hire a professional to do the engraving which required sand blasting with an air compressor. Photograph taken by J. David.

The final product (front view) as you drive through the gate. The lines at the bottom represent water. We plan to add some real big honeycomb rocks around the base and ends along with native lantanas. They are less susceptible to being eaten by deer. Photograph taken by J. David.

You see this side as you leave the ranch. We’ve adopted this as our logo: the oryx, grass, maple tree leaf and a bat. Photograph taken by J. David.

Something I’ve Pondered – Revisited

The July 26 posting led to a number of contributions I thought I’d share with you. I was aware of other species that acted like a chameleon but because of my love affair with the Madrone, I just restricted my thoughts to it.

Persimmon (Diospyros texana). Phototgraph taken by Scott Gardner.

Scott Gardner sent this specimen of the Persimmon (Diospyros texana) from the Browning Ranch three miles east of Johnson City. There weren’t any Persimmon here on the ranch forty years ago, until in my plan to have every species in Blanco County represented, I introduced some. Local old timers who were here to observe our restoration work thought it was a foolish thing to do, as once again on abused ranch land, Persimmons can become a problem and many considered it worse than cedar – me and the deer enjoy the delicious black fruit. It’s the seeds passing through the deer where the seeds become fully fertilized that spread the Persimmon, but this happens on mostly overgrazed land. This is wonderful landscaping plant except don’t plant it near a sidewalk or driveway as it can blacken your car, sidewalk and the soles of your shoes.

From no reply – comment:

“The only other hypothesis I’ve heard about the peeling of the bark was about solar heat. If the Madrone peels the darker red in the summer, could it be cooler for it to survive with its lighter colored bark and then go back to the darker red when the climate turns colder? This hypothesis, however, wouldn’t make sense if you posed the question to the Persimmon or even Crape Myrtle. Leave it to JDavid to always ask the good questions!!”

From another reader - How about this?

“David – It is logical that the Madrone tree sheds its bark in order to grow larger. On the other hand, maybe God gave the tree this ability so that it could have its “15 minutes of fame” and look beautiful! I shouldn’t really anthropomorphize, but you did call a tree “she” in your blog!”

In a newsletter from Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park sent to me by Paul Cox of the San Antonio Botanical Center. This was written by Park Naturalist Wendy Cooley:

Why Does Texas Persimmon Bark Peel?

“Not too long ago a group of volunteers at Crownridge Canyon Natural Areas asked the question: Why does Texas Persimmon bark peel? Once I started doing research, I found that numerous trees shed their bark, like the Texas Madrone and the American Sycamore. One explanation is that these trees have thin brittle bark that cannot expand to accommodate new growth. The exfoliation and peeling of bark is a result of the tree growing and maturing. Trees with thicker bark, like live oaks, have bark that is generally able to expand and thus does not typically shed off in chunks. Shedding of bark is normal when it exposes new bark and not bare wood. When shedding bark exposes bare wood, then this could be a symptom of a larger problem (MSU-Extension 1999). There are many other explanations that have been hypothesized for why trees shed their bark. One that is relevant to our area includes a protective strategy against fungi, mosses, parasites, epiphytes, and lichens from inhabiting the trunks and limbs of trees. Another explanation deals only with trees in the floodplain. Trees with thick bark have a water conservation advantage and cannot transpire water as easily as thin barked trees. Thin barked trees allow for increased transpiration through their trunk (Still and Watt 2004). One final explanation involves photosynthesis in the trunks and branches of deciduous trees. This is particularly true for Sycamores where the exposed, new, and sometimes green woody parts can increase photosynthesis and thus increase growth (Still and Watt 2004). It is evident that Texas Persimmon bark sheds and exfoliates as a result of the growth occurring under the thin bark and that there are other trees that shed their bark as well for this same reason. However, the Texas Persimmon may have developed thin exfoliating bark as a protective strategy to shed its trunks and branches of epiphytes such as ball moss as well as lichens and other potential pests. Nature holds a world of wonder and as more and more naturalists come together to work and explore the Natural Areas more great questions are sure to come up.”

Birch bark (Betula papyrifera). Photograph taken by J. David.

In our quest for information or knowledge, it’s funny how researching something or networking leads you to something not thought of before. Just before posting this update on exfoliating trees, I was showing some friends through my house and explaining some fact or history of items you could say were decorations, but mostly just things picked up on the ranch or, in some cases, acquired from places we traveled to and served as somewhat of a museum of memories. Lo and behold, here on the stone window seat is an example of another exfoliating tree not mentioned in any of our ranch library books. . . . I’m 81 years old and collected this piece of Birch bark perhaps 70 years ago.

Picture of toy canoe. Photograph taken by J. David.

I now recall as a little boy attempting to make a canoe out of Birch bark as the Indians had done. It was beyond a young lad of 10 or 11 to do, so I decided I’d make a toy canoe and had some small success using horse hair, sticks and glue and of course a pocket knife. It was crude but it looked good as I proudly showed it to my mother and she was quite proud of me. But when launched on its maiden voyage in the spring box, it was very poorly balanced and quickly turned over. I’m almost certain that this is not the Birch bark toy canoe that I made. I have no idea how long it’s been on display in our “make shift museum”, but it is a good example of how the American Indians used some of our exfoliating trees to build their transporting vessels. There are a 105 species of Birch trees. The Complete Trees of North America by Thomas S. Elias describes 22 species but since I know this sample species in the picture came from Ohio I’m using the species “Paper Birch” (Betula papyrifera Marsh) to describe it and I quote “This tree is widely known for its use on birch bark canoes.”

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica L.) not a true Texas native, but it exfoliates like those in discussion. Photograph taken by J. David.

I didn’t know at the time of planting that Crape Myrtle was not a native plant. I just knew that I loved flowering trees and Texas has a lot of them. They are considered a non-native species especially abundant in Australia and Central and South America. However, 4 genera native to North America occur only in Southern Florida. Originally they were introduced here for their ornamental value or to serve as windbreaks. Now they’ve become quite popular and can be found in most any local nursery. . . . Interesting for me was in 1979 having bought 12 acres on Babcock Road in San Antonio, the folks building the Fiesta Amusement Park noticed 25 very large Crape Myrtles on an old abandoned house on the property for which they paid me $2,500.00! Now, I wonder if that caused me to overlook the non-native part when I introduced 5 here on the ranch! Money sometimes does strange things to people.

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). Photograph taken by J. David.

Look closely for the peeling bark as my pictures don’t show the exfoliating bark as clearly that is the “Question to Ponder” of these two blogs. Part of that is my excuse that I got around to taking the pictures a little late and the other part is I never had the same interest in these additions to the subject of the Madrone trees until you readers started alerting me. The Sycamore family contains 10 closely related species all belonging to a single genus only 3 of the species occur in the United States. I’ve noticed here on the ranch and in the Hill Country they are quite prolific and once again there are some landowners who don’t care for them claiming they clog up creeks and consume too much water. It’s of little value to wildlife, but I like its looks and smell and recommend it to you.

I’m somewhat sorry that my penchant for projects and challenges has kept me a conservationist rather than a biologist all these years. So I don’t speak genus and species very well, but I have a world of experience in doing things to help Mother Nature along and I appreciate all this modern stuff that allows us to share information and work together to create natural places for all living things other than us to live a long, happy and useful life.

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.

Something I’ve Pondered

Why do some trees exhibit thin exfoliating bark while most trees have durable, rigid, fissured bark?

Texas Madrone (Arbutus xalapensis).

For me it was a discovery, my first ever look at this beautiful red bark tree. The bark so smooth to touch, the leaves a deep green. I learned that it’s evergreen, it flowers and it fruits and sheds it bark twice a year. In 1972 the TOES, the Texas Organization for Endangered Species, designated it as rare and endangered. I became very interested in the “Naked Indian” as the Texas Madrone is frequently called. I’m told that Blanco County has the largest number of these trees in the Texas Hill Country.

Photograph taken by J. David.

From an apparently dead trunk or limb, life had continued by growing around the dead limb like a snake and shooting off the dead trunk to form a new alive limb or branch. I noticed that the strength wasn’t there and later on I found these mortally wounded and broken by the wind.

Photograph taken by J. David.

As the restoration of the ranch progressed, we found many Madrones growing within cedar thickets. Some were big up to 20 feet; others small, growing in close to the cedar trunk which protected it from browsing deer or goats. Some believe there is a symbiotic relationship between Cedars and Madrones. I believe it’s only the protection the cedar provided. The dead cedar limb is coveted as a stave for fence building because it’s all heart and very strong. It’s much better than the metal stave sold today which bends when pushed on by cattle and deer and disfigures a perfectly good fence. But back to my experience with the Madrone:

We were so very busy and preoccupied in those early days with the restoration work that other than asking Leroy to tag and avoid any Madrones, they didn’t get my attention. Then one day in May when I was assessing our restoration progress, I was shocked to see something terribly wrong with a big old Madrone. My heart nearly stopped! The foliage looked skimpy, the tree somewhat bare. Had we injured her with the dozer? The ground was littered with sickly looking green and brown leaves. However upon examination my anxiety was relieved. The leaves had been pushed off, shed by nature and many small new leaves were beginning to grow and on the end of some twigs little green berries with red cheeks were forming.

Photographs taken by J. David.

It was the end of June that I made my next visit to the Madrone. This is when I first witnessed the tree shedding its bark ~ the scientists call it exfoliating. It was such a surprise, a dramatic change more like a chameleon or snake than a tree. I’d never witnessed this before! From the trunk base to the tips of each limb and branch, it was shedding its beautiful red bark. Large chunks of bark that looked more like parchment hung from the bigger limbs. The ground was littered with it. It was peeling and curling back from the limbs to reveal a new coat. Now, this thin bark was a white, light brown where it was most exposed to the sun and a kind of pale green under the flap of the peeling bark. . . .

There are many more notations in my journal about the Texas Madrone, but I’ve been told my blog is too long and people won’t take time to read it. “A word to the wise is sufficient,” the philosopher said. So back to the question – Why does the bark peel on the Texas Madrone? I didn’t get an answer from the many books in our ranch library so I began asking people who should know, Ph. D.’s, botanists, horticulturists and forest management people. It was interesting, their responses. Oh, how I’d like to list their names and professional qualifications, you’d be surprised and they’d be embarrassed!

“You raise an interesting question. I do not have an answer. I would venture that the trees that exhibit thin exfoliating bark have been able to survive and reproduce apparently without the need of the normal dense protective bark that most trees produce. It may be possible that thin bark even enhances the chances for survival of these species in some manner. Perhaps their sap or inner bark is disagreeable to most insects and animals. It is rare to see a thin bark tree showing evidence of being attacked.

It would at first observation seem to put them at a disadvantage as to gnawing animals, exposure to fire and general physical and thermal protection. It is an interesting question that I can not answer.” - from a Texas A&M graduate with an urban forestry degree and twenty–five years field experience “Good question. I honestly don’t know the physiology of that. Normally bark is just shed periodically as the cambium layer under the bark grows, expanding outwards and then some trees just get really gnarled, thick, compact fissured bark that never really shed or peel, while others exfoliate regularly. Why some trees would do this twice in the season must have something to do with their annual growth cycle for the cambium layer, but again, I am not sure of the exact physiology or environmental response reason behind this.” – from a Professor of Natural History

“Thin bark trees do not grow in cold climates. They didn’t need the protective bark probably where fire didn’t go. How they got away with it, not being chewed upon, I don’t know.” – from a Forest Service Biologist

“Exfoliation – as the stem grows the bark tightens and stretches back until it splits, kind of like a snake skin. On other trees the bark is vertical.” – from a High Level Forest Service Biologist

“I’ve never been asked that question. I have no idea.” – from a Horticulturist

“This tree has thin bark that cannot expand to accommodate new growth. The peeling bark is a result.” – from a Park Naturalist

Well, there you have it from the experts; but you don’t have it, as there is no consensus and no research on the subject. As for me, I just appreciate the Madrone as I do all of nature’s treasures. I know there are 47 Texas Madrones, in different stages of their life around Madrone Lake. I think I’ll count all the others this fall when it’s a bit cooler.

Conservation of Another Sort: Hes’ Country Store

If you have been on a tour here or read Water From Stone, you know about HES’ COUNTRY STORE. Originally built in 1980 to house “stuff” I inherited from my mother and since the ranch needed income. I thought this “stuff” would create an atmosphere that would spark interest in families who would rent it for a few days.

Photograph taken by J. David.

My mother’s name was HESTER, but everyone called her HES. Financially, she had just enough to get along on but spirit wise she was rich! She taught my two older brothers and me how to do without things, how to make work interesting and fun. She was a total naturalist eating nothing that was manufactured. We picked a lot of wild berries in those summers and sometimes sneaked into a neighbor’s orchard and got a few apples. We learned which mushrooms wouldn’t kill us, what nuts were good and we dug a lot of sassafras roots that we bundled with string and sold to passerbys. They make a wonderful tea.

Along the railroad tracks we discovered wild strawberries growing and picked quart after quart. But that backfired on us as the soot from those coal fired trains rendered the strawberries inedible when the grit from the coal ground on a customer’s false teeth! We fed those strawberries to our chickens. I remember our visions of riches with all those strawberries. Also, along the railroad tracks we discovered all kinds of iron that had broken and fallen off the trains. These were Depression Years, the mid 1930’s. You did what you could to make a dime. The train tracks were a good mile from our shack but many a wheel barrow load of this fallen iron was slowly brought home where we waited for weeks for Butch, a junk buyer, to come by as he always did. If you think three boys were thinking of riches from strawberries it was delusions of grandeur with this pile of iron. Butch eventually came by as he knew the Bamberger Boys would have something for him. Well, when Butch saw our stack of iron he informed us that he couldn’t buy it because it was a criminal offense to pick up these obvious pieces of a train! We had to carry it all back to the tracks!

I’ve been asked in my adult life if I ever did anything that wasn’t successful – I should have remembered this. . . . . But you know now as I reflect on life, the strawberries and scrap iron capers were successful after all. It taught us how to accept adversity, these things kept us busy, kept us dreaming and allowed us three brothers to work together. In spite of our poverty it was a good life ~ Tootsie Rolls were big and only a penny back then!

Country Store Backyard. Photograph taken by J. David.

The building architecturally is copied from an old, old store building at Welfare, Texas, a community northwest of San Antonio. I had been gathering old boards and materials for years. I had some help scouting out old barns, chicken coops and sheds. We tore down 14 buildings and cleaned things up for people just to get the material. Some I bought, but most were given to me. This was possible then, but not now as old barn wood has become a popular item by decorators and architects. Most of the exterior is long leaf pine. It’s coveted, rare and hard to find. Most of these boards are 100 years old.

Stove & Counter. Photograph taken by J. David.

I’ve never inherited any money. Here you see the material part of my inheritance. 95% of everything inside the store came from “GRANNY HES’ ” (as my three children called her) home. She lived a very simple life with no radio or television and was on a 7 party phone line, but did get a weekly newspaper and a lot of visitors who sought her wisdom on various issues, particularly healthy foods.

Interior. Photograph taken by J. David.

HES’ COUNTRY STORE is a sacred place to me. I sometimes go there to meditate and surrounded by things from my youth I quite often feel her presence. I also have melancholy and regrets. My dad was killed in an industrial accident in a war plant. I was thirteen, my brothers were in the Service. I didn’t fill in the void for HES, I just didn’t understand. Within a year my older brother was shot down over the English Channel and never returned home. I live with my regrets.

So, how did I come to title this blog as “CONSERVATION OF ANOTHER SORT?” Actually, my own philosophy was developing ever since the passage of ESA – Endangered Species Act in 1973 – But shortly after the COUNTRY “STORE” was opened and visitors were taken in, I learned that adults appreciated the experience of seeing many things they once knew and the environment in the “STORE.” Sometimes, they wouldn’t leave. Then the really wonderful thing emerged. Kids were so curious about all this collection of kitchen tools, work tools and just stuff. I developed stories around various items and somewhat like the adults the kids didn’t want to leave. . . . . . . The idea of renting the store to make money went south. - - - - - The store became an unusual classroom in which the kids were asked and challenged to conserve their family history, their culture by visiting, calling upon or writing their grandparents and keeping a journal. The best letter of my entire life came from a man who said, “Dear Mr. Bamberger, My granddaughter never gave a hoot about me until she came back from your place. I now thank you, sir, she comes once a week with a clipboard and pencil asking me all kinds of questions.”

Bedroom – Slightly more modern. Photograph taken by J. David.

Yes, we gave up on making money from the store, but to me as well as everyone here at Selah we gained so much more. . . . Everything begins with philosophy.

Building a Forest. Photograph taken by J. David.

Across the road from the STORE – I’m planting a forest. I may be the only one to call it that. GRANNY HES taught me about trees. I love trees! We planted many together particularly apple trees. My goal is to have at least one sample of every tree species that grows in Blanco County in the forest. I have a good start with 47, but still have a long way to go and, of course, the trees also need time to grow. I am so delighted today to see so many 30 and 40 foot trees I planted 35 years ago.

HES’ Picture and Poem. Photograph taken by J. David.

I’d like to share with you not only GRANNY HES’ picture, but also a poem written by Donna Bamberger, the mother of my three children. We were married for forty-five years. The poem captures HESTER CAPITOLA KEGERREIS BAMBERGER, my mother, perfectly.

“Gabion”

Gabion – n. (ga’-bi-on)- a cylinder of wicker filled with earth or stones, formerly used in building fortifications. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary.

Every ranch in Texas, every ranchette, every lot in the Hill Country each has a lot of uwanted stones and rocks and, sometimes, old fences or leftover fencing materials that can be used for your ranch name, house number, directions, and even corner fence posts! They could enclose your mailbox and thus protect it from the unwanted bashing that seems to coincide with high school graduation. They are literally indestructible and maintenance free. I find that they compliment the environment here on the ranch and in a small way speak to our motto, “Nature, Pure and Simple” . . .

There is inspiration, learning and, for me, motivation that comes from the works, research and writings of scientists, biologists, philosophers and educators. Here on the ranch, I used the Gabions to honor these people as well as to identify places and give direction.

Louis Bromfield Trail. Photograph taken by J. David.

I never met Louis Bromfield although I’ve been to his farm in Ohio many times. It’s now a state park called Malabar Farm. The name comes from the Malabar Coast in India, where Bromfield a Pulitzer prize winning novelist, spent time writing his book, The Rains Came. This book was later produced as an Academy Award winning movie. Bromfield influenced my life a lot with his book Pleasant Valley which was given to me by my mother. She had many conversations with him and as much as a single mom could do on her thirty acres, followed his practices. I believe Bromfield was the first landowner in America to do habitat restoration on abused and “farmed out land.”

Rachel Carson Trail. Photograph taken by J. David.

With her book, Silent Spring published in 1962, Rachel Carson awakened America to the dangers of DDT and many other chemicals to wildlife and to humans. You might say that she started the environmental movement. As a biologist she became so concerned with the use of chemicals that she spent over four years gathering data from all over America and other parts of the world on the effects of pesticides then in use. One entire chapter in Silent Spring is devoted to the possible connection between the widespread use of chemicals and the incidence of cancer in man. Once again, it was my mother who gave me this book.

Earl Carls Starwatching Area. Photograph taken by J. David.

We met Earl Carls when as a volunteer he came to the ranch as a member of the Austin Astronomy Club. He taught our young people about the stars, planets and sky. Earl built his own telescope, a magnificent instrument that he pulled into the ranch on a small trailer. Earl was very knowledgeable about what’s in the sky and so very enthusiastic which made him a good teacher. He never let us down when asked to come here. Sadly, Earl succumbed to a heart attack in 2005. We used this Gabion to designate where astronomers should set up their telescopes and to honor Earl Carls, an outstanding volunteer.

Nature Trail & Arboretum. Photograph taken by J. David.

We have this Gabion at both ends of the Nature Trail which winds around Madrone Lake and crosses the creek four times. Most of the trail is in bottom land among tall Cherry, Spanish Oak, Bald Cypress, Elm and Cedar trees. There is one outdoor classroom and two rest areas. To some, using the term arboretum to describe these twenty-six acres is taking a bit of license. It’s definitely not traditional like Kew Gardens in London or San Antonio Botanical Gardens. There are no raised beds or neat little paved walkways nor anyplace to buy a latte, lemonade or t-shirts nor is there a restroom for that matter! For twenty years now, I’ve been moving in trees, flowers and other plants attempting to get together in our natural arboretum growing samples of every plant native to Blanco County. . . . A very big task that I probably will not be able to finish in my lifetime, but nevertheless you’ve got to dream, and have a goal.

Jane Goodall Trail. Photograph taken by J. David.

Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzees in Tanzania in June 1960, under the mentorship of anthropologist and paleontologist Dr. Louis Leakey. Her work at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve became the foundation of future primatological research and redefined the relationship between humans and animals.

One of Dr. Goodall’s most significant discoveries came in her first year at Gombe, when she saw chimpanzees stripping leaves off stems to make the stems useful for fishing termites out of nearby mounds. This and subsequent observations of Gombe chimpanzees making and using tools would force science to rethink the definition of what separates humans from other animals: “man the toolmaker.”

Jane visited here at the ranch for two days in September of 2003. We hosted the Explorers Club meeting to which she spoke of her experiences and research with chimpanzees. She and Margaret bonded and became lasting friends. When our book, Water From Stone, was published in 2007, Ms. Goodall wrote the following:

“David and Margaret Bamberger share my concern for the future of life on this planet; their deep connection with and reverence for the natural world is captured in this thought-provoking and richly-written book. In Water From Stone, the Bambergers encourage us to respect all life on Earth and to do everything we can to save it.”

Aldo Leopold Trail. Photograph taken by J. David.

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), one of America’s pioneering conservationists, worked for the U.S. Forest Service, where he helped create the nation’s first designated wilderness area, and later became a professor at the University of Wisconsin. He wrote many articles, essays, and books in his lifetime, but his last and greatest work was A Sand County Almanac, which was first published in 1949, the year after his death, and has remained continuously in print.

We had named this trail years ago never even thinking that we would win the Aldo Leopold Award from the Sand County Foundation as we did this year. It has been said that Leopold’s writings are the most influential works ever written about humans and the environment. You should have a copy of A Sand County Almanac in your home.

Grasses of Selah. Photograph taken by J. David.

After holding grass workshops out on the ranch for many years, Dr. Lew Hunnicutt established this grass trail in 2001. Originally, it had 72 species of grasses sectioned off by stone beds for study and easy identification. When this current drought started, we could not spare the water to maintain that many species. We were forced to choose the 17 most common grasses to nurture. You can’t see it in this picture, but there is a box at the trailhead with a trail map listing each species. When you enroll in our grass workshop, your final exam will be to identify the 17 species on the trail. Not to worry, you’ll learn them all during the workshop!

Lindheimer Trail. Photograph taken by J. David.

Ferdinand Lindheimer (1801-1879) was born in Germany, but moved to America in 1827 into a German community in Illinois. He later moved to New Orleans then to Mexico, but after Santa Ana’s defeat he came to Texas - New Braunfels to be exact – that was in 1852.

As a botanist he collected so many plants that his name was affixed to at least twenty Texas plants. The most prominent here on the ranch is Lindheimer Muly, a warm season perennial bunchgrass. Cattle don’t care for it, but birds eat the mature seeds. I recommend it for landscaping urban homes as it has real beauty. It grows tall, the seed leaves sometimes reaching six feet with an attractive blue-green color.