Rare and Unusual Plants

Now that spring is approaching and we have an opportunity to renew our familiarity with the plants that grow here, we picked up on the theme of rare and unusual plants of Central Texas. Sometimes the enjoyment of knowing about plants is to explore the unusual. Sometimes unusual means rare, but not always. There are lots of plants that are very common and at the same time unusual.
Oak trees are not one of our selections of rare and unusual plants, but it would be helpful to spend a minute or so on oaks as they are the unusual of the tree world, in our opinion.
It is estimated that there are 500 oak species in the world and in Texas, we have at least 43 species of the genus Quercus. There are two others that are hybrids. Oaks are unusual because they have a high degree of adaptability to changing habitat. So, the interest in oaks as an unusual plant is in the detail of their genetic structure. How can oaks have this adaptability when, on the other hand, we have a plant that is also unusual, but in stark contrast with the oak. It’s the Texas Wild rice, and it is not adaptable to different environments.
Texas wild-rice (Zizania texana) grows only in the San Marcos River. Those who have walked near the river have seen this grass plant with its long leaves waving in the current of the river. Unless you look carefully, you would not think the leaves could be as long as seven feet.
There are two wild rice plants native to Texas: zizania texana and zizania aquatica. There is a third wild rice native to the USA, but it grows only in the northern wetlands border with Canada. It’s the wild rice that has historically been harvested by the Native Americans for hundreds of years and still is today. It is zizania polustris. All the wild rice grains are long, slender and dark, quite unlike cultivated rice, which is not of this particular rice family. That was the topic in more detail last month.
So, what makes Texas wild- rice special? It’s rare, only growing in the first hundred yards of the San Marcos River after it emerges from Spring Lake. And, secondly, it will only grow in the conditions offered by the first hundred yards of the riverbed.

 Figure 6.1 Texas wild- rice in the river

The conditions necessary are (a) clear water so that sunlight can reach the leaves (b) moving water, so that the leaves get a constant supply of carbon dioxide for absorption into the plant (c) a sandy soil so that the tillers can get a foothold in the soil (d) the avoidance of freezing conditions as the plant is a perennial.
We discussed all these parameters with Chris Hathcock, the Regional Botanist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service located on McCarty Lane in San Marcos. Chris oversees the horticulture of wild rice at the USFW research facility on McCarty Lane where there are large tubs of Texas wild-rice growing in the same conditions that exist in the river. The tubs use the same water as flows from the springs since they pump the water from the Edwards aquifer. Here, at this research facility, they have two purposes. One is to provide a controlled environment to study the plants inability to adapt to other conditions and the other is to maintain a herbarium bank, so to speak, of plants so that in the unlikely event of the destruction of the native stand of plants in the river, they can be replaced from the banked plants.

Figure 6.2 Tubs containing potted Texas wild-rice plants

Figure 6.3 The Herbarium plant bank

Little is known about how Texas wild- rice got into this predicament of having such a narrowly acceptable habitat. But, it will be difficult for this wild rice to get out of this dependency on the specific conditions of the San Marcos River since it is multiplying only by root tillers, which clone the plant. The plant can produce seeds, but the experience of the botanists is that seed production is very low. Perhaps this is because the plant sees no seasonal change except sunlight hours.
For many years, up until 1938, the botanists thought it was the same plant as commonly grows along the gulf coast, the zizania aquatica, but then discovered that texana is different from that aquatica. Aquatica is an annual, it dies each year and new plants grow from seed. Texana is a perennial and it can spread from seed, but mainly from root growth (tillers). Reseeding is probably ineffective in the San Marcos River because by the time the seed picks up enough moisture to germinate and gets washed downriver, it is in unacceptable soil. So, tiller growth seems to be the only way for this plant to spread naturally in this location.
Before the plant was deemed endangered it was viewed as an invasive pest in Spring Lake and the downstream river. It was chopped out, cattle grazed it and so on.
For a time, Texas wild-rice was seen in the Comal Springs water, but that spring dried up in the 1950s so it all perished. The Texas wild-rice is the canary in the coal mine. Take notice if it dies.
The Giant Red Sage (Salvia pentstemonoides) is another interesting plant but does not have the notoriety of Texas wild-rice. This plant, of the salvia family, looks like the common red sage (salvia coccinea) but is much larger and a more elegant plant. This plant needs plenty of water and semi shade, where it likes moist limestone overhangs.

Figure 6.4 Giant Red Sage (Texas Parks and Wildlife)

This plant was known as growing only in Texas, but then for some number of years, it could not be found, and botanists thought it had gone extinct. However, in the late 1980s, it was rediscovered by Marshall Enquist in central Texas. Still, no stands of this plant are known (or let be known) but seeds and plants in nurseries have become available----so reported. An amusing (now) story on the availability of this plant: A few years ago, we were surveying the plants at the plant sale at what is now the city’s Discovery Center and I spotted a very tiny seedling labelled Giant Red Sage. Knowing what I knew about this plant, I bought it, planted it in a spot where it could be kept moist. When it became large enough to identify, I found that I had bought a Mexican Petunia. It shows that many plant sellers do not know their plants as is also the case of the buyer in this instance.
All the literature on this plant says that it is easy to grow in home gardens and has now become widely available. But, a search for the seeds has not been successful. Native Seed of Junction, Texas, for example, reports that their plot of seed producing Giant Red Sage plants was flooded last year and they lost their entire planting.
Stick-Leaf (Mentzelia oligosperma) has been seen by us as a single plant only in our backyard, but it is not considered to be rare, so we are on the lookout for more plants. It is a perennial and a prolific seed maker. The plant is not very tall, it is shrub like in shape and has yellow flowers.
We first discovered it because in whacking it down, we found that the leaves stuck to our shirt sleeves with such a tight grip that only shredding the leaf would remove it and then only partially—even a trip through the washing machine did not remove it all. Surely, the person that held the original patent on the fastening system that became Velcro developed the idea from this plant.

Figure 6.5 Stick Leaf flower and leaves

Figure 6.6 Underside of the leaf of the Stick Leaf

With a microscope, these barbs on the underside of the leaf look like upside down Fir trees.
A look at the range map of this plant shows that it is rather widespread in the midsection of the country----except for its existence in Massachusetts. (may be difficult to see, but Massachusetts is colored green.)

Figure 6.7 Range of Stick Leaf 

In Massachusetts the plant was found growing in a refuse dump of an old wool processing factory. Now, doesn’t that stir your imagination? Some poor old sheep wandered into a patch of Stick-Leaf here in Texas, then went to the shearing pens, the wool was shipped to Massachusetts and cleaned of all the vegetative trash and out went some seeds to the factory dumpsite. Stick-Leaf hiked all the way to the east coast, first to the dock at Galveston, then by boat to Boston and then by wheels to the wool processing plant and then to the processing dump.
This plant also has the common name of Chicken Thief. Again, not holding back your imagination, can you see in your mind’s eye a farmer’s whole flock of chickens being held captive in a patch of these plants? As we would say “might could be true”.
Thurber’s Stemsucker
Most plants grow in the soil, right? Well, not all do, because some are air growing plants like those from the bromeliad family, only using the plant that it grows on as support. Locally we see those plants as ball moss, or, if closer to the coast, a different variety of bromeliad commonly named Spanish Moss. These plants do not grow as parasites by sapping the host plant but use the host plant for support. However, there are some that do live off the host.
But, here is a plant that grows inside the stem of a host plant. Its name is Pilostyles (Pilostyles thurberii) with a common name of Thurber’s Stemsucker. All this plant, except for the flowers, lives inside the stem of the host plant. Its favorite host plant is of the legume family, most notably in Dalea frutensis. It only looks for host plants of the legume family but may chose a different variety of legume depending on where you find it.

Figure 6.8 Pilostyles in bloom by Marshall Enquist

This plant is more common farther to the southwest, but Enquist has found one plant near the headwaters of Barton Creek in Hays County. In the areas of the southwest, the host plant is also a legume, but it is different from frutensis. The parasitic plant apparently does not harm the host plant as Enquist relates that the host plant grew and bloomed normally. The seeds are small, and how they travel to the host plant is unknown.
The Pilostyles plant family (Rafflesia) grows on five continents and consists of ten different species. One of its relatives in Asia puts out a flower that is nearly three feet in diameter, yet its entire plant structure is parasitic living inside the host plant. Plants of this family are unusual in another respect; it has only five or six genes, it does not contain chlorophyll, but transfers some of the genes from the host plant to its own system during the bloom time. It is regarded as one of the most basic of plant organisms and probably has existed for thousands, maybe millions of years.
__________Sightings_____________
Spring is about to spring out on us, so we need to keep our eye out for telltale signs. One such sign well publicized in the past by Leon Hale, is the leafing- out of the mesquite tree. He and a friend used to follow the occurrence of spring from the Rio Grande northward. Those who once lived in Houston might recall his stories in the Houston Chronicle. Leon Hale is getting on in years and does not make this trip to gauge the arrival of spring anymore.
Last year you may recall we had our first blossoming of the Mexican plum tree, but the blossoms then froze, and we ended up with only one plum. Now, right now, the tree is blooming again, and we hope that the last frost has occurred so we can see what this little tree can produce.

Figure 6.10 Mexican plum blossoms.

The hen turkeys are out scouting for nesting places. Here is a photo of one that was wandering through the side yard.

Figure 6.11 Turkey looking for nest site

The flock of turkeys this year seem to be about 20—at least that’s the most we’ve seen at one time this spring.
One last harbinger of spring: the wild redbud in full blossom. There are several of these around, some in Summer Mountain and two in the fence line on Hugo Road.

Figure 6.11 Redbud blooming

R & D TUSCH

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[1] Marshall Enquist’s book on Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country is probably one of the best plant books to have in your library.

Rice

We never know where the ideas for these newsletters will originate. This newsletter began in the Wimberley H-E-B on aisle 2 in front of the rice section as we both scoured the bags and boxes for Riceland’s Jazmine rice grown in Arkansas. That’s when we noted again how many different rice varieties the store is carrying and from how many different states and countries. Rice is one of our most ancient foods and has been under continuous development for centuries and by many of the worlds people. It became an interesting trail to follow.

Figure 1 Some of the varieties available.

Genetic evidence has shown that domesticated Asian rice Oryza sativa originated in the Pearl River valley in Southern China between 8,000 and 13,000 years ago. From there it spread to southeastern and south Asia, and westward across India. By 1000 B.C. it reached the Middle East and then the Moslem conquerors brought rice to Spain in the 8^th century and to Sicily in the 10^th. In Asia this cereal grain is the most widely consumed staple today and it feeds half the world’s population. Because of corn’s diversification into additions to food, corn oil production, ethanol production, etc. rice as food has risen in importance, especially for its calorific value. There are now over 40,000 varieties of domesticated rice, plus wild rice.

Figure 2 Asian rice Oryza sativa

The second major rice species Oryza glaberrima dates from about 3,500 years ago in the Niger River delta on the coast of West Africa. It was an important crop in this area but never spread extensively from its origin.

Figure 3 African rice Oryza glabirrima

However, the skills of its African growers were instrumental to the success of growing rice in the new world. More about their contributions and those of Japanese immigrants later.
Having been familiar with pictures of rice being grown in paddies and irrigated fields, we found it interesting to learn that rice can be grown in any normal field. But since it can germinate and grow under water, paddy fields reduce the labor to grow it. Weeds cannot grow in the water and insects and animals are unable to eat the tender shoots. While the domesticated form of rice continued to make its way toward the New World, four species of wild rice forming the genus Zizania palustris were being harvested in China and the North American regions of Maine, the Great Lakes, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wild rice gathering is still a part of the culture of the Native Americans and forms a large part of their caloric intake. It has also become a delicacy in the U.S. with the tribes selling their excess grain on the Internet. In China, the focus has moved from the grain to the plant’s stem which they eat as a vegetable.[1]

Figure 4 Manchurian Wildrice

Above are the unpeeled and peeled swollen, crisp stems of the wildrice grown by the Chinese and used as a vegetable. The stems swell because they are infected with the smut fungus Ustilago esculenta which prevents the plant from flowering. It must be harvested after the stem begins to swell, but before the infection reaches its reproductive stage, when the stem turns black and begins to disintegrate into fungal spores. Known as coba in China and water bamboo in English, its importation to the U.S. is prohibited in order to protect the North American species from the smut fungus.
Arthur Haines in Maine’s Kennebec Region has made a very interesting YouTube video titled Wild rice Harvest and Preparation. It begins as he and his partner are harvesting wild rice in a canoe. And while he slowly poles the boat through the rice, she plies two rice knockers (rounded sticks). Working rhythmically with a whip-knocking motion creating a swishing sound, she gathers some rice stalks over the boat and passes the other stick over the grains knocking them into the bottom of the canoe. They continue down a narrow water trail until they have enough rice grains to process for their needs. As a measure, one hundred pounds of collected grain will produce around 45 pounds of finished rice. The next step is to sun-dry the rice for 3 days. Then the grain is dumped into a 24” x 24” metal parching tray which is placed on a wood-fired outdoor grill. The rice is stirred and parched until the outer layer begins to crack. After the grains are cooled, Arthur pours them into a large bucket lined with animal hide and proceeds to stomp on them with his deer-hide moccasins. He then winnows the result and is left with beautiful black long grain wild rice.

Figure 5 Wild rice produced in the traditional manner.

This traditional, personal processing is very similar to that used by early indigenous people according to archaeological evidence left behind at their seasonal ricing camps.[2] Clay linings have been found in thermal parching pits and animal hides were discovered in ground depressions where they stomped on the rice to thresh it. Accounts of explorers, fur traders and government agents from the early 1600s to the late 1800s extolled the benefits of rice as a food, its storage qualities and ease of preparation. Check the Internet for wild rice harvested, processed and sold by native tribes in the Great Lakes Region.
The folklore of the Anishinable people (Chippewa, Ojibwa and Ojibwe of today) relates that they were once part of a larger Algonquin group that left eastern North America on a centuries long migration west along the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. It details a vision to follow a great clam shell in the sky to a place where the food grows on the water. This journey ended between the late 1400s and early 1600s in the Lake Superior wild rice country when they encountered the plant. (Warren 1885)
California wild rice is grown commercially on 20,000 acres and is planted in cultivated paddies. It is a minor crop; however California is the largest producer of cultivated wild rice in the world. Trader Joes carries 100% California-grown wild rice on the Internet, but most wild rice in the grocery stores is sold as a blend such as Lundberg Wildblend Rice which consists of 5 different grains.
Exact nutritional components will vary depending on the manufacturer so be sure to read the food label on any rice you buy.

Figure 6 Lundberg Wild blend Rice

Left to right they are: Wild Rice, Black Rice, Wehani Red Rice, Long Grain Brown Rice and Sweet Brown Rice.
The first successful planting of Asian rice in the colonies was in 1685 in Charleston, South Carolina. And rice cultivation was well established in the Carolinas by the 1690s.[3] Not knowing anything about the cultivation and processing of rice, the American colonists depended on slaves imported from the rice growing regions of West Africa. By 1700, these experienced and skillful slaves were planting, irrigating, harvesting, drying, winnowing and milling rice on plantations in the South. By 1750 rice cultivation had become a very important American business especially in South Carolina and Georgia. This lasted for 100 years until the end of the Civil War. Caused by several factors; the end of slavery, devastating hurricanes and overworked and depleted soil, the rice industry in those states was dead by 1900.
However, at the same time , growing rice commercially became important elsewhere. Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas and later Northern California and Mississippi took their places and remain America’s rice growing regions today.

Figure 7 1909 Hauling Rice in South Texas. 

The first documented record of rice in Texas is from the Austin Colony settlement in the northernmost Mexican province, Coahuila y Tejas in 1828. And in 1836 Stephen F. Austin’s cousin Mary Austin Holley wrote that, “Rice is already produced in considerable quantities…”
This early rice farming was a primitive business. Small plots were cultivated with plow animals, seed was planted by hand, the rice was cut with sickles, winnowed in baskets and milled by heavy mortar and pestle. And it was known as Providence Rice as it relied on Providence for rain. Irrigated rice production entered the picture by the 1850s in the southeast part of the state on plantations worked by slaves until after the end of the Civil War. In the 1880s many factors worked together to ensure its success: wells were introduced, canal systems, irrigation pumps, milling machinery and the expansion of railroads that facilitated marketing. Wheat and oat mid-westerner farmers and investors were attracted by the cheap land prices of suitable rice land in Texas, and their mechanized equipment worked as well on rice as it had on wheat. By 1900, Texas and Louisiana together produced 99% of the commercial rice in the U.S. Immigration was encouraged, the immigrants came and the rice fields flourished. Texas A & M University and the USDA jointly established the Beaumont Cooperative Rice Experiment Station, which remains to this day one of the premier rice research facilities in the world. By 1915 there were big rice mills in Port Arthur, Beaumont, Orange and Houston. The rice was sent locally by railroad and was shipped out from Houston and Galveston to national and global markets.

Figure 8 Japanese rice growers in Texas.

The above picture shows a Japanese rice farm near Houston in the early 1900s. These immigrants started about 30 large-scale farms to grow rice on the coastal plains around Beaumont and Houston. Looking for opportunities for Japanese to settle in the United States, the Japanese Consul in New York City successfully campaigned for Japanese investors to look at the Texas rice industry as a good money-making enterprise. These gentlemen were well educated and had careers in business, law, politics and the military as officers. They purchased acreage and machinery and brought with them their families and the families of rice farmers who knew how to grow the crop. Two of the well-known Japanese communities were the Saibara settlement in Webster just outside of Houston and the Kishi Colony near Beaumont. Seito Saibara’s descendants continued rice farming into the 1970s. Kichimatsu Kishi and his farmers did well and the rice prospered until 1912 when saltwater contaminated their irrigation source. They then switched to vegetables, fruit and cattle and continued farming until the 1930s.
Japanese rice farmers and Texas rice farmers, in general, did well until the rice market collapsed in 1929 as the Great Depression began. But even before this economic upheaval, the world was affected by Japan’s conflict with the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War. With these events, discrimination against Japanese had begun especially in California. In 1921 the Alien Law that banned foreign immigrants from buying any more land was passed in Texas. The U.S. Congress followed this up in 1924 with legislation that closed further Japanese immigration. Western opinion solidified against the Japanese as they invaded and conquered Manchuria in 1931, a second Sino-Japanese war broke out in 1937 and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 catapulting the U.S. into WW II.
Only a few of the Japanese rice farms lasted to the end of the 1970s, the rest became truck farms or were sold off. None are left now, but descendants of the early settlers can still be found in urban areas of the Gulf Coast. And several organizations have worked to document and preserve the histories of early Japanese Texans who made such important contributions to the rice industry.
Entering WW II our country needed to find ways to feed the U.S. military. A perfect food had been invented in the 1930s, it just needed to be produced in quantity. Erich Huzenlaub, a German biochemist invented a way to improve the shelf life and nutritional value of common white rice. Unhulled, cleaned rice is added to a vacuum tank that sucks the air from the grains. Then, hot water containing water-soluble B vitamins is forced into the grains at high pressure and steam seals the grain. After drying, the husks are milled from the rice leaving smooth, hardened kernels that insects cannot penetrate and sealed nutrients that cannot be rinsed away. The surface starch, however, is rinsed away to leave easily separated grains after cooking. Thus, Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice was born in 1942 by three key people: the inventor (Huzenlaub), the manufacturer (Forrest Mars of the candy company) and the food promoter (Gordon Harwell ).

Figure 9 The first Uncle Ben's Rice plant in Houston, TX. 1944

The U.S. Military bought all the rice the company could produce and helped pay for a bigger facility that would process 25 to 30 million pounds of rice a year for the US Army.
Once the war was over, the three gentlemen had to come up with a plan to peddle their product to the general public. Long before the war Harwell had brokered a small-scale product called Uncle Ben’s Plantation Rice. Supposedly, Uncle Ben, had been an African American of award-winning rice growing in the Houston area. Then deceased, all other facts about him were unknown. With the name chosen, all they needed was a personification the likes of Aunt Jemima. The man they chose was Frank C. Brown, maître d’ at the Tavern Club in Chicago and 73 years later his image still enhances boxes and bags of Uncle Ben’s products.

Figure 10 Uncle Ben's Rice logo

Today, Texas is the fifth largest rice-producing state after Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and California. The top three rice producing counties now are Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda that grow about 60% of the Texas rice crop. Texas rice production and processing adds $200 million per year to the state’s economy according to the USA Rice Federation.

Figure 11 Rice production counties

Texas rice farmers are dependent on favorable elements to ensure good crops and if they are lucky, more than one crop a year. Water is of primary importance, which is why many of the large producing counties are situated on a river water source. As an example, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) “…coastal rice farmers began using the waters of the Colorado River in the 19^th century, more than 40 years before the Highland Lakes were created.” Therefore, LCRA is bound by two reasons to be responsible to the rice farmers under Texas law: (1) The state must give preferences to certain types of water usage when granting water rights. In other words they may sell stored water (which may be curtailed during water shortages) to other entities under the LCRA Management Plan which is subject to state approval. (2) State water law says that, “first in time is first in right.” The rice farmers’ use preceded that of Highland Lakes and the dams may not even have been built without the farmers’ backing. Thus they satisfy “first in time.”
River water costs less than well water but is unreliable in years of drought. So rice farmers are always looking for the best methods of conserving water. Fields are now leveled with precision GPS and laser -guided grading equipment so that water is added a uniform 5 inches deep.
Seeds, herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers are all applied by plane. Economy, quantity and frequency are judged carefully especially in the case of the chemicals.
Below is another crop possibility for Texas rice farmers according to Shelby Webb writing for the San Antonio Express. His article was titled, “Demand for crawfish has given rice farmers a new option.”

Figure 12 San Antonia Express-News 1-02-2020.

Southwest of Beaumont the Reneau family rice farm is now devoted to 70% rice and 30% crawfish. And the plan is to split the crops at 50-50. Back in August 2018, the family drained the land and added the crawfish who buried themselves in the mud. The rice was harvested leaving 1 inch of stalks in midfall and the field was flooded again. By December or early January, the mudbugs crawled out of their castles and began feeding on the decaying rice stalks until being harvested between January and May.
Crawfish have increased in popularity not only in the U.S. but globally as well, so now some Texas rice growers are taking advantage of this increased demand.
In case you missed mention of Zizania texana that grows nowhere else in the world besides the first mile of the San Marcos it will show up next month in Rare and Unusual Plants of Central Texas.

-----------Sightings--------

Figure 13 Blue-Winged Teal (Anas discors)

Figure 14 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Both birds were seen on the pond on Hugo Road on January 27, 2020.

Figure 15 Possomhaw Holly tree on Steeplebrook Dr. (Ilex decidua)

One final sighting is a “must read” by Joe Urbach at this link. nature
R & D Tusch

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[1] Wild rice, Wikipedia.
[2] Wikipedia: Rice processing by various cultures.
[3] Edible Austin 2016.
[4] From the George Fuermann Texas and Houston Collection University of Houston Library

Newsletter No. 24---Pioneer Flight

This story is really about the Pioneer Flight Museum in Kingsbury, Texas but with a long introduction on the history of flight.
Occasionally, someone asks the question of whether the Wright Brothers were the first to fly an airplane. The latest inquiry to the Smithsonian was initiated by someone who had seen an historical marker in Texas that it was Jakob Brodbeck who first demonstrated manned flight. Not so, says the Smithsonian, it was the Wright Brothers with their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The answer to this question of the first manned flight gets one involved in a whole lot of operational definitions. What constitutes manned flight? We won’t even try to outline all the definitions relating to this question, but to recognize that many people made hundreds of attempts to fly. Many never survived their attempt. But, for sure, Jakob Brodbeck worked to develop a machine that would fly. He was a German immigrant, lived for many years near Luckenbach’s Grape Creek area, and died there about 7 years after the Wright Brothers made their historic trip. Brodbeck made a model that was powered by a spring driven propeller that resembled a boat propeller. There is some mystery surrounding his claim of having gone from small scale models to a size that would carry a man. Legend tells us that the flight of record was in the Luckenbach area, the craft rose ten feet off the ground and traversed 100 feet when the spring unwound, and the plane crashed to the ground. No documentation has survived this event. Most critics of the Brodbeck legend of this early flight cited the inability of a propeller designed for watercraft to propel a craft in air. It was the Wright Brothers who utilized an existing discovery that the cross-sectional shape of the blades of the propeller should be like that of a wing in order to provide the thrust needed in air. Simply put, a propeller designed for water would not provide nearly enough thrust in air. However, we accept that everything in Texas is bigger and better, and stories are no exception.
Before the Wright Brothers made their historic powered, controlled, manned flight of 1903, there were many who worked to achieve manned flight from their observations of birds in flight. Records exist of designs to create a heavier than air flying machines dating back to the 1600s. Most of the records are merely drawings, but some were small scale models. Most notable was Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings of ways to achieve manned flight. Most of the early models took the shape and features of birds, even bird-like wings attached to the back and shoulders of a person—even to the extent that the wings were made to flap like those of a bird. A 12th century book describes Eilmer, a monk, attaching bird like flaps to his arms and legs, then jumping from a tower to demonstrate first flight. Instead he landed at the base of the tower with two broken legs, lamenting that he should have added a tail to his body. None of these heavier than air machines were successful. The only heavier than air machines of the earlies times that flew were basically kites, either flown in the wind or towed behind running horses.
In the course of history, kites were probably the first heavier than air devices that were able to fly, albeit tethered to a person on the ground. As it turns out, kites provided a lot of the technology used in the Wright Brothers first flight.
The science of heavier-than-aircraft was not progressing very rapidly in the 1800s but, lighter-than-air aircraft were successful and popular prior to 1900. Most notable of the earliest developments was the hot air balloon. I can recall hot air balloons at an amusement park in the 1940s. At the time I thought it was quite a feat, not knowing that the concept and usage was already over 100 years old. Here’s how it went: A wood fueled fire was built on the ground; a big canvas bag was held with the opening such that the hot gases from the fire filled the balloon. Then with the balloon continually over the fire, the air inside the balloon was so hot that when the balloonist decided it was time to fly, he jumped into a sling fastened to the balloon, had his assistants free the balloon and away he went, waving to the crowd as he rapidly rose into the sky. He stayed on board the balloon as long as the gases in the balloon were still hot and the balloon continued to rise, but at some point as the air in the balloon cooled, he sensed that the ride was coming to an end so he jumped out of the his riding sling, and parachuted back to earth. Then, with no weight on the open end of the balloon, it turned upside down, smoke poured out the open end and the bag plunged to the ground. All this visible to those on the ground because he was at about 3000 feet in altitude and maybe 8 miles down wind when this dramatic end occurred. Here is a 1914 photo from that very amusement park.

 Figure 1 Hot air balloon over Reeds Lake

 Early balloons had no way to control flight direction, but then later with the development of the German Zeppelins and even to today with the blimps of Goodyear, balloon craft could be propelled and steered.
Early flight capability was developed both in lighter than air and heavier than air inventions, but from the beginning, successful heavier than air flight was the prime objective. There were countless ideas on how to create a manned flying machine, but most ran into a dead end due to the lack of one of four key dynamics of flight. Sir George Cayley is recognized as the pioneer of the physics of flight, having documented several principles for flight based on science of the early 1800s. These principles consist of the four vectors of flight: thrust (forward motion), drag (resistance to motion), lift (opposition to gravity) and weight (effect of gravity). In the 1800s, all these basics of flight were understood, but the only limitation was that there was no way to generate forward motion and control of flight. The engine had not arrived yet and the science of flight control—yaw, pitch and roll---had not been developed at this time. Yet, without the ability to provide forward motion, time was not wasted in the development of flight control principles. It was during the late 1800s that large craft were designed for gliding. It was during this phase of development using gliders that the principles of flight control were developed. Most of this work was done in France. Then, when the gasoline engine became available, Langley came close to becoming the first to demonstrate sustained, manned, controlled flight with his late 1800s experiments in the Potomac River.

 Figure 2 Langley's water-based launch platform

Langley’s first design resulted in a successful aircraft, but the engine was too small. He then developed a larger engine, but the plane would not support the weight and power of the newer engine. This was just a few years before the Wright Brothers put all the right pieces together to make their historic flight in 1903. Thus, we can look at the Wright Brothers achievement as applying known technology to create a flyable machine. It is interesting to study old planes for the noteworthy aspects of their design that have developed through the last 120 years, but especially during the time from 1903 to World War II. There is little doubt that the world wars added emphasis to the development of aircraft. After the Wright Brothers demonstrated powered, manned, controlled flight, innovations began to develop rapidly around the world, most notably in France.
This topic of pioneer flight history came to the forefront when we began to dig into the information that was recently gleaned from files that R’s dad had saved relating to his auto trip to the western states in 1929. Dad and two of his friends made the auto trip for several reasons, but one was to stop and spend some time at Lambert Airfield in St. Louis, Missouri. He and his friends were avid aircraft enthusiasts, not pilots as that was beyond their financial means. Lambert Airfield was made famous because it was Lindbergh’s home base where he worked for Robertson Co. as a mail delivery pilot before he made his historic flight across the Atlantic. Lindbergh made big news when he flew a modified Ryan M-2 across the Atlantic in a first-ever flight in 1927. The Ryan M-2 as built was not capable of crossing the Atlantic nonstop from New York to Paris, but Lindbergh worked with the Ryan Company to modify the plane so that it had a good chance to make the flight. The craft was designated the Ryan NYP, the acronym standing for New York to Paris. The big change in the design of the Ryan was to adapt the plane to carry more fuel. The fuel capacity increased to 450 gallons which necessitated the wingspan to be increased by ten feet, the cockpit moved back by two feet and the engine moved forward by two feet---all to maintain balance given the increased fuel load. As built, the pilot had no view out the front, so Ryan provided a periscope for the pilot to see forward.

 Figure 3 Lindbergh with the modified Ryan

 Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island at 7:52 AM on May 27, 1927 and arrived at Le Bouget field in Paris 33 hours, 30 minutes and 29.5 seconds later. Navigation was accomplished by dead reckoning; flying the great circle to Paris. This method of navigation was perhaps the most basic means of navigating using fundamental instruments of compass, air speed and a chronometer. The procedure for navigating by dead reckoning involves inflight corrections based on an estimate of distance travelled, elapsed time and direction. The method of dead reckoning had been extensively developed since that was the main method of navigation, especially when location was not available from sextant observations. When he arrived at Le Bouget Field, he calculated that he was off by only a small distance and only a few minutes of time from the adjusted plan. That successful flight ignited the whole world’s interest and enthusiasm over the possibilities of flight. When R’s dad visited Lambert Field in 1929, he met Lindbergh who was working at the field. Lindbergh was heavily involved in the design of this airfield in St. Louis and another one in Winslow, Arizona.
Some of the planes at Lambert in photos taken in 1929 were the Douglas O-2, an observation plane produced for the US Army Airforce. Only 30 were built.

Figure 4 Douglas O-2 at Lambert Field, 1929

This series of aircraft was also used as an experimental tanker for inflight refueling tests. There is a two-minute motion picture documentation of the refueling operation filmed during the 1930s now viewable on YouTube. It’s always interesting to see how long ago some aircraft concepts were initiated and then developed over many years as technology was improved. We never realized that in-flight refueling is already 90 years old. Another aircraft on the field was the de Havilland Moth 60.

Figure 5 de Haviland Moth 60, 1929 

This photo of the plane on the field was identified for us by the FAA from the registration number on the wing. NC599K. Its serial number was 53. Another photo made in 1929 at Lambert shows many planes in the distance, one of which is the Ford Trimotor. The Ford Trimotor visited San Marcos a few years ago with the Wings of Freedom Tour, sponsored by the Collings Foundation.

Figure 6 Ford Trimotor, San Marcos Airport 

The Trimotor has an elegantly furnished interior despite its appearance of being made of corrugated metal (which it is). The interior of this model is furnished with seats that are relatively modern, but there are some versions of the Trimotor that have interiors fitted with wicker chairs and curtains at the windows that reminded us of the smoking-room furnishings of the Victorian era.

Figure 7 Interior of the Trimotor at San Marcos

 After a week of cold and rain, Saturday the ninth of November dawned sunny, as predicted, so we took off for the Pioneer Flight Museum’s Fly-In and Drive-In in Kingsbury. Everything was already under way that morning as we arrived. We elected to start our tour by the old gasoline/auto repair building that is a permanent feature of the field. Near this building there were many period autos, trucks and an old ambulance built on a Model A Ford chassis.

Figure 8 The gas station/auto repair building 

This old relocated building is an authentic gasoline station and repair shop. Just as the camera was clicked, the rebuilt Model A Ford army ambulance whisked on by. The Ford Model A was parked for a while, so we were able to inspect it carefully. Ford built about 500 of these vehicles and shipped them to Europe during WWI.

Figure 9 World War I American Red Cross Truck

Figure 10 Some of the planes across the field

Out on the grassy landing strip, planes were still taking off and landing. It was just like the 1940s and 1950s when our folks took the family to the local airport to watch the planes as a form of entertainment. The photo above shows the extent of the planes that flew in for the day. The Pioneer Flight Museum has several old planes, one of which is the Curtiss JN-4, commonly referred to as a Jenny. In its heyday of the 1920s it was a dependable workhorse and show performer. Last year when we first observed this plane it had an engine, today it did not. It must be in the repair shop.

Figure 11 Curtiss JN-4 at Kingsbury 2019 

The museum has three more planes that have a place in aircraft development history. The Fokker Dr-1 shown below is one example. It was the plane that was made famous by the German air ace Baron von Richthoven. It is a triplane and this craft shown on the grounds at Kingsbury is in good flying shape. The red colored biplane off to the right in the photo must be their Fokker D-VII, a biplane from the German air force.

Figure 12 Fokker Dr-1 Triplane

 Another aircraft on the grounds is even older, being a 1909 French made Bleriot I. It was the first plane to fly across the English Channel. In this demonstration flight, the pilot was a bit cautious in taking it very far off the ground.

Figure 13 French Bleriot I in flight

The Museum also has a Thomas-Morse S-4c Scout.

Figure 14 Thomas-Morse S-4c Scout 

This aircraft it unique in that it did not have a carburetor thus the engine ran only full speed. So, on landing the pilot had to kill the engine and land “dead stick”. Although this report from the Kingsbury Fly in/Drive in centered on old planes, many other aircraft were on display as well, ranging from the light aircraft of the Ercoupe era to the modern single seater gyrocopters. There were many old cars as well. It was worth every minute of the visit.

 ______Sightings____________________ 

No sightings of any note this month, we went twice to local stock tanks and Canyon Lake looking for some ducks to photograph but found only Coots. That would make a good T-shirt for vacationers. It might read “I went to all the way to Canyon Lake and only saw Coots” The flock of coots seem to be having a good time near the boat launch on the north side.

Newsletter No. 23---Children and Nature

We attended a lecture about one year ago that focused on the need to reintroduce children to nature. Our young speaker, Ryan Spenser, was from The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment in San Marcos. The theme of the presentation was that young people of today are becoming disconnected from the outdoors and from the learning that can come from being outdoors. He told us that some of the children who come to their outdoor programs are afraid to sit on the grass, afraid to get dirty and are afraid of all bugs and common little critters like turtles and frogs. These children are out of their comfort zone. Why?
If we look back to our earliest beginnings, we lived in the open among predators larger and stronger than ourselves. We moved to caves and survived by using our wits and the more we used them the more knowledge we accumulated and the smarter we became. We joined forces, hunted and gathered in small bands , made fires, cooked our food and continued to learn more about our surroundings as we moved over the earth. Over time we built villages, but they were still surrounded by farms and land. Then we became industrialized and in countries like ours, change was rapid. Our cities expanded consuming the surrounding open space. Then we moved to the cities and sealed ourselves up to enjoy the luxury of controlled temperatures in our homes and cars. No more open windows, no screen doors, no sounds from the outside such as kids playing, breezes stirring leaves or bird song. The sights and sounds are inside; the television, probably someone’s radio is on and at least one or two people are checking their phones.
And then there is fear. Fear not of four legged animals as much, but of two legged animals like ourselves. Back in the early days of our tribe, fear is what kept us from being dragged into the lion’s den. We had to learn from a young age to take care of ourselves. These days the trend is that people marry later than they used to by ten years or more. When their first child is 5 years old, they are usually at least 25 years older and more removed from their younger “no fear” days of childhood. And it would seem understandable that these older, more educated adults would be more involved in protecting and regulating the lives of their children as opposed to allowing them some unstructured time on their own.
According to the people who do research in this area, especially as it relates to parental responsibilities and to the design of our public schools, we have drifted too far into the protection of children, thereby isolating kids from nature. This disconnect can have a significant effect on children’s’ physical and mental development. Issues such as obesity, ability to solve problems, deal with controversy, and to be future advocates of conservation. Margaret Stead, writing in The Guardian on this subject said, “Even here in the UK, a much less litigious society than America, ‘health and safety’ seems to have become a bar to everything from climbing trees to running in the playground”.
All this information caused us to think about what is happening with children as they experience more time in front of the television, computer or phone screen. The latest figures are that children spend about 8 hours per day in front of a video screen of one sort or another and only 30-40 minutes spent outside. So, that’s where we left the topic a year ago. Our thinking at the time led nowhere as we found the subject too amorphous and complex so we put it aside, but our awareness of the environment for child development never left us. Although we had shoved this subject to the background our newfound awareness made us watchers of kids. Whenever we watch children doing what kids do now, we naturally compare what we see to our own experience. We as youngsters did not have this disconnect from nature as we were immersed in nature to the extent that most of our free time was spent outdoors and without adult supervision. We never realized the value of connecting with nature at the time, but we do now in hindsight.
Then Michelle Ferley’s essay came across our desk, and we dug out our old notes. Looking back through our journals, we find two stories of children who are connected to nature. One comes from a second grader in Wimberley who responded to our questions about recess at school. Recess is an important subject because some schools in urban settings have eliminated recess replacing it with such activities as testing. Well, this second grader found her recess activities challenging. In response to our questions, she said that her recess play “was outdoors” and that the teacher was not present. Asking her about play she described several games she and her classmates invented and set their own rules for winning. They did all this by negotiating with each other. Then, as another example, at an antique car gathering in Martindale, we watched a little girl playing with a toy truck on the asphalt pavement, putting stones into the dump truck box. Unworried about playing on the gritty parking lot she was totally engrossed, as you can see, filling and dumping the truck with tiny pebbles; entertaining herself.

Figure 1 Child at car show in Martindale

 We commented about her creativity to her parents who were not far away. They responded by saying, “Oh yes, whenever we say we are going to a car show, she gets her gravel truck or cars and is ready to go”. These two girls were totally unlike the little girl we saw in a third situation, in the local T-Mobile store. She was fidgeting until her mother gave her a cell phone to watch. She was totally engrossed in the animated characters, but none of the entertainment was of her own making. As Richard Louv reported in his book, Last Child in the Woods (2008), evidence supporting nature-based, place-based education or experiential learning (as this approach is variously called) has been building for decades. Louv has also written several other books on the importance of humans maintaining their connection to nature, his latest being Our Wild Calling (2019).

Figure 2 Richard Louv's latest book on nature

Louv is the Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, an organization supporting the international movement to connect children, their families and their communities to the natural world. As we pulled out the handouts we had been given at Ryan’s talk, we noticed that they were all from the Children & Nature Network with titles like Green Schoolyards can (a) Provide Mental Health Benefits, (b) Increase Physical Activity, (c) Improve Academic Outcome and (d)Encourage Beneficial Play. Interested in finding out if any of these four concepts were being used in the San Marcos schools, we turned to Google. Nothing was found relating to San Marcos, but there were two interesting articles on Fort Worth and Austin. An article by Elizabeth Licata (1.09.2016) reported on Fort Worth’s Eagle Mountain Elementary. The Kindergarten and First Grade classes gained 3 new recesses to test the benefits of two 15- minute breaks in the morning and afternoon. Teachers were worried about losing class time and being unable to cover their daily material. However, they found that not only are the students paying better attention in class, they follow directions better, are attempting to learn more independently and solve problems on their own. And, there have been fewer discipline issues. With three more short breaks per day to exercise and blow off steam, their minds and bodies return to class ready to focus and pay attention. Reading from Education Week (12.08.2019): Elementary school students in Austin may soon get to enjoy thirty minutes of unrestricted recess every day. Right now, administrators in the Austin Independent School District are just trying to figure out how to make it happen. Elementary schools are required to provide 135 minutes of physical education or structured physical activities each week, but recess is left up to the individual schools. The district chief officer for teaching and learning, Edmond Oropez, said that just as it’s important for adults to have time to relax and socialize during the workday, kids need some unstructured time too.

Figure 3 Green Schoolyards Can Increase Physical Activity

 As the picture above shows, more options equal more activity. Stumps, rocks, trees and logs, all- natural objects, provide things to climb, jump from, balance on and lift. As also shown in Figure 3, the shrubs make a great screen for one or two to flop behind and study the cloud formations or for two or more to hatch plans to sneak into Cochise’s stronghold behind the two big rocks in the next picture (shown below) and surprise the braves waiting there. Or who knows, those rocks may be the entrance to the castle they intend to pillage. That’s up to the kids.

Figure 4 Imaginative and cooperative play

There are videos available that show the kind of play that goes on in some of the experiential schools that hold classes outside.  Like Germany, some of the European countries are taking the lead, but the idea is catching on in Canada and the U.S. as well. This picture in Figure 4 reminded me of a video I watched that was filmed at Cedar Song Nature School in New Hampshire. The school is held in the woods rain or shine in all kinds of weather and that goes along with their motto of teaching grit and perseverance. The kids waded through giant puddles with their walking sticks and two accompanying teachers, stopping now and then to observe something. They were kindergarteners and as they trouped along, (rather like the seven dwarfs) they worked on their ABCs in song. They were healthy-looking kids and as one of the lecturers mentioned, children are healthier outdoors than cooped up in stuffy classrooms. One of the lecturers related a story about cooperative play. During a walk in the woods the kids came across a long, trimmed log and one little girl thought it would make a good play object in their cleared play area. “But I can’t drag it by myself.” Cries of “I’ll help” followed and the children assessed the situation. They determined it would be best to hoist the sapling onto their shoulders and they did. Other ideas were voiced as they trudged , “Is it time to rest for a minute? “Is it time to change to the other shoulder? “Is it time to quit?” The last was answered with a resounding “NO!” No help was ever given by their instructors, they bore down and their grit got that log to the site. And do you suppose they were proud of their effort? Surely it was the first thing reported at the dinner table that night.
We have seen that schools can make a difference. That’s what some schools are doing, but what about our cities and towns? From a November 25, 2019 article by Alejandre Pallais titled All Things are Connected: How Mayors are Refining Nature Connections for Kids. The author tells us that, as part of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature Initiative, mayors in 18 cities across the country are leading a national effort to ensure all children in their cities grow up with regular connections to the natural world. Rather than having isolated projects, or adding on to their staff’s work , mayors view nature connection as integral to their city and align this work with other city goals and priorities. “All of these things are connected. It’s not about doing one thing here and one thing there” said Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, Texas. “It’s about doing all of these things that align themselves together. Because parks and green space in a neighborhood literally can change that neighborhood for the better.” He went on to discuss the idea of inter-connecting neighborhood parks with hike/bike trails that could cross Houston without the travelers having to use any busy roads.

Figure 5 Future Emerald Crown Trail in Hays County

In the same context, the San Marcos Green Belt Alliance in partnership with San Marcos, Kyle, Buda and other park development agencies is looking for a way to connect the three largest cities in Hays County with a non-motorized trail system. Although work will not be starting any time soon according to Evelyn Garcia writing on 11-18-19, a master plan was released in May and people behind the project are in the process of gathering support from local governmental bodies.

So, what do we take away from delving into today’s children and their connection to nature? Are they missing out on using their five senses to the fullest? Nature still seems to be the main source for real first-hand information relating to the five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. When you listen to a recorded bird song that’s all you hear. It can be a useful way to teach yourself the identifying trills of, say, a Carolina wren, but it won’t register the same as seeing and hearing that wren outdoors. There you will see the bird moving, you will feel the warm breeze as it moves the bird on the limb, you will be registering its color, shape and size, adjacent vegetation, and the other sounds and smells in the air. You will be experiencing 4 of your 5 senses working together to record this memory should you want to visit it again. We wrote down some of the images of the five senses that we remembered from when we were kids and each took us to a specific place. And always, more senses were involved than the featured sense. We didn’t just hear a whippoorwill , we immediately heard one calling, in summer just after dark, behind Granny Granstra’s house in Ada, Michigan and in the backyard here in Texas. R remembers the sight and smell of cow manure and moldy dirt in Ada and the beauty of a brook trout pulled from Eleanor’s Creek. D sees, smells and tastes the wild strawberries and huckleberries that grew near her cousin’s cottage in Michigan and she can still feel the hot sun on her arms.
Many of those who were raised close to nature are now focused on preserving it with land conservation easements, entrusting it to the Nature Conservancy and working for and belonging to organizations with aims to protect our most precious commodity; the land. We have that advocacy right here in our community. Michelle Ferley wrote an insightful essay telling us how she and her family learn from nature on their land and enjoy all its benefits.
So, after this long introduction, here are her thoughts:

Our Piece of The Hill Country

If you leave Austin and head Southwest for about 50 miles, there's a small plot of land nestled between the towns of San Marcos and Wimberley. It spans just over 60 acres of quintessential Texas Hill Country, complete with grazing longhorns, limestone outcrops and plenty of whitetail deer to go around. To a seasoned rancher, 60 acres might seem rather small, but to my family our self- proclaimed “ranchette” is our legacy. After five decades of hard work and city living, my parents purchased this piece of land to settle into during their retired years. Over the years, we have come to learn the countless ways in which the land has served our family, friends and the native Texas wildlife. The open space affords us ample room to gather loved ones, a quiet place to rest our minds and bodies, and an extensive variety of wildlife to indulge our curious minds There are many little quirks that make this piece of land truly unique and special to me. One of the first things we noticed after purchasing the property in 2003 was a beautiful live oak that must have been standing there for at least a century before we ever arrived. We were amazed by the symmetry and beauty of this old tree -so much so that we ended up using it as a focal point for the house that would be built years later. A terrible rainstorm passed through a couple years after the house was constructed. Amidst the storm, a lightning bolt struck the old tree and took off the biggest branch. What used to be a picturesque creation of nature, was now lopsided and saddening to look at. All the while, the same creatures and critters that made a home there for many years didn't seem to notice or mind. The birds continued to build nests and dance back and forth between the surviving branches. The misshapen tree now stands as a beautiful reminder of the resilience of nature. We look forward to the brief couple of weeks when the butterflies migrate through the area and find a temporary home in our native landscaping. During their migration, the yard is blanketed with a beautiful swarm of colorful insects that leaves us wonderstruck every time. In the springtime, we spend our days trekking around the property looking for vibrant cactus blooms and marveling at the sea of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. Unlike the wildflowers, not all guests are welcomed with open arms. We suffer at the snouts of pesky hogs that root up our land and remind us that we are largely powerless to those night roamers. However, we would all agree that the longhorns are by far the most beloved animals on this land. Their beautiful orange hides and intimidatingly large horns truly make them the stars of the Hill Country. This is all to say that our quaint piece of property has shown me that so much life can flourish in a relatively small space when natural land is left to its own devices. The air smells fresher, the water tastes cleaner and the plants and animals get to exist without confronting many of the stressors of urban development. I've also gathered that you don't need to be far away from civilization to provide a space for wildlife to live peacefully in its natural state. I am fortunate to know that this land will likely remain in the hands of my family for years to come. I can depend on the trees to remain standing, the longhorns to continue roaming and the wildflowers to keep growing long after I'm gone. This is one small way in which we are contributing to the preservation of our beautiful state of Texas. Whatever the scale, large or small, these efforts are important, impactful and beneficial for the health of future generations in our great state.

______Sightings_____ 

Our lands have very few colorful red oaks, so in the late fall we need to depend on the cedar elms and the Flameleaf Sumac for some color. There are several stands of the sumac and this year they were especially colorful and lasted a long time. Here is one such grouping of sumacs found right alongside the road.

 Figure 6 Flameleaf Sumac rhus copallina