Reminder: A Walk on the Wild Side Opens Friday

The sneak preview for the Museum of North Texas History exhibit, A Walk on the Wild Side, is Friday night. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday. On Saturday there will be a lot of "extras" with vendors and food. Some members of the Texas Master Naturalists will be helping interpret the exhibits for visitors. Admission is free, although donations are welcome. The museum is open 10 - 4.

Edible Wild Plants

When I was a young 'un, I remember Euell Gibbons, who was widely considered a whack job by most. However, I also remember a lot of my relatives hunting and gathering wild mushrooms and plants to supplement the all-too-meager food budget. So it's not like no one ate wild plants. They did. They just seemed to think that harvesting wild foods was done because you were poor, not because you wanted to do it. To me, it seemed a psychological barrier to acceptance, not because they didn't accept wild plants as nutritious and tasty. No one wanted to admit eating wild plants because no one wanted to admit they couldn't afford to buy food.

My friend, Paul Dowlearn of Wichita Valley Nursery, gave me a book to read: Edible Wild Plants, by John Kallas, PhD. This is intended to be one of a series of books on edible wild plants. Lots of great pictures. Detailed information on who to recognize, harvest and prepare about a dozen wild plants (this book focused on greens.) Lots of recipes. One I found fascinating was making meringue from mallow seeds or mallowmallows.

Anyway, certainly worth a look. With the price of produce, harvesting free produce could help the wallet and the diet--where known, Dr. Kallas gave nutritional information for these plants. Many kicked (metaphorical) butt over the nutritional powerhouses of spinach and broccoli.

Wild Bird Rescue Garage Sale

Wild Bird Rescue will be holding a garage sale fundraiser, Saturday, September 12 at the National Association of Letter Carriers building at 5310 Southwest Parkway (next to Wichita Valley Nursery.) This is a fundraiser for the organization. Already this year, the organization has taken in over 900 wild birds--the heat and drought have not been kind to our area's wildlife.

If you have items to sell (no clothing please), please price them before dropping them off. For information on days/times to drop off donations, call Wild Bird Rescue at 940-691-0828.

The sale will be from 8 AM - 2 PM on the 12th. In addition to the sale, there will be live music and food. Please donate your unwanted items and come out on the 12th to find low cost items you need. Help yourself and Wild Bird Rescue.

If you cannot attend the event, the organization is in need of cash donations to purchase needed food and supplies. You can mail donations to 4611 Lake Shore Dr, Wichita Falls, TX 76310 or donate at the website.

Dog Days of Summer Concert

The Dog Days of Summer Concert to benefit the Wichita County Humane Society will be held at the Women's Forum, 2120 Speedway, 7 PM, Tuesday, August 9. The concert features Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin. Individual tickets are $20.

For more information, follow the link above for the Humane Society--the flyer is posted on their home page.

Friends of Lake Arrowhead State Park Meeting

The Friends of Lake Arrowhead State Park meet Thursday evening at 7PM at the Dining Hall at Lake Arrowhead State Park.

Sad Day

Yesterday, Mark Howell, Inland Fisheries Supervisor for Texas Parks and Wildlife passed away from complications from surgery. Mark was the advisor for the local Texas Master Naturalist chapter--I have worked with him for several years. Mark was a very nice person and devoted to his wife and two boys, who I know are devastated. I have had several people ask already, so here is the information on the funeral. Funeral services are Thursday, 11:00 AM at Floral Heights United Methodist. Visitation is Wednesday evening from 5 - 8 PM at Hampton Vaughn Funeral Home.

Living and Learning

Massasuga rattlesnake photo courtesy of TimVickers, Wikimedia Commons.




There is always something to learn about the environment and our place in it.

There was a full house at Laurie Hall's presentation on snakes last evening at Lake Arrowhead State Park (LASP). It was an interesting program with lots of beautiful photos she and some friends have taken of snakes that live in our area. The massasuago rattlesnake (left) was one of the snakes she talked about in her program.

The next program at LASP is on zebra mussels. It is focused on boaters to help stop the spread of the invasive zebra mussel in Texas. If you're a boater or just someone who is interested in learning more, be sure to attend the educational session on August 6, 9:00 AM at LASP Dining Hall.


Zebra mussel photo courtesty of US Geological Survey.

Also, the Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalists will award 3 hours of advanced training credit for the Water Symposium on October 1. The Master Gardeners will get 5 hours credit.



I haven't heard any thing about adult education programs at River Bend lately--I'll pass on the information as I get it.




Don't forget the opening of A Walk on the Wild Side at the Museum of North Texas History on August 13. In addition to the exhibit there will be a lot of other vendors and displays at the grand opening. The Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalists will be helping out.

The details on all of these programs are in previous posts.