We do have Poison Ivy in our mature center. You can find an example by following the path in the show below. Remember you don’t have to touch Poison Ivy to get the rash so learn what it looks like and stay clear. Poison Ivy has the infamous “leaves of three” and its vine is readily identified by the “hairs” that hold it fast to whatever it happens to climb.
Poison Ivy is so interesting it has its own Web site!
It has been awful dry in East Texas. Our little White Oak Spring is still dripping into the valley and helping to keep Rough Neck Creek, Hawkins Creek and the Sabine River flowing to the east and south. Being curious about how the water supply is holding up in the deepest part of the nature center, I took a little trip downstream. I noticed that a few big rocks had been moved ever so slightly towards the Gulf of Mexico. I started thinking about how many centuries or even millennium would be needed to move them along to their final destination, worn to tiny grains long before they travel that 400 miles of creeks and river. The creek was definably low today and in the sand I spotted the final remains of a couple of unfortunate creatures. I sort of had to wonder why they were there. If they could swim they should still be in the water but these animals passed, left high and dry, their remains in the sand. You can now guess from the title that this essay is not about misspelling the results of exercise but rather about how the 53 types of mussels native to Texas manage to be so far upstream while all the forces of nature contrive to push them to the sea. The answer may surprise you, it did me.
My poor mussels.
Can you see why they call mussels bi-valves?
FRESHWATER MUSSELS RIDE UPSTREAM ON FISH!
Believe it or not it is true. They hitch a ride upstream on fish long before they develop their hard shells. Click on the picture below and check it out.
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Are you surprised? I was.