Hiking,  Outdoors,  Texas,  Travel & Places

Watson Preserve in Late June

I thought I would dust off a few of the drafts languishing in my WordPress files and send some nature out into the world. There’s a lot going on right now and my mind is cluttered with it all, so why not deviate a bit and share some goodness. I had hoped we would get back to Watson Preserve this fall but we haven’t gotten there yet. Maybe in November!

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Asclepias rubra, red milkweed

Actually looking back at these photos brightens my mood a bit. With autumn happening and everything senescing, it is sometimes hard to believe everything was alive and in bloom a few short months ago.

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A snowy orchid and red milkweed pair.

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Fewflower milkweed, Asclepias lanceolata

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I was glad to see the pineland hibiscus, Hibiscus aculeatus blooming this time we went to Watson as the time previous in May it hadn’t been flowering. I love the photo above with the dashes of pollen on the petals.

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Musky Mint, Hyptis alata

I just discovered some of this growing along our pond shoreline here at home and I’m thrilled about it. I moved a couple of plants from the dam area where they are located over to our part of the shoreline but will also wait to see when they go to seed and spread a bit around the shoreline then, too.

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I’m not sure what this plant is. I thought I had put everything into iNaturalist back in the summer but I couldn’t find that I had done this plant so I just submitted it and nothing is coming up. I will need to flip through some books and come back to edit this one later, but it is located on the north side of the house in the bracken ferns.

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Butterfly Pea, Centrosema virginianum

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Wild Potato Vine, Ipomoea pandurata – This might be a new favorite. I saw them along the boardwalk at the Pitcher Plant bog first and they were pretty spectacular. Would love to some some seeds!

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Coastal False Asphodel, Triantha racemosa

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I’m still a fan of the more purple variation of the red milkweed that is growing along the boardwalk near the house. I wonder if it is a variety or a subspecies? It is just so different than the others.

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And greeting us on our way out were Physostegia sp.. Chris tried for years to get some established into our flower beds and the first year, maybe the second, they did ok, but they deer won’t leave them alone.

Hope this was a little spot of brightness in your day!

One Comment

  • shoreacres

    It did brighten my day — I loved seeing these. I think you’ve helped me identify a couple more plants, too. I need to dig into my own archives to be sure.

    I was at Watson last Sunday, and I would hold off on a visit there for a while. The long boardwalk from the entrance to the house, and around that curve, is closed for repairs. I suspect it was damaged during one of the storms. I didn’t find much of anything still blooming, except for asters. Things have gotten pretty overgrown, there’s been quite a bit of clearing of ferns and such done, and it just wasn’t a very productive visit. I did see some fungi, and the Lobelia puberula was pretty common — less so at Watson, but everywhere in the Solo Tract. There were quite a few fresh-looking pitcher plants, though, which surprised me. I didn’t realize they would continue on so far into the fall.

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