Exploring the Big Woods Nature Trail

In December, after the three of us went to a volunteer workday at Watson, we stopped by the Big Woods Trail in Woodville at Heritage Village. I only found out this trail existed back in October when I did a different volunteer event at the Village with a couple of other Watson folks but at the time I didn’t have time to explore the trails. This time I had an agenda (hopefully more on that soon!) and I was also just curious about the trails, too.

Here’s what we saw:

There are less than a mile of trails but all of the little side trails make it feel as if you have walked further than you have. I was appreciative of the trail map, something you don’t get very often at trailheads, even those run by state or federal agencies.

A non-blooming cranefly orchid, Tipularia discolor.

Late fall color on the white oaks, Quercus alba, were stunning! There were several good sized white oaks on this trail, too.

Sparse-lobed Grapefern, Sceptridium biternatum.

A new to me holly, Ilex longipes, or Georgia holly. It is not very common in Texas.

I really loved the bark on this sweetgum. The texture was amazing!

A backlit katydid on the last section of trail. Not much wildlife out for a cool December day but I’ll take what we can get!

I hope to dip back into this trail from time to time over the next year and see what else might be popping. I know there is witch hazel out there and from photos I’ve seen others have been sharing, it should be blooming right now.