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Virtual Chapter Meeting on April 9: Nature Photography with Steven Schwartzman

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Join NPSOT-Wilco’s online chapter meeting on Thursday, April 9, 2020, at 7:00 pm for a live virtual presentation by award winning photographer, Steven Schwartzman on Nature Photography.

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Steven grew up on Long Island and moved to Texas in 1976.  In his early years as a photographer, his main interest was in landscape photography, primarily in black and white infrared.  In 1999, he embraced digital photography and began to produce a photographic journey through the Austin area.

Steven’s nature photographs and accompanying articles have appeared multiple times in Texas Highways and in Wildflower, the magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  Steven hosts his popular nature photography blog Portraits of Wildflowers at portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com.  He has authored several books including, Wildflowers of Central Texas, Wildflowers of Southeast Texas and Wildflowers of North Texas.

To attend the virtual meeting, please register in advance.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar on the day of the meeting.

Register for NPSOT Wilco Monthly Chapter Meeting: Nature Photography w/Steve Schwartzman on Apr 9, 2020 7:00 PM CDT at the following url:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3378959067058370828

See you there!

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public.

In this time of public health risk, our in-person meetings and activities are canceled until further notice. We are holding virtual meetings and virtual  field trips like plant walkthroughs.

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Field Trip Announcement: Sat. March 14, 10:00am, Bootys Road Park Trail, Georgetown

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—   by Vicky Husband

Phacelia congesta - Blue Curls
Phacelia congesta – Blue Curls

Introduction to Native Plants: Spring Walk.  Location: 1631 Booty’s Park Road, Georgetown, TX 78628.  Join us for a Spring Walk as we locate the early bloomers and learn about plants native to our area.  Booty Road Park Trail is a 2.4 mile moderately trafficked “out and back” trail that offers scenic views and is good for all skill levels. The trail is a combination of paved and unpaved, some up and down elevations, parts densely shaded, with good bird watching opportunities including a vulture’s roost.

Smilax bona-nox - Greenbriar
Smilax bona-nox – Greenbriar

We expect to see cedar elm, ashe juniper, live oak, osage orange, hackberry, greenbriar, boxelder and mexican buckeye.  We will turn around at Weir dam, a sunny spot with switch grass, bushy bluestem and dewberry.  We will keep a look-out for some favorites including maidenhair fern, blue curls, early wildflowers such as Englemann’s daisy, bluebonnet and mexican hat.

Free entrance, lots of parking, restrooms available.  Look for FT leader Gary… no RSVPs required!

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Program Report for March 12: Importance of Honey Bees

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— by Nancy Pumphrey

Jodi McCumber from Jackass Honey Farms in Liberty Hill, TX presented so much information on bees and pollinator plants.  When you live in the country the saying goes you wear lots of hats to make a living. Well, Jodi is no exception to that rule.  (Note: Due to the current health crisis, the meeting was sparsely attended with members and newcomers seated with plenty of distance from each other.)

Jodi is a certified beekeeper. In her business, she removes beehives and swarms from unwanted places and specializes in removing Africanized bee swarms.  She makes soap, honey products such as salves, lotions and gift baskets to sell. As if that was not enough, she also runs their Jackass Honey Farms gift shop, gives tours, and home schools her son.

She has 335 hives throughout the area. When she started growing wildflowers for the bees on her farm, she found the monarchs were also frequenting her place and decided to make it a Certified Monarch Habitat. Some of the most important sources of food for the bees are dandelions in early spring, horsemint, mealy blue sage, Gregg’s mistflower and white mistflower. She also grows sage, apple and pear trees, lavender, and rosemary for the bees and other pollinators.  We were able to have a lively discussion regarding natives and non-natives in relation to bee food and the importance of not using invasive plants but finding a native alternative instead.

Jodi and her son announce dates for tours of their farm on her Facebook page or by email. Just go to www.jackasshoneyfarms.com and sign up.

Here are just a few of the interesting facts we learned about bees.

  • Bees, except the queen, live 4-6 weeks.
  • Queens can live over 8 years and lay 700-2500 eggs a DAY. The Queen has other bees who wash them, feed them, etc. because they are so busy laying eggs.
  • Bees don’t fly in the rain or fog.
  • You might see them cling together or to flowers until it is dry enough to return to the hive.
  • Beekeepers move bees to different places to pollinate a crop, such as almonds in California, but only 50-60% of the bees arrive back home due to pesticide and insecticide use in the fields.
  • Bees need water, so put rocks or sponges in a shallow bird bath so they can land on something to get a drink. They also like a little salt or sugar in the water.
  • A bee can fly 5 miles to find food or water.

To learn more about bees Jodi recommends the Netflix documentary “Hive Alive” for a close up of bee behavior.

Jodi brought lots of products for us to taste. She is available to talk at meetings and at schools. Contact her at 512-484-1101.

You can see the March 12, 2020 business presentation slides here.

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