The Chalk Mountain area west of Glen Rose is a known habitat of the highly endangered Golden Cheek Warbler. Several years ago, a group of local landowners engaged some biologists to attempt a survey. On this property, they never actually saw one but did record their calls. 

After the July 2022 Chalk Mountain Fire, which started less than a mile to the north of us, the Golden Cheek Warbler began coming around more often, since their habitat had been destroyed (post-fire photo). Prior to the fire, we rarely saw them, but after the fire, they were on our pond almost every evening at 5 pm. The GCW is primarily an insect eater and is not attracted to traditional bird feeders. We do think our water feature attracted them. Now, we tend to see them in the morning, and today we saw more than one GCW, but since they are so elusive, I was only able to get a photo of one. 

Some time ago, I entered a photo contest sponsored by Texas Heritage (www.texheritage.com), looking for photographs that best describe “small-town Texas.” I’m not sure how many entries there were, but I was surprised to see that I had won. I did receive a check for $250 and a spiffy T-shirt with my name on it. I took this image at the 2018 Fourth of July Parade in Glen Rose, which is a classic small town USA. Almost Mayberry!

We all see the beautiful foliage from New England, while in Texas, most everything turns brown after the first light freeze. Some maple trees are sprinkled around the area, and this morning, I came across a few with the leaves beginning to fall. This leaf was lying on the ground and damp from the morning dew.