Monday, December 18, 2023

Cairn mound created to pay homage to Native Americans who hunted and lived on this hill


This is a picture of where I placed my cairn mound. It is placed above the head of the Thunderbird. I didn't plan on creating any of this. But when I was raking rocks off the trails, I started pulling up big slabs of limestone. I thought these were cool so I started collecting them and knew I could create something. Since this is a documented 4,300-year-old Native American quarry site with the state of Texas, I thought a cairn mound would be perfect! Heck, I had plenty of rocks to work with. Of course, after that came the Thunderbird!

I created the border first and then filled it with dirt and smaller rocks.


These are the limestone slabs I pulled up, which I placed on top of the mound.


This portion of limestone slab that juts out of the side is used to put objects on as offerings, such as tobacco, herbs and stones. From my research of Native American cairn burial sites, the spirit of the person buried can leave the underworld through an opening in the ground. So I dug a small opening that goes from underneath the offering table and  the mound connecting the two creating  a portal to both worlds of the living and the dead. Remember, it's symbolic.
The ends face north and south and the center west and east with this view facing west, where the sunset is perfectly aligned with the mound in the summer.
Finished...




Sunday, December 17, 2023

Drone footage of the land in December 2023 by Carl Homeier

This is the top of the hill elevation at 1,997 feet. 

Pictured above on the lower center is my celestial circle. Perfect for stargazing. It's connected to parking. The four tiny dots along the edge are directional markers of NSEW. The center in the celestial ring is the light ring. I don't like to use fire due to the windy conditions. So lanterns are preferred for illumination. If you like flying kites, the winds are a perfect way to soar them without a problem.

Here you can see the effigy of the Thunderbird from way above and trails, too. Lots of trails! 



I know for sure now that when planes fly over, pilots and passengers can see this effigy.



The woods are a reprieve from the summer heat. 



No city here, folks!



Perfect trails for hiking and biking.

Peace and quiet...


Wonderful place to reconnect with nature...


Plenty of picnic tables and benches...


Plenty of places to string up a hammock or pitch a tent...

The trails also are beneficial in helping the control of soil erosion and keeping the rain water on the land to penetrate into our aquifer.

Golden-cheeked warblers nest here, too! Check out my blog for my nest pictures that were published in the Petersons Guide to Bird Nests of North America .

And more trails. Great for kids of any age...

After a rain, it is so relaxing to just walk and take in the aroma of the woods...

It should really pop when the grasses come back this spring. This area I call Sunset Ridge. Hidden to the left of the Thunderbird is a bench underneath a super shaded oak tree. Breathtaking evening sunsets! Glass of wine, anyone?


There we are! Debbie Homeier and I waiting for her husband, Carl Homeier, to land the drone. You can tell all the clearing I did by looking at the neighbor's place on the other side of the rock wall. I did selective cutting to allow for the native grasses to return to the top of the hill and the wooded area to be concentrated on the lower portion of the land. Incredible diversity. However, I do wish I would have kept some older growth ashe junipers. Why developers moonscape the land (remove all trees except oaks) is beyond me. New research has shown oak wilt is suppressed when oak roots are intertwined with the root systems of ashe juniper (mountain cedar) and other tree root systems. It's the symbiotic relationship of the fungi covering the roots that helps. Next time you see stands of oaks infested with oak wilt, look and see if they're the only tree species there.
 
Thank you, Carl and Debbie, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come out and do this for me. Y'all are amazing!


 The end or maybe not! Stay tuned...

Monday, August 28, 2023

THE SPIRIT OF THE THUNDERBIRD PROTECTING OUR HILL COUNTRY


For years, I've watched the Hill Country change as uncaring developers scar our sacred lands. They boast about clearing out cedars and opening up "The View" to entice prospective clients. I believe everything in moderation, but moonscaping is plain WRONG. 

Almost every time I visit our land to enjoy the peace and quiet, I never fail to see a plane or a helicopter fly over. Sometimes helicopters will hover and fly back and forth and all around. This tells me they are probably looking for acreage to develop. One day I decided to send them a message. 

I'd been thinking thought about the Thunderbird, oral stories that have been passed down through the centuries by Native Americans. One of the Thunderbird's meanings is that it is a protector and defender of nature. And I also thought about rocks. If you know anything about our Texas Hill Country, then you know that we have a whole LOT of limestone rocks. 

With nothing but a rock rake, a five-gallon bucket, a wheelbarrow and a rock bar, I began work on my message – The Thunderbird. It had to be 40 feet by 40 feet in order to be seen by those flying over. It is strategically placed on the side of a hill that faces west. The wingspan is 40 feet and head to tail is 40 feet. The head faces north on a constant lookout for danger. The wing tips, which are orientated north to south, are slightly folded inward as if in preparation for an attack. The head is placed in an eastward position, and the whole body faces toward the west where the sun sets. 

My hope is that when developers fly over this little piece of land, they'll see my Thunderbird and wonder. Who made that and why? What does it mean? I hope my effigy leads them to think about those who came before us and incorporate existing natural landscapes into their plans. I hope the spirit of my Thunderbird will enter their hearts and change their minds for the good of our Hill Country.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Sting Operation In Blanco County


     Today, while I was weed-eating the trails, I suddenly felt like I was being stung all over by fire ants. Because my goggles were somewhat foggy, I didn't know what was stinging me until finally I saw a lot of somethings hurriedly flying around me. That's when I thought "Yikes! Wasps!!!"  I had to think FAST. I knew if I laid the weed-eater down and left it running, the wasps would focus their attention on it because of the loud noise and vibrations, which gave me time to run for it. 

After a while, most of the wasps went back into their ground nest. Meanwhile, around 15 to 20 were still flying around and lurking on the weed- eater. I knew I had to turn the machine off so I slowly walked over, wearing my gloves, hat and goggles, and turned it off. Two wasps were stationed close to the on/off switch. Leaving it running was not an option due to safety concerns. Getting stung another 10 to 20 times was better than having a fire start. Luckily, not one stung me. With the weed-eater turned off, after what seemed like eternity, they were all back in their home, which allowed me to retrieve the weed-eater. The sting operation was over, and now it was time to get through the pain. Thankfully, I'm not allergic. 

These aggressive wasps were likely southern yellowjackets (Vespula squamosa). 

Monday, July 17, 2023

A wonderful friend

     This morning, Robert Zito, our good friend and financial planner, had a surprise for us when he came to go over our yearly financial report. The surprise was a Leopold bench that he made himself for our property outside of town. He even delivered it out there, and I made sure he signed it. (Great idea, Sheryl!) I've always wanted him to go check out our land so it was a perfect opportunity to at least give him a brief tour of the top. We cut it short because of the excessive heat. Hopefully, he will come back with his grandson  this fall, and we can dig and sift for fossils and artifacts. What an amazing person! One of the nicest people I have ever known.  THANK YOU, ROBERT!








Friday, January 13, 2023

Butchering tools in Blanco County

This is just a fraction of what I've been finding lately on our property. Judging by the size of these artifacts, the animals must have been  fairly large. This stuff is everywhere...