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From the President----------
Greetings,
What a beautiful spring. Flowers EVERYWHERE! Make time to drive the back roads and enjoy them. If opportunity arises let the landowners know you appreciate them not mowing them until they go to seed.
Joy and I thank all those who could make it to our place on the 19th. We got to know people a little better and had a nice walk and plenty to eat! We will do it again on November 10th in connection with the propagation seminar.
Don't forget Saturday, June 2nd at Jan Daniels. Looking forward to seeing her place.
We will have a guest at our next meeting that is putting in a garden for the city of Azle and would like our help with the project. This will be a prime opportunity for our chapter to get involved on the community.
The NPSOT Symposium is in October. I have not been to one yet, so Joy & I are looking forward to this one. I am told that there will be lots of native plants and related information. It will be in Georgetown. The facilities are beautiful. Make plans to join us if you can. More info. at NPSOT.org.
See you on the 14th.
Duane
Meeting Minutes for May 10 , 2007
Call to order at 7:00 p.m. by president Duane Smith.
Guest speaker was Steven Chamblee, Horticulturist at Chandor Gardens. Steven brought a great slide show on native and adapted plants.He covered many areas of gardening including ground covers, grasses, perennials, shrubs, and trees. It was an outstanding presentation enjoyed by all.
Business meeting was called to order at 8:30 p.m.
Announcements: Speaker for the June meeting is Esther Procter owner of Procter Plant Land.
Old Business:
We were reminded of the field trips at the Smiths on May 19 and Jan Daniels on June 2 from 11:00 to 2:00. Brisket will be provided on May 19 with side dishes provided by members. Bring a sack lunch on June 2 field trip, drinks will be provided.
Directions will be emailed to members.
Cont.
New business:
A nominating committee will be appointed at June meeting to present a slate of officers for 2008. June will be the last meeting until we resume in September.
The vice-president is program chairman, and we need to let her know who or what we want for future programs.A treasurers report was given by Linda Morgan.Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Kate Measures-Sec.
CROSS TIMBERS MEETINGS
Second Thursday of the monthexcept July-Aug & Dec
June 14th 2007 we will meet at the Harberger HillCommunity Building 701 Narrow St. in
Weatherford, Texas Social at 6:30 P.M.
Come to Order at 7:00 P.M.
WEBSITES & LINKS
texasstar.org
npsot.org
nativeplant.org
FROM THE STATE------
NPSOT annual symposium, in Georgetown,
on Oct 18 thru 21 2007
To retrieve the Newsletter from the State website at map of the Chapters. Select @ open with MS Word
OFFICERS------
PRESIDENT: Duane Smith 817-220-8668
VICE PRESIDENT:Jan Daniels
SECRETARY: Kate Measures
TREASURER: Linda Morgan
PUBLIC RELATIONS: Homer Babbitt
HOSPITALITY PERSON: open
EDITOR: Jerry Reedy
Our Parker County Area West Cross Timbers and Fort Worth Prairie
Early travelers through north Texas coined the name "Cross Timbers" by their repeated crossings of these timbered areas that proved to be a barrier to their travel on the open prairies to the east and west.
Cont.
The location of the West Cross Timbers was well known by these early travelers who used them as points of reference for travel.
History of the vegetation on the landscape of these two Sub-Regions of North Central Texas has undergone significant changes over the past 150 years.
These geographical areas or " sub-regions" that extend thru the Parker county area are characterized in a large part by the terrain and soil types . These surface features have a large influence on what plant communities we may find in our area. Consequently, the diversity and configuration of plant communities on the landscape influence wildlife populations.
Sometimes plant communities can change dramatically within short distances resulting in different land use potential for livestock grazing, farming, wildlife management, or other uses.
Although habitat for wildlife is present throughout the ecological region as a whole, populations vary considerably within sub-regions. . Much of this sub-region contains habitat that supports populations of white-tailed deer and other wildlife species but fragmentation of wildlife habitat is also rapidly increasing in the eastern counties of the West Cross Timbers.
As the human population has increased within the last few years the F.W. prairie has undergone some drastic developmental changes. What were large land holdings are now being sold out to developers where it will be subdivided and sold as home building sites , farms and ranchettes. With the increased price of natural gas in the last decade the large gas fields all over north central Texas are being developed as well. We can expect that competition for food and cover with livestock, conversion of woodland habitat to Coastal Bermuda pastures or other mono-cultural enterprises, urban and rural developments, and lack of proper wildlife and habitat management will determine the density and diversity of native wildlife in this area.
Our Fort Worth Prairie
The Fort Worth Prairie is generally in eastern Parker county. It runs from western Cooke and eastern Montague counties on the north, southward to Hood county. It is mostly a treeless vegetative region characterized by gently sloping flat surface features with thin soil over hard layers of resistant
limestone. On the Fort Worth Prairie , shallow soils were formed over Cretaceous limestone parent
materials. Vast tall-grass native prairies once covered this region. Most grasslands have been degraded and remain only as remnants where shallow soils prevented cultivation. Considerable farming and livestock grazing operations were initiated by early
settlers in areas of sufficient soil depth. Extensive areas are still used for livestock grazing, but climax plant communities have been altered.
Features of the Fort Worth Prairie extend into the West Cross Timbers forming irregular eco-tones of diverse tree and brush species common to both zones. Extensive open grasslands and brushy rangelands occur in the West Cross Timbers sub-region.
Our West Cross Timbers
The West Cross Timbers vegetative sub-region, located immediately west of the Fort Worth Prairie extends from the Red River in Montague and Cooke countiessouth and southwestward to the Lampasas Cut Plain and west to the Rolling Plains.
This region was called the Upper Timbers by early travelers due to its higher elevation. Elevations across the region range from 500 to 1,500 feet.
Nearly all surface rocks of the North Central Texas were deposited during the Cretaceous Period (145-65 millions years ago). Soils of the East and West Cross Timbers were developed on sandy Cretaceous Woodbine and Trinity strata. Some exposed surface formations in the western part of the West Cross Timbers date from the 300-million-year-old
Pennsylvanian Period.
This sub-region has a complex geologic history, resulting in a variety of soil types, terrain features, and vegetative plant communities. The terrain in most of this sub-region is very hilly, with sandstone and limestone escarpments, steep slopes, and irregular surface features. Sandy loam soils can be extensive in some areas. Soils throughout the region are not uniform.
In other areas, limestone surface formations and shallow clay soils support grasslands and vegetative plant communities adapted to higher alkalinity.
Post oak\blackjack oak woodlands characterize much of the West Cross Timbers. In many places the traveler will find an almost impenetrable undergrowth of briers and other thorny bushes, not growing in a continuous forest, but interspersed with open glades, plateaus, and vistas of prairie scenery which can be very picturesque.
Other associated woody species include shin oak, Spanish oak, live oak, Texas ash, mesquite, osage orange, Ashe juniper, eastern red cedar, cedar elm,
skunkbush sumac, elbowbush, lotebush, tasajillo, rough-leafed dogwood, flame-leaf sumac, hawthorn, and hackberry Jreedy
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