April at MeadowKnoll

LifeScapes 7, April 2024

Hi—Here is April’s “LifeScapes” post (with a free preview for free subscribers). I’ll be back in your inbox on Wednesday with the fourth episode of “The Khat Who Became a Hero.” If you’re looking for my short fiction, you’ll find it here, on the Short Reads tab. (All the stories are there, if you’d like to reread or share.) If you’d like to choose which publications you receive from me, you can do that here.

Each place is its own place, forever (eventually) wild.
—Gary Snyder

It’s spring in the Texas Hill Country, the loveliest time of the year. And since my posts have been a bit text-heavy recently, I thought we might all enjoy a little break—more pictures than text.

Come and walk with me along the creek, and we’ll see what April at MeadowKnoll—our place in spring—looks like.

April begins with bluebonnets. This is Lazarus Meadow, along the creek. It’s named for an ancient mesquite tree that continues to resurrect itself after we’ve declared it dead. For the next weeks, carpeted with bluebonnets.

Our 31 acres were once part of a 5000-acre ranch. Here, we’re pausing for a look south into an adjoining ranch. The woods to the right border the creek. Last week I saw 5 turkey buzzards perched on the pole over the gate. They like spring, too.

The mint growing along the bank came from a small clump I found in an Arkansas stream many years ago.

We’ve had an unusual rainfall this spring, and Pecan Creek is running bank-full. Serenely, transparently clear, too. I saw a blue heron fishing here the other evening—fruitlessly, I’m sure. This seasonal little creek dried up last year and I don’t think the minnows and crawdads are back yet.

I’ve read that the flowers make a yellow dye—haven’t tried it.

But the yellow flags are blooming. They’re native but aggressive and a threat to small waterways, where the mass of tubers can block the stream’s flow. But I confess to loving their artful fragility, so I defend this little clump. A lovely spot for them, moist and shady, with a rough-leaf dogwood arching over and the tiny blossoms of blue-eyed grass scattered across the bank. The dogwood bloomed a few weeks ago. By July, it will bear pearl-white berries—a feast for the birds.

A little farther up the creek . . .