Pond critters at Houston Arboretum

While successful Houston a mates of weeks ago, with a fewer hours to kill, I heeded the telephone of nature. That is, I visited Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, an oasis for wildlife, autochthonal plants, and radical who bask quality strolls and birding. This 155-acre refuge with 5 miles of trails is escaped (with paid parking) and located successful Memorial Park, conscionable westbound of downtown successful our nation’s 4th largest city.

Located connected the Gulf Coast, Houston is acold wetter than Austin, with 50 inches of yearly precipitation that falls regularly, versus Austin’s dry-dry-dry-flood 36 inches. It’s besides susceptible to hurricanes and tempest surges. Protecting and restoring wetlands and coastal prairie reduces the hazard of flooding successful municipality areas and is important to Houston’s future. At the Arboretum you tin research some wetlands and coastal prairie ecosystems, on with wooded areas that gave the Arboretum its name.

At the entranceway to the quality center, a marsh on the way glows with the backlit foliage of wetland plants similar iris. Lifelike metallic cattails creatively show the names of donors.

Nearby, a monolithic crape myrtle splays a silvery nebula of roots crossed the soil.

With constricted time, I randomly chose the Wildflower Trail, which soon led maine to a squiggly boardwalk traversing South Woodway Pond.

Here I got held up, watching section residents — bullfrogs, h2o snakes, turtles, dragonflies, birds, and much — arsenic they croaked, swam, basked, and flitted astir the pond.

The deep, groaning vocalizations of bullfrogs springiness the content of a overmuch larger carnal — though bullfrogs are ample by frog standards.

I saw 4 snakes successful astir 30 minutes of wandering astir the ponds. For those with a fearfulness of snakes, cognize that you’re up connected a boardwalk, and it’s fascinating to ticker these harmless creatures successful their habitat.

Pond works flowering

An anole missing portion of its process — grounds of a constrictive flight from a predator? — was hanging retired connected a woody post.

I adore these bold, lime-green lizards. They aren’t peculiarly skittish and often look curious, allowing a person photograph.

A 2nd pond, the North Woodway Pond, offers much wildlife-watching opportunities.

Like this orderly enactment of turtles basking connected a log.

While enjoying the ponds I heard different visitors talking astir the Kinder Land Bridge, which I’d seen by car. I hadn’t realized it was nearby, but I googled it and saw I could locomotion there. I exited the Arboretum done the Woodway Drive gross and strolled on a walking way to it, astir a 3rd of a mile away. I’ll stock that successful my adjacent post.

The Houston Arboretum is located successful Memorial Park, with entrances astatine 4501 Woodway Drive and 120 West Loop North Freeway. It’s unfastened regular from 7 americium to dusk. The quality center, with displays of autochthonal plants and animals and a publication shop, is unfastened regular from 9 americium to 4 pm. Admission is free, but parking costs $5.50 per vehicle, unless you’re a subordinate and past it’s free. Parking is escaped for everyone connected Thursdays, but beryllium alert that spaces are limited.

If you sojourn with kids successful tow, don’t miss the amusive playground adjacent the quality center.

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The station Pond critters astatine Houston Arboretum appeared archetypal connected Digging.