Oops. Technical difficulties. Check out this link to NBC story on the Step Up program!
http://ow.ly/6Gitf

Check out this news clip featuring Camp Fire’s Step Up program that received $20,000 from rhe NBC Universal Foundation.

Thank you to all who donated to Camp Fire on 9/15 – N. Tx. Giving Day. Thanks to you, we raised $54,221 (before the matching gift) to build caring, confident youth and future leaders. Our donors are amazing! #donorbridge @donorbridge

Armadillo is a fun word to say. It means “little armored one” in Spanish. They are also very fun animals to see. Armadillos are small mammals with a shell of armor. It’s more like leather than real armor so they are still able to move around. They have sharp claws, short legs, and a pointy snout. They live in the ground in spaces they dig themselves called burrows.

Photo taken at Camp El Tesoro by Heather Pitts

The armadillos we have in this part of the country are called Nine-Banded Armadillos, and they’re also the Texas State Small Mammal (the Texas State Large Mammal is the Longhorn).

Armadillos have poor vision, so they rely on their other senses to protect them and help them find food. Armadillos use their sharp claws to dig in the ground for food – mainly invertebrates like grubs, insects, termites, worms, ants, and beetles. We see evidence of this at Camp El Tesoro near the creek, on trails, and anywhere else that has moist soil. You can tell that an armadillo has been there because there will be lots of small holes in the ground.

Armadillo Holes. Photo by Wildlife Control.

The armadillo has a few different defense mechanisms. When startled, they will jump in the air then flee to safety. This is helpful when scrounging around the forest and can jump and escape into some thorny bushes, but not so helpful when they’re startled by a moving vehicle. Guess what happens when they jump then…

Another way they defend themselves is to get into water. If they move quickly enough and can find a creek or pond to get into, they have the ability to remain underwater for up to six minutes. When they can finally come out into the open, they have to bring air into its stomach and intestines so that the armadillo will become buoyant and float to the top of the water.

 

Nine-Banded Armadillo. Photo by Jerry Segraves.

 

Humans have to be careful around living or dead armadillos. Armadillos are known to carry leprosy – a bacterial infection that armadillos are susceptible to due to their fairly low body temperature. Humans can get it by handling living or dead armadillos or by consuming armadillo meat.

What I Found The Most Interesting About Armadillos: Delayed Implantation and Polyembryony. The first term means that armadillos can get pregnant during breeding season (summer months), but the babies don’t start to develop until the fertilized egg attaches, generally in November. Polyembryony is a phenomenon that is normally present in armadillos: most litters are four identical quadruplets.

Photo taken outside NASA. Photo by NASA/Ken Thornsley.

Here are some links if you’d like to read more about armadillos:

https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/index.html

http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/dasynove.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/armadillo/

 http://www.wildlife.pro/digging-lawn.html

Questions about this post:

1. Since armadillos do not have a strong sense of sight, which sense do you think is the strongest?
2. What does it mean to have a defense mechanism? Do all mammals have one?
3. What should you do if you see an armadillo? What time of day are you most likely to spot them?

Animal Tracks at Shannah’s Lagoon

 

Photo courtesy of NASA - taken during the Apollo 17 mission

Friday, April 22^nd, is Earth Day! You’ve most likely heard about Earth Day, planted a tree, made a craft with recycled supplies, or even planned an organized trash pick-up. But how did Earth Day first get started? 

The first Earth Day was April 22^nd, 1970. It was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson (from Wisconsin). He had actually been working on the idea for Earth Day for years before the first official Earth Day in 1970.

“Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political “limelight” once and for all.” – Senator Gaylord Nelson

How can you celebrate Earth Day?

• Plant trees and other native plants
• Make nature crafts
• Learn more about the environment
• Reduce, Reuse and Recycle all day long
• Recycle or donate your old toys, games, and clothes
• Take a walk and pick up trash
• Share a story or song about the Earth
• Ride a bike or walk instead of driving in a car
• Make a video about Earth Day
• Reduce your waste – try to not throw anything away
• Don’t think you create much trash? Carry around a trash bag with you all day to see how much you really do throw away!

What are your ideas for how to celebrate Earth Day?

This post could also be titled “Different Perspectives in Nature Photography.”

During Spring Break Day Camp at Camp El Tesoro, I had a few minutes to spare while a group was on their way to RuLoHo for Arts and Crafts.

I always carry my digital camera with me, so I grabbed it and headed just off the porch. I love the colors that come out during the Springtime, so I headed to the nearest colorful plant I could see – the Redbud.

The Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a large shrub/small tree found in the eastern part of the country. It typically grows to 20 to 30 feet tall. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches. The bark is dark in color and fairly smooth. The twigs of the Redbud are slender and zigzag and nearly black.

Photo taken by Heather Pitts at Camp El Tesoro.

Most of the year, I hardly notice this plant since it blends in with the other brown plants. However, sometime in March, usually near the beginning of Spring, you can definitely tell you’re looking at a Redbud because of the flowers!

Photo taken by Heather Pitts at Camp El Tesoro.

The flowers are very bright, light to dark pink in color, and fairly short (around 1/2 an inch). The flowers show up before the green leaves, which makes the shrub that much more impressive.

Photo taken by Heather Pitts at Camp El Tesoro.

I’ve taken some of my best pictures during down times like this one – it also helps to be very patient. I was apparently standing so still, that a few butterflies flew onto the plant and I was able to get a great shot:

Butterfly on Redbud -Photo taken by Heather Pitts at Camp El Tesoro - Click for a larger picture

Tips for taking a great nature photograph:

1. Be Patient! Take your time to figure out how you want your picture to look and don’t rush it. If I had rushed, I never would have gotten a butterfly to land within 6 inches of me.

2. Always Carry Your Camera! I keep mine in my pocket for easy access – I can also go a little overboard and take 100+ pictures a day. If you don’t have your camera, you can’t take a picture.

3. Take Multiple Pictures of the Same Subject! I do this for a few reasons – on the little display screen on the back of my digital camera, sometimes the pictures look fine, but when I load them onto my computer, they’re blurry. I also like seeing the same thing from different perspectives – like this series of photos shows.

What is your favorite nature subject to photograph? Leave your response in the comment section!

Today is March 2nd, also known as Texas Independence Day. It was on this day back in 1836 (175 years ago!!) that settlers in the territory of Texas signed a document declaring independence from Mexico. Thus, the Republic of Texas was created!

The Republic of Texas lasted from 1836 until 1845. In 1845, Texas entered into the United States of America, becoming the 28th State!

In celebration of Texas Independence Day, here are some very “Texan” things about Camp El Tesoro:

• It would take you 2 days and 8 hours to walk from Camp El Tesoro to the Texas Capital in Austin.
• The word “Texas” is based on a word used by the Caddo Indians meaning “friends” – and Camp El Tesoro is a great place to make friends!
• Highest Point in Texas = Guadalupe Peak – 8,747 feet above sea level.
• Highest Point at El Tesoro = Mount Loma – 790 feet above sea level.
• The Texas State Flower is the Bluebonnet – which can be seen by the thousands at different points around camp.

Bluebonnets at El Tesoro - photo taken by a member of the Fort Worth Camera Club

• The Texas State Tree is the Pecan Tree – which can be seen at camp. We also have identified more than 20 other species of trees!
• The Texas State Small Mammal is the Armadillo – here’s a picture of one I encountered right next to the Swinging Bridge!

The Armadillo is the Texas State Small Mammal - the Large Mammal is the Longhorn. Photo by Heather Pitts.

• The Texas State Plant is Prickly Pear Cactus – their fruit is edible when ripe - watch out for the prickles, though! 

This is the fruit (called Tuna) of the Prickly Pear Cactus. Photo by Sara Hatch.

Instead of a quiz, I’ll leave you with some fun Texas Facts.

1. El Paso, Texas, is closer to California than it is to Dallas.
2. The average yearly rainfall total in West Texas is 8 inches; in East Texas it’s 56 inches. That’s a 4 foot difference!
3. Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it – Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States of America.
4. The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the whole state of Rhode Island.
5. Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation, which means that Texas is allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the United States flag!

If you have ever been to Camp El Tesoro and walked our trails, you know that erosion can really affect the way the paths move and wind through the camp. That’s because erosion is the process of moving solids (such as rock and dirt) from one place to another. This can happen naturally through wind, rain, ice, gravity, and even by living creatures.

Discovery Trail at Camp El Tesoro

Erosion is completely natural, but the disturbance on the Earth has been dramatically increased by humans. The best way to limit your impact on the Earth is to help it to remain as green and beautiful as possible. That means walking on the middle of trails, not the sides where plants are trying to grow. That also means not creating your own trails through the woods and limiting the amounts of plants you damage by walking on them.

Trail to the Brazos River

 

Weathering, as opposed to erosion, is the process where rocks, soil, and minerals get broken down into smaller pieces. While weathering can occur in many different ways, the most common type we see at Camp El Tesoro is people breaking up rocks.

Sandstone of Mt. Loma

We are very lucky to have Mt. Loma at our camp. From the top you have a great view of the whole camp and surrounding area. Mt. Loma has been a popular hiking destination since the camp opened in 1934. The predominant type of rock that makes up Mt. Loma is sandstone. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock that is made up of small rock grains or minerals. Depending on the exposure of the sandstone to the natural elements, it can be very easy to weather down. Sometimes just rubbing the rocks with a stick can cause them to turn to sand! When we’re talking about a great hill that many generations have had a chance to visit, it’s important to keep the rock as intact as possible so that we can still have a Mt. Loma for 77 more years!

Campers on Mt. Loma at Camp El Tesoro

Erosion and weathering are natural processes, but human impact has sped up the effects of erosion tremendously. One of the things that Camp El Tesoro is doing to help lessen our effect is building water bars. A water bar is a feature designed into trails or roadways to help prevent erosion. The bars help to break up the distance that water can travel, slowing it down so it causes less damage to the path. They are often built diagonally across the surface so that it directs the flow of water away from the trail.

Water Bars on the Nature Trail at Camp El Tesoro

Questions about the post:

1. What does the term erosion mean, and why can it be harmful?
2. What does the term weathering mean, and what is an example of weathering?
3. Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock. What are the other two major types of rocks?
4. What is the job of a water bar?
5. Why are water bars important?

 Oh, the dragonfly. Just like the Horse Apple, I could make a joke and mix a dragon with a fly. I won’t do that though, because dragonflies can’t breathe fire.

A dragonfly is an insect that has large eyes. Their eyes are multifaceted and usually touch. They have two pairs of transparent wings with an elongated body. They have six legs, but don’t walk well.

Dragonflies are predators in the insect world – they eat mosquitoes, flies, bees, ants, and sometimes butterflies.  Adult dragonflies are harmless to humans – they will not bite or sting you.

Close up of an orange dragonfly – picture taken by David R. Tribble

 

Dragonflies lay their eggs in the water. Sometimes the dragonfly will completely submerge themselves into the water to lay their eggs on a good strong surface. Other times a floating leaf or other plant will do.

These eggs will then hatch into nymphs, the larvae stage of their life cycle. Dragonflies actually spend much of their lives as nymphs (up to 5 years!). While in the water, they eat other invertebrates like tadpoles and tiny fish.

Red dragonfly taken by Victor Korniyenko

 

Once the dragonfly nymph is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it has to climb out of the water where it is exposed to air. It then starts breathing and the skin splits. Out comes a fully grown dragonfly ready to hunt. Even though they have spent as many as 5 years as a nymph, most dragonflies only live in their adult form for 6 months or less.

Dragonfly caught in a spider web. Picture taken by Heather Pitts at Camp El Tesoro.

Here’s a link to a great website that describes the life cycle of the dragonfly: http://www.dragonfly-site.com/dragonfly-life-cycle.html

Fun Fact: The fastest dragonfly ever, the Southern Giant Darner, has been estimated to fly at nearly 60 miles per hour!

Hovering Dragonfly taken by Dieter.

Questions:

1. What are characteristics that all insects have in common?
2. What is the definition of an invertebrate?
3. What does it mean to metamorphose? What other insects go through metamorphosis?
4. What does it mean to have multifaceted eyes?
5. What are the different parts of the life cycle of the dragonfly?

Leave your answers, more questions, and comments in the comment section. See you next time!