CRR

-“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.”  Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.

There it is.  A simple log bridge, barely discernable from the surrounding woods.  Nestled  amidst the timber like some animal’s camouflaged nest.  It is not decorative landscape, but a functional part of the land.  It is not the work of nature, yet it relates. Warm and inviting; like a summer rain.  I wonder who uses this bridge?  What a delicacy for the casual hiker; a singular gift to surprise and delight. 

Pines and Prairies Land Trust and the Industrial Asset Management Council service project committee is growing a native plant demonstration garden at the Colorado River Refuge (CRR) near Tahitian Village in Bastrop.

From left to right: Priscilla Jarvis (PPLT Board Member), Carrie Knox (PPLT Executive Director), Johnny Rucker (Bastrop Co. Sign Shop), Com. Willie Pena (Bastrop County Precinct Commissioner), Dale Morrison (Friends of the CRR), Smitty Covey (PPLT Board Member), Robert Vaughn (Friends of the CRR), Jeremiah Jarvis (PPLT President of the Board), Jenny Seegers (PPLT Intern), and Dave Quinn (BEDC Executive Director)

A Great Egret, ever lithe and graceful, enjoys a little private time in the early morning sun.  Upstream, turtles jostle for places on a shard of protruding old log, like delegates to an important convention.  The Colorado bids a sleepy hello to the day as it gently glides by, on its unhurried way to a greater destiny. Overhead a red-tailed hawk alights a snag on the opposite bank, scattering a frenzied blizzard of crows.  These are but a few of the delights snatched in a moment’s glance—completely casual and unpremeditated.

If you have not visited the Colorado River Refuge in a while, or if you have never visited, now is a great time to check out the Refuge. Thanks to the Friends of the Colorado River Refuge, the Lost Pines Master Naturalists, the Bastrop chapter of the Texas Outdoors Women’s Network (TOWN), various scout groups and other caring volunteers, the Refuge is looking great! All the trails along the river are open and easy to walk along – even in sandals or pushing a stroller!

by Raymond Butler Andrew Masters' Eagle Scout project, building a bridge at the Colorado River Refuge on the Dragonfly trail, was a long time in coming. "Building a bridge on protected land can be a long process, gaining approval and the paper work involved took just about a year and a half" said Andrew, "the actual hands on building took approximately a month to gather and build the components; Then two days of work on site". Like any project involving wood work, quite a bit had to be done off site and prior to the scheduled work date.

Calling all Naturalists! Pines and Prairies Land Trust, in partnership with the Lost Pines Master Naturalists, is having another work day at the always beautiful and interesting Colorado River Refuge just outside of Bastrop.Trail master Dale Morrison and his loyal cadre of volunteers have been carving out a new trail system at the upstream end of the Colorado River Refuge. They have created about 1.5 miles of new trail, cleaned up trash, cut lots of weeds and made a great, unique trail.

The Colorado River Refuge has some new volunteers that have jumped into the poison ivy with both feet. Pines and Prairies Land Trust is pleased to welcome Jim Estes and J.J. "Nick" Nichols into our group of wonderful supporters who care for the CRR. Jim and Nick have generously agreed to keep the entire Colorado River Refuge trail system weed and poison ivy free for 2010. They have taken on this project to help provide community service as graduates of the Lost Pines Master Naturalist program.