My grandmother use to say that even chickens have enough sense not to stand in the July sun...or something like that. Luckily we started our tour of the Gardens of Connemara before it actually reached 100 degrees.
Sign pointing to Connemara Meadow
Our tour was guided by Conservationist, Rich Jaynes who volunteers at the garden and explained the history of Connemara. Following is an excerpt from the Connemara Conservancy's webiste:
The Gardens of Connemara represents more than 140 acres of meadows, wildlife habitat, ecosystems, woodland gardens, tree farms and agricultural land protected by a conservation easement that guarantees the land will be preserved forever in its natural state. The Gardens are an important part of Montgomery Farm, a 500-acre conservation development whose residents live, work and play in a place of unspoiled beauty. For over six decades, Montgomery Farm was a beloved retreat for the Williams family that served as a family farm and place to be one with nature. Now, as a legal agreement between the land owners and the Connemara Conservancy, The Gardens of Connemara conservation easement ensures the property will be protected and managed according to the landowner's wishes while preserving the family's agricultural heritage and conservation values.
Connemara Conservancy was founded in 1981 with an initial gift of 72 acres by Frances (Montgomery) Williams on the border of Allen and Plano called the Connemara Meadow Preserve, or simply, The Meadow.
Ahead of her time for the area, Frances became concerned that her family's land was in jeopardy of succumbing to the almost unstoppable "urban sprawl". By protecting the Meadow forever, Frances gave us the gift and opportunity to experience and understand Texas as it was, as it would be without us, and as we'd all want it to be. The Meadow will forever remain in its natural state as an open window to the environment where we live.
Connemara soon realized the need for large-scale conservation throughout the North Texas area. As a result, it became one of Texas' first land trusts, a qualified organization to hold conservation easements on private land in partnership with willing landowners. Connemara is now one of over 40 land trusts working to preserve natural lands throughout Texas. It is also the only regional land trust focusing solely on North Texas preservation.
Before we started we signed in a gave our feet and legs a quick application of sulfur powder to repel chiggers and ticks which are a part of nature but a nuisance to humans.
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| Gathering at the trail head to get ready for our nature walk. |
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Lions and tigers and tall Canadians oh my! |
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Mr. Jaynes explained how non-native species of trees such as China Berry and Chinese Privet can invade and overcome native trees. He pointed out the enormous native Burr Oaks on the property that tower over all the other trees. He also explained some of the properties of Bois D'Arc trees and how they historically have been used for archery bows and foundation piers for Texas houses. Mr. Jaynes also explained that the dead Bois D'Arc trees that we were seeing had naturally reached the end of their lives and were now going back to provide nutrients for the soil and cover for native animals.
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Here's a dead tree trunk that a bird has turned into a home. |
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Rowlett Creek |
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Rowlett creek runs through the midst of the property providing an environment for aquatic life such as fish, turtles and frogs. About 40 acres of the property in within the 100 year floodplain. When flood waters overrun the creek banks water bourn nutrients important to plant growth are deposited.
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Black Walnut on the bank of Rowlett Creek |
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Conservationist Rich Jaynes points out a raptor nest beside the meadow. |
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| A sample of native grass that has been reintroduced to Connemara Meadow |
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The “meadow” was thought to have been cleared originally for cotton farming and once the nutrients had been depleted to the point where the soil would no longer support cotton growth that it was probably converted into grazing land for cattle. It’s mind boggling to consider how difficult it must have been for settlers to clear all the trees and underbrush that would have originally covered what is now the meadow with hand tools and animals of burden like horses, mules or oxen. We were told that the only natural way that meadow land is cleared of trees is by fire due to lightning strikes. The landowners planted Johnson Grass and Tall Fescue for cattle grazing which are non-native grasses, are very invasive, and have pushed out the native prairie grasses such as Big Blue Stem and Yellow Indian Grass. Conservationist volunteers have started native grass plants from seeds and transplanted them at certain areas in the meadow. Mr. Jaynes spoke frequently about how difficult it was to remove the Johnson Grass and reintroduce native grasses to the meadow. In one area in the center of the meadow native grasses are quite prominent and it is believed that the grass may have survived under the drip line of a pecan tree because the soil under crop trees was left undisturbed when planting other crops nearby. Any evidence of the tree was long gone except for the native grass. As time moves forward the trees slowly encroach on the meadow. Another native grass that grows in the shade of the trees along the bank of Rowlett Creek is Virginia Wild Rice.
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A Red Tail hawk cries as we pass its roost in the top of a willow tree in the Connemara Meadow |
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