-TSG
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the field day at the SnK Wildlife Reserve in April. We appreciate everyone’s willingness to share their experiences and expertise with us and look forward to being able to pass that knowledge along to others as they begin their journey in wildlife management. We always enjoy learning more about the place and get a sense of pride when a biologist sees something that excites them. If you were in attendance, please drop us a comment and tell us what you thought or of any suggestions you might have. We’re always looking for ways to improve these events as we plan to continue hosting them for years to come.
Earlier in April while Mom was visiting us up here in the DFW area, she accompanied us on our first foray with North Texas Mycological Association. Wild mushroom identification has been something that’s interested me for a while and I knew it was something my grandfather, mom’s dad, had been good pretty good at. She remembers him pointing out which ones were safe to eat so her and my aunt could help gather them for their next meal but neither of us are confident enough in our IDs these days to trust eating anything we find. Right before we went down to help with the last SnK field day, her area had gotten some decent rain which led to an impromptu foray when her and I took a 4-wheeler ride through the back of the property. We couldn’t go far without finding something new and had to stop to investigate and photograph each one, there’s so much variety when it comes to shrooms. Many thanks to the folks with NTMA for helping with the identifications.
After about a 12-year hiatus due to being heavily overgrazed, cattle have returned to the SnK. We’ve been learning so much about sustainable land-management practices and the benefits fewer head of cattle can create for wildlife; they upturn and aerate the soil, help spread the seeds of native plants as well as provide fertilizer, all promoting healthier vegetation. They create pockets within thick grasses for ground birds and other small animals to shelter and cut trails through heavy brush for easier travel. We look forward to seeing how this new relationship will support our vision for the reserve, they happen to be pretty cute and we enjoy seeing them around the place
Awhile back I came across an advertisement for a company that makes big stamps and has a package for printing apparel, I thought it was a great idea for new SnK “staff” shirts. I’ve done small batch screen printing before but didn’t have a way to permanently set the design on my screen so it was really only practical to print a few shirts of the same design, once. With the Field Day coming up, I did some research and decided on a seller on Etsy. I’m so happy with how it turned out and how quick and easy they were to work with. The stamp printed beautifully using fabric block printing ink and opens up the possibilities for us to do SnK merch on the fly.
Shoutout to my friend Jessica, owner of The Weathered Peach, for making the front and back cover for the new SnK visitor log. She’s always so easy to work with and delivers exactly what I ask for. I really appreciate her willingness to do all these random custom orders for me. Everything she’s done has been absolutely fantastic, she did the donation box we had done last year as well and we couldn’t be happier with how they both turned out.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWeatheredPeach https://www.facebook.com/theweatheredpeach/
Whipped up some Thank You cards for donations we receive for the 501(c)(3).
