U.S. Highway 290 originally followed the old stage coach route west from Junction, through Sonora and Ozona, across the western end of the Edwards Plateau. It then wound down the steep western escarpment of the Plateau adjacent to Fort Lancaster, before crossing the Pecos River.
If you get off I-10 and take old Highway 290 west today, just before you drop off the Plateau into the valley of the Pecos, there is a scenic roadside picnic spot.
We would like thank both the Mason Friends of the Library and the Mason Study Club for all of their fundraising work these past few weeks. We are truly fortunate to have two great groups to support our library! Next week, the library will close at noon on Wednesday, November 24, and will remain closed for Thursday and Friday to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Did you ever wonder what plants provide food for which wildlife species? And what kinds of food they provide? For grazers and browsers there are three categories of food; browse (tree and shrub leaves), forbs (weeds and wildflowers), and grass. Other types of foods for various species are berries and fruits of all kinds, seeds, and insects.
Since junipers and hardwoods constitute the largest amount of biomass in our area, let’s start there.
I would like to recommend a book for those of you who seriously save seeds, beginners or those of us who have saved for generations. Many rules have changed from my grandparents’ day. They just grew with know-how and wisdom passed along from gardener to gardener- often in the same family.
…your spouse asks, “Where are we going to worship today?”
…you wear a T-shirt with the inscription: “My rod and my reel, they comfort me.”
…you're invited to 50th anniversaries of weddings you performed.
…your last congregation retires your robe.
…you realize retirement is having nothing to do– and the rest of your life to do it in.
…you actually look forward to hearing the phone ring.
…you realize wisdom doesn't necessarily come with old age– sometimes o ...
It must be winter now. Football for our little town is over for another year. Our beloved Punchers lost their playoff game Friday night. We watched our little screen in disbelief as the game unfolded. They had a great season. We always want them to go to Cowboy Stadium, but it was not to be this year.
Apologies are rarely easy or fun, but I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to offer the occasional mea culpa. A couple of weeks ago I wrote that not all of the 30,000 delegates to the climate change summit in Glasgow traveled on private jets. That made it sound like most of them probably flew their personal Gulfstream G700s to the conference.
On November 9, the Mason Lions Club met for their weekly club meeting at Nacho’s.
One of the worker Lions at the recent Lions hamburger sale on the Square announced that income from the sale to be used for Service to the Mason community was higher than previously reported. This Lion also reported that Lion Sheriff Joe Lancaster and his wife Kelley donated to the Lions Club all of the “fixins” for the sale, including meat, buns, vegetables, drinks, etc.
Deep under the Edwards Plateau, from enormous caves to tiny fissures in porous rock, lie giant underground reservoirs of water, known as aquifers. The rocks that form an aquifer contain spaces and openings that hold water. The spaces are formed mostly from the action of water dissolving parts of the rock through millions of years.
Yes, I know, certain bacteria and fungi can cause disease, both in animals and plants, and it is these detrimental aspects we normally think of first. But there are also many species of beneficial bacteria and fungi that we very much need and want to keep healthy. We have all seen the ads that tout the beneficial effects of bacteria (although the ads never use that word) in the proper functioning of our digestive systems.
We all know that the ultimate source of everything we eat is plants, ...
