The Brushy Creek Post

Springs at risk

brushycreekpost — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:47:11 +0000

I’ve heard that this region used to be dotted generously with springs, but that development had mostly changed all that. This week I learned of a very special spring that not only still flows, but is in imminent danger from a proposed gas station.

www.roundrocksprings.org

Heading south

brushycreekpost — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:45:48 +0000

Today is the day, it seems! Batch after batch of doves (though I don’t know what species) lifted off and flew in the same southerly direction, low overhead, barely above the treetops. They were in group of maybe about 20 birds. Throughout my morning bike ride, I saw another group heading the same way every 10 minutes or so. In the evening I saw another group overhead from my yard.

Things are getting hopping again…

brushycreekpost — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:52:32 +0000

It rained thirty-six hours ago. It’s easy for little B to talk me into excursions outside under these conditions, at 5 am, first thing after breakfast, midday. We scan for fall rain lilies, wander far and claim the clouds’ soft noon embrace. There are tracks galore in thanks to the beautiful mud. Today we harvested prickly pears, and spent enough time down low to spot leaves and buds poking up from the renewed ground, just an inch high. We’ll check back often to see what they are.

Season updates

brushycreekpost — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:50:37 +0000

Tall, crispy golden grass still graces the greenbelt open spaces a week into March. I think there’s going to be one more mow before the wildflower cycle takes its show above ground, because I don’t remember this backdrop last year.

What I noticed:

Lots of rainlily leaves (or are they copper lily leaves from the fall?)

Juniper berries very plump, with a nice squirt if you squeeze them

One purple-flowering Anemone over at Pepper Rock, no primroses yet

My favorite prickly pear seems to have survived last year’s mowing

Thoughts on the recycling program

brushycreekpost — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:28:35 +0000

Four months in, Brushy Creek MUD’s opt-in program of single stream recycling has a fair amount of participation in our neighborhood, but not close to all yet. What really doesn’t make sense to me these days is an economic issue. Why do we cart recyclables to the landfill (a long-term cost and liability to the community) at no additional cost to the consumer, while we charge the consumer to have the same recyclables carted to a recycling facility (a long-term benefit to the community)?

Brushy Creek bats

brushycreekpost — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:00:46 +0000

Little B and I attended the Brushy Creek Bat Festival yesterday, which was a combination of just-for-fun community gathering and education about our local bats. Little B made some bat-shaped crafts and listened to a read-aloud of “The Bat in the Boot.” We learned that the species residing in our greenbelts include the little brown myotis, little brown bat, Mexican free tail, and Eastern pipistrelle, and that there are many more caves than just the one encircled by a tall fence near the viewing deck along the BC Community Park Greenbelt trail.

Recycling decision

brushycreekpost — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:34:45 +0000

The BC MUD Board voted to go subscription-only, not district-wide, with the new recycling program. Residents need to sign up and pay $4 a month (an increase of $2 for subscribers to the previous recycling program) to get and use the new lidded carts.

After the rain…

brushycreekpost — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:00:23 +0000

Heavy rains last night and into the morning. Looking forward to getting out to the creeks!

Brushy Creek recycling

brushycreekpost — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:48:31 +0000

New lidded carts coming to Brushy Creek MUD will reduce recyclables being blown away from open bins and into streams, as well as increase the number of items that can be recycled curbside. MUD directors are still deliberating whether to offer the new carts only as a subscription program or to standardize it as with garbage collection. Ralph Rocco from Round Rock Refuse, which will be providing this single-stream recycling service, told me that the City of Round Rock just unanimously approved the program (whole city, not subscription) for their jurisdiction.

The final vote about how to implement the program will (finally) be taken at the Sept. 9th board meeting. If you want to speak up for improving Brushy Creek recycling and especially for making sure we go district-wide on this, be at the Community Center promptly at 6pm for the opening citizen comments.

Last day of July

brushycreekpost — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:12:05 +0000

No surface water at all in BCCP Greenbelt today, despite the very heavy rains on Wednesday. We haven’t been through there since the rain, so I don’t know whether the water has already come through and dried up, or if it never made it into the channels here. Just on Thursday the myriad Bull Creek tributaries lacing Great Hills Park were all a-bubbling over rocks and flowing steadily.

We saw a copper lily up already, not in the greenbelt but along the roadside on O’Connor.

Some Opuntia individuals have fruit ripening, while others’ fruit is still green. Our beloved orange-flowering nopal plant was suddenly laden with ripe tunas (all had still been green just 12 days back), but … was also knocked down by the mower that’s come through. I plucked some of the tunas to take home, not knowing how our plant will fare after this incident.

Texas persimmon fruit is in full syrupy glory, both around the neighborhood and in the greenbelt.