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Erin

Coddiwompling through life, guided by my love of nature and insatiable curiosity.

Ripe

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Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangensis), Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Tivoli, Texas July 2019

A couple months back I stumbled across some green Mustang Grapes and it made me so very curious to taste them once they ripened. Well, I finally got my wish a couple weeks back. The plump fruit was juicy and mildly sweet though the skin was quite tart. I employed a technique I learned as a kid when eating Concord grapes off the vines in our yard; I popped the entire globe in my mouth, sucked out the tender flesh, and spit out the skin (so not only were the grapes delicious, they were fun to eat, too).

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Fuzzy Friends

I met these two fine young males at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge a couple weeks ago. I’m basing my super-scientific age guesstimate on the fact that they are near the end of their antler growing period and only have small racks.

In case you didn’t know, antler growth is controlled by photoperiod (length of day) and typically starts in March. Testosterone levels begin to rise in August, as the days grow shorter, which signals the end of antler growing (just in time for mating season).

Did you know that antlers are the fastest growing tissue among mammals? In just 120 days they can grow over 200 inches. That incredible spurt requires excellent nutrition which is provided by the vascular tissue (aka velvet). As the antlers harden, the velvet is shed, becoming a highly nutritious snack scavenged by all manner of wildlife.

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Super Sorghum

Grain Sorghum Fields Near Tivoli, Texas July 2019

Drive inland from the beach a few miles and you are surrounded by fields. Interspersed between cattle pastures the main crops are cotton, corn, and grain sorghum. Of the three, grain sorghum (aka milo to the farmers) is by far the most eye appealing.

I can see why milo is a preferred crop out here, it’s drought-tolerant, cheaper to grow than cotton or GMO corn, and works as a good rotation crop (increasing future cotton yields by 26% according to a recent Texas A&M study). Milo is one of Texas’ top ten agricultural commodities and it is the 4th most produced cereal grain in the world, with the US leading in output. Sorghum is super!

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Party Progression

I recently met Shelby at an outdoor venue where my friend’s band was playing a gig.  Shelby started out looking pretty put together but as the night wore on Shelby’s do started to slip. By the end of the night she was akimbo and things were askew. Come on, fess up, we’ve all had a night like that, right?

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Cartilaginous Fish Parts

Shark Vertebra, Top View
Side View, Port Aransas, TX June 2019

Since shark skeletons are comprised of cartilage not bone, their parts aren’t that commonly found on the beach. The one exception to that rule is shark teeth, but those are made of dentin, a calcified material which is harder than bone. (Side note: The average shark goes through over 25,000 teeth in a lifetime.)

As you can see in the first photo, the cartilage is added in layers, which creates a tree-ring-like signature that can aid in assessing the shark’s age. Some researchers are even extrapolating environmental information from the isotopes captured in each ring. Nature is so cool!

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