Winter Texan Times

Learn to Bird workshop set Oct. 23-25 in Del Rio

Written by Susan Himes, TAMU

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be holding a multi-day workshop for beginning birders Oct. 23-25 in Del Rio. Learn to Bird will feature focused birding trips lead by professional guide Bryan Calk and educational presentations by AgriLife Extension faculty. Space is limited to 11 participants.

Maureen Frank, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist in Uvalde, and Emily Grant, AgriLife Extension agent for Val Verde County, created Learn to Bird in response to feedback from the AgriLife Extension Virtual Birding Seminar.

When do you need to water your yard?

Written by Kay Ledbetter, TAMU

Heading into the heat of the summer, homeowners begin asking, “how much do I need to water my yard.” Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s WaterMyYard program has a new, free mobile app just for that purpose.

When does the grass need watered? There’s an app for that.

“This app has several enhancements compared to the WaterMyYard website-based program we’ve offered the past few years which should improve user experience and the accuracy of water recommendations, including push notifications directly to the mobile device as well as texts and emails,” said Guy Fipps, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension irrigation engineer, College Station.

Online Acting Class at Pharr Community Theater this month

Ensemble of actors at PCT The Pharr Community Theater (PCT) is offering eight 1/2 hour online acting classes from July 6, 2020 to July 31, 2020 for kids, teens and adults. Learn the basics of acting and a little more including auditioning tips and digging deeper to discover characters for real acting. Classes will be via zoom and instructed by Pedro Garcia, a member of the screen actor guild since 1994 and current PCT artistic Director.

Concert in the forest featuring Cicadas

Cicada 2 Would you like a sound track of cicadas singing in the forest? The cicada concert is happening now in the Thornforest at Quinta Mazatlán. The high-pitched song of the insect is a mating call belted out by males. The females do not sing but respond by flicking their wings together. The noise can be heard up to a half-mile away, which makes the cicadas, pronounced suh-KEI-duh, one of the loudest insects in the world.

The Number One Reptile Show in the Country Coming to Quinta Mazatlan

Reptile Show closeup Visit Quinta Mazatlán on Thursday evening July 2 for a live Reptile Adventure with Danny Conner. Among the stars of the show are Juanita, a Reticulated Python; “Spartacus”, a 100 year old Alligator Snapping Turtle; and last but not least, “Apollo”, an Albino Burmese Python.

Danny Conner is the owner of Reptile Adventures. He has been keeping and caring for reptiles for over 30years and has a unique background blend of education, science, and theater. Danny educates, entertains and fascinates crowds of all ages as he shares his love, knowledge, and respect for these amazing animals. Danny is well respected, and is often an expert source among his colleague and other reptile professionals. He is known for his passion, his diverse and impressive collection, and for his general love of all animals, especially the cold-blooded kind.

World’s Best Cactus Hotel Is In the Valley

By Colleen Hook, Executive Director at Quinta Mazatlán

The best cactus hotel in the world is right in our backyard, the Prickly Pear Hotel. This hotel offers everything from food, water, shelter, medicines and beautiful South Texas landscapes.

So what is there to eat at the Prickly Pear Hotel? Everything, but carefully! The Prickly Pear cactus obviously gets its name from its sharp spines. The cactus is thought to have originated from Mexico and South America and has the ability to grow where there is little water.

Wild Bees on Exhibit at IMAS

Bumblebee Exploring Mallow Copyright Paula Sharp The International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) is excited to announce its first community juried photograph exhibition of 2020, Pollinators in Action: RGV Community Photographs. Photographs of pollinators including bees and butterflies from the region will be accepted through June 28 at https://theimasonline.org/welcome/pollinators-in-action/ through an online form. Entries will be posted for public voting on fb.com/imasmuseum from June 29 to July 5, and the top selections will be printed and curated by the IMAS for an on-site exhibition from July 18 to September 27, 2020.