Winter Texan Times

Join Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

AUSTIN – The Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt (GOSH) returns for another year of summer fun across Texas. Travel to various locations regionally or statewide, take a selfie and post it with the hashtag #GOSH2021. Discover history, wildlife, parks, waterways and quirky attractions — plus iconic Texas food stops as a “bonus” to enjoy along the way. The GOSH 2021 challenge ends at midnight on Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Select from six regions, including Dallas, Central Texas, Houston, Panhandle, South Texas and West Texas. Register on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine website or the TPWD Facebook Page, then find the spot, take a smiling selfie and tag it on Twitter or Instagram. Participants can also post and tag it on the TPWD Facebook Page with #GOSH2021. Partakers can visit locations regionally or statewide and complete one or all GOSH activities.

New Monarch Butterfly Conservation license plate available for Texas drivers

AUSTIN — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be launching the long-awaited Monarch Butterfly conservation license plate on June 21 that will raise money to help conserve monarch butterflies and other native Texas, non-game, at-risk species.

“The monarch butterfly is a species that is beautiful and iconic in that it is one of nature’s great migration stories,” said John Davis, TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program Director. “This species migrates through Texas from Mexico in the spring making its way to the northern extremes of the U.S. and into Canada, then reverses that feat in the fall to overwinter in Mexico. This great migratory story is in jeopardy with the overwintering population experiencing steep declines in the last decade. By adding the monarch to our family of plates, we hope to increase support for this beautiful migration event and through our conservation efforts, brighten the future for this, and many other species.”

South Padre Island kicks off the summer season with fireworks displays

squareFireworks The City of South Padre Island is kicking off the summer season with beach and bayside fireworks displays running through Labor Day. South Padre Island, also known as “The Fireworks Capital of Texas,” an honor proclaimed by the Texas Senate, the Island’s recognition highlights the abundance of spectacular fireworks displays for visiting individuals, couples, and families to enjoy.

It is time to celebrate the season with beach and bayside fireworks on South Padre Island. On Tuesday evenings, fireworks are shot from a barge anchored a few hundred yards offshore in the bay. The best viewing spot for bayside shows is the Entertainment District, including many bayside restaurants and on “The Green,” a great lawn where people can bring their own chairs to view the display.

Humane Society of Harlingen At Capacity for Cats, Calling Community to Help

Harlingen, Texas – The Humane Society of Harlingen’s cat spaces are completely full. Yesterday, someone reached out to HSH looking for help rehoming 13 cats, as their living space was increasingly unsafe and unsustainable. HSH answered the call, and this morning HSH took in all 13 cats. HSH is asking the community to help us find foster or forever homes for our feline friends!

All adoption fees are completely waived. All adopted pets will go home up to date on vaccinations, dewormed, on preventatives for fleas/ticks/heartworms, microchipped and either already spayed/neutered, or with an appointment to spay/neuter at no cost to the adoptive family.

Blankets for Veterans spreads to Valley

Aubrees 1 Blankets for Veterans, a non-profit organization created by a 17-yr-old in Wisconsin, has made it to a local Valley Winter Texan park this season. Park resident Kathy Hanson is the proud grandmother of Aubree Leitermann, the founder of the organization. Leitermann, who visited Heier recently, was able to give some of the blankets that were made by Heier, and others, to Veterans in the park.

Speaking of Leitermann, Hanson says she has always been interested in how people were making big differences doing small, simple good deeds.

Open call for submissions

submissions IMG 0686 The Winter Texan Times is all about you, what you do, and where to go. With that being said, we enjoy hearing from you, and we want to hear more.

We want your humorous observations, anecdotes, and foibles. Whether stereotypical or novel, if it made you chuckle and declare “That’s just Life in the Park,” then send us your submission in 200 words or less and we might just publish it.

To be considered for publication, all submissions must include your first and last name, phone number, email address, and where you stay while in the RGV – park or community name. This information is for internal use only and will not be published.

All submissions are subject to the terms found through the “Terms” link on our website.

Your stories can be submitted via email to news@wintertexantimes.com or via postal service to Winter Texan Times, Attn Editor, 1217 N Conway Ave, Mission, TX 78572.

Humane Society of Harlingen hosting low-cost community clinic

The Humane Society of Harlingen will be hosting a community clinic on Saturday, May 29th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be a pre-registration only clinic. During this clinic, HSH will be providing discounted vaccinations and medications. Pets must be present in order for medications to be distributed or vaccinations administered.

This will be a drive-thru clinic with the entrance on the 77 Sunshine Strip side of the building. To protect the health and safety of our staff and the community, we require that anyone coming to the clinic wear a mask covering their nose and mouth.

Spots are ﬁlling up quickly, register your pet today! More information and registration can be found at hshtx.org/monthly-clinic.

For more information, please contact the shelter at info@hshtx.org or (956) 425-7297.