Written by Colleen Hook, Quinta Mazatlán
Flowers bring joy—and your backyard can deliver flowers to you daily when you plant a Wild Olive tree, also known as the Anacahuita (pronounced ANA-COW-EAT-A). The citizens of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, honor this beautiful tree as their state flower.
Editor's Note: For when you are able to get out and about, there might still be some wildflowers to take pictures of. We wanted to share this with hope that our shelter-in-place orders don't last too long that we still get to enjoy Spring and what Mother Nature has given us to enjoy. These are guildelines to follow when taking pictures of wildflowers. Always remember to respect nature and, if you are out and about, social distancing.
By Paul Schattenberg, Texas A&M Agrilife Communications
With wildflowers sprouting up all over roadsides throughout Texas during springtime there are ample opportunities to take photos. But shutterbugs should be careful, as well as respect private property and nature, when trying to find the right spot for that perfect shot, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
Read more: Respect nature, property, others when taking wildflower photos
The kennels at Mission Animal Shelter are nearly full, and with more animals coming in daily, adoption fees are being waived until further notice. More than 40 cats and dogs are available for adoption now.
“We are reaching out to our community to help us find homes for the many deserving animals waiting to be adopted because our shelter is at capacity,” Ernie Zapata, Health Department Supervisor said. “Right now with so many people home during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, it’s a great time to add a pet to their family. We have more dogs and cats coming in every day and need the support of animal lovers and all citizens.”
Next year you can enjoy Celtic, 50’s, Patsy Cline and more music during Harlingen Concert Association’s 2020-2021 season. The season is packed with talent and enjoyment for all audiences.
Their first concert will be on November 19. The concert will feature Vinyl Radio. Vinyl Radio is a vocal power with a righteous regard for the great Rock-n-Roll music classics. They perform music from The Eagles, America, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Doobie Brothers and more. Vinyl Radio delivers the harmonies and melodies of classic 70s radio.
By John Brush, Center for Urban Ecology at Quinta Mazatlan
Many of us are facing restricted movement and changes in our routines due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, yet there are still ways we can explore and enjoy nature from around our homes. One way is with the City Nature Challenge and iNaturalist.
The City Nature Challenge, started by the California Academy of Sciences and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, invites people around the world to make observations of nature in urban areas. The event has two phases: (1) making observations from April 24 – April 27, and (2) identifying other people’s observations from April 28 – May 4.
Palm Valley Animal Society (PVAS) is asking for foster families to help get animals out of their shelter now. PVAS is taking serious measures to reduce the number of animals that are in the shelter, as they prepare for potential closure.
“We want to reduce our shelter population by 50%. That means that we need to get 200 animals, dogs and cats alike, into temporary foster homes by Wednesday, March 25th. We’ve had higher-than-usual intake for the past three weeks and want to get ahead of any worsening in the trend. It is my primary goal to get our community to step up and help us save these animals. We don’t want to be forced to euthanize for space. We need our community support now, more than ever,” says PVAS Executive Director, Mike Bricker.
Wow! What a season. Carina and I have had such a great time in our first season as the new publisher and editor of the Winter Texan Times. Having grown up with this paper, my feelings for our Winter Texan community have grown from appreciation to admiration to love over the years, and we are so humbly grateful for the opportunity to continue what my Dad and Grandmother built for all or you. But, I’ll get back to that in a bit.
Read more: From The Publisher Stay Healthy, Safe Travels and Thank You
By Carina A. Brunson
Us here at the Winter Texan Times have been trying to connect with our Winter Texans more this year. In doing so, we have developed relationships with some that we are finding hard to say goodbye to for the season, and with the COVID-19 pandemic we are now worried for our friends – for all of you.
Y’all have been on our minds as we are making our own decisions on working from home, shutting down the office, and other decisions that we don’t have to face on a day to day basis.
What we are hearing from those we talk to is that you are taking this one day at a time for now – as we all are. We are all watching the news, staying on top of the current findings, current regulations in our city, county, state and nation. It’s a bit chaotic to stay on top of everything, but we are trying our best.
Talk about being prepared! How about being over prepared? During the past ten days, two speeches have been written, rehearsed and ready to present. But there is nowhere open for the presentation. Two speeches, but nowhere to speak. It's like ‘All dressed up and nowhere to go.’ But writing is thought provoking so the time in preparing the speeches was valuable as a learning experience.
By Pete Luna
When anyone reaches a retirement age, we all have a choice to enter a sedentary or an active lifestyle. While relaxing and going out to eat in all the wonderful restaurants the Rio Grande Valley has to offer is a great way to enjoy leisure time during the winter months, cycling and other outdoor physical activities are a fantastic way to create a wellness balance for Winter Texans. Regular physical activity helps to improve physical, cognitive and psychological health as we obtain a well-earned departure from the working life. Therefore, hobbies and exercise should be introduced into your routine. While arts and crafts, fishing, shooting are no doubt fun activities to do; cycling is something that creates an influence on all aspects of your life.
