Prairie Notes #234 - Summer Roses
Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fauna sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry humor and a bit of philosophy.
They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list.
Summer Roses
Prairie Notes #234
June 1, 2026
1) Summer Roses
2) Field Report - May
3) New Species Report - May
4) Prairie Photgrapher of the Month: Steve Schwartzman
5) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
6) PrairieSky / StarParty Report
7) Prairie Proverb - William Shakespeare
1) Summer Roses
The Yellow Rose of Texas is a beloved old song from the 1850’s. In the song, the “rosebud” the man is pining for is not the kind with thorns but a young lass. In the real world, there are only three species of native roses native to Texas and none are yellow. Two are pink and only one is white.
In fact the White Prairie Rose (Rosa foliolosa) is the ONLY pure, white, native rose in North America. You may be surprised to learn that its preferred habitat is North Central Texas. There are probably hundreds of them growing at Tandy Hills but they are not easily noticed, partly due to their short stature and partly by growing alongside taller, prairie grasses. They don’t bloom profusely, either, just a few, scattered, here and there.
I first came across one about 5 years ago and was concerned it might be an invasive, but no, it’s one of the many wonderful native species here. Later that year I observed the brilliant red rose hips of the same flower. Every year I check around for them but they are elusive. This year I found two blooming! More importantly, no other natural areas I keep tabs on have them. Only Tandy Hills.
One of the most interesting things about them is how they attract gall-inducing wasps. In April, 2021, I was hiking around looking for the roses and ended up finding a new species, not just for Tandy Hills, but ANYWHERE! What I found that day was a gall on one of the roses. The gall and the wasp larvae inside may soon be a newly described species to science.
Kimberlee Sasan, a local entomologist who is also a gall expert, collected a few samples of the Rose Gall Wasp (G. Diplolepis) galls that she gave to a gall researcher who is currently writing up a scientific paper for the species. We await the results of the scientist. I just happened to be the first to post it on iNaturalist.
As always, thanks for reading these Prairie Notes and supporting Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. Your donations are welcome HERE.
DY
Rose Gall Wasp (G. Diplolepis). The exact species name is not yet certain. (Photo by, Kimberlie Sasan.)
2) Field Report - May
2026 has been an off-year for wildflowers but, you want to know something amazing? More than 175 NEW species have been recorded at Tandy Hills since April 1st, 2026. That is utterly incredible! You are looking at one of the most remarkable landscapes, not just in Fort Worth but, anywhere! And the numbers of new species keeps rising every month. So, don’t be fooled by a drive-by visit. This place is teeming with life. You have to dive in.
I didn’t hike much for several weeks due to illness and rain. But I picked a good day to do so in mid-May. The generous amount of rain kept the wildflowers and grasses thriving. The meadows are astoundingly beautiful, so rich in diversity and so deep! From the street it looks, just OK. But when you get on the trail and open your senses, it's like swimming in a Great Barrier Reef or hiking in a tropical rain forest. You begin to appreciate the 2,775 species and how they co-exist to create this rare ecosystem. I strongly urge you to visit some evening while the weather is nice. It's just incredible right now. There is one notable section of American Basketflowers the size of a football field, just starting to bloom in late May and SO much more to see.
With, Purple Paintbrush, Firewheel and Greenthread greatly reduced this spring, the predominant wildflower was, Diamond-Flowers (Stenaria nigricans).
Compass Plant (Silphium lacinatum) leaves aligning with the setting Sun in mid-May.
“When you see a fork in the trail. . .take it.” Yogi Berra said that. You can see a dusting of Diamond Flowers that number in he millions.
May 6th sunset reflected the wildflower meadows. I’ve never seen it look quite this way.
May 10th brought more rain to keep the wildflowers freshened up.
American Basketflower (Plectocephalus americanus) cover huge sections of Tandy Hills.
A glorious sunset on May 15 lit up the Iconic Prairie.
3) New Species - May
The 11th annual, City Nature Challenge helped the species count go gangbusters in April and May. The final numbers are now in and the DFW region had the 2nd most observations in the USA and the 4th most observations. . . in the world! At least, 73,035 observations were made by 1,853 people. Only San Antonio and two cities in Bolivia had more than DFW.
That said, the CNC is no longer “officially” a competition. It’s a worldwide effort to document what’s left in a rapidly changing world. I should also point out that, one reason the DFW is so engaged and committed is because of a man named, Sam Kieschnick. We are lucky to have him.
Meanwhile, the species count at Tandy Hills continued to climb in the month of May from, 2736 on May 1st to, 2776 on May 31st. It’s hard to pick the most notable species but, the family of, Blue Grosbeak’s, observed by, Keandre Rush, are pretty special. (He also saw, but did not get pics, of a family of Indigo Buntings hanging with the Grosbeaks.) See them all at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
4) Wildflower PHOTOGRAPHER of the Month: Steven Schwartzman
(This is a new addition to Prairie Notes. We plan to highlight other, outstanding nature photographers in a future issue. Feel free to refer others.)
It was several years ago on Facebook that I first saw the nature photographs of, Austin-based, Steve Schwartzman. What first caught my eye, were his extraordinary, “black background” photos of wildflowers. Steve has a sharp eye for all kinds of nature scenes, not just wildflowers. But his recent wildflower landscapes are a cut above. They involve a bit of luck (prairies and weather are unpredictable), knowing where and when to find wildflowers, and his gift for composition and lighting. They are also very, “painterly”, and sometimes reminiscent of the 19th century Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt.
Steven Schwartzman grew up on Long Island (NY) and after college spent 1968 and 1969 as a Peace Corps math teacher in Honduras. It was there that he got his first "real" camera, a Pentax Spotmatic. In July 1976 he moved to Austin, where he has continued to live. In 1999, as part of a commercial CD-ROM collection of photographs showing off Austin and vicinity, he got interested in the native plants of the area as a way of balancing the human-related pictures in the collection. Those native plants, and nature in general, soon became and are still his prime photographic subjects.
He has posted on his blog, Portraits of Wildflowers (portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com), most days since 2011. I strongly urge you to click that link and prepare to be amazed. Below are two recent landscapes and two “black background” shots. Click on them to see enlarged.
Mealy Blue Sage Flowers in Firewheel Colony. Mueller Southwest Greenway, east Austin. All photos by, Steve Schwartzman, 2026.
Abundant colonies of coreopsis (yellow around a brown center) and firewheels (mostly red) there. May 4, 2026 off TX Hwy 29. Very Klimt-ian!
5) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
>>>>>>> On May 16, Don & Debora Young led a prairie walk for 10 members of the Euless Garden Club. They had a great time discovering many species of wildflowers and grasses on the Iconic Meadows that we carefully tend. We very much enjoy sharing our ”front yard” with people who care. We saw many dead zones on our walk from photographers who do not care.
>>>>>>> An unfortunate event occurred on May 14 at Broadcast Hill. The long, narrow meadow between the two paved roads that lead to the tower were mowed. It is/was one of the healthiest and weed-free meadows here. Members of the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association brought it to our attention. They were rightly upset to find all the wildflowers mowed to the ground in peak bloom time. I immediately contacted FW-Park & Rec (FW-PARD) officials to find out what happened and how to prevent it happening again. A representative of FW-PARD sent the following response:
“I unfortunately confirmed that our PARD contractor assigned to mow the police facility on Barnett Street, which also includes a mow along the roadside leading to and from the radio tower, misunderstood the mow map and mowed the entire area between the road loop. The contractor now understands this was not part of their assigned mow area and assured us this will not happen again.”
See below, before and after photos of the same meadow.
>>>>>>> The FW Report has two new reports about getting and protecting green space in FW. Nicole Lopez, the environmental reporter who wrote the article moderated a panel discussion on May 21, at Texas Wesleyan University on the challenges of preserving green space in Fort Worth. Mayor Parker made opening remarks. She even recalled her childhood being raised by two hippies and then recited the lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s, 1970, environmental warning song, Big Yellow Taxi.
The panel included, Allison Docker, who heads up green space initiatives for the city and was instrumental in the recent purchase of 16 acres adjacent to Tandy Hills. Also on the panel were representatives from Native Prairies Association of Texas, The Trust for Public Land and a rep from a development company. Read the articles HERE. and HERE. (Photos courtesy of FW Report.)
>>>>>>> The Fort Worth Report has a nice update and new info on the Sundance Square nature murals. It includes interviews with the two artists, James Prosek and Youri Cansell. Here’s a quote from the article by Youri:
"We share a deep love of nature that is a continuation of a childlike curiosity that hasn’t been extinguished yet, but it’s all about this kind of love of the beauty of things that evolution has made over long periods of time.”
Read the article HERE.
(Courtesy | Sundance Square)
>>>>>>> The Tandy Hills Land Management Team spent much of the month pulling and bagging invasive species, such as, Johnson Grass, Hedge Parsley, Prickly Lettuce and Scabiosa. Our aim is to get them before they set seed and get a foothold in the prairies. Olivia, Paige and Keandre also manage illegal photographers when necessary. Neither of these are fun jobs but we persevere.
>>>>>>> We had a serious incident at Tandy Hills on May 23rd. It was the night of the star party and a commercial photographer had parked his vehicle in front of the gate blocking the astronomers from bringing in their equipment. I got a frantic call to come down and get the truck moved. When I arrived there were 5 young people on their ATV’s roaring around the playground area, disturbing the little kids and their families and disrupting the star party. I told the bikers to leave, that it is illegal for them to be in the natural area and that signs are posted. Without any warning, one of the young men got off his ATV and shoved me hard to the ground and then tried to fistfight me before his friend pulled him away. It was total chaos. I have filed a police report and hope this incident will finally get PD to help with these illegal activities.
>>>>>>> The Cross Timbers Master Naturalist’s (CTMN) returned again this year to install another, Acoustic Bat Monitor at Tandy Hills. They did the first one last year and recorded 5 species. They have partnered with TP&WD Nature Trackers and a collaborative of researchers at North Atlantic Bat Monitoring Program (NABat). Karen Harden headed up the project for CTMN.
The an ultrasonic microphone monitor was placed in a carefully selected location. The data will get analyzed and a report of the likely species found will be issued later this year. It will help researchers know where bats are, as many are migratory and some are heading north to avoid the extreme heat and droughts. 54% of bats are in peril, and we need them for their help keeping invertebrates in check.
Karen was assisted by her husband and two other MN’s, two of our land mangers, Keandre and Paige and volunteer Josh. We look forward to the date from this ongoing project.
>>>>>>> The Fort Worth Report has a new story on the prescribed fire going on at many parks and natural areas and how that is improving fauna and flora diversity. Read the full report HERE.
Photo by, Nicole Lopez, FW Report
>>>>>>> On May 29, we received a nice visit from the celebrated author of Wild DFW, Amy Martin, and her friend, the celebrated drama critic, Martha Heimberg. We explored a few of the lush meadows at Tandy Hills. Engaging conversation and SO much to see and share!
6) Prairie Sky / Star Party report
After a couple of rain-outs, we finally had a star party in 2026. We had eight members and their scopes and about 20-25 attendees, which was not bad given the weather. See the complete 2026 schedule, HERE.
Fort Worth Astronomical Society representative, John McCrea, has the forecast for the next star party on June 20th:
“For our June 20th FWAS/Tandy Hills star party, we will have a combination of spring and summer constellations. The most popular can be seen in the night sky from about late March to late June. As we progress through the season some of the constellations added are Scorpius, Lyra, and Cygnus (in the northeast). The remaining are Ursa Major, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Hercules. The summer triangle (Vega, Deneb and Altair) will be visible.
The sun will set at about 8:40 PM (CDT) on June 20th. The moon will be a 7-day old waxing crescent in the constellations Leo (the Lion). There will be only one planet visible during the star party, which is Venus, in the constellation Cancer (the crab).
The globular cluster, Ω-Centauri, will still be visible. It will be 5 degrees higher than Canopus was during our March 12th TH star party. It will be at 193O compass heading (south/southwest) or RA 13hr 28’, Dec -47O 37’.
7) Prairie Proverb - William Shakespeare
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
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Prairie Notes© is the official newsletter of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. All content by Don Young except where otherwise noted.
