IT RAINED AND RAINED AND THEN IT REALLY RAINED

Running water is one of the nature park's most appreciated features, but it presents one the greatest challenges in maintaining the park. As explained in previous posts, deer inside the park are a real threat to the plant diversity we work hard to promote. Although deer consume woody plants and some grass, they are especially fond of forbs, aka wildflowers. Birds and insects are dependent on wildflowers. Since day one, the emphasis in the park has been on birds and butterflies. The high fence around the park was constructed to exclude deer so flowers could thrive. Any breech in the fence, like an open water gap, is an open invitation to neighborhood deer to come in and enjoy forbs. A heavy rain in the western part of Lampasas or on the Burleson Creek watershed will always open the gaps. The primary gaps are designed to open and close automatically, but brush can hinder the closing part.

When the brush and debris pile up, that's when volunteers, like Barbara Adams, Jennifer White and Deb Mason wade into action. It's dirty and hard work and takes hours to complete, but they stay until it's done (and done right). Barbara and Deb are board members of the Cooper Spring Nature Park Foundation. Jennifer is a volunteer that is also responsible for watering the 16 trees at the entry to the park, a big and important service to the development of the park. It should be noted that Barbara is the person that checks the gaps after every rain, corrects any breeches and monitors a game camera to see if deer have entered the park while flood waters were preventing repairs. You will at times see a few deer in the park after flooding events, but they are short term visitors. If you know these ladies, let them know you appreciate their work.

The park is accessible now although there is much work to be done after this weekend’s flooding. Please visit as the pollinators are thriving in the glory of blooming native plants. Given recent flooding, to access the park entrance, visitors may park over at Hannah Springs pool parking lot and then walk across the park and across Hackberry St.