Today the friends of the I-20 Wildlife Preserve at Midland, Texas, invited area residents to visit the premises, look for wildlife, and see work of some artists. And also sign a petition, but more on that later.
With all the people there the wildlife was in deep hiding, however regulars spoke of spotting possum, foxes, coyotes and a bobcat. And it's a favorite spot for bird watchers, too. The reason wildlife is attracted is because it is a low area that holds water long after a rain. Rains have been quite rare around these parts for the past few years.
Here are a couple of photos of the same spot taken from opposite sides of the playa. The dark photo was taken with a polarized filter, but in both you can see the green island out there in the middle of a sea of tall, dead grass.
Let's get political for a sec. Twice while there I was asked to sign a petition pertaining to the owner of a neighboring property. It seems that the neighbor has some junk and equipment on his property that appeared to be about 50 yards away from the nature trail but could be seen from a short section of the trail if the observer looked in that direction. See photo below.
The signature collectors planned to take the petition to the City Counsel and demand that the government require the neighbor to remove it. I declined to sign it and explained that it would be different if they were collecting money to purchase the property or pay to have it cleaned up. But I did not want to use government to force someone to do something. After all, he was there first.
One of the young ladies shook my hand and thanked me for my honesty. The other glared at me with a go-to-hell look that served as a reminder that government is people working together when they want to bully someone, and dammit, why didn't I take a photo of that look?!
George. Found your blog while looking for new info about the Energy Tower, with which I am fascinated. Spent my first 18 years in Midland and find it crazy that so many believe "this boom is different." Anyway, were are supporters of the I-20 Reserve and made it out there when we were back in town in December. I took some pics and thought you might enjoy them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkmonaghan/sets/72157638623645394/with/11698838943/
We wandered all over the city, especially downtown, and those photos are included too. Thought you might enjoy them. The Reserve is a real little treasure out there.
I'll be watching the Energy Tower progress, or whatever, with a huge bucket of popcorn.
Love the fox photos, too!
patrick monaghan
Posted by: Pkmonaghan | January 06, 2014 at 05:17 PM
Great photos!
Thank you Patrick!
Posted by: Geo | January 07, 2014 at 04:33 AM