If you asked me three years ago what a native plant was, I may have responded with a confused look. If you ask me today, I may not be able…
AN UNEXPECTED COMMUNITY, by Texas Master Naturalist Talat Shah
When I moved to San Antonio 10 years ago for family reasons, I wasn’t planning on staying here for the long-term. I thought this might just be a stop along…
HOOKED ON BUTTERFLIES, by Texas Master Naturalist Emily K Hawthorn
I started loving nature as a child. A precocious toddler, I learned to read at an early age. Soon my parents couldn’t keep me supplied with reading material. They turned…
HOPE IS SOMETHING WE CREATE, by Texas Master Naturalist Morgan Sanchez
When I was a little girl, my grandfather shared with me his love of learning and the natural world. He would teach me how to garden at his home and…
Detritus (or, Clothing by the Pound, Not the Ton), by Texas Master Naturalist Krin Van Tatenhove
I’m waiting my turn at the Goodwill Clearance Center on San Antonio’s south side. This is the last stop for unsold items. Their odyssey began in foreign and domestic factories,…
IN THE HILLS, by Texas Master Naturalist AJ Talamantes
“It’s sort of a box canyon,” I tell my wife when I describe the topography, cupping my hands to give her a crude visual. “Anything that comes into the hills…
FINDING A BALANCE, by Texas Master Naturalist Jim Baker
I consider myself an active Master Naturalist. I support the ideas of the organization. I understand that I need to do my part to assist the natural world around me….
A CABBAGE PATCH KID, by Texas Master Naturalist Nicki Apostolow
I come from Texas cotton farmers and World War 2 refugees. They farmed to survive famine. They farmed as slave laborers. My maternal family’s aristocracy was dwindled down selling ducks…
MOUNTAIN LION ENCOUNTER IN THE CHISOS MOUNTAINS, by Texas Master Naturalist Cheryl Hamilton
(Note: This is a reprint of a piece that appeared years ago on the AAMN website. It certainly retains its drama!) Night-cooled air lingered over sun-struck land that early September…
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, by Texas Master Naturalist Krin Van Tatenhove
A massive sinkhole opens beneath the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Buildings, freeways, and screaming people plummet through a time portal. They land 10,000 years in the past,…