Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac holds a special place in my heart. This nature writing treasure chronicles one person’s observations and interactions with the same plot of Wisconsin land from 1933-1948. When my family and I moved to San Marcos in July of 2022, we began our own Hays County Almanac as we wandered the trails of the River Recharge Zone, Purgatory Creek, Ringtail Ridge and Spring Lake. The algarita bloomed first in 2023, right around President’s Day weekend. Last year, the bluebonnets started the show on March 1, and this year — this year seemed to be the year of the Mealy Blue Sage. Going into our third year as San Martians, we can now anticipate some of the rhythms of our little corner of God’s household: Which flowers to look for next and which insect terrors to avoid.
The normative progression of wildflowers in the River Recharge Zone runs bluebonnets, algarita, firewheels, horse mint and Turk’s cap. With regard to insects, we noticed bees stirring at the corner of Dolan and Swallet in late March this year, and we are dreading early August when the horseflies stampede through the live oaks biting everything within sight. But I get ahead of myself, as this is one of my favorite times of the year for biodiversity. The Memorial Day mini-monsoon season offers pages of observations in our Hays County Almanac, mostly composed of entries about magic mushrooms, terrifying arachnids and fields of Turk’s Cap.
The wet weather gives rise to fungi of all types. Whether it’s wood-ear shrooms on the beautiful live oaks lining the Dante trail of Purgatory Creek, or toadstools hiding beside persimmons on the Roadrunner trail of Spring Lake. This is a great time of the year to get out and explore the magical parade of organisms that pop up overnight with stunning colors and shapes that make you feel like you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and ended up in Wonderland.
But like Wonderland, tread lightly, for beasts of great terror pop up this time of year as well. As a dawn patrol trail runner, I never hit the trails this time of year without an ash juniper branch stretched out before me to avoid one of my recurring nightmares from coming to life. Late May and early June mark peak season for the giant lichen orb weavers. These massive, majestic spiders spin huge webs and feast like royalty this time of the year, growing bodies as plump as Henry VIII’s fingers and legs sprawling to tea coaster dimensions. These Arachnids of Unusual Size especially enjoy the confines of Upper Purgatory Creek along the Dante and Paraiso trails.
Traverse these sections at your own risk!
For a stroll gentler on your ticker, and easier on your eyes, might I suggest the Roadrunner trail of the Spring Lake Natural area beginning at the North LBJ trailhead. This four-parking- space starting point provides an intimate entrance to one of my favorite trails this time of the year. The upper gravel path winds past San Marcos’ version of the Shrieking Shack (an old slaughterhouse) before entering switchbacks full of live oaks and huge stands of Turk’s cap. Like its invasive cousin, Pride of Barbados, this native shrub blooms right through the heat of Texas summers, and its first flashes of turbaned red signal for me the true beginning of summer in the Lone Star State. For an added treat, push on down the trail into the Golden Cheek Warbler nesting section (closed March 1-May 31) to hear the rare sound of water flowing into a fairy pool at the intersection with the Grey Fox trail. If you have kids, this is a must-see, and a great time to introduce them to David the Gnome.
