Transit of Venus and Full Moon Rise Over The Trinity

There was a little black spot on the sun today. Venus. The photos of Venus Transit were taken in Dallas, Texas in the Trinity River bottom on the evening of June 5, 2012. The Transit was visible across much of the world but Dallas had an extra celestial alignment that evening. The full moon rise aligned with the arch of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Separated by 90 minutes, the Venus Transit and full moon rise were an easy 2-for-1.

Transits of Venus are so rare because the planet's orbit is tilted just over three degrees from the plane of the solar system. This means that most of the time Venus passes above or below the sun's disk, as seen from Earth. On average, we see four transits of Venus within 243 years. The events happen in pairs spaced eight years apart, and they alternate whether Venus crosses the top or the bottom of the solar disk. This year, for instance, the planet will transit the top of the sun.

Astronomers first used telescopes to observe a transit of Venus in 1639. But it wasn't until 1769 that dozens of scientists scattered across the globe to make detailed measurements of the event, including the famous voyage of British lieutenant James Cook, who had astronomers collecting transit data from the island of Tahiti during his South Pacific expedition.

Transits of Venus across the disk of the Sun are among the rarest of planetary alignments. Indeed, only eight such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, 2004 and 2012).

I lack the special solar filters needed for safe viewing through a camera so my only chance was to try and capture the sun as it set. For fun, I stood in roughly the same spot where I photographed the solar eclipse bracketed by some cottonwood trees.

Transit of Venus as viewed from Dallas Texas June 5, 2012

Passenger jet passing in front of Transit of Venus, plane was approaching DFW Airport

Under The Bridge Downtown

White Ibis Flock taking flight near the Continental Street Viaduct with Downtown Dallas in the background June 5, 2012

With some extra time to kill between the Transit of Venus sunset and the moon rise I took advantage of the slow drying pools and puddles that dot the landscape between the levees. The White Ibis seen here are supposed to be a rare sight in North Texas. A coastal wading bird that spends most of the time in backwater flats and swamps the Ibis is listed as a "vagrant" or "passing migrant". Quite a few along the Trinity this time of year moving in coordinated flocks through the water catching prey.

Showdown at the water hole

Like some PBS Nature Documentary minus the David Attenborough narrative, the scenes around these drying beds can often get dicey. Above a pack of stray dogs are stalking egrets near the Sylvan Avenue Bridge.

Only a five minute mountain bike ride from the Katy Trail but a world away. This time of year UT Southwestern hosts a large population of wading birds in a rookery located near a parking garage. The adult birds fly the half mile-mile or so from UTSW to the Trinity to feed.

I'll often set a waterproof video camera up in one of these ponds and let it run for an hour or two while I ride the levees. It captures some interesting scenes like the one above of a Great Egret nearly landing on top of it. I guess I should post up some video of that someday.

It's a myth that people do not use the Trinity River levees. Lacking formal bike paths or nice sidewalks for exercise the citizens of West Dallas turn to the levee. In the evenings one can see dozens of people out walking, running or cycling. The guy above is named Jorge. Always decked out in the same riding clothes, he's the un-ironic cyclist. Freightliner trucker hat, pearl snap shirt, distressed jeans and flip-flops he would be labeled a hipster cyclist if he were half his age and were riding a mile north in Uptown. Stay strong hombre!


Moonrise Over The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

This particular alignment of the moon only happens in early-mid June and again to a lesser extent 28 days later in late June or July.

Last Of the Spring Wildflowers on the Trinity River

With summer at the doorstep the last crop of wildflowers at McCommas Bluff Preserve are making a final brilliant show. The Bluebonnets, Paintbrush, Foxglove and Indian Blanket have given way to Horsemint.

Horsemint goes by a number of common names including Lemon Beebalm, Purple Horsemint and Plains Horsemint. The scientific name is Monarda citriodora. The genus Monarda is named for Spanish botanist Nicolas Bautista Monardes(1493-1588) who named these New World plants that were brought to him by Spanish explorers. Horsemint attracts butterflies like crazy this time of year. On my most recent visit to McCommas Bluff the areas with Horsemint were filled with Black Swallowtail butterflies. Hundreds. Mixed in were Yellow Swallowtails, Monarchs and even a Viceroy or two.

At first glance you might think this is a bumblebee or carpenter bee. Maybe even a cicada killer of some kind. Butterfly nose, bumblebee body, wings of a wasp and a crawfish tail. An odd duck whatever it is.

Monarch Butterfly on Indian Blanket

The butterflies were equally attracted to the seeps and mud along the base of the bluffs. Rich in minerals and salts it was easy to find butterflies among the muddy pools and seeps. Below is a video clip of a Black Swallowtail feeding on the bluffs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Construction At McCommas Bluff

Construction on the rock armoring project at McCommas Bluff has finally begun. The first two terraces are shown in the photo above on June 3rd. While it looks like they are attempting to blend the rock in with the surrounding bluffs, the continuity of the view is forever spoiled.

Airboating for alligator gar, a deer sighting and tropical birds at Joppa Preserve

The guy above is at the Loop 12 Boat Ramp after what he described as a "near fatal encounter" with the McCommas Bluff Lock and Dam on the evening of May 27, 2012. He was alligator gar hunting on this stretch of the Trinity River for the first time and was not aware that the McCommas Lock and Dam straddled the river below McCommas Bluff. He said that it was "1 in 1000" that he survived after getting hung up in the riffles, shoal, logs and concrete blocking the river there. He was pretty angry about it and shaking his head as he secured his airboat.

Signage exists at the Loop 12 Boat Ramp detailing the hazards of the boat ramp ahead but there are not any warnings about the navigable hazards up and down the river. That would include not only the 104 year old McCommas Bluff Lock but the brand new Standing Wave near Downtown. The alligator gar hunter seemed to be an experienced boater, mentioning he does most of his boating below Texoma on the Red River in water an inch deep. He suggested the city, county or Parks and Wildlife should install a sign at the boat ramp of those hazards.


Whitetail Buck At Loop 12

Whitetail Buck at Little Lemmon Lake, Great Trinity Forest Trail

Deer are so hard to see this time of year in the Great Trinity Forest. Most of the foliage is at a peak and sometimes seeing just 10 feet into the underbrush is difficult. The single whitetail in the photos above and below were taken just 3 minutes after I spoke with the airboater and not more than 200 yards away. The location is a small bridge that spans a canal separating Little Lemmon Lake from Lemmon Lake. At some point in the distant past I think this was the original channel for Five Mile Creek.

Deer with a dumped tire, only in the Great Trinity Forest

It's usually during the rut that bucks move around during the day coming closer to humans. So this particular deer out wandering around is something special for this time of year. It seemed to slowly drift off the concrete and back into the woods at a leisurely pace. Which was neat. Whitetail bucks lose their antlers in the winter and start to grow them back in April-May. The buck you see here has about a month of velvet growth so far and might have a decent sized rack of antlers come fall.

I checked with the DFW Urban Wildlife guy to see if this deer matches any of the deer in his automated photo collection and it does not.


The rebirth of Lemmon Lake and the return of the Roseate Spoonbills

Lemmon Lake May 27, 2012

Roseate Spoonbill May 27, 2012 at Lemmon Lake

I had written off Lemmon Lake as the victim of the 2011 drought. Baked to a crisp last summer the soil was literally sterilized of aquatic life by the heat. I thought that while the water would surely return the food chain of smaller insects and amphibians would take years to rebound. I was wrong. The bait fish, crawfish and frog populations are back full force. So are the birds from down south that feed on them.

Getting to a view of Lemmon Lake is difficult. Surrounded by thickets, bramble patches, poison ivy...and that's just the outer belt. Next comes a section of willow swamp, followed by a slog through snake infested 8 foot high reeds. The trail I whacked out of the undergrowth last year so that birders could visit has now become overgrown again to the point where one cannot even see it.  I chose a different bushwhacking route this spring and was rewarded with seeing an early set of Roseate Spoonbills. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for June and July with more strange birds of the tropics moving north for the summer.

Video of Lemmon Lake and a roosting Roseate Spoonbill in a willow tree with some Anhingas

White Ibis at Lemmon Lake

These feeding frenzys are interesting to watch. The Ibis organize into police lines, driving forward like a tractor plowing a field. The cranes, herons and egrets follow along either picking through the scraps or staying ahead of the ibis as they drive the larger fish forward. The larger shad as seen inset left are too large for the ibis and are readily picked up by the larger birds.

Where did all the mosquitoes go?

Southern Leopard Frog at Lemmon Lake

Red Swamp Crawfish at Lemmon Lake

I was last at Lemmon Lake in early May. It was a quick visit due to the clouds of mosquitoes in the brush. Within a minute of stepping off the concrete I was swarmed by the insects. My most recent trip...not a mosquito to be seen. I think the unusually large population of Southern Leopard Frogs might have something to do with that. The flooded timber of the winter and spring gave the tadpoles an excellent environment for brooding. This variety of frog is a swiss army knife of insect killing eating spiders, grasshoppers, flies and mosquitoes. Having these underfoot sure makes a trip more enjoyable.

It's interesting that all these photos were taken within 1/2 a mile of each other over about the course of an hour. The diversity of what exists down in that part of the Great Trinity Forest is just eye popping. The scenes of a guy with an airboat, deer, spoonbills, ibis and symphony of frogs are more out of a Florida swamp. Not a forgotten part of Dallas.

Whitetail Deer In Dallas -- A Cool Link To Share

What are sure to be the very best photos ever taken of whitetail deer in Dallas can be found at the DFW Urban Wildlife website run by Chris Jackson. His website to check out the deer photos can be found here:  http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/2012/05/23/mammals/white-tailed-deer-urban-wilderness/

I got to know him via email a few months ago discussing the Lake Highlands feral pig(s). Lake Highlands Feral Pig . As a result he did some really interesting documentation on the feral pig living in Lake Highlands. Check out the link above complete with video of the pig.

He has quite a bit of know how and specialized equipment for capturing photos and video of wildlife. Using automated motion sensor game cameras placed along game trails and water sources he can capture animals acting naturally.

Whitetail Buck with velvet antlers in the Great Trinity Forest May 2012-- DFWURBANWILDLIFE.COM

This is part of a larger project for him in the Great Trinity Forest. Not to let the cat out of the bag but I think he is trying to get a certain animal on film down there that haunts the woods. One that is a myth, legend and rumor across much of North Texas.

Two whitetail bucks in Dallas Texas May 2012 DFWURBANWILDLIFE.COM

I doubt anyone would run across one of his cameras down there since they are so far off any beaten path frequented by man. If you do happen across one of his cameras just let them be. It's not a poacher's camera. Merely someone attempting something very, very cool.

I'm looking forward to updates on his website to watch these bucks grow their racks through the summer. Maybe he can come up with a population number on how many deer live in the Great Trinity Forest. I think the most I have seen in one place at one time is five.

Storm Over The Trinity River Wetlands

A brief storm popped up over East Dallas on the evening of May 13, 2012 and meandered south over the Great Trinity Forest. Most of the bottomland down there is flat, save for a pyramid sized mound of dirt at the Wetland Cells that rises above the floodplain some 30 feet. Using that as a vantage point I watched the virga turn to an early evening rain.

I would imagine that in some point in the future, a master plan for the area calls for a pavillion of some kind to be built on top of the pyramid. It offers a unique vantage point of downtown to the north and the unobstructed view of the crescent shaped wetland chain from I-45 to Loop 12. This spring wildflowers covered the acre sized top to it.

Horsemint on the acre sized top of the wetland "pyramid"

Random Wildflowers From Around The Base of The Pyramid

I had a hunch that waiting around for the shower to blow over would yield a rainbow and sure enough one briefly appeared. The pot-o-gold location would probably have been near the Audubon Center.

Rainbow over the Trinity River May 13, 2012

Dripping wet wildflowers after an evening spring shower

Prohibition, The Dean Law and G.G. Kirby the Moonshiner

Wallace Jenkins and County Agent A.B. Jolley May 11, 1952

The history of the area known as the Wetland Cells and Horse Park on opposing banks of the river is a jigsaw puzzle full of pieces. Like an old puzzle left in an attic with pieces missing. Hard to get a good picture of why things are they way they are. You find a piece here and there, find out where they belong and a picture starts to emerge. Much of the history that happened along the Trinity is long since forgotten. Lost two or three generations ago when many of the original farms were sold for residential housing or commercial use. Some of the back story behind this forgotten past is amazing. Mr Billy Ray Pemberton might be one of the few that still knows about it.

A number of people when visiting a real old place with a ton of history wonder what it looked like decades or even half a century ago. How it "used to look" before. Or back in the "good old days".

Well...the two black and white photos above might give some insight into that.

The top photo was featured in the May 11, 1952 edition of the Dallas Morning News. The article is about Wallace Jenkins(seen on the left) and County Agent A.B. Jolley on Jenkins farm. Jenkins bought the 1700 acre property at depression era prices in 1938 for $27 an acre. Known as the Kirby Farm, it once sat on both sides of the Trinity River from Rochester Park(William Blair Park) down to Loop 12. That sixty year old article has Jenkins and Jolley standing in a chest high field of oats that would yield 100 bushels an acre. Mr Pemberton as a kid recalls seeing Wallace Jenkins driving around surveying his farm and pecan groves from his cars,  1941 and 1942 model Lincoln Zephyrs. Mr Pemberton even worked as a yard boy at their home for a time.

The second black and white photo was taken just about in that same spot. Same patchwork collection of fields that stretch from 175 to Loop 12. The difference is that the second black and white photo is not from 1952 but literally sixty years later, to the day, the evening of May 9, 2012.......

Billy Ray Pemberton May 9, 2012

Same spot. Same field for the most part.

Mr Pemberton is proud of that tractor. I met him that evening in that lower pasture where he was brush hogging and collecting old tires. He stopped at the edge of the field there after I took the photo above. He was telling me how he had driven that tractor(trailered) across the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge a couple weeks before to a mowing job in West Dallas.

Wallace Jenkins acquired the old Kirby Farm(now the future site of the Texas Horse Park) at a time when it was in disrepair. The previous owner, G.G. Kirby was a man that seemed to lack a moral compass and engaged in all matters of nonsense in the 1910s-1930s. He was one of the few Dallas County residents who was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the federal Prohibition laws and the Dean Act of 1919. Texas has some screwy liquor laws stemming back to 1854. When the 18th Amendment was ratified by Texas in March 1918, a new campaign began to add teeth to the toothless tiger of the amendment. So the Dean Act was passed in 1919 which made alcohol production, sales and consumption a felony in Texas punishable by up to 5 years in prison. 

In the cross hairs of this was G. G. Kirby. Where there is a will, there is a way and I guess Kirby fancied the booze so much that he built the largest moonshine still ever, in Dallas County. He became what was known back then as a "wet farmer". Right down there near the Horse Park. According to the old newspaper articles, it was the finest drinking moonshine anyone had ever tasted. No mention of how he ran his still or what he used as a mash. Loose lips sink ships and within a year he found himself in court arraigned on a dozen charges of illegal liquor production, sales and consumption. He and his co-conspirators had no chance at their trials. Every minister in town lined up to testify against the moral depravity Kirby brought to their flocks.

Kirby was a cooked goose it seemed. That was until Texas elected its first female Governor, Ma Ferguson in 1924. One of here platforms was to pardon the couple hundred convicted "wet farmers". One of which being G.G. Kirby. He found himself off the hook and never to have his name printed again. Some years later, Wallace Jenkins bought the old Kirby Farm, one that no one thought could be worth anything.

Jenkins turned the Kirby farm into one of the most productive farms ever in Dallas County. He was successful in keeping his farm intact during the site selection for the sewage treatment plant and the larger landfill site that later became McCommas Bluff. He argued that the 25 feet of blackland clay under his farm would be wasted if turned into a sewage plant. It's interesting to see the twists and turns of how some drunk moonshiner's misfortune with the law probably kept Rochester Park and Joppa from becoming a dump and a waste water plant.

Maybe that's where the city sits today with the Great Trinity Forest. If you replace an old moonshiner like Kirby with a modern day meth lab or pot field...you get the idea that the socioeconomic and political hurdles facing that area are not new ones. They are as old as the land itself. Only the faces and names change.

Swallowtail Butterfly among the wildflowers of the Pemberton Meadow