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The Mysterious
Eagle Lake
Prairie Chickens,
A Depot for Sale and
Why they moved the Wildflowers to Gillespie County.
by Roman A. Clef |
Once
again we found ourselves in Southern Colorado
County. We weren't looking for tractor parts, although there is
a great tractor graveyard there. We also weren't there to shoot waterfowl
or to have a waterfowl taxidermed, but it's a good place to do either.
We weren't there to have a root canal or to renew licenses, vows or
old friendships. So, right off the bat we had a mystery on our hands:
What were we doing in Eagle
Lake?
The biggest mystery of course is the Lake in the Town's name.
It's privately owned, so confirming its existence is best done from
the air. The Eagle? Another mystery. One history has early
settlers killing one here, which seems likely. Another has an Indian
legend complete with two braves competing for a chief's daughter,
a tragic accident (or was it?) while gathering eagle feathers and
a lifetime of remorse. It sounds like your typical Indian legend,
with an eagle inserted so that it applies to Eagle
Lake.
We had planned on luring our Houston readers through here on our Spring
Trip to DeWitt County
because this is where Wildseed Farms was. Please take note
of the past tense. They are now and have been for some time in Gillespie
County.
Wildseed Farms was also where the late Merle Brammette, founder of
the DeWitt County Wildflower Association visited and came up
with the idea of promoting the incredibly varied Wildflowers of DeWitt
County.
Now the County has been officially proclaimed Wildflower
Capital of Texas. We're not sure if we can route our Houston readers
to DeWitt County
via Fredericksburg,
but Wildseed Farms phone is 830-990-1393. They are on the North
side of Hwy 290, seven miles East of Fredericksburg.
They expect their fields to be in full bloom in May.
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Wildseed
Farm founder John Thomas Outstanding in his Field or
out standing in his field.
Photo
Courtesy TXDoT |
Wildseed
Farms is a success story that makes the proverbial "ladder of success"
look like Jack's Beanstalk. It's like that movie director a few years
back who sold an organ or something to make a movie (El Mariachi)
which cost $473 to make (it was a small organ) and ended up making
$49,000,000. We were expecting to see other films from him but never
did. Maybe he moved to Fredericksburg.
Don't forget that the Attwater Prairie Chicken resides on its
refuge six miles from Eagle
Lake, and while we refer to it in the singular, there are supposed
to be more than one (so we're told). The Refuge's signage needs some
touching up, but the Refuge itself is about six miles toward
Sealy on FM 3013 and
then two miles off the main road. If you're coming from Sealy,
look for it on the right.
Our observation: Prairie Chickens look more like regular chickens
than Prairie Dogs look like regular dogs.
This comes from pictures we've seen, since our visit didn't turn up
a single Prairie Chicken in the flesh (so to speak).
See Eagle
Lake, Texas
2000, Modified August 2002
© John
Troesser |
Readers'
Comments:
Wildflowers can be seen in all their glory on Calhoun Road. Tour busses
come in from the Houston Area to drive the loop along this road to
see natural beauty displayed each spring.
Eagle Lake Preservation Alliance is currently restoring the Historic
Eagle Lake Calaboose. |
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