The End and the Beginning.

Well the it's the first day of spring!  For many spring is a symbol of renewal, saying goodbye to the old drab cold of winter and hello to the warm new days ahead. So it is with Texas Nature Blog. In my last post I mentioned a couple of plans for the future and those plans have been completed. I said, I was working on a new website about enjoying nature in Texas and although there is still a lot to do, it is now online at http://www.texasnatureonline.com/.  I also said that I was considering combining Texas Nature Blog with my Wildflowers of Texas Blog and moving them to there own domain. I have done that and my first official post was made today. You can view the new blog at http://texasnatureblog.com/. This will be my last official post on this site and I hope you will follow me to the new sites. I can be found at the following places on the web.

http://texasnatureblog.com/

http://www.texasnatureonline.com/

http://www.wildflowersoftexas.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Nature/141615839325905

http://texasnature.tumblr.com/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/117998138410957723460

https://twitter.com/TexasNature

A Look Back.

Well, the year is almost gone and time to take a look back at Texas Nature for 2013. From an online perspective it has not been a great year.

• I have not posted nearly enough, and I hope to correct this in 2014.
• My Facebook page was one year old on December 29th, but has not had the traffic I had hoped for.
• On a positive note, I began work on my Texas Nature Website, which I hope to have online in the next couple of months.

 From an real life perspective it has been a good year. At first I started to say that it was not a great year, but when I looked back at all the trips I have made, I realize that I had a fairly active year. Here is a list of all the places I visited in 2013.

• Both Pitcher Plant Trail and Sundew Trail of The Big Thicket National Preserve.
• Cattail Marsh in Beaumont, Texas
• McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge
• Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sancturary
• Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Park
• Tony Houseman State Park/Wildlife Management Area
• Pleasure Island, Port Arthur, Texas
• Shangri La Botanical Garden and Nature Center
• Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge
• Sea Rim State Park

And these places I visited for the first time.

• Village Creek State Park
• J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area
• Both the Old River Unit and Nelda Stark Unite of The Lower Neches Wildlife Managemnet Area
• Armand Bayou Nature Center
• Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
• Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge
• Nature trail at San Jacinto Battleground State Park. 

I also saw several wild animals for the first time, including -

• Turkey Vulture
• Crested Caracara
• Numerous other bird I still need to positive ID on
• Broad-banded Water Snake
• Feral Hogs
• White-tail Deer
• Bobcat which I would have to say was my favorite.

Overall it has been a good year and I have high hopes for 2014.
My plans for the new year.

• Blog more consistently.
• Update my social media page more.
• Finish work on my Texas Nature Website
• Possibly merge my Wildflowers of Texas Blog and Texas Nature Blog and move to there own domain.

Goodbye until next year and please vistit my other sites.
Texas Nature on Facebook
Texas Nature on Google +
Wildflowers of Texas

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