My Blue Texas

12/28/2025

“Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so.”

The conservationist on the hope that guides her — and why it’s not the same as optimism.

12/28/2025

I am excited! I will be hosting a discussion of The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by the late Jane Goodall in my home on January 1, 2026.

I think we do need a powerful shot of hopefulness as we step into 2026, a year that NEEDS to be good, for every single person. Jane Goodall’s The Book of Hope will be a good place to begin.

Roots and Shoots (website linked here) is Goodall’s youth organization, mentioned throughout the book. Here is a thought: It would be great if we could start Roots and Shoots chapters in schools all over Texas. Every single school…

Roots & Shoots USA is the youth action program of the Jane Goodall Institute empowering young people to be the change in their communities.

12/22/2025

12/20/2025

I wonder how many fractions of seconds they lost because of hairspray…

Members of the Abilene-based Texas Track Club line up for a Sports Illustrated article, 1964. The blonde is Janis Rinehart, who was the star of the team and won the 100-meter dash at the Texas Relays in Austin in 1963 and 1966. The team notched several wins at the Relays throughout the 1960s, including victories in the 4x100 relay in 1963 and 1965. Makes you wonder if they might have gone a little faster had they had a little less wind resistance!

12/19/2025

11/14/2025

11/12/2025

Incredible Northern Lights at Buchanan Dam, Texas! This from Lynnett Richards, one of several viewers to send us pictures of the aurora incredibly far south tonight.

11/10/2025

Incredible views at Guadalupe Mountains National Park!

In 1980, TNC was gifted a 226-acre inholding and managed it for years as the Gypsum Dunes Preserve. In 2011, the preserve was officially transferred to the National Park Service, becoming a permanent part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park for all to enjoy. See all the places we've helped protect: https://nature.ly/3LmEEgy

📸: Adam Mowrey / TNC Photo Contest 2023

📍 Guadalupe Mountains National Park

11/07/2025

11/07/2025

Climate abuse is hard on birds and other living things. “Early assessments conducted by the Harte Research Institute revealed more than 1,600 brown pelicans, and 400 birds of nine other species, including the threatened reddish egret, red knot and piping plover, were killed or severely injured on rookery islands in Corpus Christi Bay and near Baffin Bay.”

The hailstorm swept through the area, causing severe damage.

10/20/2025

🏜️ One of Texas’ most iconic landscapes just got permanent protection.

Rim Ranch—a 3,048-acre property overlooking Palo Duro Canyon—will remain untouched thanks to conservation easements finalized by the Texas Agricultural Land Trust.