Category: Above Sulfur Creek

By Pat Gibson When we first moved here above Sulfur Creek, we lived in a tent camper we had borrowed from my sister-in-law. We only had three of the crew then. The tent camper was great for keeping out mosquitoes and the rain, but the sounds of the night were another thing indeed. We had…

By Pat Gibson A few years ago during the dove season, I called the game warden about a confused young female hawk. There is a meadow were Sulfur Creek and Barton Creek join, and dove hunters gather there every year to shoot the small birds. Now I don’t hunt, but I understand why we need…

By Pat Gibson For several years we tried to have a garden here above Sulfur Creek. We mined out a large area, built several rock walls out of the mining effort, then built a fence. Now we had quite a problem with the crew closing the gate on the garden. The dogs liked to dig…

Sometimes the anemone will fool you. It will show up along the roadsides and the south facing banks and you will see them and say, “How about that, springs is here.” But don’t be foolish enough to go plant the garden. The anemone has been known to get lost in the snow or frost of…

The first time I ever encountered a painted bunting here above Sulfur Creek, I thought someone’s parakeet had gotten loose. The crew were small then and came running into the house all excited. They had seen this pretty bird that was red and yellow, and blue and boy Mom had better come see. I went…

By Pat GibsonSeems a little contradictory that the female of the human species is usually the dressier one when in most of the animal kingdom the male gets that distinction. Now among animals, the reason is pretty clear. The female needs to be inconspicuous so she can protect and hide her babies. All the showier…

By Pat GibsonCollecting garbage and shoveling out horse stalls are two jobs that were more than likely responsible for the cliché, “It’s a bad job, but somebody had to do it.” When the Lord designed the nature of things, He provided for cleaning up the dead critters by giving us turkey buzzards. Now I only…

By Pat Gibson When we first decided to settle here above Sulfur Creek, I was all for preserving the natural vegetation and changing the place as little as possible. Some folks move out to the country and try to make the part around their house look like Zilker Park, but I wanted it wild. Well,…

By Pat Gibson Each fall and spring here on Sulfur Creek we see the flocks of robins flying through like bus tourists. In the fall, they’re heading down to Mexico for the warm weather and each spring they head back north away from the heat. They’ll stay around for a week or two, roosting in…

by Pat Gibson About 28 years ago, my husband decided the United States Air Force was not where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He drew a circle on the map of Texas and told this Army brat (and smile when you say that sir, it’s a title of distinction) to pick…