I usually post about a particular plant or animal which I come across on hikes on our property. I realized today that I hardly ever write about the land itself.

We’ve lived here for twelve years and I’ve walked around all of it at this point. I have favorite spots and favorite trails. There are some areas to which I hardly go, mainly because they’re so hard to walk through.

It’s a typical Hill Country spot. I describe it as a rolling savanna since there are gentle elevation changes and a nice mix of grassland and forest. There are areas where it’s completely grass, others where it’s completely wooded, and then areas where it’s a mixture.

The land itself is rocky in places but some areas have nice soil. I’ve found small karst features on it and like to think there are caverns lurking beneath.

There’s really nothing special about it, but I love it nonetheless. I’m responsible for it and try to manage it and maintain to the best of my ability. I think it was John Locke, who said that even though we talk about owning the land, we’re really only stewards of the land. I imagine that I’m taking care of it for ourselves, the plants and wildlife, and the future.

This is a view from inside our property along the eastern fence to a large ranch, adjacent to ours. They have a cool old-fashioned windmill and it used to pump water in the concrete stock tank at it’s base.

Windmill and Stock Tank

This is a view along the same eastern fence, but further north, looking south. We have a primitive dirt road running along the edge of the property on the south, east, and north edge and you can see it in this photo. The road is not very good, but it makes it easy to get around the property, especially on foot.

East Fence

This is a dry-stack wall which forms the northern boundary. Someone told me they thought it dated from the 1880s, but that is uncertain. It was made by gathering rocks from nearby and stacking them up. In places it has collapsed, but it seems to have held up well, if it is over 130 years old and didn’t use mortar.

North Rock Wall