I was treated to a hike along a protected area of Onion Creek yesterday. Although the day was overcast and it was raining a bit, it turned out to be a nice hike.

Our Hays County Master Naturalist Chapter sponsored a training session for us at the Onion Creek Water Quality Protection Land. The lecture was on the work which the City of Austin is doing to protect the Barton Springs Segment of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. We heard about the land under management, the objective to increase water flow into the recharge zone, and the techniques used to achieve this.

After the talk, we were led on a hike along the Onion Creek riparian area. The creek is flowing very nicely now, but you could see the high-water marks left on the bank’s trees where the recent flooding had left debris.

This view is looking south and upstream from the north bank. The entire length we hiked was quite green, lush, and beautiful. You can see some Turk’s Cap on the right of the photograph.

Onion Creek

I spotted a thick stand of Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) and was attracted by the huge, bright yellow, flowers. This flower is about 6 inches across. The leaves are thick and richly-veined.

Buffalo Gourd

A little further away from the creek bank was a thick live oak woods. The large sweeping branches, some covered with a bright green moss caught my eye.

Mossy Live Oaks