The ECOLOGY of the East Texas Piney Woods

​

The location is at the western edge of the Eastern Coastal Plain of the United States.  There are more than 1500 endemic plants that grow here but nowhere else in the world.  Sound amazing?  It is and much of its beauty and diversity hides itself from the broader public.  From peaches to muscadine grapes to persimmons one could literally live off the bounty found on the Hideaway Glen Nature Retreats. 

 

Hideaway Glen’s 36 acres support two wetland areas, an approximately 2 acre marshy pond at one end and a year around flowing creek hidden in the tall woods at the other end.  In the middle is an upland meadow fringed with tall pines, hardwoods and fruit trees.  

 

The pond is said to have been started many years ago by beavers walling up a pond of their own from the larger adjacent lake. Beavers are a “keystone” species, ecosystem engineers that modify the landscape and create wetlands for themselves and almost half of the endangered and threatened species in North America.  Beaver dams help migrating songbirds by stimulating the growth of plants that provide food and habitat for the birds and they also create the area for waterfowl needing standing water habitats.  

 

The east Texas Piney Woods forest is one of the most extensive forest systems in the U.S. As continual development is destroying this beautiful green oasis, Hideaway Glen intends to protect  the native forestland for what it gives us; the trees purify the air, sequester carbon, and provide habitat for a diverse mix of plants and animals. These forestlands absorb

rainfall, refill groundwater aquifers, reduce floods, and maintain watershed stability and resilience. 

​

BLUEBIRDS, BATS AND BIODIVERSITY

 

The Piney Woods support numerous birds that require these conditions, among them, the eastern bluebird, native only to North America and cherished down through Texas history.  Starting in the 1930s, however. the bluebird began disappearing, due to loss of habitat, pesticide use and predator behavior.  Now, through a concerted public effort, bluebirds are making a comeback.  Hideaway Glen will promote building bluebird boxes to encourage these bright, beautiful birds that are ideally suited for the land.  

 

So many people have a media created dislike or fear of bats, but bats play an essential role in a healthy ecology.  They are vital for controlling pests, pollinating plants and dispersing seeds.  Small black bats call Hideaway Glen home and keep the mosquitos and insect pests under control. They also provide pollination of peaches and are the only pollinator of Agave.  You probably won’t see our little bats as they are shy, nocturnal and quiet but they are vital to keeping the ecosystem in balance.

​

What else is Hideaway Glen home to?  How about a small herd of white tailed deer romping through the trees? The males weigh between 150 and 300 pounds and the females weigh between 90 and 200 pounds and they are quietly foraging in the trees in the early morning and late evening.  As deer are foraging up high, the slow moving little armadillos, whose diet is mostly insects, are feeding on the ground crawlers.  These peaceful creatures are about the size of a small dog and have terrible eyesight but a keen sense of smell.  They forage in the evening or at night.  They can even walk under water, holding their breath for up to six minutes, so they may be found around the marshy pond area.  Another little nighttime creature that brightens a wonderland at night is the firefly, actually a beetle with a bioluminescent belly area.  The males and females produce a family of bright night dwellers.  Most adult fireflies feed on dew droplets, pollen or nectar with a few exceptions.

 

Hideaway Glen is the home to more than 25 varieties of deciduous trees, bushes  and plants.  We will just focus on three of the very colorful ones: the Persimmon tree, the Wax Myrtle and the Mexican Plum…all native to the area.    Persimmons have glossy green leaves and, in the spring,  fragrant, white flowers which blend beautifully with our pink peach blossoms.  In the fall they turn a vibrant reddish purple color.  The fruit is delicious and medicinal for heart health and blood pressure.  The Mexican Plum also blooms in the spring and produces a beautiful fall color. Its fruit is delicious in chutney, jelly, jams or just eaten raw as our wildlife does it.  The Wax Myrtle is essentially a very fragrant large bush and the female produces berries in the winter Although the berries are strong, they can be eaten or preserved or even made into a wine as can the persimmons … Sounds like fun!

 

Lastly, the land is home to a variety of butterflies and is a wintering flight path for the endangered Monarch.  The Monarch is entirely dependent on one type of plant; the Milkweed plant and its varieties that grow naturally at Hideaway Glen.  We will encourage the planting of Monarch gardens and other colorful butterfly gardens.

 

The surface waters of the world are suffering which makes the abundant water from the 200 ft. well at Hideaway Glen so much more precious.  Filtered and tested for quality, the water is delicious and pure…and plentiful.  That and the abundant rainfall create a community of trees, animals, birds and plants that celebrates the natural world at its finest.  We hope we have piqued your curiosity.

 

Come let us show it to you!