Attached is the latest newsletter from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for our region of Texas containing interesting information for all landowners. Enjoy!
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Category Archives: General
AgriLife Newsletter Attached
Please see the attached newsletter for all property owners in Colorado County from our County Extension office.
Live life outdoors!
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Christmas Party at the Ranch! Everyone Welcome!
ORWMA Christmas Party
Saturday, Dec 12 at 2pm
at Lynne Bigelow’s home, 1287 Oakridge Road
Ham & Turkey Sliders and Potato Skins
Veggies, Chips & Dips
Cookies, Cup Cakes, Mini-Pies, Dessert Empanadas, etc.
Silent Auction
for
Personal Crawfish Boil (provided by ORWMA)
&
2 of R.C. Lumpkin’s Cheesecakes
Silent Auction Proceeds Benefiting
Grace’s Table in Columbus, TX
Door Prizes, Too!!!
Lots of Fun & Good Fellowship!
Come out & Celebrate the Season with Your Neighbors!
AgriLife Newsletter Spring 2015
Attached is the latest AgriLife Newsletter from the Colorado County Agriculture Extension Agent, Stephen Janak. The newsletter includes great information regarding upcoming local events along with other news regarding outdoor life here in the county. Click on the link below to open this pdf file.
Enjoy!
Winter Birding Event January 2015
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Attached is the list of total birds counted during ORWMA’s 2015 Winter Birding Census. We had 4 groups that birded the morning of January 24th and we had 13 present at the kick-off dinner the evening before. We hope you become involved in our birding groups and make plans to attend our next birding census later this year. Watch the website for more news on birding.
Over the next few weeks, both Cedar Waxwings and American Robins will be visiting the Ranch to help clear our Yaupon Holly of the berries, making way for the spring.
President’s Message, October 2014
Your 2015 ORWMA committee has been selected. Here are the results: Event Chairperson-Jean Herring, co-chair-Peggy Wilcox; Habitat Chairperson-RC Lumpkin, co-chair Glenda Lambert; Birding Chairperson-Brenda Lavergne, co-chairs Marilyn Rutledge & Glenda Lambert; Predator Control Chairperson-Douglas Mason, co-chairs Jerry Rogers & Vernon Wallace; Whitetail Deer Chairperson-David Mitchem, co-chair Jack Jetton; Secretary Treasurer-Barbara Mitchem, Vice President-Vernon Wallace; President-Larry Petter. This is the first year ORWMA has added co-chairs to the Executive Committee. We look forward to building our teams. If you have a special interest in any of the committees please contact any chairperson so that you are included in their correspondence.
Plans are underway for the 2014 Wounded Warrior Hunt. We are expecting 15-20 participants and great hunting weather! We will be searching for hunting stands and lodging for our guests. David or Vernon may be calling you soon! Items for gift bags are needed; let Barbara know if you can help. If your company or employer would like to sponsor or make a donation, contact Barbara. We would like to send our Wounded Warrior Guests home with some venison this year. In previous years, some of our guest returned home with empty ice chests. Thanks to an ORWMA member, Jason Frick, he suggested we harvest some does in advance. I have decided to implement this idea and ask any avid Oakridge hunter to take an additional doe for this purpose. I will provide the processing and freezing for the wounded warrior event. Check in the doe and you will be issued a replacement permit. Give me a call for additional details, 713-825-7332.
UPCOMING EVENTS – Wounded Warrior Hunt December 6 & 7. Mark your calendar. A weekend agenda will be sent to you soon. Chili Cookout December 5, 2014. Each year we cook chili for the Saturday night supper for the wounded warrior hunt. We start Friday at 8:00 AM. Breakfast will be provided, fellowship will be enjoyed, and stories will be told. Join me at the Petter corral, 1220 Miller Creek Loop.
Visit our website: www.orwma.org Read our articles about habitat and birding. Don’t be left out!
Larry Petter, President-ORWMA
Brush Piles To Burn
Now that the burn ban has been lifted, many of us are thinking of burning our brush piles. Here are some things to consider before light off:
- brush piles are actually beneficial for a variety of critters such as rabbits, song birds, quail and of course, some not-so-desireable ones including raccoons, skunks and possum
- brush piles eventually deteriorate and return the variety of remnants to the earth
If you wish to burn your pile(s), OVFD Assistant Chief Wayne Wolfford has some very important tips to follow:
- keep piles to a medium size 30-40 ft. in diameter
- clear grass away from around the pile 10-15ft.
- if it is a large pile, call OVFD a couple of days in advance so they can look the pile over
- OVFD will do a standby with 2-3 firefighters plus needed gear and equipment
- the day of the burn OVFD will look at wind, humidity, and temperature and will also notify the Colorado County dispatcher of the location of the burn
Safety for each property owner, resident, the ranch property and all of our neighbors is critical so please proceed with care and caution.
Hummingbird Census – Late Summer 2014
The just completed Oakridge Ranch hummingbird census has been attached to the bird group tab. This has been an outstanding year for hummingbirds at Oakridge! We’ve included a few pictures here for your enjoyment. Click on any picture and enlarge it on your screen. The one above shows more than one hummingbird drinking from the same port at once! And one picture below is a fantastic shot of an Orchard Oriole invading a hummingbird feeder here at Oakridge.
As of this posting the majority of hummers appears to have left the Ranch. Let us know if you still have more than a handful…..click on “Leave a Reply” and keep us posted. Keep at least one feeder filled and you may have a few birds that winter here rather than flying south.
Antlerless Deer Permits
ANTLERLESS DEER PERMITS
ALL of Oakridge Ranch is included in a Managed Land Deer Permit administered by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
ALL deer taken must be checked in with one of our designated deer checkers to insure accurate harvest data required by TPWD.
Antlerless Deer may only be taken with a MLD Permit issued by TPWD & ORWMA’s Deer Management Program. You cannot use the doe tags on your license on Oakridge Ranch.
ALL Oakridge Ranch property owners are members (active or not) of Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Management Association sponsored by Texas Parks & Wildlife. To become an active member of ORWMA, please contact us at oakridgeranchwma@gmail.comor call one of the ORWMA officers.
Larry Petter
ORWMA–President
September, 2014
Colorado County Burn Ban in Effect
Colorado County has issued a burn ban and it’s in effect until further notice:
- No outdoor burning is permitted for 90 days per county ordinance.
- No fireworks per county ordinance.
- No welding without the presence of OVFD standing by with pressurized hoses for the entire time the welding is taking place per county ordinance.
Please take care of your family, your pets and your animals. And check on your neighbors, too!
