Woodvine Ecological Preserve
1997
For those of you who are new to the informal family email group (any suggestions for a name, or will a name make it a formal group?), Pat and I are currently living on 20 acres of woodlands, located 10 miles out of Bryan, TX along Wickson Creek. In the past we have referred to it as our “farm.”
We have decided to designate our “farm” as an ecological preserve. Henceforth, we will refer to it as the “Woodvine Ecological Preserve.” For the sake of brevity, it will be Woodvine in our communications. This designation was thought to be useful for a couple of reasons. It is not a farm in any sense of the word - it is not cropped or grazed and is not a tree farm because we do not harvest the trees. It has functioned as an ecological preserve for many years - we do not allow any hunting or fishing and have attempted to keep it as natural as possible. The exception is that we have opened the woods enough to allow a driveway and a small open area where our motorhome resides. We are serviced by both electricity and telephone but have no city water supply or septic facilities. We drive our motorhome into College Station about every 9 days to fill up our water tank and dump sewage.
We have submitted an application for an “agricultural appraisal for ecological laboratory” through the Brazos County Appraisal Office. According to the Texas State Property Tax Board, land used principally as an ecological laboratory may qualify for an agricultural appraisal. Our taxes have been higher than those of our farming neighbors because our land has been appraised as “recreational land.” We find this very odd, that land that has been bulldozed, overgrazed, eroded due to cultivation, and polluted with agricultural chemicals should have lower tax rates than land that is being preserved in its natural condition. Therefore, we were happy to find this “ecological laboratory” option. Whether the county appraisers will agree with us remains to be seen.
The word “Woodvine” was chosen because it provides a short description of the site. The flora is dominated by heavy woods and an abundance of vines. Although we have a few neighbors, most of the time we can hear no sounds of human activities. The exceptions are an occasional airplane or auto on the gravel road about 900' from our motorhome location. On the other hand, we are only 10 miles from libraries, a mall, a university, medical facilities, friends, local TV stations, and all the facilities that we sometimes miss when staying at remote locations such as Yellowstone or Denali National Parks.
During the last couple of years, we have traveled extensively over the USA, Canada, and some into Mexico. But, now our travels are on hold while Pat is taking radiotherapy for breast cancer. We hope to resume travels within a month or so, returning to Woodvine for a few months every year.
The woods are currently alive with insects and birds. In the last week, we have seen what are questionably some of the most beautiful wild birds of North America. Indigo buntings, northern cardinals, rose-breasted grosbeaks, summer tanagers, northern orioles, and painted buntings provide brilliant colors to this green world. Thought we were hearing robins until we saw our first summer tanager. Pat hears the birds better than I do, but I tend to see them more often, so we make a good birding team.
Wishing you health and happiness.
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