Sacred Springs, Karst Mitigation, and Life in the Sky Forest

Wimberley Valley Watershed Association presents stories from the watershed. Joe Day was a pioneer in the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, and is a board member of Protect Our Blanco. He built an environmental consulting career in Austin protecting the aquifer and restoring damaged natural systems. Long ago, he left all that for the Wimberley Valley, soon met David Baker, and launched an enduring partnership that continues today.

Gossamer Joy: Episode 6, the Annette Pernell finale—for now. We spoke November 30, over Zoom, as the Biden transition team began its work. We first met as council members. Now, out of office, we reflect on public service in extraordinary times. The election is over. Real work lies ahead. How do we heal divisions and come together? Or is chaos inevitable? Listen in.

Gossamer Joy: Episode 5, Annette Pernell returns! We spoke October 28, over Zoom, one week before the election. We had voted as citizens for the first time in years, both freshly out of public office. The results were still unknown, but the lessons for our grandchildren were already clear. Our voting experiences were night and day, yet neither of left without feeling changed for good.

Half-Earth, One Water, Too Few Open Spaces to Waste: Wimberley Valley Watershed Association presents stories from the watershed. Lori Olson is a leading voice in the effort to preserve and protect the land, water, and natural culture of the Texas Hill Country. As Executive Director of the Texas Land Trust Council, she has advocated for conservation at all levels, from the heart of the Wimberley Valley to the halls of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Gossamer Joy: Episode 4, I spoke with Annette, July 12, over Zoom. We first met two years ago at Texas Municipal League leadership training for council members. We revisited that indelible moment and other TML lessons with new relevance. We marveled at grandchildren. We discussed the value of being uncomfortable in our small world, and open to lead for change.

Eighty Summers on, and in, Cypress Creek

 

Wimberley Valley Watershed Association presents stories from the watershed, featuring the voices of the history and ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the land, water, and natural heritage of the Texas Hill Country. We begin with Malcolm Harris, president of WVWA and a long-time landowner and advocate for watersheds in the Wimberley Valley.

I spoke with Monica and Abby, June 5, about their new children’s book, Goodnight Wimberley. The story is simple, but its message rises gently to the metaphysical. More than a play on a classic; it’s a Wimberley original. We talked about COVID-19’s threat to the book’s publication, and its effect on Abby as a high school freshman. We also peeled back a look at our shared time in local politics—three distinct views on the little parks board that could.

Episode 2: Emma Davenport. We talked March 5, outside, six feet apart, before it was yet mandatory. The pandemic delayed this episode’s release and yet her stories of being a hospice worker early in the AIDS crisis resonate with the uncertainty we feel today. Emma is an extraordinary ordinary woman, who has handled unexpected turns with agile determination. She is unafraid of continual transformation, and utterly generous with family and friends, artists and patients, the dying and the meek.

Pat Rawlings spent the heart of his career as an illustrator for NASA. He is an artist with an engineer’s sensibility. I sat down with him outdoors amid the birds on a spring-like February 24 afternoon. We talked about his art, life in outer space, and life here in Wimberley and Woodcreek.