Greetings!
Winter is on the way, and so is tree planting season here at Jones Park. We are excited for volunteers to come to the park to help us restore prairie and riparian habitats to their former glory. Black willow, river birch, and sycamore are just a few species that we will plant to stabilize the banks, beautify the scenery, and filter toxins from the water. Nature does a great job of solving problems. We just have to get out of the way. If you are interested in helping, please reach out to our volunteer coordinator, Brent Wilkins, at bwilkins@hcp4.net.
This fall was such a wonderful time at the park. The weather cooled, the humidity dropped, and our festival season began. I am excited to announce that almost 300 visitors came to Native American Heritage Day in September. Tricks & Treats Among the Trees, Pioneer Day, and Old-Fashioned Christmas were all back in person this year. We held our first Fall Breakout week, similar to the one in spring, in which we offer Humble ISD students a week of programs to enjoy while they are out of school. We even had a record number of volunteers attend our second Creek Bash of the year in September. With four teams working at once, they were able to make our park even more beautiful.
Plant Texas Natives should be a big hit this year, along with the Arbor Day Celebration and Tree Planting Party on Jan. 15. We have the Houston Storytellers Guild coming out for Second Saturday Settlers in January to entertain our visitors. Jean Donatto will return for our Pioneer Campfire program later that evening. Animal Tracks and Signs, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and our First Catch Center event are all on the docket this winter.
Our project list is always evolving, and as our staff and volunteers accomplish these tasks, we look to the future. During the fall, we completed the homestead wood storage rack and repaired the roofs of the woodshop and barn. We also started expanding the restoration areas around the Grapevine Trail by clearing yaupon holly and invasive species from the forest floor to give native plants a chance to recover. The resurfacing of the West Trails is complete and provides easier access to some of our more unique and remote locations.
For staff announcements this season, I want to introduce and welcome Neil Young to the Jones Park team. Neil comes to us from the Precinct 4 Trails As Parks program to replace Katrina Yordy as our history programmer. His love of history, wildlife, and the outdoors will serve him well in his new role. Next, it is with great pride that I announce that David Jamar has been named assistant superintendent and will now oversee park maintenance. We are lucky to have his dedication, expertise, and leadership carry us into the new year.
With that, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year from my family and all of us here at Jones Park. As always, stay safe and see you in the park!
Jason Naivar
Park Superintendent and Director
"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
whispering ‘it will be happier’..."
– Alfred Lord Tennyson
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The Fire Lizards of Christmas
By Martin de Vore
‘Tis the season of hot cocoa, roaring fires – and fire lizards jumping out of your fireplace.
Humans have shared stories about the fire lizards of Christmas since the Middle Ages. Like phoenixes, dragons, and unicorns, these iconic creatures of medieval holidays may sound like they are straight out of legend. But, like most stories, they have a basis in reality.
Before the discovery of electricity, when fires were used for cooking, heating, and celebrations, families stored large woodpiles outdoors. Drawn to the cool, damp, safe spaces, salamanders hid under the bark or in the nooks and crannies of logs to winter.
When the wood was added to a fire, salamanders emerged to escape the flames. People saw them and believed they were lizards born from the flame, giving rise to the name fire lizard.
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Spring Creek's Relic From the Dinosaur Age
By John Carey
The Earth has changed drastically over the last 200 million years, but some prehistoric creatures remain the same. The horseshoe crabs that crawl across the Gulf of Mexico’s muddy bottom today are virtually indistinguishable from their ancient relatives that lived 445 million years ago. The American alligator has also undergone few changes in approximately 65 million years.
Another animal, however, slips under the radar. I am referencing North America's largest freshwater turtle, the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). Not to be confused with its close relative, the common snapper, alligator snapping turtles are much larger and more reclusive, with some exceeding 150 pounds and living just as many years.
These prehistoric beasts feature long tails, prominent shell ridges, and formidable jaws reminiscent of the American alligator. They spend their days lying in underwater log jams beneath the Mississippi River and its tributaries, mouths stretched open, wiggling their vermiform, worm-like appendages attached to their lower jaws.
When unwary fish come to investigate, the turtle snaps its jaw shut with the force of 1,000 pounds, enough to bite through bone. This tactic ensures the turtle can catch quick and elusive fish without exerting too much energy.
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Name That Fish
There is an old belief that this fish makes its spawning run when the dogwood tree blooms.
It is the state fish of Oklahoma and is the fifth-most favored species among Texas anglers, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Its primary color is silver-white to pale green, with a dark back, white sides, and a white belly. Although the fish isn’t decorative, several broken stripes running horizontally on each side of its body give it a distinctive look. It also has large, rough scales and two dorsal fins projecting from its back, the more anterior of which is hard and spiny. The rear dorsal fin is much softer and is thus called a soft ray.
Unlike some fish, its vertebrae do not extend into the tail. It has a homocercal tail fin, meaning the upper and lower portions of the tail are symmetrical and angle inward to create a notch.
The body is compressed laterally and can measure 10 to 12 inches, though some reach 17 inches or more.
This carnivore mainly eats plankton, planktonic crustaceans, and water fleas. It prefers gizzard shad, threadfin shad, and insects.
Though distributed widely across the United States, with spawning months varying from region to region, local spawning occurs from late October to early March in upstream rivers that flow into the Mississippi River.
The female of the species is known to lay around 500,000 eggs per spawning season.
It’s rare to find an adult of this species older than four years old.
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A Restoring Walk Through Jones Park |
By Alicia Mein-Johnson, Education Program Coordinator
Whether you come for the peaceful, shady paths, camaraderie, or abundant wildlife, there are many reasons to hit the trails at Jones Park.
The 1.4-mile Charles Bender Loop Trail, one of the park’s most popular hiking areas, features woodland views, doggie waste bags, restrooms, and two steep hills – a rarity in Harris County! From dawn until dusk, nature lovers visit the trail to walk, jog, sprint, chat with friends, listen to podcasts, or just enjoy the birds' songs. The trail is open during park hours and is accessible near the front parking lot.
If you're looking to leave the paved path, join us Thursday mornings for the Women's Restorative Hike. Open to women 18 and older, this beginner's walk is led by volunteer Texas Wadsworth. Sign up on the Jones Park event page.
For another opportunity, children and adults are invited to join us for Signs of Spring on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. Participants will join a staff naturalist on a walk through the park to see, smell, and hear signs that springtime is just around the corner.
We look forward to seeing you on the trails this season!
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President's Message
As 2021 ends, I'm looking forward to serving the Jesse Jones Park Volunteers as the interim president.
As volunteers, we overcame challenging obstacles in the past year and a half to support the park's public programs and events while implementing social distancing practices. Together, we explored several new ways of engaging visitors. Some led us to new opportunities like live streaming on Facebook, which will undoubtedly become a common practice.
But as we plan for Tricks and Treats Among the Trees, Pioneer Day, and An Old-Fashioned Christmas, the transition back to our usual festivities will have its own challenges. The need to provide adequate social distancing measures will continue to dictate how we organize and conduct events. Thankfully, we have room to spread out and enthusiastic staff members eager to explore new ways of sharing the natural beauty, history, and mystery of Jones Park with our visitors. These next few months in the park should be exciting and fun.
I'm anxiously looking forward to cooler weather and spending more time outdoors. I hope you'll join us soon. – Gary Chapman
Gary Chapman
JJPV Interim President
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We are excited to announce the return of the popular “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” event at Jones Park on Saturday, Dec. 4. Volunteers are needed to help with crafts, concessions, and, of course, living history demonstrations in the homestead. For more information or to sign up, please contact volunteer coordinator Brent Wilkins at 281-446-8588 or bwilkins@hcp4.net. |
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Where the Seed Meets the Soil
Volunteer Steve Mein Has a Passion for Conservation
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By Brent Wilkins, Volunteer Coordinator
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” - Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist
Whether building homes or planting natives, Jones Park volunteer Steve Mein knows that you sometimes need to get your hands dirty to create something new.
With a lifelong passion for gardening and a background in horticulture, Steve joined the greenhouse team last fall after a 37-year career in residential construction. Now as the greenhouse captain, Steve is busily transforming the native and educational plant propagation program.
Although work in the greenhouse has kicked into high gear, it wasn't always that way. The greenhouses suffered severe damage during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 that caused most work to cease. Thankfully, Jones Park staff members repaired the greenhouse's irrigation and climate control systems last year, allowing plant propagation to resume. With Steve's leadership and the help of the greenhouse team, those operations continue.
In addition to his passion for horticulture, Steve is a dedicated member and newly elected board member of the Jesse Jones Park Volunteers. In that role, Steve says, he enjoys working with a team of people who genuinely care about each other and the park and making a difference in the community.
Steve has been married to his college sweetheart for more than 45 years and has four children and five grandchildren. While serving in the military and construction industry, Steve traveled extensively across the United States and abroad. When he's not volunteering at Jones Park, he gardens, participates in church missionary work, attends events with his grandchildren, and cares for his family dog and cat.
If you are interested in joining the plant propagation program at Jones Park, contact Jones Park for more information, The greenhouse team meets on Wednesday mornings at 8:30 a.m. in the Conservation Greenhouse. You can also keep up on social media by subscribing to the Jesse Jones Park Volunteers YouTube Channel and following us on Facebook.
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Conservation Connections
Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m.
*Ages 16+ or accompanied by an adult. Wear closed-toe shoes.
Subject to change or cancellation due to weather.
Tai Chi
Wednesdays at 9 a.m.
*Subject to change or cancellation due to weather.
Homestead Open House
Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
First Saturday Birding
Saturdays, Dec. 4 and Feb. 5, at 7:45 a.m.
*Ages 10+. Bring binoculars.
Tour De Jones
Saturday, Dec. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon
Subject to change or cancellation due to weather.
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
Saturday, Dec. 11, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
*Subject to change or cancellation due to weather.
Second Sunday Pickers
Sundays, Dec. 12, Jan. 10, and Feb. 14, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Women’s Restorative Hike
Second and fourth Thursdays at 8 a.m.
*Women only. Ages 18+. Registration required beginning 10 days prior.
Copperhead vs Cottonmouth: A Comparative Lesson
Saturday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m.
*Ages 10+. Registration required beginning Wednesday, Dec. 8
Winter Bird Count
Mon. and Tues., Jan. 3 and 4, at 7:45 a.m.
*Ages 10+. Bring binoculars.
Tadpoles Club
Wednesdays, Jan. 5, 12, 19, and 26, at 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m.
*Ages 3-4 only. Registration required beginning Wednesday, Dec. 1
Beginner-Friendly Group Bike Ride
Saturdays, Jan. 8, Feb. 12, and March 12, at 9 a.m.
*Ages 18+. Helmet and bike in good condition required.
Second Saturday Settlers: Pioneer Storytelling
Saturday, Jan. 8, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Pioneer Campfire
Saturday, Jan. 8, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
*Registration required beginning Wednesday, Dec. 29
Arbor Day Celebration
Sat. and Sun., Jan. 15 and 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Tree Planting Party on Saturday at 10 a.m.)
*Registration required beginning Wednesday, Jan. 5
First Catch Center Event
Saturday, Jan. 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
*Ages 8+. Registration required beginning Wednesday, Jan. 5
Animal Tracks & Signs
Saturday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m.
*Registration required beginning Wednesday, Jan. 19
Jesse Jones Park Volunteers Program & Meeting
Mondays, Jan. 31 and Feb. 28, at 7 p.m.
*Ages 16+ or accompanied by adult. Contact park for more information.
Wildlife Rehabilitation
Saturday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m.
*Registration required beginning Wednesday, Jan. 26
Second Saturday Settlers: Blacksmithing
Saturday, Feb. 12, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
*Subject to change or cancellation due to weather.
Winter Woods Orienteering
Saturday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m.
*Ages 10+. Registration required beginning Wednesday, Feb. 9
Signs of Spring
Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m.
*Registration required beginning Wednesday, Feb. 16
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Thank you, donors and volunteers, for the many ways you support Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center! Because of you, Jones Park remains one of Harris County’s top recreational facilities. This 312-acre park along Spring Creek continues to be a place where individuals and families can picnic, hike and bike along paved trails, paddle along the creek, fish, and participate in free programs and festivals. With your continued support and generosity, Jones Park will remain a favorite destination for discovering nature and wildlife.
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Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center
20634 Kenswick Drive in Humble
Phone: 281-446-8588
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