Windhaven Meadows Park in Plano TX — The 21st Century Matriarch

Last week, I visited Windhaven Meadows Park in Plano TX. It’s close to the hotel that I prefer when I go to Dallas. My original idea was to explore the trails on my own but then a plan emerged to have brunch with my sisters, nieces and their babies in the park. I went to the park earlier in the day to see what was there…and take most of my pictures. The day was already warm at 8 AM.

I went a short distance on one trail away from the playground area noting things that might interest a 2-year-old if he ever ventured from the playground (he didn’t). There was grapevine, leaves with lots of holes in them, pecans in the tree and on the ground, and a stump that had been cut recently enough that rings could be counted.

In the other direction from the playground, there was a meadow with some flowering plants and milkweed with seedpods. The Osage orange is easy to identify this time of year because of the large fruit (in the tree and on the ground).

An Eastern Phoebe was perched in a tree. The yellow color stumped me at first but then I read that their fresh fall plumage is yellow; that area will be white later!

There was also a crow in the same tree.

In the picnic pavilion (and elsewhere) the grackles were cleaning up. I noticed that this time of year the males lose their tail feathers…making them look much shorter. It also appeared that the female was much more aware of the situation than the males (she kept an eye on me rather than eating all the time).