Let’s start thinking about water!

Water and the White Shaman

The White Shaman panel outside of Del Rio is a magical place, hugging a rock cliff over the Pecos River. Interestingly, the panel includes imagery that appears to be a map of springs along the Balcones Escarpment. Schroeder and chums examine how pre-contact Native American cosmology, particularly that of the Huichol and other Uto-Aztecan-speaking peoples, is reflected in the White Shaman mural and encoded on the landscape of the Edwards Plateau with water as a central sacred element. Water emerges as a vital theme through its symbolic and practical role in Indigenous ritual, cosmology, and survival. The authors argue that the mural references not only mythic events but also specific hydrological features across Central Texas, including major springs such as San Antonio, Barton, San Marcos, and Comal. These springs are interpreted as sacred nodes on a ceremonial pilgrimage route. In Native cosmovision, springs were portals to the underworld, associated with fertility, spirit beings, and the movement of celestial bodies. Ethnographic and historical records, including a 1924 account of Ponca pilgrims performing rituals at San Antonio Springs, support the argument that these springs were not just water sources, but also sacred ceremonial stops on annual journeys to collect peyote.

The article suggests that the White Shaman mural maps these waterscapes, visually encoding their positions and spiritual functions. The authors also link caves and springs to solstice and equinox alignments, arguing that water bodies, like Powell Cave and Menard-area springs, symbolized cosmological gateways where the sun entered and emerged from the underworld. The mural’s imagery and orientation reflect this hydrological-spiritual integration. Ultimately, the study reframes the Edwards Plateau not as a passive ecological setting but as a ritual landscape where water features were both physically and spiritually essential. The authors call for deeper recognition of springs and rivers in archaeological interpretation as sites of ceremonial significance, mythic memory, and environmental continuity.

Biochar and cucumbers

Biochar is a hot topic due to its ability, in certain conditions, to increase water retention in soils and to sequester carbon. Kafle and amigos investigate how combining deficit irrigation (irrigation that only partially offsets Mother Nature’s rainfall fickleness) and biochar influences cucumber productivity in West Texas. Given the heavy reliance on the Ogallala aquifer and its rapid depletion (and the reality of deficit irrigation), the authors aimed to identify water‑saving approaches that maintain crop yield and efficiency. Over two seasons (2021–2022), the researchers employed a split‑plot field trial in Lubbock, contrasting four irrigation regimes ranging from full irrigation to severe deficits with three biochar application rates. They found that biochar boosted saturated hydraulic conductivity by 1.6 to 2.2 times, but had a minimal impact on plant growth and yield.

Pain in the ash

The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle native to Asia that has devastated ash tree populations across North America since its detection in 2002. Folks first confirmed the arrival of the insect in Texas in 2016, and the borer has since spread to at least 27 counties. In this study, Hudak documents the infestation’s impact along a nature trail near Lewisville Lake in Denton County, where large green ash trees have been particularly hard hit. Field observations in September 2024 showed that of 101 large-diameter trees, only 9 were alive, and none were healthy. Of 174 smaller trees, 49 were alive, and just 15 were in good health. Evidence of infestation included serpentine larval galleries and bark peeling. Although Hudak only saw one adult borer, signs suggest the beetle has been present since at least 2016, which is earlier than the officially recorded date. Despite the devastation, signs of recovery emerged: healthy green ash seedlings were found in non-mowed areas, especially where tall grasses or woody debris provided shelter. In contrast, seedlings were sparse in areas subject to regular mowing by nearby property owners. Hudak recommends integrated management, including public education, remote sensing for early detection, and habitat-sensitive practices, to address infestations. Ultimately, while the adult canopy has been decimated, the persistence of seedlings offers hope for long-term recovery—if human activities like mowing and wood removal can be moderated.