BROWNTOWN DUCKS HAVE THEIR OWN ISLAND IN THE SUN

(Ed.'s Note: Brownsville residents who pass by Valley Baptist Hospital on Central Boulevard sometimes miss the sights as they speed along the street. If they would take a time to look in the Resaca next to the clinic complex there heading north, they might sport this gaggle of ducks enjoying their own little island in the waterway.

The resacas are teeming with animals, from the invading nutria, to the occasional alligator gar and catfish who inhabit these isolated oxbow lakes left by a meandering Rio Grande of years gone by. The trees in the foreground are Montezuma Cypress, a type of tree that used to line the banks of the river as far north as Rio Grande City. Municipal planners are now encouraging new businesses like banks to plant the native species as part of the landscaping required for new development. These trees on this Resaca grew on their own. 

It may seem like forever, but Fall is actually on its way here and then our traditional short winters. In the meantime, scenes like this are part of Brownsville mornings on the way to work.)