What is the sprawling shrub around town that has the little yellow star blossoms just coming into bloom in mid-January?
It is winter jasmine, a passalong plant that is rarely sold in local nurseries. Every town in west Texas has yards with winter jasmine — people dig up the offset plants and share them. It is originally from China. • Where are the cranes this year? Only 600 or so are in Midland County, and they seem to be roosting at night on private land far from a road. If you drive the county roads around old Cole Park and near Valley View, you may find some. There was very little grain planted this year in Midland County, so the bigger numbers are in other counties. • In the Sibley Nature Center column in the Midland Reporter Telegram a salt playa was mentioned recently. Can people go to that playa? Most salt playas are on private land, however, Pleasure Lake, east of Stanton on I-20, allows four-wheeling and other activities on that playa. Many of the plants that are adapted to saline soils can be found there. • When do the Purple Martins come back? Scouts may return in mid-February, and by March
