The Ashe juniper 'cedar' taking over as the trail leaves the river — 'cedar fever,' and its surprising role as the only nesting tree of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.
As the trail starts to pull away from the river, notice a scrubby, shaggy evergreen creeping in more and more — dense and dark, with stringy bark that peels off in strips. That's Ashe juniper, though just about every Texan alive calls it 'cedar,' and it blankets these hillsides. Folks have a love-hate feeling about it: come late winter it throws off clouds of pollen that give half the state the miserable sniffles they call 'cedar fever.'
But don't be too hard on the cedar — because remember that golden-cheeked warbler, the little songbird that nests nowhere else on Earth but central Texas? It builds its nest out of exactly one thing: the peeling bark of these old junipers. No cedar, no warbler. It's a fine reminder that even the plant everybody grumbles about turns out to be somebody's whole world. Now take a good breath and a drink of water right here — because just ahead the easy river walking ends, and the trail tips uphill in earnest. Get yourself ready to climb.
Photo: Steve Maslowski/U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain
