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April 2020 Letters

TCP Talk

Letters and comments from our readers

True Confession

I had never seen a crape myrtle before I moved to Texas [Crape Murder, February 2020]. There was a row of them along the property line of my lot in a mobile home park. My neighbor told me to cut them back. Soon afterward, I found out that was wrong. I’ve felt bad ever since. They were fairly tall.

Lisa Culbertson | Via Facebook

A Tree’s Trials

I’m a crape murderer—but not because I’m trying to restrict the height of them [Crape Murder, February 2020]. My crape myrtles border our driveway. They bloom beautifully and look great during the warm months.

However, once the first freeze occurs, they turn brown and become a bit of an eyesore. Even worse, left untrimmed, they drop dead leaves and seed pods onto my driveway throughout the winter, much of which is then blown into the garage. Foot traffic then brings them inside.

Tom Millhollon | Granbury
United Cooperative Services

I enjoyed Sheryl Smith-Rodgers’ article, but it should have been titled Crape Assault and Battery because it’s almost impossible to kill the average crape. Three years ago, I cut off a 6-inch diameter volunteer crape just above the ground (that was too close to the house), and it came roaring back.

I repeatedly cut it back and finally was able to kill it by pouring a thick layer of concrete over the stump. There’s nothing delicate about a crape!

Dudley Dobie | Austin
Fayette EC

For all of my 50-year career in Texas horticulture, I have yet to hear even one valid reason for this practice. When author Sheryl Smith-Rodgers quoted Greg Grant, she went to one of Texas’ finest resources. Indeed, we must “stop the madness.”

Neil Sperry | McKinney
Grayson-Collin EC

Not a Flicker of Doubt

In Focus on Texas in February, you identified a bird as a woodpecker. The bird is a flicker.

Marylin Dow | Scroggins
Wood County EC

Editor’s Note: We checked with Clifford Shackelford, an ornithologist at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “It’s a male red-bellied woodpecker,” he said. “The flicker would never have that much red on the head.”

Crawfish Crazy

I am crawfish crazy [A Tale of Texas Crawfish, February 2020]. It’s a pastime, like baseball or fishing. Conversations over mud-bugs and beer—can’t beat it.

Ryan Wagner | Via Facebook

You left out the best place along the coast in Calhoun County. Bubba’s Cajun Seafood has been serving up its own special seasoning on heaps of steaming crawfish for almost 10 years.

Beckey Boyd Gooden | Seadrift
Victoria EC

I call ’em what they are, crawfish, and the very best come out the Atchafalaya spillway, not farm raised.

Daryl Rodriguez | Via Facebook

You can call them whatever you want. I call them good.

Micheal Woodard | Via Facebook

I grew up in West Texas, and we called them crawdads. I never knew people ate them.

Marcia Herald | Via Facebook