Tag Archives: Acton

The Butterfly Garden at Acton Nature Center

The Acton Nature Center of Hood County is a very special place and today I visited their butterfly garden. I did come here last year, but the summer was extra dry and the butterflies were limited. But this year there were a ton of butterflies in the garden. They looked like Monarch’s to me at first, but now I’m pretty sure they were queen butterflies and maybe a couple of monarchs and some smaller yellow ones. While I was there I also caught sight of some brilliant cardinals and a little grey hummingbird. Also some huge grasshoppers and dragonflies. And while it was cooler than last year (just in the mid-90s) it was still too hot for me to take the longer walk. Someday I’ll do that.  Admission is free.

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Acton Nature Center

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I suspect I visited the Acton Nature Center when it wasn’t at its best. The weather was that special hot that it gets in Texas in the summer and many of the plants were suffering from a long dry spell. But it was still great! The Acton Nature Center is located at 6900 Smoky Hill Ct., Granbury, TX 76049 and has been around for more than a decade. Because of the heat, I didn’t explore the entire center, but I did venture to the butterfly gardens which was lovely. There were a couple of butterflies and a huge lizard, as well as an air conditioned structure used to view birds (that day it was cardinals and hummingbirds).

The volunteer was very welcoming and informative and suggested walking the loop down near the pond, which was wooded and a tad cooler. Sadly the pond wasn’t there! I’m sure it will be back after some rain.

I’d love to go visit in the Spring when the wildflowers are blooming and it is cooler. The volunteers that have created this center should be very proud of their efforts.

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Davy Crocket’s Wife’s Grave

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The old Acton Cemetery was founded in 1855 and has the graves of Davy Crocket’s wife, son and daughter in law. The grouping of the Crocket graves and associated statue are the smallest state park in Texas. The statue was erected in 1911 to honor all Texas pioneer mothers. The Church of the Good Shepard is located at the edge of the cemetery.

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