Sierra Madrone Ranch

Sierra Madrone Ranch Family owned 500-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country dedicated to nature, water, and wildlife preservation.

We created this page to share our progress with family & friends, and connect with other folks who are working to restore & preserve Texas nature.

👁👁 Caught a good look of a Coyote on the game camera
05/08/2026

👁👁 Caught a good look of a Coyote on the game camera

More exceptional photos from , taken during a bird survey out at Sierra Madrone this month. It was great to see the Gol...
04/23/2026

More exceptional photos from , taken during a bird survey out at Sierra Madrone this month. It was great to see the Golden Cheeked Warblers thriving, in nearly every corner of the ranch!

1. Golden Cheeked Warbler
2. Black-and-white Warbler
3. Canyon Wren

Brilliant final show from the Sycamores this year 🍁 🤩 👏
12/11/2025

Brilliant final show from the Sycamores this year 🍁 🤩 👏

Exciting development out at Sierra Madrone... More to share soon!
11/15/2025

Exciting development out at Sierra Madrone... More to share soon!

We got this shot from the drone this week. From the ground, these two pieces of land look similar, but from the air the ...
10/24/2025

We got this shot from the drone this week. From the ground, these two pieces of land look similar, but from the air the difference is stark.

The fence in the middle separates our land (left) with one of our neighbors who grazes cattle.

One of these fields will go into winter with a protective layer on top the soil, holding it in place and keeping it safe from hard freeze. One will be exposed, and subject to the elements.

Which do you think will do better over the long term?

(Note: quickly moving rotational grazing has been shown to build soil organic matter, e.g. what is doing, but it doesn't seem to be what is happening here.)

Another incredible night of moth-ing out at Sierra Madrone!Despite a rainy evening, and Jack C identified an astounding...
09/15/2025

Another incredible night of moth-ing out at Sierra Madrone!

Despite a rainy evening, and Jack C identified an astounding 190 different species of moths, including one that may have NEVER been described by science before!

Once again, the biodiversity of Sierra Madrone and the Frio canyon is on full display. Dark skies, skipping pesticides, promoting native plants, and protecting soil/water is all the key to this.

If you need it right now, here's your reminder that there is immense beauty right in front of us, every single day.

Which is your favorite?

Moths featured:
1 - Magician Moth
2 - Zebra Conchylodes
3 - Small Mossy Glyph
4 - Moonseed Moth
5 - Virbia Costata
6 - Thin-lined Owlet
7 - Fractured Western Snout
8 - Sincere Salobrena Moth
9 - Spragueia jaguaralis
10 - The potentially undescribed Moth! In the Genus Argyrotaenia

Excited to share a preview of the new Fall Möth collection, dropping soon
09/07/2025

Excited to share a preview of the new Fall Möth collection, dropping soon

What happens underground in Hill Country Karst Country?This Sycamore, growing straight out of the karst limestone, gives...
07/26/2025

What happens underground in Hill Country Karst Country?

This Sycamore, growing straight out of the karst limestone, gives a window into something that's usually completely unseen.

Notice the roots down below, making their way through the stone.

Grasses are absolutely a critical part of Central Texas, especially in bottomlands, but they can't pierce the stone like this. Grasses also can't take root when there's no soil.

So without trees, much of the Hill Country -- with our thin soils on top of rock -- would be barren of life. And without these roots finding the tiny cracks in the rock and opening them up, water couldn't make its way in.

No springs. No Frio River.

Or, at best, the Frio would be a seasonal dry-bed river that flash flooded every time it rained...

It takes native trees like Sycamores, Oaks, Cedars, and more, that make up the 'Oak-Juniper Woodlands' -- which historically made up most of the Hill Country -- to build the conditions for our hills to hold water and slowly release it. Conditions that feed our springs, that then feed our beloved rivers.

Protecting upriver forests is critical to our watershed. This includes the misunderstood, but keystone species for our region -- the Cedar (Ashe Juniper) tree.

And as we saw with the recent flooding, forested areas like ours can handle 5+ inches of rain, without significant runoff.

Widespread clearing, hoping grass comes in, and thinking that that will be good for your springs, is wishful thinking. You just need to slow down and think critically about it yourself. As we say in Texas, that dog don't hunt.

Let's change the narrative on what good upriver Hill Country land stewardship is, and treat our upland forests with the respect and appreciation they deserve!

Our ❤️s are with the Hill Country
07/06/2025

Our ❤️s are with the Hill Country

Address

Cypress Creek Road
Leakey, TX
77883

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