Nature Appreciation in Cullen Park (and Trail) in April

Green lizard on bird house (nesting box) 

Caterpillar dangling on a thread 

Perfect wheel - Yellow Bull Thistle flower 

Ladybug in a tree 

Admiral Butterfly on foliage

Delicate wood sorrell 

A very thin and tiny dragonfly on a leaf 

Intense yellow in fives 

Cullen Park Trail Head at Highway 6 and Patterson - Signalized intersection with pedestrian and bicycle crossing

Trail head at SH6 - Signs provides distance information for facilities at Cullen Park Phase 4
near West Houston Airport

Directions posted for turn onto Patterson Road to get to Bear Creek Community Center,
Houston Farm and Ranch Club, and Bear Creek Pioneers Park 

Signalized intersection with long phase for crossing multi-lane Highway 6 on foot and on bike,
with count-down display showing time remaining for crossing the highway

Cullen Park Hike & Bike Trail in September (photo tour)

Birdhouse on the Prairie

Tree-lined section of Cullen Hike & Bike Trail (paved throughout)

Edge of meadow along Cullen Park Hike & Bike Trail near the West Houston Airport

Yellowish-green berries hanging from small tree seen against the blue sky over the prairie land
South of the runway at West Houston Airport

Looking up - Twigs with double-rows of leaves make for nice profile against the sky

Red Trumpet flowers with seed pods on the same twig

Bushy-hairy grass stalks on the edge of the meadow alongside the hike and bike trail

Majestic Oaks (my best guess) at the historic grave site where members of German pioneer families
who settled in the Addicks-Bear Creek  in the 1800's area are buried

A few of the gravestones with German inscriptions at the Koch-Schmidt Cemetery

Picnic tables and gazebo at one of the park and playground areas with facilities
in Cullen Park / Addicks Reservoir (near the burial grounds of the German Pioneers that settled the area )

Kids playground along Cullen Hike & Bike Trail with a few rays of sun in the late afternoon
(accessible via the trail or by car, with parking lot and amenities for visitors nearby)

Orange butterfly with white specks under the wings. It had landed on a stalk in the grass
and was flipping its wings as if to show off to colorful patterns on both the top and bottom sides.

Sunlit vegetation on a late afternoon at bend in the Cullen Trail
near the East End at Highway 6 / Patterson Road

Heading West on Cullen Trail in the late afternoon:
Backlit foliage and tree branches 

Cullen Hike & Bike Trail - Trailhead on the East End (at Highway 6 at Patterson Road) with Signs

Cullen Park (Addicks Reservoir) in pics

Like George Bush Park, Cullen Park is a huge suburban park, more properly thought of as a cluster of parks in a wilderness area, linked by a paved hike & bike trail that runs East all the way to Highway 6, and provides a link to Bear Creek Pioneers Park via Patterson Road. Like Bear Creek Park, Cullen Park also features numerous pavilions and picnic areas with tables and benches, and sports facilities at the "Phase" located near Saums Road.

Not the mention a velodrome, which -- by contrast -- is a rather unique facility in the area. 

Playground area with sprinkling water fun for kids at Cullen Park on Saums Road.
Park pavilion with red roof in the background

City of Houston Park Regs posted at Cullen Park
The Cite of Houston leases the park from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and maintains it

Picnic table with benches in tree-shaded area of Cullen Park

Bridge over South Mayde Creek at Cullen Park with picnic table-bench set in front

Pavilion at Cullen Park - Saums Road near Barker-Cypress

Sports facility / field at Cullen Park

Sunset at Cullen Park in West Houston

The Cullen Hike and Bike Trail passes South of the West Houston Airport, where another large developed park area with amenities and playground for kids is located. There is also an expansive meadow (mowed) bordered by green wilderness (grasses, brush, small trees) with an abundance of butterflies and other insects during the warm part of the year. 

Some segments of the trail are lined by trees and shaded by the canopy. Others cross open green spaces. A trail also runs alongside South Mayde Creek, one of the waterways that feeds into the Addicks Reservoir and ultimately drains into Buffalo Bayou (and on into the ship channel further downstream).

Going red as Fall approaches

There is still plenty of green, though, not to mention blue sky.

Tree in the center of the meadow
Greenspace in Addicks Reservoir South of Groeschke Road

Lone birdhouse

Hey...I am green too

.... and I don't just turn red for the Fall. I like it that way at all times.

Greenery with blue sky in Cullen Park South of West Houston Airport