Jun 02
Posted: under Activities, photography, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, census, documentation, photography, wildlife management June 2nd, 2017
Yesterday morning as I went outside, I saw a very small cicada on the kitchen storm door. I thought immediately of one seen some years back (turned out to be four years) in the same place, photographed then and identified by Bill Reynolds, an expert on cicadas at BugGuide.net. First I went back inside and […] [...more]
Yesterday morning as I went outside, I saw a very small cicada on the kitchen storm door. I thought immediately of one seen some years back (turned out to be four years) in the same place, photographed then and identified by Bill Reynolds, an expert on cicadas at BugGuide.net. First I went back inside and got the camera, then photographed it, then went to BugGuide to compare…and sure enough, it’s the same critter. Length about 1/2 inch (not counting wings.)
Pacarina puella Little Mesquite cicada
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Jun 19
Posted: under Activities, Land, photography, Plantlife, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, beauty, bird behavior, native plants, natural water, photography June 19th, 2016
The rain stopped a week ago; the winter grasses are brown or browning, the early wildflowers have gone to seed. But soil moisture is still good. The tallgrasses (switchgrass, Eastern gama, Indiangrass, big bluestem) are doing very well (switchgrass in the secondary drainage is taller than we are.) There’s an area in the east grass […] [...more]
The rain stopped a week ago; the winter grasses are brown or browning, the early wildflowers have gone to seed. But soil moisture is still good. The tallgrasses (switchgrass, Eastern gama, Indiangrass, big bluestem) are doing very well (switchgrass in the secondary drainage is taller than we are.) There’s an area in the east grass we call “The Bowl” because it’s a roundish area that seeps in wet weather as it slopes down to the old drainage line. It stays green longer. When we got the place, it was covered with broomweed (non-native), bare under the broomweed with a few scattered grass plants, not doing well because of the chemical defense of the broomweek. Today it looks like this:
You can see the upslope edge (pale beige of dry grass)
Every different shade of green, every native plant, reveals something about the soil where it is.
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Jun 19
Posted: under Activities, photography, Plantlife, Water, Weather.
June 19th, 2016
Most but not all the surface water has dried up, soils that were seeping and running with water last week are dry enough to walk on in regular shoes. Main grass: Queen Anne’s Lace, gaillardia, scattered bluebonnets stiff-stem prairie flax, coreopsis, goldthread, Venus’s looking glass, skullcap, green antelope horns, others [...more]
Most but not all the surface water has dried up, soils that were seeping and running with water last week are dry enough to walk on in regular shoes.
Main grass: Queen Anne’s Lace, gaillardia, scattered bluebonnets
stiff-stem prairie flax, coreopsis, goldthread, Venus’s looking glass,
skullcap, green antelope horns, others
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Jun 19
Posted: under Activities, Land, photography, Water, Weather, Wildlife.
June 19th, 2016
Earth Day 2016 It had rained in the day before, and dawned cool, with a northeast breeze–a perfect day to go checking the water quality on the east half of the place. Not as much rain as the previous weekend, so with some difficulty I was able to make it from place to place in […] [...more]
It had rained in the day before, and dawned cool, with a northeast breeze–a perfect day to go checking the water quality on the east half of the place. Not as much rain as the previous weekend, so with some difficulty I was able to make it from place to place in ordinary walking shoes. In the distance, the line of woods along the seasonal creek; to the left the “dry woods” growing on a hump of rock. Out of sight to the left, the line of trees along an old ditch dug by a former farmer, intended to carry runoff from the highway to the south property line . A beautiful day, with signs of recovery from the drought…and signs of much management still needed.
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Jul 21
Posted: under Activities, photography, Plantlife.
Tags: grass, photography, prairie restoration July 21st, 2015
Why it’s called BIG bluestem: the pole is six feet tall Four grasses form the foundation of the tallgrass prairie biome in the US: Big Bluestem, Switchgrass, Indiangrass, and Eastern Gama. Before this land was broken to the plow, fingers of tallgrass prairie existed here in the wetter lower spots, with midgrass (Little Bluestem, Sideoats […] [...more]
Why it’s called BIG bluestem: the pole is six feet tall
Four grasses form the foundation of the tallgrass prairie biome in the US: Big Bluestem, Switchgrass, Indiangrass, and Eastern Gama. Before this land was broken to the plow, fingers of tallgrass prairie existed here in the wetter lower spots, with midgrass (Little Bluestem, Sideoats Grama, Vine Mesquite, etc) prairie on dryer slopes and shortgrass on the rockiest areas. This is not quite the southernmost bit of tallgrass country, but it’s getting there. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 17
Posted: under photography, Wildlife.
Tags: beauty, butterflies, native plants, photography October 17th, 2013
A cool sunny day after some rain: grass is green, fall flowers are in bloom–including some non-fall flowers, like a pear tree. Monarchs are migrating through, and this afternoon were busy among the Maximilian sunflowers. Most of those are short this year (dry previous winter and spring) but loaded with flowers. In this patch alone […] [...more]
A cool sunny day after some rain: grass is green, fall flowers are in bloom–including some non-fall flowers, like a pear tree. Monarchs are migrating through, and this afternoon were busy among the Maximilian sunflowers. Most of those are short this year (dry previous winter and spring) but loaded with flowers. In this patch alone (a few yards across) I saw five or six monarchs at a time.
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Apr 13
Posted: under Activities, photography, Plantlife, Water, Weather, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, beauty, drought, native plants, photography April 13th, 2013
It was a dry fall, after a dry summer, and a dry winter followed the dry fall. Other places got rain–sometimes nearby–but we had none for months. March brought a little–April has brought a little–and now we have some flowers. The bluebonnets may be only 4-5 inches tall, instead of knee-high, but they’re there–in a […] [...more]
It was a dry fall, after a dry summer, and a dry winter followed the dry fall. Other places got rain–sometimes nearby–but we had none for months. March brought a little–April has brought a little–and now we have some flowers.
The bluebonnets may be only 4-5 inches tall, instead of knee-high, but they’re there–in a few places–and should be able to make seed for another year. We had more through most of the dry winter, but many finally just died–or were eaten, since they were the only green thing out there.
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Dec 01
Posted: under Activities, photography, Plantlife, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, fencing, native plants, observation, photography December 1st, 2011
In our house, fencing has two meanings: the stuff I do with swords (Renaissance style) and the stuff we both do with posts and wire and clamshell posthole diggers and shovels and so on. Often my husband works on fence alone. I have books to write. When he’s sick or injured, the fence projects languish…and […] [...more]
In our house, fencing has two meanings: the stuff I do with swords (Renaissance style) and the stuff we both do with posts and wire and clamshell posthole diggers and shovels and so on. Often my husband works on fence alone. I have books to write. When he’s sick or injured, the fence projects languish…and sometimes it’s just too hot to get out there.
Winter is a fine time to work on fence, and he’s been busy on the west end fence since some windstorms dropped trees on it.
Yes, there’s a fence under that limb nearest the camera.
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Oct 15
Posted: under Climate Change, photography, Wildlife.
Tags: beauty, butterflies, drought, photography October 15th, 2011
Monarchs nectaring on Gayfeather (Liatris sp.) [...more]
Monarchs nectaring on Gayfeather (Liatris sp.)
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Aug 23
Posted: under Climate Change, Mortality, photography, Plantlife, Water, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, climate, drought, photography August 23rd, 2011
Roughleaf dogwood & oak thicket in August 2011 East margin of creek woods–August 2011-leaves turning & dropping Cactus Flat: even the prickly pear is drying out [...more]
Roughleaf dogwood & oak thicket in August 2011
East margin of creek woods–August 2011-leaves turning & dropping
Cactus Flat: even the prickly pear is drying out
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