May 31
Posted: under Officialdom, Water, Wildlife.
Tags: Animal behavior, insect, new species, reptile behavior May 31st, 2017
When talking about a new species, I need to make clear that it can have different meanings here: 1) a species we have not previously identified on the 80 acres (could be IDed or not, photographed or not…just something new seen), 2) a species not previously identified here which is documented, IDed, and added to […] [...more]
When talking about a new species, I need to make clear that it can have different meanings here: 1) a species we have not previously identified on the 80 acres (could be IDed or not, photographed or not…just something new seen), 2) a species not previously identified here which is documented, IDed, and added to the list, 3) a species none of the experts consulted can identify and consider a new (to science) species.
So what have we had this spring in any of the categories? First, a planthopper that hasn’t been IDed yet…it’s been photographed, but not as well as I’d like. It was on the kitchen windowscreen one late afternoon, and the next day (when the light might’ve been better) it wasn’t.
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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.
![Gaillardia-Qanne"s-lace-05-05-2016](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/e_moon60/12815053/272140/272140_original.jpg "Gaillardia-Qanne"s-lace-05-05-2016")
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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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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Mar 18
Posted: under Climate Change, Plantlife, Water.
Tags: drought, native plants, natural water March 18th, 2013
I mentioned on Twitter that more trees had failed to leaf out this spring, victims of the long drought which not only did not provide them enough water to survive, but prevented us from having any supplemental water to give them. Someone suggested what seemed reasonable–why not plant trees from the next climate zone (or […] [...more]
I mentioned on Twitter that more trees had failed to leaf out this spring, victims of the long drought which not only did not provide them enough water to survive, but prevented us from having any supplemental water to give them. Someone suggested what seemed reasonable–why not plant trees from the next climate zone (or two) to the south of us. I realized then that the traditional “planting zone/climate zone” concept had taken hold to such an extent that the complexity of keeping anything alive through a rapid change of climate wasn’t being talked about.
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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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Jun 23
Posted: under Activities, Water, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, water resource management June 23rd, 2011
On land with no permanent water source, rain harvesting is the only way to provide reliable supplemental water for wildlife. (Well, you can lug it in on your back or a cart or trailer, but that’s no fun at all when temperatures top 100F day after day.) And rainwater is a healthier source of water […] [...more]
On land with no permanent water source, rain harvesting is the only way to provide reliable supplemental water for wildlife. (Well, you can lug it in on your back or a cart or trailer, but that’s no fun at all when temperatures top 100F day after day.) And rainwater is a healthier source of water for some (most?) wildlife than treated city water, even if that were affordable and available. Supplying supplemental water is a key activity in the support of wildlife, critical in times of drought. So, over the years, we’ve built “rain barns” to capture and store rainwater for this purpose. We also do rainwater collection off existing roofs (house, carport, horse barn) to provide water for the horses, water garden, and a few trees.
Fox Pavilion: 610 gallons storage max
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Jul 01
Posted: under photography, Plantlife, Water, Wildlife.
Tags: Animal behavior, beauty, dragonfly, insect, observation, odonates, photography July 1st, 2010
When I went out yesterday about noon, I found four of these lovely pink waterlily flowers open: [...more]
When I went out yesterday about noon, I found four of these lovely pink waterlily flowers open:
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May 24
Posted: under Activities, Climate Change, Water, Wildlife.
Tags: Activities, amphibians, Animal behavior, beauty, documentation, observation, photography, wildlife management May 24th, 2010
Young Rana berlandieri with last of its tail showing. [...more]
Young Rana berlandieri with last of its tail showing.
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Feb 11
Posted: under photography, Plantlife, Water, Weather, Wildlife.
Tags: beauty, native plants, natural water, observation, photography, rain, seasons, Weather February 11th, 2010
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