Blog
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A New Bullfrog Sighting
It has been three months since an American Bullfrog was relocated here from a neighbor’s yard. After that first day I didn’t see it again. Then one recent evening there was another sighting (photo above), although I have no idea if it was the same one as before or not. It has been my experience… Continue reading
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Interesting Toad Activities
In early spring there was a period of a few weeks when there was a toad chorus around the pond from dusk for two hours or so. Eventually that activity stopped, but then the noise started up again in early May and this time I’ve been able to observe more. Once the chorus starts in… Continue reading
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Enhancing Mulch With Mushroom Blocks
At a recent meeting of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) Guadalupe Chapter, there was a speaker from the Central Texas Mycological Society, a group dedicated to working with fungi, which are key for the health, stability, and abundance of soil, plants, and fresh water. One of the things that this group does is to… Continue reading
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Bee Fly
There’s a lot of Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) here and its tiny flowers are popular with little insect visitors. One day I saw this, which at first glance seems to be a bee but it’s actually a fly. (The photos aren’t great but it was moving around a lot!) If my ID is correct, this particular… Continue reading
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American Basketflower
American Basketflower (Plectocephalus americanus) is a seed that was included in a few of the wildflower mixes that I have used here. It is therefore no surprise to see it eventually appear, except that the several specimens that I have are not in the area where that seed was scattered! Nevertheless, I am glad for… Continue reading
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Shredding A Few Excess Plants
I am limited in what I can compost here because I only have space for a small tumbling composter. That takes care of all of our household kitchen scraps and some of the garden waste. Tumbling composters don’t get hot enough to kill weed seeds, so there are some times when I will discard plant… Continue reading
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Fall Asters Confused About The Season
This is the second year when I’ve seen my Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) bloom in the “incorrect” season. As the name would suggest, this plant normally would bloom in the fall (September to December), but mine has several premature flowers that started appearing about a month ago. Other Fall Aster plants in Seguin are doing… Continue reading
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A New Plant For The Succulent Area
There is an area towards the back of the garden where I have clustered several succulent plants together and surrounded them with stones. The stones serve several purposes, including being shelter or habitat for small creatures, and being a place to collect the MANY stones that I have dug out of this ground (they were… Continue reading
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More Fish In The Pond
Very soon after the pond was finished in November 2024, I added six Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), chosen because of their diet: zooplankton, small insects and insect larvae, and detritus material. However, after that first day of release I never saw them again, dead or alive. Perhaps they died of starvation, cold, or being eaten… Continue reading
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The Next Chapter In The Wildflower Meadow
In March and April there was a surprisingly impressive display of Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) in the wildflower meadow in front of the house (see first photo in this post). It was surprising because elsewhere in Central Texas where we would normally see bluebonnets in fields and beside roadsides, the displays have been poor this… Continue reading
About Me
Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.
I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.
Rewilding My Lot 