Blog
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Wolf Spiders, And How To Find Them In The Dark
Rabid Wolf Spiders (Rabidosa rabida) are common here. Their name sounds alarming, but spiders cannot carry rabies and therefore cannot transmit it. The “rabid” part of their name is thought to derive from its rapid, erratic movement. Here are two of them that I found in my Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora). Rabid Wolf Spiders don’t build… Continue reading
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Texas Star, And A Petal Mystery
When I recently tidied up my native wildflower meadow, I found this tiny volunteer Texas Star aka Meadow Pink (Sabatia campestris). It’s an annual that readily self-seeds so hopefully I’ll see more next year. Initially I struggled with the ID because although this plant when I first saw it (photo below) looked in almost every… Continue reading
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Paying It Forward In The Wildflower Meadow
Once the majority of Bluebonnets and Firewheels had finished blooming in my native wildflower meadow, they were cut down to the ground and the stems moved to the back garden to dry. A few days later it was shredding time. By then I had accumulated quite a lot of material, due to cutting down most… Continue reading
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Big Clean Up In The Back Yard
This year I filled almost all unused space in the back yard with annual wildflowers, some seeded by me and some volunteers. This “green mulch” approach is intended to capture water, improve soil health, and support wildlife visitors. Since these plants are not permanent fixtures, I am free to remove any of them to make… Continue reading
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June Pruning Advice For Native Plants
Drake White, Owner and Founder at The Nectar Bar, is very knowledgeable about Central Texas native plants. She recently posted with recommendations for June pruning. This is what she said, and I’ll follow her list with notes about my own plants, almost all of which are in my pollinator garden near the front porch. (Some… Continue reading
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Lady Beetles After Rain
I often walk around my garden just to see if there’s anything interesting going on. One of my favorite times to do that is just after a rainfall — the cooler air is refreshing and the plants look particularly perky. The photo above is of a Lady Beetle on an American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and… Continue reading
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A New Gulf Muhly Has Joined The Tribe
Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is a native plant, although as the name implies, it prefers the moister climate of the gulf coast where I first encountered it in Houston. (On average, the annual rainfall in Houston is 20 inches more than in Seguin.) Last year I learned that Gulf Muhly will certainly grow here, but… Continue reading
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A Spider And Its Breakfast
I half walked through a spider’s web one morning before I noticed it. I caught enough of the web to lay it to one side and watch, because clearly I had interrupted a food-wrapping project. The two objects (one spider and one partially wrapped victim) were several inches apart after my blunder, but the spider… Continue reading
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Corn Harvest
On June 7, 82 days after planting seeds, I harvested two ears of corn to test them. They were cooked and eaten. The taste was fine, although the kernels were a bit chewy. That was perhaps from harvesting them too late or not watering the plants enough. This was a bicolor variety (Ambrosia), so I… Continue reading
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Hummingbirds
I see Black-Chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) on a regular basis now (several times a day). Their favorite plants to visit are Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra), Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), and surprisingly, sunflowers. Surprising, because sunflowers don’t have tubular flowers. On this particular day, just after dawn, I saw two of these… 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 