Blog
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Two Pretty Spiders
I often encounter spiders here, hopefully before I have accidentally walked through their webs (which does sometimes happen, especially when they are across pathways). Here are two examples of spiders who were just quietly going about their business in the garden. Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) A distinctive feature of the Yellow Garden Spider is… Continue reading
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A Caterpillar In Disguise
One evening while I was looking closely at my Frogfruit, I saw what looked like a piece of dirt moving around. On closer examination I saw it had legs! This is the caterpillar of a moth in the genus Synchlora. Adults often have green wings, while larvae occasionally adorn themselves with pieces of plants to… Continue reading
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Tidying Up The Native Flower Meadow
The native plant meadow is my most visible project, right in the middle of the front lawn. Therefore, I want to keep it relatively tidy (inasmuch as a wild nature project can be), and one recent morning’s gardening session was devoted to cleanup in the meadow. By now, I am confident that a lot of… Continue reading
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Yard Art
At a local market recently, this particular piece of yard art seemed to express what is happening with our little space here, so it came home to live in the native plant meadow in front of the house. Some of the sunflowers in these photos are real. Continue reading
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Pussyfoot
Pussyfoot (Dalea obovata) is a useful volunteer plant because it is a legume, and thus able to fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil via a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia bacteria. For that nitrogen to be available for the future benefit of other plants here, I will need to leave roots in the ground to decay… Continue reading
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Older Black Swallowtail Caterpillars
When I reported a month ago that I was seeing Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my dill plants, they were quite small and had a “saddle” pattern over their stripes. Here’s an example: Now, a month later, I see several much chunkier caterpillars that are still the same species but with rather different coloring. These are… Continue reading
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Three Sisters Garden Update
Experimenting with a Three Sisters Garden this year has certainly been an interesting project. Most likely I will try this again for one more year at least, so that I can benefit from lessons I’ve learned this year and perhaps improved soil maturity, but beyond that I don’t know. Vegetables take more work and water… Continue reading
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Cicada-Killer Wasp
This impressive looking insect is an Eastern Cicada-Killing Wasp (Sphecius speciosus), which is one of the largest wasps in the USA. They’re considered beneficial because they prey on cicadas, which in turn can damage trees. Despite their size (females are up to 2 inches long), they are unlikely to sting humans, and in fact the… Continue reading
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Composting Progress
In October 2023 I wrote about how the first few months of composting had not gone well. I use a small dual-chamber tumbling composter, and my first loads had merely dried out without evidence of decay or reduction in volume. I emptied the composter then and started again, this time paying more attention to not… Continue reading
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A Precocious Standing Cypress
I seeded Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) last fall in the rear section of the back yard. This is a biennial plant, growing a short rosette in the first year and producing a tall (3-6 ft) flower stem in the second year. I do indeed have dozens of first-year Standing Cypress rosettes, and so I’m hoping… 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 