Blog
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Planting A Huisache Tree May Have Been A Mistake
I chose to plant a Huisache tree here because is it a very hardy and drought-tolerant native, and a good host plant for birds and insects. However, after I arrived here, I encountered many gardeners and ranchers who do not like this tree AT ALL. Ranchers in particular consider it a weed because it spreads… Continue reading
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Ant Architecture
I’ve written before about how ants have caused me to change my attire for gardening, but they benefit the soil. In these early days of developing this lot, they really are my chief helpers in aerating, mixing, and feeding the soil. Many times I have found that a deeply rooted weed also coincides with significant… Continue reading
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Things I Learned After Heavy Rain
Some basic things about this lot that I cannot change: These next photos are of the left and right boundaries to our lot. Things that I saw after we had a day of heavy rain following weeks of drought (i.e., the ground was dry and hard): Future things that I can consider doing: Continue reading
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Live Oak New Growth
In front of our house are two Live Oak trees planted by our builder, probably around January 2023. I haven’t done much with them, except to provide weekly deep waterings (3-5 gallons of water per tree) during the summer drought, and to improve the mulch circles in which they sit. An encouraging sign recently was… Continue reading
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Eastern Ringtail Dragonfly
This lovely Eastern Ringtail dragonfly (Erpetogomphus designatus), probably female, was resting on the Desert Willow tree. This is the same photo, one a crop of the other. Continue reading
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Dawn Flyover
I prefer to do my gardening sessions first thing in the morning. That fits my personal body clock (I usually wake before sunrise), and it’s the coolest time of day. Consequently, I am often outside as the first light is showing, which is about 30 minutes before sunrise. I have noticed that during the dawn… Continue reading
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Native Grasses — Chapter Five: Growth
Previous posts: Planning, Preparation, Seeding, Rain Crisis The story so far is that I prepped land for seeding native grasses, dispersed the seed, and then had most of it washed away or damaged in a rainstorm a few days later. This rain event was certainly disappointing, and at first I thought I’d lost everything that… Continue reading
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Native Grasses — Chapter Four: Torrential Rain Disruption
Previous posts: Planning, Preparation, Seeding I wanted to plant native grasses in the first year here to get them established while I later worked on other projects. So this was almost the first project I started, although it took three months of work to prepare the ground for planting. I was happy with the seeding,… Continue reading
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Native Grasses — Chapter Three: First Seeding
Previous posts: Planning, Preparation Finally in May 2023 it was time to seed my native grasses. The ground was as weed-free as I could get it and the ground was softened with recent rain. Thunder Turf is a mixture of Buffalograss, Blue Grama and Curly Mesquite. You can buy the seed as a mixture, but… 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 