Blog
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Look At Feathers But Don’t Pick Them Up! (It’s Illegal)
The possession of feathers and other parts of native North American birds without a permit is prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). I found this feather on the ground in my back yard, so of course I wanted to know who used to wear it. It’s 12 cm long. First, I reached out… Continue reading
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Tidying Up The Patio
At one point I thought I’d put a shed in the back yard to keep garden tools and equipment, in order to make more space in the garage. For various reasons, that idea is off the table. So then the situation morphed into the garage being used for big and rarely used garden items, and… Continue reading
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When Wings Look Weird
When I first saw this butterfly on a Sunflower, I thought it was odd that it seemed to have an extra set of wings. A companion on the same plant looked the same, so I concluded that it’s supposed to be that way. iNaturalist told me that this was a “grass” Skipper of some sort… Continue reading
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How Can Sunflowers Be So Sturdy?
Volunteer sunflowers were a welcome gift to this new and barren lot. I’ve written about them before, here and here. At the time of writing this (end of August 2023), I’ve had to remove most of the sunflowers to make way for other things that needed to happen. However, one glorious plant remains and stands… Continue reading
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Southern Skipperling
Since I first noticed a bee visiting the biggest clump of native grasses that I have so far, I have deduced that most of the bee activity in this region is from about dawn to 10am. I have seen — and heard! — as many as 20 bees visiting this small patch at one time.… Continue reading
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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
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 