-
What Is My Soil Here?
Having a hole dug down two feet to prepare for an ecosystem pond allowed a nice opportunity to see a cross-section of the soil here. So from top to bottom, here’s what I have. The tool I am using for scale is 12 inches long. The uppermost layer (dark brown) is 1-2 inches of the… Continue reading
-
Pond #3: Breaking Ground
I’ve waited a long time for this, but construction of the ecosystem pond has finally begun. The story continues to have twists and turns that you just couldn’t make up (most of which I have not shared here). We are now in Month 7 of the project. First, a baby excavator arrived, which had to… Continue reading
-
More Tree Propagation That I Did Not Plan
My Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) tree was recently pruned to allow for it to be braced for stabilization. That revealed a few tiny new branches that were growing directly from the main trunk, in a position lower than I want new branches to grow. Obviously I could just cut these off, but I decided to… Continue reading
-
Big Toad Sighting
Our property is in the central part of a development, so to get to the development boundary, one would need to cross at least one street and one or more properties. I would have expected in these early years of the new development that most of the visiting wildlife would fly in or already be… Continue reading
-
A Pleasant Surprise In The Tall Grass Area
There is a small area toward the back of the garden that I have designated for mid-height prairie grasses. Developing this area has been confounded by the fact that I am not very good at identifying grasses. Here’s a summary of what has happened in this area in the past year: I seeded Little Bluestem… Continue reading
-
Giant Spider Has Made An Egg Sac
A few weeks ago the biggest Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) I have seen made a web in front of our garage door. She wasn’t in the way and so I left her alone, taking photographs every once in a while. Recently I was out of town for ten days and when I returned I… Continue reading
-
What The Garden Did While I Was Away
I was away from the garden for ten days in September 2024. Here are some highlights of what happened in my absence. First, there was zero rain and neither was the garden watered while I was gone. The plants here have been chosen to be drought-resistant, although there were a couple of things that looked… Continue reading
-
Desert Willow Seeds
This year, my Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) tree produced a single seed pod. While recently pruning this tree, the pod ended up being cut down and it split open so I salvaged a few of the seeds. I don’t need any more Desert Willow trees here myself, but I’ve been experimenting with germination so it… Continue reading
-
Rain Barrel Repairs, And A Pivot
I have two 50-gallon rain barrels here, collecting rain water off the roof behind the house. It’s a small, simple system, but nevertheless this allows me to avoid using faucet water most of the time. For instance, now in September, I think I have used a hosepipe only three times this year (ironically, the third… Continue reading
-
Texas Mountain Laurel Progress
Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) was the very first tree that I planted here in spring 2023. It’s already a slow-growing tree, but my long-time readers may recall that this one additionally had a difficult first year with half the tree showing signs of possible iron deficiency or root damage. Eventually it seemed to recover… 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.
