Swamp burn 2020-03-01

When you live in a fire forest, you must burn every few years. We caught up on about 23 acres of burning of piney woods, seepage slope, and swamp. All this was inside concentric rings of firebreaks, with no danger of it escaping off our property.

Don’t worry, for the wildlife there are plenty of brambles and woods and swamp unburned this year. More next year. And quail, gopher tortoises, and other wildlife don’t like the woods too thick anyway.

[Gretchen spreading fire with a rake]
Gretchen spreading fire with a rake

For why we burn, see Continue reading →

Prescribed burn, 1.6 acres planted pines 2020-02-24

Here’s why we should have burned this patch last year, but unfortunately weather didn’t cooperate.

[Why frequent burning is necessary]
Why frequent burning is necessary

If we didn’t burn, eventually what we’d get would be an uncontrolled wildfire with much worse flareups than that.

Somebody always complains about burning woods. Let the Longleaf Alliance explain the benefits of fire in a southern pine forest.

It started easy this year. Continue reading →

Johnsons with okra, corn, and pitcher plants 2019-06-24

Tom H. Johnson Jr. and Mary Caroline Pindar wanted to see the garden at Okra Paradise Farms.

That one, Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus, okra, lady’s fingers, gumbo, ngombo, bhindi, vendakkai, and many other names. Possibly from West Africa, or Ethiopia, or South Asia. Requires full sun and hot temperatures with good soil. Continue reading →

Snake chose poorly, say dogs 2019-05-18

Update 2019-05-20: A more likely identification.

Definitely not a rattlesnake. Whatever it is, it chose poorly by showing up right in front of the dogs’ doghouse.

Don’t know which dog dislikes them most, maybe Yellow Dog. Continue reading →