Tag Archives: Okra Paradise Farms

Native wild honeysuckle 2023-03-30

Not a common sight anymore: native wild honeysuckle.

[Lonicera sempervirens L., Coral Honeysuckle, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Woodbine]
Lonicera sempervirens L., Coral Honeysuckle, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Woodbine

This Lonicera sempervirens L. is also known as Coral Honeysuckle, Trumpet Honeysuckle, or Woodbine.

It is native to the U.S. Southeast, with some found farther north, possibly as garden escapees. Continue reading →

Canebrake rattlesnake relocated 2023-03-21

This canebrake rattlesnake was too close to the farm workshop at Okra Paradise Farms, so I used a hoe to put it in a cardboard box and took it far away.

[Snake, hoe, box 2023-03-21]
Snake, hoe, box 2023-03-21

How? I show the snake a hoe. It either gets in the box with a nudge from the hoe, or it gets in the box in two pieces.

Here’s a video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk2OxkA4UvxPbeykZkfos36dRbcvIIeu Continue reading →

Wild azaleas and dogwoods 2023-03-09

The native wild azalea, Rhododendron Canescens, keeps blooming on more bushes.

[Native wild azaleas and dogwood 2022-03-09]
Native wild azaleas and dogwood 2022-03-09

And we have a few blooms of dogwood, Cornus florida. Not as many as usual; we don’t know why. Continue reading →

Longleaf candling after burn 2023-03-06

Two months after a January burn, these 21 acres of planted longleaf pine in the Conservation Reserve Program look like most of them are dead.

[Longleaf candling]
Longleaf candling

But look closely: almost all of them are candling. New growth rising up in inch-thick white candles. Continue reading →

Seven-acre burn 2022-12-30

Another successful prescribed burn at the end of 2022.

This was actually the burn of the area in which the Treat’s Rain Lilies have since come up, six weeks later.

[Fire and ash 2022-12-30]
Fire and ash 2022-12-30

There’s more to do if we ever get good conditions again, as in dry for enough days after a rain.

For those who are not familiar with prescribed burns, they are necessary to the health of pine forests. Pine trees, especially longleaf pine trees, are more resistant to fire than other trees. So burns favor pines, and without burning, oaks, sweetgums, etc. take over. And burning temporarily cuts back the gallberry, blackberry, and Smilax vine thickets that get too thick for wildlife. Quail and other birds have already moved into areas of previous burns.

Here’s a video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk2OxkA4UvyyTZYEfjLstI_3DK0QDieb

Continue reading →

Treat’s Rain Lilies 2023-02-18

These lilies sprung up just in time for the weekend cold snap.

[One and two Treat's Rain Lilies @ OPF 2023-02-18]
One and two Treat’s Rain Lilies @ OPF 2023-02-18

Treat’s rain lily, Zephyranthes atamasca var. treateiae, is a special variety that mostly grows in counties on either side of the GA-FL line. I hear there are also some in Louisiana and Alabama. Continue reading →