My husband was mowing the paths to the pond yesterday, and discovered hidden patches of wildflowers. This is liatris, a common wildflower but loved by butterflies: The small white flower to the right is Arkansas Lazy Daisy (guess it came down from Arkansas for a visit and decided to stay): And of course, goldenrod with an unidentified grass behind it: And finally, the object of the mowing and looking, our pond, path, and pasture:
I really enjoyed these foto's. Y'know Jane--How you have let some of your land grow like the good ole-fashioned meadows is such a beneficial thing to do...beneficial to all manner of nature. That pond looks very welcoming as well. Do you have Large bullfrogs in there and some fish of sorts?
What a beautiful spot you live in Jane. I would be in my element to live somewhere just like yours. Finding all those wildflowers must have put a big smile on your face. There's nothing better for wildlife than what Mother Nature provides.
Sojerd, we do have fish--catfish, perch, and bass. Occasionally we have a friend who comes to fish our pond and shares his catch (cleaned) with us. It's necessary to thin the fish population because the herons, egrets, and anhingas just can't keep up. We have frogs, the "peepers" in the spring and now in fall we have the basso profundo chorus! When we bought the farm we decided to let most of the pasture go "natural". We removed the mesquite trees (invasive and not native) and did everything we could to encourage native plants. (This from a woman who has 30 or more rose bushes!) Odif, our pond is only one acre. Not a lake by any means, but kind of you to think so! Eileen, you could make so much more of this small farm than we have--and enjoy it! Wish you were our next-door neighbor.
I forgot, "everything is bigger in Texas". Seriously if that was in my garden, I would call it a lake.
@marlingardener gorgeous shots by your hubby and what a beautiful array of colours. Odif it would be called a lake here in the UK and be fished well
That really makes your situation clear, Jane. I am in awe of your land and what you have done with it. Was that large pond on the property when you moved in, or did you dig it yourselves? It is quite well-stocked.
Sjoerd, the pond was here, and was one of the main reasons we bought the place (it sure wasn't because of the house!). The previous owners had run a few cattle and with cattle you need water. Cows are sponges--one cow can drink 30 gallons of water a day! It is well stocked--we purchased bass fingerlings at the "fish day" at the feed store. A big truck pulls in with tanks of bass, perch, minnows, etc. and folks show up with 5 gal. pails with lids, get fish and pay the lady in the truck cab. A neighbor had too many perch, so he netted a couple of dozen and brought them to us. We stood in the back of his pick-up truck, scooped perch out of the tank he had there, and tossed them in the pond. I hadn't seen flying fish since we were in the Caribbean! Living on a little Texas farm isn't always easy, but it is definitely always interesting!
I buy liatris for in my garden here in Wisconsin. It does come up every year but we had moved so I still want to buy some white liatris. I had brought a section of the purple from my last home and I buy it for the butterflies and bees. I never realized that cows drank so much.
