Red Opines on Local Conditions

The Cow Barn was spared from the hurricane since it hit a state er two over. We are, however, once agin in the grip of the Demon Drouth, er Drought..............

It’s OK Red, you can spell it either way.

I can. Thankee Rayetta for that information. Maybe Drouth is more interestin.

...............with temperatures runnin into the hundreds and no rain fer a moon cycle and a little bit.

This leads to the subtopic of Waterin, Whether to or Not.

A good while back, about eight growin seasons formerly, we decided at the Cow Barn, to kill off the non-native plant species. Gettin rid of stuff, killin it, is easy, if you have plenty of available low-cost labor, which we do. So we have killed off all the King Ranch bluestem we inherited from the previous owner and most of the bermudagrass too. We have tried to kill off the St. Augustinegrass situated around the buildings, but only by neglectin it: no water, and we only mow it once or twice in a growin season. Apparently not mowin it makes up fer the lack of regular waterin though, because the stuff continues to thrive. Occasionally one or the other of us will get aggravated by it’s thrivin and punch a hole in it for sedges or native grasses. So in the “lawn” here and there we have patches of Cherokee sedge, purpletop, gammagrass, three-flower melic and shade tolerant wildflowers. They don’t get watered either.

Matter of fact, we have decided now that we have in the neighborhood of 200-300 native kinds of plants more or less established here, we are going to let the Goddess determine which ones hang around. No waterin, minimal mowin, no fertilizer and no pesticides. (We heard tell that Round Up (herbicide) kills frogs, toads, newts and salamanders and we don’t want to contribute to that).

How do things look around here given the above management strategy, heat and drouth?. Not too bad., although, as usual the buffalo grass matrix is about half dormant and the Indiangrass may have a poor seed crop or no seed a-tall if it don’t rain agin soon.

These two photos show the Cow Barn bard itch (har har) lookin east with one paintbrush in the bard itch (har har) bloomin outa season. The other one shows the St. Augustinegrass we never water or fertilize, ever. All that silvery stuff in the first un is silver bluestem, seedin out. That’s one drouth tolerant grass.
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Ray, when’s that dern plant list goin to be ready?

I’m workin on it right now Red.