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Wallowa County City Nature Challenge 2026 Project on iNaturalist

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What is the City Nature Challenge?

Started in 2016 as a competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the City Nature Challenge (CNC) has grown into an international event, motivating people around the world to find and document wildlife in their own cities. Run by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM), the CNC is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities collaborate to see what can be accomplished when we all work toward a common goal.

You can view a list of participating cities here.

You can view the iNaturalist project for the Wallowa County City Nature Challenge here.

How do I participate?

From April 24 - 27, 2026, take photos or audio recordings of WILD nature anywhere in Wallowa County.

Wild nature means anything that isn't a pet, livestock, landscape plant, or person.

It can be at your house, at your local park, out in the mountains, on the side of the road – anywhere in Wallowa County!

After you've taken the photos, add them to iNaturalist by May 10, 2026. You can use the iNaturalist app or the inaturalist.org website.

How do I use iNaturalist?

Check out the iNaturalist Website

The inaturalist.org website is my favorite way to interact with iNaturalist. It has the most features, and in my opinion is the easiest to use. It is definitely the best way to view other observations and add identifications, if that's something you're interested in.

Download the iNaturalist iPhone App

The iNaturalist app is a great way to add your observations straight from your phone.

It can also be used "in the field" to try to figure out what things are when you're out in nature, but generally it's easier to just focus on taking pictures while you're out and adding observations when you're back at home with a good internet connection.

It is a newer version of the app, and sometimes has problems with locking up and being unresponsive, especially with a spotty internet connection.

Download the iNaturalist "Classic" iPhone App

The iNaturalist "Classic" app has less features that the new app, but it's a little more reliable and is probably a better option for older phones.

Download the iNaturalist Android App

The Android iNaturalist app is actually the best version of iNaturalist for phones. If you have an Android, this is a great way to add your observations and explore nature in your area.

But Wallowa County doesn't have any cities...

This is true. And since we don't have any cities, we'll be contributing as a county! That way we can combine our efforts and see how we compare.

Who else is participating in Oregon?

The Oregon cities/regions participating are

• Greater Portland-Vancouver Metro Area

• Corvallis

• Eugene

• Bend

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

The Mulberries had a pretty great year, even with some seemingly out-of-season visits from the webworms.

Mulberry 1 is gone. I guess to make it a tiny bit easier to mow the lawn. It did struggle a bit in the deep clay soil of this part of the yard, at least compared to its "sibling" a little closer to the house with some better soil. So maybe it didn't survive the summer. Maybe it just didn't look as good. Who knows.

Mulberry 2 has been allowed to stay, I guess because it's right out of the kitchen window and can be used for seasonal decorations and holding hummingbird feeders. It looks like it's growing very well, with a nice thick trunk and some big branches growing strong. I hope it's allowed to continue doing its thing. It shouldn't ever get big enough that they'll think it's starting to threaten the house.

Mulberry 3, shockingly, is still in the driveway circle. It's about half-buried in mulch right now, and looks like it's still getting nibbled on consistently by the deer, but it's still alive. I don't imagine it will last much longer, but it's being tended to a little bit so far, so I suppose it has a chance.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

Willow 1 is standing tall. The prize of my plant work while I was here, it has not only been left standing but it's still being mulched and protected fairly well there at the edge of the pond. It must be close to 15 feet tall now, and is looking like a proper young tree. The low branches are probably being "pruned" pretty regularly by the deer, but otherwise it seems to be doing very well. I am very, very proud of this tree and was so happy to see it still there.

Willow 2 has been removed. I don't know if it just couldn't live on in its state of leaning over, or if it was just deemed unnecessary, but there is no trace of it now.

I couldn't find little Willow 4 in the Old Pond area, but it may have been there. The deer have probably hit it pretty hard, but in general the area has been left to grow wild, which was nice to see.

Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Pawpaw 2 is gone. No telling if it survived any further than expected, but there's no trace of it. Thankful for the one fruit I got to eat from it.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Gone; likely cleared out when they took down the surrounding Loblolly pines.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

If they started to come back after the last time they were cut down, they are gone now.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

Gone. No idea why. They were clearly planted, easy to mow around, and growing pretty well.

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis) and the Old Pond Area

Much to my surprise, the Old Pond area has been left to grow wild. It might benefit mostly from being "out of sight, out of mind" from the main house, but also the entire reason I initially marked it with tape was because it stays so wet that it's hard to mow it. So there was still evidence of the large beak-sedges growing, plenty of long grass, and lo and behold...

The Aquatic Milkweed, at least one that I could see, was still growing and seemingly doing very well tucked into its place in the long grass. I found a stem with pretty fresh leaves, and I think I found another stem growing though it seemed like it had maybe been eaten back by caterpillars or otherwise. But it was very nice to find this little guy still doing its thing, and hopefully it has and will spread around in this area as long as it's left undisturbed.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Oklahoma John Elderberry is still standing undisturbed (other than being chewed on by the deer), but it is very dead. Not sure why it struggled so much in this spot, other than it possibly being a cultivar that just couldn't hand the heat and humidity of south Louisiana.

The Ranch Elderberry appears to be completely gone.

South Meadow

Being winter, it was hard to tell exactly how the South Meadow plants were doing. It does look like the area has mostly been left alone and not mowed, so there may be some things still blooming in the warmer part of the year.

The area has been invaded a bit by beefsteak plant, but maybe the Stokes' aster, purple coneflower, and others are in there doing their thing.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

From a distance, it looked like both of the Buttonbushes were gone, which was particularly devastating. They were thriving there at the edge of the pond, and probably would be huge by now after another summer of growth. They didn't seem to be in the way of anything, and wouldn't have required any maintenance. I can only guess they looked "messy" in the winter and got ripped out because of it.

Upon closer inspection, they are hanging in there! At least for now.

Buttonbush 1 was clearly cut down to the ground, with its two main stalks showing evidence of being lopped off. But there is new growth — little shrubby growth, but it's there. It's a shame, thinking of how large it was and probably would be by now, and would probably bloom all summer, but there it is. Not dead yet!

Buttonbush 2 is actually doing even better than its sibling! It was clearly cut back too, but it has a good bit of new growth and maybe even some evidence that it bloomed this year, though that's hard to say. It does look like it's been nibbled on by the deer, but maybe it's juuuust far enough away that it gets forgotten about and left alone, hidden by the cypress trees. But it's there and doing its thing for now. Who knows how much longer it will hang in there, but I was thrilled to see that it was still alive.

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

Gone, except for what appears to be a brutalized main stem.

Along with the Buttonbush, I don't know why this one would have been removed other than looking "messy" in the winter. It was doing pretty fine on the edge of the pond.

Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

No evidence of the Swamp Sunflowers, that I could see.

Beautyberries

The transplanted beautyberries in the driveway circle were not spared after all. Gone.

Reflections

It was a good experiment, and I learned a lot, but ultimately the people who live here didn't really care for or about my efforts and so the fate of the plants was probably always doomed. I'm glad a few things have survived to this point, though, and it's a good encouragement for me to start growing things back in Oregon and start a new era of the Watering Can this spring.

Friday

My iNaturalist observations from April 25, 2025

Things started slow, near our winter cabin up at Wallowa Lake and my morning walk with Loki. There would be no midnight moth sheeting this year. It was still pretty wintry up in the cold forested spot tucked into the mountains, but I picked up some of the usual suspects around the area and the bird friends that had been visiting our feeders.

Violet-green swallows had just started arriving in the week or two leading up to the CNC, and so it was nice to see some of those near the base of the Tramway.

Joseph Sewage Treatment Ponds

From there it was time for a quick visit to the Joseph Sewage Treatment Ponds, a reliable spot for waterfowl in the colder months as the treatment process keeps it from freezing over. I picked up some of the expected ducks, but overall it was a bit quieter than I might have hoped. We were just a bit past the point where most of the winter migrants had moved on, and we weren't quite seeing any spring migrants flying in just yet. At least not in major numbers.

Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and a pair of Canada Geese with very new bunch of goslings were the highlights of the sewage pond trip.

Iwetemlaykin

Next was one of my favorite spots in the county (and in the world!), Iwetemlaykin. I hadn't been back since the fall, which was far too long, and I was so excited to be back as it was coming to life. Once again, though, it was a bit slower than I might have hoped.

I got a few birds and bugs, and some new plants for the day and CNC, but overall things just hadn't quite taken off yet. I did find a Blue Elder (Sambucus cerulea) there, which was great to see. I saw a Pygmy Nuthatch going in and out of its home at the end of an old dead branch, which was amazing. But for most plants, leaves were still just breaking, and if I wasn't already familiar with some of the species it might have been tough to know what I was looking at.

I did get a nice view of some Red-tailed Hawks interacting in mid-air as I was leaving the park, and a recently-arrived Turkey Vulture, but it was a pretty quiet visit in the end. Good to be back, though.

Joseph City Park

I decided to try the little City Park after Iwe, since it was pretty close by. I'd only ever been there a couple of times when we lived here before and I wasn't really sure what it had to offer, nature-wise. I didn't expect much, as a lot of municipal parks are typically lawns with a few cultivated trees, and this one mostly followed that pattern.

I did get my first American Goldfinches of the weekend, singing high up in a cottonwood tree. One of the local Willows was also in full bloom of buttery yellow flowers, and months later a regional Willow expert came in and was able to identify it as a non-native and frequently planted Hybrid Crack Willow (Salix x fragilis). Even though this one is not native, I would soon learn there are quite a few native willow species here, in so many different shapes and sizes. It's pretty amazing compared to Louisiana where Black Willow (Salix nigra) dominates overwhelmingly.

I also saw my first biscuitroot (genus Lomatium) of the year, growing near the ditch across from the parking lot. Looking back it's a little surprising this little plant was thriving in a spot that has definitely been managed by people for so long, which was nice.

Overall, though, the little park was pretty quiet. I was already running out of public places in the Joseph area to explore, but I did double back to the road leading to the Sewage Treatment ponds to snap some photos of Brewer's Blackbirds, since I knew they were reliable there and it was a relatively low-traffic area to stop and get a look.

Little Alps Picnic Area

After Iwe and the Joseph City Park were so slow, I really wasn't sure where to go or what to try. I'd assumed Iwetemlaykin would be my most productive spot in the Joseph area for the day, so when that didn't pan out I was a bit short on ideas. I figured I should at least try a little different ecosystem, so I headed up to the base of the mountains a little bit to the trailhead up at the Lake and the Little Alps picnic area.

It was slow there too! Things had just barely emerged, and even the larches were just barely growing new needles for the year. I found a few little plants I hadn't seen yet, and likely only found up near the mountains, so that was good.

I also found a new-to-me dwarf mistletoe, a subspecies specific to larch. Such a cool and strange little plant.

Wallowa Lake Marina

Much to my surprise, a place that I didn't expect to see much other than a few waterfowl ended up being one of the most productive spots of the entire weekend.

There were indeed waterfowl: a few Common Mergansers and a Canada Goose or two, but the real surprise and treat ended up being a stand of (unfortunately invasive) Myrtle Spurge aka donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites). Unlike most plants around town it was in full flower, with dozens of tiny yellow blooms per plant. Suddenly, I was surrounded by generalist pollinators here to collect any pollen and nectar they could find!

I saw several different kinds of bees, wasps and flies, and my first ever bee-fly! Definitely over a dozen different species, although getting some of these little bees and flies to their exact species is pretty tough or impossible from photos. Sweat bees, mining bees, nomad bees, and mason bees galore. One that I was able to get to species, the strikingly orange Prunus Miner Bee (Andrena prunorum), was the first record for Wallowa County on iNaturalist.

I'm still waiting for the one-and-only John Ascher to make his way through these to review, but a northwest bee lover @swisschick did give them a pretty thorough look over and helped get me to Genus on quite a few.

A Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel popped up out of its home while I was snapping away, so I got a nice look at it while it was deciding if I seemed like a threat or not.

East Moraine

While driving away from the Marina, I stopped along the highway to snap a photo of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot that had started to emerge. There were just a few plants blooming here and there -- a week later, there were hundreds, if not thousands. That's a pretty good indicator of how the County was just right on the verge of popping for Spring during the CNC.

I also spotted a large jumping spider crawling on the balsamroot, a Johnson's Jumping Spider.

While driving back into town trying to think of what else I could try, I though of checking out part of the East Moraine down across from Iwetemlaykin. And as luck would have it, as I pulled into the parking lot I saw another patch of Myrtle Spurge blooming, and it had a few more surprises for me.

Parking Lot

The first was one of the most amazing butterflies I've ever seen: a Sheridan's Hairstreak, Callophrys sheridanii. This little metallic blue-green jewel stopped me in my tracks, and I moved so slowly and carefully to try to get close for some good photos. And the photos don't even really do the color justice! What a beautiful little butterfly.

There was one unique wasp which appears to be in Genus Banchus, but that Genus only has 700 or so observations worldwide at this point, so I'm not sure if it will get to species. According to BugGuide, it may even be undescribed! Another first for Wallowa County.

There was a dead fawn in the area, which was sad to see, but I did get a chance to see some carrion beetle larvae doing their thing, which was fascinating, if a little on the grotesque side. The circle of life!

Moraine

Eventually I was able to peel myself away from the blooming spurge for a while to make the short hike up the terminal end of the East Moraine to finish the day with a lovely view and some of my first "true" wildflowers of the year.

There were blooming larkspurs, genus Delphinium, a delicate little grasswidow, and I was able to get a closer (and safer) look at the arrowleaf balsamroot.

There was also a new biscuitroot, this time one that would end up being potentially another iNat first for the county: Lomatium simplex, Umbrella Desert-Parsley. This is one I'll have to go looking for next year to get some better photos. I had no idea such a simple-looking little plant might be rare, and it was a good lesson to not take any little plant for granted out here.

I saw a funny little moth cross the path on my way back down, and couldn't resist trying to get some photos, even though it was tiny and the sunlight was failing. Who knows if it will ever be confirmed, but right now it's the first observation of Eucosma in Wallowa County.

On my way back home, I unexpectedly saw a Wild Turkey near some cabins at the head of the lake, which seemed like a very unusual place for one to be wandering. It was a nice surprise and a great species to get for the weekend!

Saturday

My iNaturalist observations from April 26, 2025

Since Friday was pretty slow, and I wasn't really sure where else to go in Joseph, I took it easy in the morning and made some plans for where we could go. We'd visited the Lostine Canyon area a couple of times the last time we lived in Oregon, but on our way to go buy a table earlier in April, we passed by this a Wildlife Area which we had no recollection of from our earlier visits to the canyon. So it had jumped up on my list of places to explore, especially since this part of the county seemed to be a little more thawed out than around Joseph.

Lostine

First, though, we went out for some pizza at the wonderful M. Crow store for lunch after our hike, and then walked across the street to check out the antiques store.

Out in the gravel lot there, I noticed some small scraggly weeds popping up through the gravel, and one of them actually ended up being one of my most-discussed observations of the year: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/274273407. It ended up being IDed as Myosotis stricta, the Blue Forget-me-Not. Not native, but still fun to find such an “interesting” plant in a very unexpected place. I definitely got a funny look from the guy working out there, kneeling down in the gravel to take photos of a weed! Such is the life of a naturalist, I suppose.

Lostine Wildlife Area

Things were indeed a little warmer here and in some cases further along, and for the first time there was a pretty abundant population of small butterflies around, especially Brown Elfins and Echo Azures. There were a good bit of California Tortoiseshells around as well, by far the most abundant large butterfly on the wing for the CNC weekend.

The further we got up the trail in the wildlife area, the more we encountered blossoming Saskatoon, and I was able to get some of my first good photos of it along the trail there. We also encountered another new-to-me currant species, Wax currant (Ribes cereum) for the first time. Its pinkish blossoms and shinier leaves quickly differentiated it from the white-flowered currants growing along the river in the State Park.

Some other shrubs and trees were starting to emerge here as well, and the very impressive early growth of Monument Plant, which I ended up seeing a few times, but then ended up missing the blooms of this year.

I saw my first Dark-ribboned Wave Moth along the trail on our way back out, and that was a nice way to finish things off for this area.

Home & Wallowa Lake State Park

In the afternoon I was pretty tired from Friday's adventures, and mostly just stuck to the area around our cabin and a bit into the State Park while walking Loki.

There were a few small plants emerging that I hadn't seen yet, and I also got my only snake of the CNC - a beautiful Western Garter Snake sunning near the river bank.

I also saw the first Mule Deer of the weekend, quite a surprise after them being daily visitors for most of the winter.

Sunday

My iNaturalist observations from April 27, 2025

Home & Wallowa Lake Village

There were a couple of good birds that came in to the feeders in the morning: Cassin's Finches and a Hairy Woodpecker. I also picked up a better look at Violet-green Swallows and surprisingly the first Steller's Jay for the weekend on my morning walk with Loki.

Temple Grounds

With permission, I explored the Temple grounds a bit after Sunday service and found some unique plants, including Meadow-rue and a beautiful – and my first – Purple Clematis vine growing on the Temple gate.

There were a few other things starting in the wetter places on the property, but since this was even higher elevation than most of the places I visited for the weekend, things were still pretty quiet overall.

But honestly, the Purple Clematis were an amazing discovery. Would have been very happy just seeing those. 💜

Crow Creek Rd

While waiting for the opportunity to visit my friend Erica's family property in the afternoon, I popped over to the edge of the Zumwalt Prairie to see what I could find, with the hope to see some more raptors. And I lucked out!

I saw a huge Red-tailed Hawk nest, which has clearly been in use for several years, with the parents sitting on it as I observed. There was a female type Northern Harrier flying low as usual, and a beautiful Swainson's Hawk perched on a utility pole. Swainson’s might be my favorite hawk at this point.

A Great Blue Heron was flying low across the fields and was the only one I saw for the weekend, which was a great pick up. They are regulars in the County but you never quite know where you might see one.

I also spotted a male Ring-necked Pheasant walking through one of the ag fields, and while not native, it's always special to see one of these lovely birds doing their thing.

While parked and taking photos, there was also an interesting weather-related phenomenon that I witnessed. It had started to rain just a bit – but they were big, fat raindrops, and it had otherwise been pretty dry for the previous couple of weeks. I was hearing a strange zipping sound all around me, and eventually realized it was the sound of those big drops landing in the very dry, hydrophobic soil of the prairie. It's hard to even describe, but it was amazing!

Erica's Property

After a quick visit to the prairie, it was time to visit my good friend Erica's family property to explore. They have a lovely, large property on Alder Slope that is an island of trees in an otherwise very agricultural place, and a spring runs right through it, so they have ponds and an relative abundance of water on the property. I was very excited to check it out and see what might be found here.

The first thing I noticed was the abundance of Pacific Chorus Frogs calling from their ponds, the species known for the prototypical "ribbit" calls from movies and TV.

The boggy, wet ground was a treasure trove of unique water-loving plants that I wouldn't find anywhere else for the weekend: Field Horsetail, Common Duckweed, American Brooklime, and some green algae in one of the ponds.

I also picked up a Brown-headed Cowbird, some California Quail hiding in one of their brush piles, and my first Northern Flicker of the weekend perched in one of their trees.

As I was leaving, I snapped a few photos of another Northern Flicker on a fencepost, and only after someone added an ID a week later did I realize it was my first ever Red-shafted x Yellow-shafted intergrade! It was a male, with a red mustache and a red spot on the back of his head. Quite a find, and another first in Wallowa County on iNaturalist.

A Savannah Sparrow perched on some irrigation equipment was the last "get" for the area. It was a first great visit, and somehow I didn't manage to get back there later in the Spring and Summer. A must-do for 2026!

Pete's Pond & Marr Pond

After Erica's, I headed to a reliable spot in the county for more waterfowl: Pete's Pond and Marr Pond in Enterprise.

Pete’s Pond is, I believe, a large man-made pond on the edge of town near the train tracks and old grain silo. It has a resident Mute Swan “escapee”, and it was there on the day along with a Common Merganser (writing this recap made me realize I never posted it to iNaturalist! One more species for the CNC!), some American Coots, and some more of the ducks that I’d seen at the sewage ponds on Friday.

Marr Pond, at least from what I've gathered, are older ponds that have been a favorite local fishing hole as long as most locals can remember. They aren't quite as large as Pete's Pond, but being nearby, it collects some "overflow" waterfowl as well. There wasn't much here on the day, but I did get a good photo of a Red-winged Blackbird, my first for the weekend. There were also a couple of weedy plants, one of which had some striking purple on the underside of its leaves, which I'm still unsure of its ID, even to the Family level.

Enterprise WMA

The third big pond in this general area on the south/southeast end of Enterprise, the Enterprise WMA is another good spot for waterfowl and I've even seen Mallards and Canada Geese breeding here in previous years.

I added three new duck species for the weekend: a lovely male Northern Pintail, a male Green-winged Teal, and a Gadwall.

As far as plants, I saw my first Golden Currant, which is one that I would love to try to propagate next year with its delicate yellow flowers. I really fell in love with currants/gooseberries this spring – they are relatively rare in Louisiana, and I hadn't heard of our native species at all until I started noticing the ones in the state park this year. There was also a Wax Currant there, along with the non-native Siberian Peashrub, in the only place I've seen it so far in the county.

There were a couple of cool mosses growing here as well, and a really cool lichen on several of the larger rocks around the area.

After the WMA, I was pretty exhausted, and on Monday we'd be spending a lot of time packing and moving on Monday, so I headed home to process photos and get some rest.

Monday

My iNaturalist observations from April 28, 2025

The last day of this year's CNC we were in the middle of moving to our new place, so there wasn't a lot of time for observing, but I managed to get out to the State Park and Marina for a few more observations before wrapping up for the weekend.

It was a very windy day, so even the pollinators were few and far between, but there were a few more things to pick up here and there, and quite a few mosses and lichens that I hadn't checked out so far throughout the park.

Before I headed out, though, I picked up a Downy Woodpecker in the back yard. They'd been regular visitors to the feeders throughout the winter, but as we started to refill the feeders less toward the end of April in preparation for our move, we'd been seeing them less. It was good to get one on the last day.

Wallowa Lake Marina

As I headed to the park, I decided to head back to the blooming Myrtle Spurge at the Marina to see if there might be any new pollinators checking out the flowers. Unfortunately, the wind really seemed to reduce the number of flying insects in general. There were a few flies here and there, very strong flyers, but not much else. It was almost like they were taking advantage of the lack of other insects in the area to get their chance to snag some nectar! There was one bumblebee around, Bombus vancouverensis, the Vancouver Bumblebee. Not a new species for the weekend but good to see nonetheless.

As I wandered a bit to see if there was anything else around, I noticed that one of my favorite little plants, Common Whitlowgrass (Draba verna), had started to bloom in the sandy soil around the Marina shop building.

Wallowa Lake State Park

For this last, windy walk through the park, I focused on trying to find new mosses and lichens as much as I could, though I knew the chances of getting them to species was fairly low. There aren't many moss experts who do identifications in our area, and IDs to species in general are tough for most mosses without microscopic photography.

I do feel confident that I added some new Genera for the weekend, at least, because I simply hadn't found any others that looked anywhere close to these. I got a great photo of a thread moss full of stalks with drooping, "nodding" capsules. There was a "hairy" one that I'm pretty confident is in the genus Dicranum, the Forkmosses. There was also an interesting looking... maybe "wormy" looking one that I'm pretty sure is in the genus Pterigynandrum, and maybe the species Pterigynandrum filiforme, the Capillary Wing-moss. Though it was growing on the base of a tree, and not on rock where it seems it might usually be found.

Based on appearance, it seems like I picked up a few different kinds of lichen, but I still have a lot to learn when it comes to them and it's hard to say if they were definitely different species. They made for some great photos, though.

For the final bird species of the weekend, I spotted one of the Bald Eagle parents sitting on the huge nest in one of the old Black Cottonwoods near the head of the lake.

And with that, my City Nature Challenge was over! It was time to head home, upload to iNaturalist, and get some rest before another couple of days of moving into our new place.

Lessons learned and goals for next year

Ultimately, even now with eight additional months for people to add their observations, only four people "participated" in the City Nature Challenge in Wallowa County, down from a grand total of five in 2024. I was the only observer with more than a half-dozen observations. No matter how I look at it, that is really disappointing. It's also a pretty low bar to overcome in 2026!

The biggest lesson I learned, as mentioned many times, is that late April is just a bit too early in Wallowa County to see a lot of plants and insects, which is where you can really increase the number of species. Birds are reliable but I doubt there are even 100 total species in the county by this time of year, with summer migrants still just starting to trickle in.

I also need to familiarize myself with the perennial, woody plants of the county and their early growth. Leaf buds, stems, even bark in some cases. At least they have above-ground parts to observe! A lot of the many, many vegetative plants are just starting at this point in the year and there's not much you can do to observe them if they haven't even started poking out of the ground yet.

Another lesson: don't plan on doing anything else for the weekend! There wasn't a ton we could do to avoid the fact that we had to start moving house on Monday, but I'll really have to make sure I can block off all four days as much as possible in the future.

With that said, and with everything else I've mentioned in this post, let's get to some of my goals for City Nature Challenge 2026:

Organizing Goals

• My main goal for 2026 is to get more people involved! Even if I only put out some flyers at the local libraries, starting in March or so, I think that would be huge for awareness. If I had to put a number on it, I would love if we could get 50 people to participate (The county population is around 7500 people)

• Work with local nature-focused organizations for iNaturalist training and awareness. There is one in particular, Wallowology, that I think would be perfect for this

• Connect with other local nature-lovers one-on-one to figure out how they could potentially promote and participate

Personal Goals

• Get into the warmer areas of the county -- specifically, the canyons. Imnaha is probably significantly further along in late April than the upper valley, and even just a week or two makes a huge difference in what has emerged, what's blooming, what insects are out gathering nectar and pollinating, and even what mammals might be a little more active.

• Get to Troy and observe there. Not only is it probably a little further along, like Imnaha, it is really like stepping back into time and I think the ecosystem there is maybe even more "pristine" than anything in the Wallowa Valley. However, this might have to be an entire day of the CNC with the time it takes to get there and explore.

• Get to the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve

• Hit 250 species. I finished with 203 this year (though only 105 have made it to Research Grade -- but that has a lot to do with the number of identifiers in our area)

There's lots to do in the next few winter months to prepare, and I am very excited for it!

Wallowa Lake

We began our day on the northern end of Wallowa Lake, scoping out waterfowl from the parking lot before they left to go out to the ag fields for the day, searching for leftover grain. (It was actually pretty similar to how my mom and I started the counts in Baton Rouge at the Capitol Lakes, counting the roosting Great and Snowy Egrets and White Ibis before they all took off just after sunrise.) It ended up being quite a productive start -- we even picked up a small flock of Turkeys picking through a grassy spot near the parking lot to get things going, which was a nice get for the count.

We counted and eventually estimated over 3000 ducks in all. Huge waves of Mallards were rolling out every few seconds at one point, hundreds in each group. A couple of giant flocks of American Wigeons went off, a chorus of squeaky whistles making it clear who they were even though the lighting was pretty rough in the early morning hours.

There were a few hundred Canada Geese milling about, with a few Cackling Geese mixed in for good measure, which was only my second sighting of a Cackler, and the most definitive by far.

I'd been seeing eBird reports of Horned Grebes at the lake from the previous few days, so I was hoping to spot them, and sure enough a pair popped up right in front of us for my first Lifer of the day!

We added a few more of the expected waterfowl in smaller numbers: Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and a decent number of Northern Pintail. There were a few Hooded Mergansers which were not as expected as their Common cousins. A distant call from a Clark's Nutcracker was a good get as well.

East Joseph

After the lake it was time to head into town and check out the East side of Joseph. We walked the streets checking known large feeder stations and just seeing what was bopping around closer to humans.

It turned out to not be much! The group was pretty shocked to be counting House Sparrows and House Finches one or two at a time. I was with Nolan's dad Steve, and we got lucky by spotting a little raptor perched in a birch tree, which turned out to be my first Merlin in Oregon!

Overall, though, there wasn't much activity. We grabbed a quick coffee and then it was time to head back toward the head of the lake.

Wallowa Lake - Shoreline, Marina and Village

Shoreline

Before we left in the morning, we'd noticed some more waterfowl along the eastern edge of the lake, backlit from our vantage point and too far to ID from there. So we wanted to keep an eye out as we made our way to the south end of the lake, and that ended up paying off handsomely.

About halfway through the lake, both cars spotted a group of four unusual ducks, including two VERY white-all-over ducks, swimming close to the eastern shore. We pulled over awkwardly in what was not exactly a designated pullover and sure enough, it was four Long-tailed ducks, a wonderful rarity and a real treat to get to see four at once. They soon flushed out toward the center of the lake, and it was nice to watch them fly away until a truck horn reminded us we needed to get out of the way.

Shortly after, the car with the main group (I was alone in our van) somehow noticed a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl fly across the road, which we were able to stop safely and get some lenses on for confirmation. We had a good group of Chickadees and Nuthatches along the moraine as well, and a Townsend's Solitaire where you'd expect it in the winter time, guarding a stand of Juniper trees in the wetter south of the moraine where larger vegetation is able to grow.

Marina

After the excitement along the shoreline, we headed to the State Park to check out the Marina area and south end of the lake.

We stopped at the bridge on the way into the park to take in the resident American Dippers. They obliged us, and their swimming and dancing through the rippling river currents never ceases to impress.

At the south end of the lake we added Barrow's Goldeneye, Ring-necked Ducks, American Coots and a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

In one of the boat inlets, we also found a first-year American Dipper exploring the rocks on what was technically the edge of the lake, which none of us had seen before. It seemed to be struggling a little bit in the deeper water, a little too buoyant for its own good. Hopefully it will figure things out!

The weather turned quickly as we walked back to our vehicles, and an attempt to check the State Park grounds for birds in the tall trees was cut pretty short due to the rain and high winds.

Village Area

Checking through the Wallowa Lake Village area, we trudged through the slick, rainy streets for a bit to see if we could add anything along a side street lined with shrubs. Luckily it was worth the effort, getting a Song Sparrow and our only little group of California Quail for the day.

East Joseph - Second Check

After all the excitement of the Lake area, we headed back for another quick check of some of the usually-productive spots in town, but it was still very quiet. We suspect it was just a little too warm on the day, and the birds we might have expected were able to be further out of town foraging in the fields and foothills.

The good news was that the precipitation began to let up the farther we got away from the mountains.

East Moraine Ag Fields

Prairie Creek Rd

As expected, the agricultural fields on the east moraine and extending out from it were a raptor paradise. Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, and nearly 30 Red-tailed Hawks.

At one point we made a turn and suddenly were headed into a little old cemetery in the middle of the hilly fields. I had a good feeling about it!

Cemeteries are often really productive birding spots. They tend to have a good bit of well-cared-for vegetation, frequently in a spot where there isn't a lot of that around. We would stop at a large cemetery in Baton Rouge as part of the CBC there, and it was often our best spot for "tree birds" all day. It was our only reliable spot for Red-headed Woodpeckers, hanging out on some old Water Oaks in one corner.

We had some good luck at this one. I got a text saying Partridges, and looked up to see a covey of my Gray Partridges scooting from the base of one shrub to another, and got my binoculars and camera up just quickly enough to see and snap a few of these Lifers.

A bit further down the road we stopped to check the view out across the moraine, and suddenly there was a cloud of birds moving through the sky high above us. Nolan and Samantha were able to scope them out well enough to positively identify them as Gray-crowned Rosy-finches, an estimated 1700 of them soaring above the grassy hills. Another Lifer, and number 400 for me for the United States!

Knapper Rd & Turner Ln

We picked up our Golden Eagle here, soaring high above us. The rest of the group also had a Red Crossbill, but I didn't catch that one, so it will remain high on my to-see list to hopefully pick up later on this winter.

Liberty Rd

More hawks, eagles and ravens moving around this area, but we found one little property with some dense shrubs along the yard, and picked up our only Pine Siskins for the day out there.

Wallowa Lake - Afternoon Visit

We finished the day with one more trip to the north end of the lake, seeing if any new species happened to come in while we were out in the fields, but there wasn't much to see.

We parted ways after a successful day, having tied their group's record number of species for the Upper Prairie Creek area. It was a great time, and I made some great new birder friends in the process.

This was my first time in a long time doing a big birding day where I wasn't either leading the walk or birding with my mom, and it ended up being one of my favorite birding days ever. Looking forward to next year.

eBird Trip Report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/314965?welcome=true

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

The Mulberries had a pretty great year, even with some seemingly out-of-season visits from the webworms.

Mulberry 1 went through two webworm cycles eventually, but was hanging in there just fine. It never really filled out like it's cousin #2, but I just think the nutrients in the soil in this part of the yard aren't very good. This is largely a clay slab where the area was filled or raised during the construction of the pond, and I just don't know that that's enough. It probably needs a yearly fertilizer or to get some other plants growing nearby to help the entire area be a little more productive. Being where it is in the yard, though, that will likely not happen.

Mulberry 2 is the most successful planting I did from nursery plants in our time at the Landry Property. It was a real-deal tree by the time we left, and the base of its trunk had almost gotten large enough where I couldn't ring it with the fingers of one hand. Lots of good new growth this year, and it even put out a small second round of fruit after it leafed back out following its webworm invasion. A hearty little tree that I think gets much better nutrients being in a spot where large trees had been living as recently as 2021. I think there's just a lot more nutrients in the soil, not to mention mycelium to help it access those nutrients.

Mulberry 3 was becoming a lovely, bushy little tree there in the driveway circle. It eventually got hit by the deer in late summer as things dried out a bit (and as I slacked with the Liquid Fence), but I think it'll do great in this spot as long as it's allowed to live there. I hope to see it be a lovely little tree filling up this circle one day.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

Oh, the Black Willows. One of the great joys of all this plant work the last few years. Despite the severe injuries from a weed eater in June, Willow 1 and Willow 2 kept on growing and thriving and recovered better than I could have ever hoped. Of course the willow's renowned healing ability would extend to itself.

Willow 1 accepted the injury, healing over the edges a bit but in general just kept on doing its thing without much issue. It was actually hampered more from a bit by an aphid infestation, but that aphid infestation also led to the ability of the tree to support SO MANY different insect species, coming to feed on the honeydew from the aphids and I'm sure the aphids themselves. It was extremely common for me to find a half-dozen different wasp species on it at the same time. Eventually the aphids dissipated and it shot out a bunch of new growth right away. Once again, I think this tree will do beautifully if it's allowed to.

Willow 2 shot out a bunch of new branches in the area of its injury, I can only imagine to maybe support getting new cells for healing/growing there, but whatever it did absolutely worked. I think this little beauty doubled in height over the next couple of months, despite the injury, and was probably close to six feet tall by the time we left. It had actually gotten so big that when we got a big rain at one point and the pond finally refilled for the first time since last year, the ground got so weight that the newly-heavy tree tipped toward it a bit. It's being supported for now, but it might actually end up giving it the classic Willow-hanging-over-the-bank look if it's able to live on.

I'm just so happy these two survived and kept on doing their thing; it's hard to believe they started as little volunteers near the log pile, less than a foot tall. I can only imagine coming back one day and seeing two big willows there, branches swaying in the wind on the edge of the pond. What a treat that would be.

Little Willow 4 was still doing good its thing in the Old Pond area, though it got covered up by some Mikania scandens that was really thriving this summer. I think it'll be ok there, but if I'm honest there's a good chance it's been mowed over by now.

Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Pawpaw 2 is still alive, but I don't imagine it will survive another year, unless some major changes happen with the rain. Ultimately, I do think I planted both Pawpaws too deeply, even though I did get those two little fruit last year. I think this was a pretty great site for them, but maybe they should have been a little closer to the treeline to shade them even more.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

I can pretty much repeat the update from last time! I think this little friend is doing to do just fine in its new home. It did the most important thing you want a new planting to do the first year in the ground: survive. There's been a little new growth, but even better there's been no new dieback since cleaning it up a couple months back.

I still think this will be a really cool place for a bushy little cedar tree, if it gets the chance. It sounds like some of the surrounding trees may have been removed recently, so I'm not sure, but I think it would make a nice contrast to the tall Loblolly Pines nearby.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

Pond Maple 1 was doing great this year considering being cut back last year unexpected, and probably grew a lot of new roots in its little spot along the southwestern corner of the Pond. Sadly, it was cut down with the weed eater for unknown reasons, despite having an orange flag right next to it. This was the main reason I decided to go ahead and pull the rest of the orange flags (which you may be noticing from some of the photos).

Pond Maple 2 ended up taller than the flag next to it, after a very slow start to the year. Ultimately, though, it suffered the same fate shortly after the flags were removed.

Growing these maples here (over 10 that were transplanted from my mom's yard in Ponchatoula) was a fun experiment and I'd really hoped to bring in some more nice fall color but it wasn't meant to be, I guess.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

The Mayhaws had a pretty good year, and I think they are set up to do great in 2025. I think they're also in a spot where they're pretty safe, unless there are some pretty major changes of plan.

Mayhaw 1 had a decent year, though there were some interesting little caterpillars that came in and de-leafed it a couple of times. It seemed to be recovering just fine as September rolled along, though.

Mayhaw 2 did really well this year, growing up a lot and hopefully a lot of nice underground growth as well. I think the triple-trunk look could end up being really cool if it gets shaped well these next few years.

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

Both Aquatic Milkweeds were repeatedly eaten down to the stems by caterpillars, to the point where they got pretty hard to keep track of among the grass and sedges growing around it. I think they'll recover fine if the Old Pond area is allowed to stay long, though it will likely get mowed over.

My main hope is that these were able to put out enough seed last year that they may have spread elsewhere to the ecosystem. Otherwise, I hope they were able to get established enough that maybe they'll get a chance if that area stays wet enough that it can't be mowed consistently. It was definitely the best-performing milkweed that I planted in 2023.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Oklahoma John Elderberry grew well this year but never did show any signs of making flowers, which was a little surprising. It seems pretty well established and I feel like I've seen smaller elderberry plants at least making a few flowers, but maybe it needs another year or so to get going. I think it's in a spot where it may be protected enough naturally that it would be allowed to grow and possibly put out some fruit someday, and then it'll be off to the races.

The Ranch Elderberry was pretty much all but dead by the end of summer. Most of its main growth from last year had died back, but it was still trying to put out a little growth near its base. I'm not quite sure what went wrong here, other than a cultivar not really meant for this part of Louisiana.

South Meadow

The South Meadow ended up having a pretty nice year! At least one of every plant made it through, and all but a couple species put out at least some blooms. It's hard to know how much this space will survive in the future, or if it will be mowed over sooner or later, but there's a chance some of these things put out enough seed that some could just start popping up around the edges of the yard here and there. Wouldn't that be lovely?

The only thing that really kept going since the last update was the Beeblossom (Gaura), which kept putting out its delicate white flowers up until the time we left town.

The Swamp Milkweed ended up getting pretty big, but never ended up blooming. Not really sure what it might have been unhappy about, considering how well it grew this year.

The Purple Coneflower also never bloomed, but seemed to survive pretty well. The most impressive thing near it was a Sesbania that popped up and grew several feet in a week or two. I love the riverhemps, so I was more than happy to have it join the garden and give us a few more flowers.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The Buttonbushes had a wonderful year, and are some of the most successful plants I added here. They love it at the pond's edge, and both put out quite a bit of blooms this year.

Buttonbush 1 bloomed a ton, and seems like it will likely make a ton of seed based on how many pollinators it consistently had on it. It didn't grow much for the first part of the year, but it shot up a big new stalk from its tallest point, and I think it will go vertical from there next year, similar to how its cousin did this year. I'm hoping it will spread along this corner of the pond because it obviously loves it here, and the bank of the pond could use some reinforcement from some root growth.

Buttonbush 2 got huge. I almost can't believe it, looking at pictures from the end of last year compared to this fall, but it probably doubled or tripled in total branch volume and didn't really show much sign of slowing down all year. It didn't flower as much as #1, but I have a feeling that will change. This thing could grow into a small tree here if it's allowed to, and I think that would be absolutely beautiful.

Buttonbush ended up being one of my favorite new plants to work with, and I think it would be a welcome addition for anyone in its range who has a natural pond or even sunny wet area or drainage.

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

The Titi was covered in seeds from its successful year of flowering and bringing all the little pollinators to the yard. I'm hoping it will spread around the pond and fill in the edges here and there. I think if it could grow a little closer to the current water line it would do even better, but I think it will hang on here as long as its allowed to.

I'm not sure what to expect from it, growth-wise, with this upright shape. But it has a ton of room to expand however it would like to from here.

Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

The sunflowers were also taken out by the weed eater. They may be established enough to try again one more year if they get a chance, but it seems unlikely.

Beautyberries and Elderberries

The potted Beautyberries and Elderberries did great. I am pretty proud of that; rescuing the tiny, deer-nibbled elderberry seedlings from the understory near the the creek and seeing them grow to three or four feet tall over the summer was pretty incredible. I knew they were capable of it — I just didn't know if I was. It's good to know now that I have learned a thing or two after all.

All of the potted ones ended up going to my friend who thankfully accepted my many plant donations, so they went to a good home and will hopefully thrive for her, being the local ecotype.

The driveway circle beautyberries did great, put out some berries, and survived the droughty August and September well. The third one that had most died back grew back four or five inches tall or so, and I think all three of them should do well next year if they stay there. Again, I think some or all of the large Loblolly pines in this circle may have been cut down, so I'm not sure of the status of the other plants nearby. Here's hoping they got spared.

Seedlings

The seeds that I planted this year did really well, which is another nice success story from my plant education this year.

The Hibiscus seedling went absolutely crazy, and ended up with a few dozen that I gave away and hopefully they can go on from there. Nearly every seed that I planted in the pots ended up germinating, and the seedlings were all probably close to two feet tall by the time we left in September.

The Zinnia ended up blooming, giving me my first ever flower grown from seed. It was visited very regularly by our local Gulf Fritillary butterflies, which filled my heart with a lot of joy.

A couple of the young Partridge Peas died suddenly on a very hot and dry day, but a couple survived and got big enough to put out a few flowers, which was a nice treat.

We ended up getting several blooms on the Purple Passionflower after putting it on the trellis, until it was absolutely covered and eventually devoured by Gulf Fritillary caterpillars, as it is their beloved host plant. I ended up donating what was left of it and even a caterpillar or two to my friend, so hopefully she got some chrysalises and butterflies! I think the plant will survive and grow well next year, it was very happy at my house.

Reflections

It was really hard to write this! It's hard to not know the fate of these plants that I put so much effort into, and to just have to look forward to seeing them again some day.

With that said, the experience of working with plants these last few years was priceless.

In 2022, it was mostly planting trees and shrubs from the local do-it-all nursery that happened to have some natives, or maybe-natives. That was a great experience with just planting anything at all, just to learn how, and to get over my fears of being a "black thumb." The Mulberries survived, the Pawpaws did okay, and the Eastern Redbud... didn't. The Titi and Buttonbush ending up doing well. I learned a lot about finding the right site for a plant, and that I was going to need to look around for better sources for native plants in the future.

In 2023, I found some of those sources: Beaver's Abundance and Wild Ones. This was the year that I tried my hand at some non-woody plants and planting in more abundance straight in the ground. It was a rough year for that, ending up in one of the worst droughts in decades. Most things ended up surviving, somehow, but it was rough. The Watering Can was born this year, though, in my efforts to stave off the worst effects of said drought. I also "claimed" some of the sections of the yard that were pretty wet and harder to mow anyway, some of which ended up becoming the South Meadow and the Old Pond wetlands.

And this year, 2024, was a year for trying my hand at growing in pots so that I could control the water situation a little better. It was a year for learning how to transplant the species that were already growing and thriving on this wonderful property, with great success. It was also a great success in learning how to grow from seed, seeing how differently things grow and learning how to take care of their individual needs.

None of this was really expected when we moved here, so in that sense it's all been a huge success. It was all a part of making the best of the situation that we found ourselves in for these few years while we traveled in the van when we could and recovered from a couple of rough years before then. There were setbacks, but I think that's probably inevitable with working with plants, because after all, we you can't control the weather. Thankfully, the plants never seem to take it personally.

I look forward to the next chance for a Watering Can series somewhere else, wherever it ends up being, and am already putting together a list of native plants for this little corner of Oregon in case it ends up being here. As always, this ending is a beginning.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with all of these plants, in so many different ways.

Prairie Lizards

These fierce-looking little friends, often basking on the edge of the logs like they were surveying their domain, were maybe my favorite of the regular denizens of the Log Pile.

Their intricately patterned scales were almost the exact same color as the bark on the logs, and often I would only see them as they scampered away when I got too close for comfort. But occasionally I would see them posing there cutting a silhouette even from a distance, and was lucky enough to get some nice looks at them.

I think I got a glance of one of these guys since April, but nothing like the almost daily sightings before. I miss them a lot.

Toothy Skinks

The toothy skins of the genus Plestiodon were another favorite of the pile and a regular sighting in the warmer parts of the year. The big, beefy Broad-headed skinks (Plestiodon laticeps) were an especially beautiful sight, with their big, burnt-orange heads. We also had either the Common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) or the Southern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus), but there's no way to differentiate them in my photos. As it is, I only know we had P. laticeps for sure because I got a close enough photo to count the number of scales on its top "lip," so that's why they're all generally grouped by genus.

These, big sleek lizards are shockingly fast and have scared me more than anything over the years because you can hear how heavy they are scampering through the leaf litter on the forest floor. It was always lovely to get a good look at them basking on the logs next to the Pokeberry Patch.

Speckled Kingsnake

Only seen twice in all my hours perusing these logs, the Speckled Kingsnake (or possibly variant of Black Kingsnake?) was likely here hunting all of the other critters I've been mentioning. I was happy to have them, of course, as another sign of a healthy ecosystem.

They are probably around more than I realize with their amazing camouflage, but this was the only place I've spotted them, so far. Probably because it was so full of those other critters!

Carolina Mantleslugs

I only saw these weird little friends in 2023, feeding on decaying fungus, which now makes me wonder if they only hang out in that very specific timeframe in the log decay lifecycle.

They are strange, mottled, thumb-sized slugs that are very easy to overlook as they munch away on their feast. Their genus is Philomycus, "friend of mushrooms," and that was indeed always where I saw them.

Fungi

Oh, the fungi. So many varieties, so many colors, so much beautiful life blooming from the slow breakdown of these logs, giving nutrients back to the forest.

It's hard to even describe all of the different kinds, so I'll just show you what I can. I'm sure there are even more photos in my collection that I'll continue to dig up and add here as I find them.

I'll miss these friends as much as any of the others. Every day was something different; every rainy day promised something new popping up somewhere. There was so much to see in only two years — I wonder what more might have emerged through the years of the logs breaking down, what else might have popped up through the cycles of decay?

Other Friends

Here are a few more random visitors to the logs — it's quite the variety looking at it now. I really wonder what else might have been creeping and crawling around. Ah well!

I hope you enjoyed meeting some of these friends of mine, and I hope you'll think a nice thought or send some good energy or say a little prayer for them if that suits you. I hope I've honored their memory in some way.

🙏🏻🪵🙏🏻

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

The Mulberries continue to do really really in their third year.

Mulberry 1 went through its webworm cycle and recovered nicely, with a nice fresh batch of green leaves on it now. The webworm caterpillars had also hit the cypress trees near the pond and are on their way out on those as well. Apparently they've been such a presence it's caused quite a panic in the surrounding area.

The handsome Mulberry 2 looks more and more like a capitol-T Tree every day. It's getting larger and stronger, and the sort of two-dimensional growth pattern of its canopy that I've mentioned in the past is started to grow out and get a bit more three-dimensional.

Mulberry 3 is continuing to do well this year in the circle, and more and more is the centerpiece of the new plantings in that area.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

My beloved Black Willows by the pond, Willow 1 and Willow 2, sadly were severely injured by a nephew with the weed eater just a few days after the last Watering Can update. Willow 1's injury was contained to one side of the trunk, but small chunks were taken out of the bark and several small new branches that I was excited about were cut off. Willow 2 got the worst of it, almost being completely girdled on its lower trunk. I was pretty devastated, and it took me the better part of a week to really want to work with plants again.

After nearly a month of hopeful monitoring, it looks like they might both hang on and survive. Neither has shown signs of decline so far, and both seem to be doing their best to try to grow over the wounds. If anything, it may have happened at the best time of year, when they are actively growing a ton and have energy to spare in healing themselves. They'll never be the same and may never thrive like they would have otherwise, but it looks like they may hang in there.

Little Willow 4 is still doing good back in the Old Pond area, though it did get browsed a bit by deer. Seeing how its cousins responded to a bit of that in its first year... I think it'll be just fine.

Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Pawpaw 2 is still... alive. It only has about five sad, little leaves... but it's alive.

It may still be worth trying to move it at this point, if we get a nice cloudy/rainy day that's a little cooler. I don't know. I need to scout out a good spot for it.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

I think this little friend is doing to do just fine in its new home. I haven't really had to do anything to it since cleaning up some dead bits before the last Watering Can, and it seems content to put out a little bit of consistent new growth.

I think this will be a really cool place for a bushy little cedar tree, if that's what it ends up being.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

These two have grown steadily this year, with Pond Maple 1 about twice the size of the flag next to it, and still growing strong. Pond Maple 2 should be as tall as its flag soon, and seems to be growing a bit more slowly, but it's hanging in there.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

The Mayhaws are still doing well. Mayhaw 2, especially, has a lot of new growth on top, reaching for the sunlight. It has had aphids come in here and there, but that doesn't seem to have stunted it much unlike last year.

Mayhaw 1 has a bit of new growth as well and has maintained its more open canopy instead of shooting straight up. I have a feeling both of these are going to have a really big year in 2025.

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

Both Aquatic Milkweeds got completely stripped down to the stems by the Monarch caterpillar visitor that was mentioned in the last update!

As expected, they are recovering just fine and are already budding out and flowering again. Hopefully they get a chance to put out some seeds later this summer, but I’ll happily accept another Monarch if one wants to stop by.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Oklahoma John Elderberry is still doing great and is now definitely the largest it’s ever been. It got nibbled on by the deer but nothing too bad, and a fresh application of liquid fence seems to be doing the trick. Still no signs of flowering, which is a bit surprising. Ultimately this cultivar may not be right for this location, but I still have some hope. Elderberry will bloom year-round if the temperature is right, so there’s still a chance.

The Ranch Elderberry continues to struggle. It may not be getting enough sun where it is, but I’m not sure. Plenty of other things are thriving nearby. It’s still alive, but that’s about it. I don’t think it’s put out any new growth in at least a month which is really strange for elderberry this time of year.

South Meadow

The South Meadow has had a nice year so far. I’ve had the most blooms I’ve ever had, which is pretty funny comparing my measly little planting to some of my friends’ amazing gardens, but it’s been no less exciting every time a new bloom emerges.

All three Stokes' Asters bloomed, for probably close to a month total of blooms between the three of them. I absolutely adore this plant and I hope it makes a bunch of seed and spreads itself everywhere.

The Butterfly Weed had a lovely bloom of bright orange flowers for a week or two. I didn’t see many pollinator takers on it, though, and it doesn’t appear to have gone to seed at all. I’m not sure if that’s expected here, but it was a little surprising. It may be a location issue, too. I think this spot is actually a little more wet than it would prefer. That may be why it was still so small this year compared to the other second-year plants.

The Lanceleaf Coreopsis finished a second round of blooms and looks like it may be working on a third now, which I love. One of the Black-eyed Susans is absolutely full of blooms right now, which makes my heart very full. The other hasn't even tried to put out flowers, but otherwise seems to be doing ok, so I'm not sure what's up there. Theoretically they should both flower this year.

The Purple Coneflower is still hanging in there and just this week is showing some signs of increasing in size. A Sesbania volunteer popped up next to it that I need to move, because that monster will quickly crowd it out. It may be too late now for the coneflower to bloom, but I guess we'll see. It would be nice to see it at least get a nice sized rosette through the rest of the summer.

The remaining Swamp Milkweed is absolutely huge now, with a multi-stemmed growth pattern that looks like it will be absolutely full of blooms... if it ever starts blooming! It seems super happy otherwise, but just no signs of budding or anything yet. iNaturalist data suggests it tends to bloom in July and August, so here's hoping we'll see a bunch soon.

The Beeblossom (Gaura) seemed to get a little bit of an infestation with some kind of caterpillar, and stayed pretty stunted throughout June, but hung in there. This last week or so it seems to be recovering and suddenly has a 2ft high stalk on one part, so it may get a chance to bloom after all.

The Narrowleaf False Dragonhead hasn't ended up blooming any more but it did make some seed, and I mainly hope it did well enough to stick around and establish itself in this spot.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The Buttonbushes are not only loving life, but their many-flowered blooms are bringing more life into the yard in the form of pollinators of all kinds.

We had a female dark morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail spend 3.5 hours on Buttonbush 1 one afternoon, and she was back again for a visit the next morning. This plant continues to put out bloom after bloom, and has a brand new central stalk that has shot up a foot and a half above the existing growth, reaching for the sun over the iris leaves next to it.

Buttonbush 2 has come through for me after all. It started making flower buds shortly after the last update, and as of this morning has its first open bloom with many more to come. It also feels like all of its new growth has really "opened up" in preparation for the blooming. I think this guy is going to be huge in a few years if it's allowed to be, which is really exciting. I've certainly seen tree-sized buttonbushes in our travels, so who knows?

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

The Titi was also covered in pollinators for at least a month. The blooms are done for now, and it should be full of seeds this late summer and fall. Hopefully we can get some more growing -- Titi and Buttonbush all around this corner of the pond would be beautiful and help with some existing erosion issues as well.

Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

These sunflowers are covered in long grass, but they are growing and growing and I think we'll get quite a few in a couple of months. I need to clean up the area a bit but they seem fairly well-protected at this point (knock on wood).

Beautyberries and Elderberries

The Beautyberries and Elderberries that I potted in April are still doing wonderfully. The potted Eldeberries have doubled or tripled in size since bumping them up about a month ago, and at this point and are probably due for another bump-up soon. Several of the Beautyberries ended up flowering and a few are even going to have a few berries this year.

The third Beautyberry planted in the Driveway Circle is still alive, but it's started new growth from the ground instead of trying to keep growing from the existing stem. Good to see! It should come up nicely next year.

Seedlings

The seedlings that I planted on May 26th have done great. I bumped up the Zinnia on June 18th, and they have gotten huge since then and are due for another upgrade this weekend. This week I bumped up all the Hibiscus, which are still doing wonderfully and I think just about every seed I planted ended up growing into a little plant.

A few of the Partridge Peas ended up coming up after all, and grew so much that I bumped up the three of them this week as well. I think process, I noticed that a fourth has started coming up alongside one of the others, a nice little surprise. They've all handled the transplant well so far.

I planted a few seeds of the purple sage that my mom gifted De for her birthday, but none of those have come up so far. The sage itself is doing awesome and is regularly visited by at least one of our Ruby-throated hummingbird friends

The Zinnia I planted on the side of the Big House haven't really done anything. I think three or four came up, but vanished... and I suspect rabbits. The Taro that I split up and rearranged in that bed are doing great, though, so it still looks a bit nicer overall. This spot only gets afternoon sun and is otherwise shaded so I may need to rethink what might be good to go here.

The Purple Passionflower that I got from the wildflower festival is doing well, and this week I bumped it up and put a trellis around it for support. After just two nights it found the trellis and is well on its way to climbing, so that's exciting. Passionflower is one of my favorites and I think we've got time to get some blooms this year.

Upcoming Plans

We're continuing to flesh out the Casita Garden, which has been helped by the fact that we are gaining so many more potted plants all the time as I bump things up and move them around. I've got some cardboard down to clear out the grass in an area around where we've got table and chairs, and we want to do the same to make a path between that area and the carport.

We organized the potted plants into a couple of "shelves" sort of lining the area, and already it feels so much nicer and vibrant in that area.

I'm also planning on hanging some of my prayer flags around the outside of the area to form a bit of an outline of the space.

Around the yard, I'm mostly focusing on keeping things alive as things get hotter, as that's all I can think about after last year. I may try to stick some more seeds in some dirt here and there just to see what might come up.

I do want to clean up some of the invasive ground cover in the South Meadow beds, like Chamberbitter. I'm hoping to move some native Buttonweed or Looseflower Water-willow that we have growing and that are already present in the beds, just a bit overwhelmed by some of the non-natives.

Here's to a happy July!

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

The Mulberries are really coming into their own. Mulberry 1 and Mulberry 2 both feel like "real" trees now. They both had a great crop of berries this year, are gaining some major height (maybe pushing 12 feet?), and just feel like they are really established and strong.

Mulberry #1 is getting hit with webworm moths right now, and once again its leaves are struggling after finishing fruiting, so I may need to look into composting or a fertilizer later this year. I just don't know how many nutrients its getting out there in the clay-backfilled lawn.

The smaller, bushier Mulberry 3 is doing really well this year, and has a lot of new growth. I love its shape so much, and I think it's going to be a great tree/shrub for years to come in this spot in the circle. De's mom and I planted a bunch more stuff in the circle in April as well, so it's nice to have this guy as a foundation for this little area.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

The Black Willows by the Pond continue to be one of my biggest success stories with plants.

Willow 1 is getting huge, has a nice little clump of secondary trunks which I love for it as far as a classic Willow look. It hit some sort of critical point in the last couple of weeks, and the bark has suddenly turned a much darker gray, with pronounced lenticels especially on the lower bark. It's becoming a proper tree!

Willow 2 has been having leaf issues which I found out during the City Nature Challenge are actually from a gall mite! It has since dropped a lot of the most distressed leaves, grown some new ones, and is doing pretty well now. It's currently hosting a Limenitis that is doing well.

Willow 3 got smashed up a bit when the defunct paddle boat got moved, and then I think the weed eater right after, despite having an orange flag. It may technically be alive but I'm not sure where it's trying to grow, if it is.

Willow 4 is doing great back in the Old Pond Wetland. It's looking like a proper little sapling now and has a few healthy little branches going. It could double in size by the end of the summer if the rain keeps up.

Common Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

It turns out that Pawpaw 1 was indeed very dead. I went to do a scrape test and it basically just snapped off at the base.

Pawpaw 2 is still hanging in there, but it's having a rough life. The one bloom that it had fell off without progressing (no surprise there). The few small leaves it grew this year were eaten by some kind of bug, and I just don't know how it's going to do.

At this point it might be best to just move it and see if it can hang in there in a different spot — somewhere a bit shadier and wetter, with morning sun. It's not a great time of year to move it but if it's going to die anyway... I don't know.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

This little guy is doing well in its new home, especially after trimming off one of its larger branches that died after transplanting. I think I overwatered it at first, and it didn't like that. I really like this shape it's growing into. I love a cedar with some character.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

Pond Maple 1 took a while to really get going, but at this point I think it might be growing about a half inch per day. It's been nice having the little flag right next to it for a comparison. I think if things go well this year it could end up five or six feet tall, which would be awesome.

Pond Maple 2 is still alive, but it's still not doing much. It's still just about the same size as it was in mid-April, though it may have a couple more leaves. Not sure how it's going to do but I'm protecting and will give it a shot to do its thing this year, at least.

My mom also offered to give me some more seedlings! I'm going to try a few more this year in different spots than I did last year. I think they might do better in the Wood Lawn area along the driveway.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

Both of the Mayhaws continue to do well, with a good bit of new growth and some nice color. Mayhaw 2's aphid problems are off and on but overall it's doing a lot better this year.

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

Possibly the most successful of last year's plantings, the Aquatic Milkweed continues to thrive in its wet spot in the Old Pond area. Both spots held on and seem to have gotten bigger, including the one that got run over by a truck this winter, and both are starting to bud out with this year's flowers already.

This seems like an example of a perfect siting, and honestly I would love to get a couple more to plant throughout this area that stays so wet. But maybe it will be able to spread on its own this year!

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Ranch Elderberry is still alive and that's about it. It's not really growing but not really dying, either. I'm not sure if it just doesn't like this spot or if this cultivar created in a dryer climate is just not going to thrive here. If it survives through the Fall I'll try to move it to a sunnier spot and see how it does from there.

The Oklahoma John Elderberry is doing great and I believe is the largest it's ever been. The bark on the largest new branches is starting to turn brown and grow lenticels, and it'll be as tall as me soon. The jury's still out on whether or not it will bloom this year, as local ecotype specimens its size are blooming in our area, but we'll just have to see. I'm just so happy every time I walk up and it's doing so well.

South Meadow

The South Meadow has had some surprises for me this year! In the last update I surmised that the Stokes' Aster, and Butterfly Weed were dead based on what I could find in the area. Well, I'm please to report I was very wrong!

All three Stokes' Asters survived and all three are going to bloom this year. One of them has been blooming for over a week straight, and it has brought a huge smile to my face every time I pass by. I've seen several native insects on them as well, which is awesome.

The larger Butterfly Weed survived as well, and is full of beautiful orange blooms right now.

The surviving Narrowleaf False Dragonhead bloomed successfully and looks like it might be sending up a couple more stalks of flowers now. Both of the Lanceleaf Coreopsis have bloomed and are working on their second round of flowers. The leaf rosettes of the two Black-eyed Susans have probably doubled in size, and one of them started to show its first buds just in the last day or two. The Purple Coneflower is hanging in there, and recently perked up and grew a couple new leaves, so maybe it's going to make a move here soon.

The larger Swamp Milkweed is doing great and should start budding any day now, but the smaller one suddenly died last week and I'm not sure why. I might try to move its root ball if they're still alive but we'll just have to see. It's not so different of an area from the one that's nearly two feet tall, so I'm not sure what could be wrong. The Beeblossom has grown up well and might be budding soon too.

This whole area has been bringing me a lot of joy every day, with new blooms appearing and disappearing and so many different plants progressing. I'm trying to keep it well-defined and clean, and spent some time weeding half of it last weekend. The rest will come soon along with some fresh mulch. I may try to move some more sedges in as "green mulch" as well, and make some patches for the Lance-leaved Water-Willow in the hopes of bringing in the rare Seminole Crescents that have been seen across town. I've found it in more and more places in the yard so I think it wants to thrive here, and trusting that instinct has served me well recently.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The Buttonbushes continue to do great this year. I think we could put them in all around the edge of the pond and it would be amazing.

Buttonbush 1 has grown a ton and is full of little budding "buttons"! One of them has just started to open up the last day or two... it's making me so happy.

Buttonbush 2 is huge but so far has no signs of blooming this year. I'm honestly really surprised, but who knows why it might need more time. Once it does bloom, though... it's going to be amazing.

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

Titi 1 is full of blooms that have started opening the last couple of days and they are just covered in pollinators. It's really beautiful to see and makes me want to plant Titi all around the edge of the pond. I think it would do great here.

Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

This guy keeps getting hit with the weed eater but it's hanging in there. I may cordon it off with a bit more orange ribbon and clean up the area by hand to keep it safe. This spot has gotten a little bit precarious... we'll just have to see how it goes. Happy it's still alive so far.

Beautyberries and Elderberries

As I mentioned at the end of the last update, I transplanted and potted several small American Beautyberries and baby Elderberries that had volunteered around the property. This has been a very successful project so far.

All of the young Elderberries have absolutely taken off with new growth, so much that I had to bump them up to bigger pots a few days ago. Their roots looked amazing! They handled the transplant super well and are already growing more and fast.

The Beautyberries are doing great as well, and some are even flowering! It brings me so much joy. I bumped up the smallest to a new pot and it was doing just as great as the Elderberries and handled the transplant like a charm.

I also planted three of the Beautyberries in the driveway Circle with some of the plants that De's mom put in, and two of them are doing great and starting to bloom. The third has died mostly back, but the main stem is still alive. I'm going to leave it for now and see if it manages a comeback.

Seedlings

I started some seeds for the first time on May 26th and it's been really fun so far.

I planted quite a bit of Halberd-leaf Rosemallow (Hibiscus laevis) and just about all of them germinated in under a week. As of today they're starting to get their first true leaves, and I am thrilled.

I also planted quite a bit of Zinnia, and a handful of those have come up so far and are doing well. The Partridge Pea seeds I planted have not done anything, but I think the soil I'm using is a bit too wet and not sandy enough for what it wants.

I've never done this before so I'm not really sure when to bump these guys up but I've heard some things about two pairs of true leaves so that's my goal so far.

I also cleaned up a bed on the side of the Big House's garage and planted some Zinnia seeds there, so we'll see how that goes! Just trying to get more color up by the big house for De's mom to enjoy.

I don't know how these are going to fare for the year, but I just want to try growing something from seed and figured it was better than the seeds just sitting in envelopes for another season. So far, so good. I have a few more species I want to start before the solstice.

Upcoming Plans

Our main goal is to continue building out the Casita Garden and have a nice little area nearby that we can enjoy. We want to get some seating in there, and organize the potted plants a little more. I'm not sure if anything needs to go in the ground here, but we'll see.

I bought a few new plants at this past weekend's Feliciana Wildflower Festival: Purple Passionflower, Spotted Horsemint, and a little Southern Catalpa sapling. I'm really excited about all three and am working on figuring out where might be a good spot for each. I think the Passionflower will stay in the garden but right now I'm not sure for the other two.

Other than that, I think it's mostly going to be maintenance and cleaning up some non-natives here and there. We're all sort of holding our breath on how this Summer will turn out, but I'm at least feeling a little more prepared for it this year no matter what.

Landry Property (Friday)

For the first day of the Challenge I decided it would basically be a personal BioBlitz of our home base, the Landry Property. Having found over 1100 species here in the last 2.5 years, it's as rich as anywhere else I could have hoped to go and at this point I of course know it like the back of my hand. I figured I could easily pick up a couple hundred here the first day, especially with...

Moth Sheeting

Starting off at Midnight, I had the moth sheet up with a UV light under one of the big Magnolia trees on the east side of the driveway. Unfortunately I had a light mishap when I initially set it up, so things weren't quite as productive as I'd hoped right at midnight, but a later run at 1am got me a few little things -- mainly one of my favorite moths, Tulip Tree Beauties. Either way a midnight moth sheet is always a fun way to kick things off.

The pre-dawn look at the sheet had a couple more moth species but overall it wasn't a very productive spot.

Big Day at Home

Throughout the day I was focused on picking up as many of the common species that I walk by every day as possible, while keeping an eye out for the ephemeral and unusual. I'd spent the last couple of days coming up with a list and mental map of where I knew I could get most of them, and set out at dawn to catch as much as I could (there was also a chance the lawn would get mowed, but that ended up not happening until May 1).

My first Mississippi Kite of the year was the first wonderful surprise, along with a small flock of White Ibis that I was too slow to capture with the camera. I got one of my best ever looks at a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers making their way back toward a big dead pine in the West Woods that looks like it may be their nest for the year. A Box Turtle appeared in the path, always a nice surprise and certainly not a species I would have counted on seeing.

There were some great new galls that I hadn't seen before, and a couple of new dragonfly species for the year. Gusty winds kept the butterfly numbers down, a theme that would keep up for most of the weekend.

By mid-day I was well over 100 species and was feeling good. There weren't many surprises in the afternoon, mainly just knocking out everything I already knew would be here in this wonderful little place we call home.

Moth Sheeting Round 2

For the 2nd night of sheeting I set up further south on the property, a bit deeper into the woods at an intersection of paths, next to one of the large Water Oaks. It turned out to be great. Just an hour or so after sunset the sheet was covered in bugs of all sorts.

Hundreds of tiny Waterlily Leafcutter Moths, more Tulip Tree Beauties, a few different kind of June Bugs, and my first ever Mantidflies which I was really excited to see. What strange and beautiful little creatures they are.

This was probably the best overall night of sheeting I've had at home in the 5-6 times I've tried it in the last year and a half.

On the way back inside I stopped to check the Buttonbushes just to see if anything was hanging out, and found quite a few large, dark-gray June Bugs eating the edges of the leaves. I don't really know what to make of it but it was really interesting to see them all on there.

I finished the first day with 214 species from 245, a really great start and well on pace for my goal of 500 species for the weekend.

Saturday

With a great Friday behind me, the goal for Saturday was to spend as much time as I could out and about, particularly in areas I hadn't been before and areas that don't get a ton of observations, either for the CNC or in general. I decided my main focus would be St. Helena Parish, which got 9 observations in the 2022 CNC and only 8 last year. The parish doesn't have many public parks or areas for non-residents to hang out, which obviously makes it tough for birders or naturalists to come and see anything (at 167 species on eBird, it has the lowest count of any Louisiana parish).

I also had only ever driven through St. Helena on my way elsewhere, so I was excited to explore a little bit and add it to my Life List for eBird, if nothing else. The only eBird Hotspot that stood out was Greensburg Park, which didn't look like much from Google Maps, but I figured it was worth a shot.

The morning moth sheet produced mostly the same as the night before, so I was off before dawn to get to the park as close to sunrise as possible.

Greensburg Park

I tried to get to the park as early as I could, because I knew that would help my chances for birds and because I didn't know how much time it would be worth spending there, so I wanted to still have plenty of time to explore elsewhere if it ended up being a bust. Thankfully, it was worth my while.

It's a pretty well-manicured park at its heart, but there is enough wild stuff around the edges and nearby that the birds were singing and I was able to pick up a few new common plant species that we just don't have at home.

The big reward for this stop was hearing and then seeing a pair of Inca Doves hanging out on a defunct concrete tennis court next to the park. I ended up with 20 bird species, which was way more than I was expecting, and at least 10 new plant species to boot. Overall I was more than pleased with this little park, as it really was just to visit it for the first time and just get St. Helena on the map for the CNC more than anything else. I knew I'd already surpassed last year's efforts and that felt great.

Hutchinson Creek WMA

When I got back in the car at Greensburg Park I really didn't know where I was headed next. It had ended up much more productive than expected, so I was pretty open to anything. In general though, I wanted to head toward East Feliciana Parish, another place that is relatively under-observed and where I hadn't birded, just like St. Helena.

But when I opened up the eBird app to explore nearby Hotspots, I saw a surprise: something called the Hutchinson Creek WMA, just 4.5 miles away. It had a decent list of bird species, but for whatever reason I hadn't noticed it in all my preparation. There were recent enough lists that I felt like with it being so close it had to be worth at least a quick stop.

What a little adventure those 4.5 miles ended up being! Google Maps didn't really understand how to get me there without sending me through someone's private driveway, and the LDWF website had a lovely map of the WMA that was still really unclear where you were actually expected to enter or exit. Eventually I figured out a second road to try, drove through a few more places that felt like I was going through someone's front yard, and finally saw an Official Brown Sign for the WMA, basically at a point where you wouldn't be unless you already knew the WMA was there.

But man, what a reward. This spot just 15 minutes south of the Mississippi border was a quiet, rich, rewarding landscape of beautiful rolling hills, several different kinds of habitats including a small patch of Longleaf pine forest... and I had it all to myself!

I had a singing Tennessee Warbler and calling Yellow-breasted Chat, two nice migrant bird pickups. I got a couple of different Vaccinium species, our native blueberries, along with so many new plant species associated with the sandy soil in this area of the Florida Parishes.

The real treat of the trip was a perfect look at a Hairy Woodpecker, only my second in Louisiana and the first in four years. I was able to get the perfect confirmation photos of the bill along with audio recordings.

I also saw a great interaction of a pair of Barred Yellow butterflies, with the male zooming all around the female right in the middle of the trail. I was able to capture a great photo of this little moment to remember the first time I'd ever seen this species.

Hutchinson Creek ended up being the perfect place to visit to round out my trip to St. Helena, and I finished with over 100 observations in the parish this year of nearly 100 different species.

East Feliciana Parish

My next move was to and through East Feliciana Parish, basically hoping to see a spot along the way to the State Capitol Lakes that I could stop and maybe do some observing.

Yeah... not so much.

I did eventually get a wild hair and stop on the side of the highway near a large culvert for a creek. I was rewarded with a couple of nice new wildflowers and some Cliff Swallows that appeared to be starting to nest on the bridge.

Capitol Lakes

Next I headed to the Capitol Lakes in the search of water birds. Ducks, herons, cormorants, ibis, pelicans... I had high hopes for picking up quite a few species.

Again... not so much.

Whether it was just the time of year or the high winds, there was just about nobody out on the lakes. I saw one American White Pelican, which was nice, and three Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the distance (compared to the 3800 we recorded here for the Christmas Bird Count four months prior, it almost felt silly to even count them).

I did still manage to pick up a few good species in the area, like American Robins, Spanish Moss, the aforementioned pelican, and Diamondback Watersnakes... of which there were dozens lining the rocks along the lake's edge just about everywhere you went.

LSU Lakes

Last fall, between the ongoing drought and recently-started dredging work, the sudden appearance of large mud flats on the LSU Lakes were producing record numbers of shorebirds for East Baton Rouge Parish. Winter rains and changes in the dredging operation meant the large flats disappeared, but the lakes in general still had some promise for picking up some reliable wading birds. I've hardly ever driven the edge of those lakes without seeing quite a few Great Egrets.

The stiff wind whipping the tall marsh grasses and young willows grown up in the some of the newly-exposed wet ground, there were almost no birds to be seen this day. A few Red-winged Blackbird calls pierced the breezy air, and I got a nice photo of one male and his bright red epaulets, but it was soon onto the next location.

Ben Hur Rd

Ben Hur Rd is another unique and somewhat legendary birding location in East Baton Rouge. A two or so mile road lined with LSU's agricultural testing fields, it's a rare ecosystem for the parish and even rarer for it to be publicly accessible.

I did add Cattle Egrets for the weekend, but once again it was not the day for a good visit. But, it was nice to check out this spot for the first time and I look forward to seeing it at a more productive time.

My hope was that I'd be able to also check out Richfield Riversilt for the first time — another unique location for East Baton Rouge, and a private one that requires permission for entry. It didn't work out for Saturday, so it was time to head back home.

Landry Property (Saturday Evening)

The moth sheets in the evening were great once again. I moved the sheet further down the trail and got a few new little things, including a few lifers.

After the huge Saturday effort, I was now sitting at 329 species from 427 observations. Not bad at all, but not quite what I had hoped for considering the amount of time I spent out. But it was really great to do so much observing in St. Helena Parish and add a lot of good data there.

Sunday

Moth Sheets

The moth sheets on this morning were pretty productive! An Ilia Underwing, Saddled Prominent and a pair of Brown-shaded Grays next to each other were some highlights along with a beautiful little tree frog down near the base of the sheet, likely eating little moths as they fell down.

Covington

Sunday morning was a bit of a break, as De and I met my grandparents for breakfast in Covington. I was admittedly anxious to get back out again, but I actually picked up a few new species just in the cracks of the sidewalk on our way back to the car. The life of a naturalist!

In retrospect if I'd been able to really get out in a new location during this time, I probably would have been able to hit 1000 observations for the weekend.

Landry Property

Once we got back home, it was time for a little walk with Loki which actually ended up getting me a few new species for the weekend, including a Tan Jumping Spider predating a moth and the very cool Waved Light Fly.

Soon after, it was time to head out again.

Richfield Riversilt

I was headed back across the Parish to Richfield Riversilt, a spot along the Mississippi River where this company dredges the river for riversilt, sand and other mineral resources. This creates large ponds, and with it being along the river which is often used as a flyway, it picks up some species that aren’t seen in many other places nearby. I was still hoping to catch some wading or shorebirds, and being one of the best places in the parish for dragonflies, I was hoping to see a lot of those as well.

There wasn’t much in the way of birds, but the ones that were there were almost all new species. Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings were singing near the entrance in the batture. I finally got a Great Egret and a distant, flying Great Blue Heron. There was a Green Heron in the ditch along the entrance and a Little Blue Heron flying by.

It definitely came through on the dragonflies. A steady breeze of Blue Dashers whizzed by everywhere I went. I got a Black Saddlebags which was a new species for the weekend and year, and Rambur’s Forktail, one of my favorite damselflies.

I walked out to a spot near the river and added a lifer — gray, iridescent, S-banded Tiger Beetles (Cicindela trifasciata) working in the wet banks of the river. There were also a few Spiny Softshell turtles hanging out in one of the ponds, which I hadn’t in person seen since I was a kid.

All in all I was glad to get the chance to visit this spot that I’d had my eye on for a while, even though the continuing strong winds seemed to be keeping the bird count low. The batture forest area in particular was an incredible ecosystem and it was amazing to get that sort of a look at it.

After this, I was HOT, exhausted and ready to for a shower and some lunch. With some rain moving through the area during my break, it turned out that the last run of the day would be another round at the home base.

Landry Property (Sunday Afternoon)

As soon as the rain let up, I pretty much ran out the door to see what I might be able to find. I was hoping that some of the moss I knew was around would be in a little better state for photography, and maybe there would be a mushroom or two. I had a list of species that I knew should be around the property that I hadn't gotten yet, and set out to get those at the very least.

It seems I was rewarded for getting out right after the storm. Suddenly it was the coolest and calmest part of the day, and it was like the insects couldn't wait to come out. I may have seen more insect variety in this little hour or so than I did all year with the high winds.

The coolest find of the evening and one of the coolest of the entire CNC was a tiny, mesmerizing moth called a Tragic Goddess (Strobisia proserpinella), only the 2nd record on iNaturalist for the state of Louisiana and the first since 2015.

I got a couple of new bees and butterflies, some new damselflies and water bugs, and an adorable Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar. I picked up a lot of the plants on my "to get" list, and a few new galls, including a gnarly infestation on an elm leaf. There were indeed some fresh mushrooms here and there, which was great, and I got quite a few mosses and possibly my first liverwort on one of the trees down by the creek.

I got a photo of a Summer Tanager, which I'd only heard so far for the weekend, and finally caught a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder. This little pre-dusk extravaganza ended with a lovely dusk surprise: a Common Nighthawk calling and doing its dancing flight over the North end of the property.

I was too tired and it was a bit too wet for the moth sheets this night, but I did catch a raccoon under the bird feeders with the trail cam.

At the end of Sunday, I had jumped up to 457 species from 636 observations and felt great about my odds at hitting 500 species for the Challenge with one more day to go.

Monday

Monday was the last for observations and by now a clear top 3 had established in the Baton Rouge Region. Brandon Johnson, Katrina Hashagen, and I were neck and neck between observations and species.

After a big Sunday, Brandon was starting to take a considerable lead in observation count, while Katrina and I were swapping first and second place for species count multiple times a day.

Overall, Baton Rouge was still doing great in the Americas and worldwide. Monday was our last chance to add on, and I had a big event planned to hopefully push things across the finish line.

Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary BioBlitz

First thing Monday morning it was time for my first ever BioBlitz, and the first that I was hosting, at Baton Rouge Audubon's Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary. We had a really nice turnout, about a dozen people, and got a nice bird list in the parking lot to get things going.

We were focused on birds at first at working our way through the Sanctuary trails when suddenly the skies darkened a bit, and then a lot, very quickly. We all turned around and made a bee-line for the entrance, and most made it to their cars right before the sky opened up and it started pouring.

I was not quite so lucky, as I'd gone back to collect a sample of the swamp water to look at under my microscope at home to see if we could add any microorganisms to the list. I got absolutely soaked on my way back to the van, but it ultimately paid off as I found three species the swamp water: Ceriodaphnia laticaudata, a type of water flea; another tiny crustacean called a copepod, and some small gray pill-shaped being of some sort that I had no chance of identifying.

I was pretty bummed about the rainout, as we'd planned to pretty much be there all day and it would have been a really productive time in a new ecosystem for the weekend. As is, even with our brief visit I got a handful of new species. Once again if we could have done this as expected, it may have pushed me up over 1000 observations.

Either way, I was headed back home in the pouring rain and soaked to the bone.

Landry Property (Monday Afternoon)

After a change of clothes and a recharge, once the rain passed I decided I wanted to give the home base one last look to see what I might have overlooked. I picked up some more mosses and lichens, a few more plants that flowered from the rainier conditions of the last couple of days, and a few other plants that were on my updated "to get" list based on what I know lives on the property.

I found a really cool tiny plant, a Terrestrial Water-Starwort (Callitriche terrestris) near the Burn Pile area.

After a while, though, it really felt like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel and my mind wandered to where I might be able to go for the last few hours of daylight in the challenge, and a place I'd considered for Saturday jumped out at me. I asked De if I was crazy for wanting to go, and she told me to go for it, so I packed up the cameras one more time and headed to my last stop for City Nature Challenge 2024.

Sandy Creek Community Park

Sandy Creek is a large public park fairly close to our hour that I've visited a few times over the last couple of years. As its name suggests, it is partly a sandy creek bed and forest and is in a pretty unique corner of the parish. I knew with that sandy soil there should be a few final new plants that I might luck out on, and maybe I would get lucky and see a Turkey or some other rare bird in this unique habitat.

I was exhausted, but I was ready for one more big push to try to secure 500 species for the weekend. It turned out to be just what I needed.

I added the expected Candyroot (Polygala nana), a lovely little plant with bright yellow clusters of yellow flowers and little round leaves. I found another new-to-me species in the same family, Maryland Milkwort (Polygala mariana), and a sweet little orange-flowered member of the Legume family, a Sidebeak Pencilflower (Stylosanthes biflora), relatively rare in this part of the state.

Quite a few more new plant species rounded things out nicely as my back and knees begged me to call it a day. On my way out I spotted a beautiful caterpillar, a Little Wife Underwing (Catocala muliercula), only the 6th observed in Louisiana on iNaturalist, and that was a great way to cap things off. I headed back to the van, tired and smiling, ready to process this last batch of photos and see where things ended up.

Results

After processing all of the photos, uploading, going back and double- and triple-checking moth sheet photos for little bugs off to the side of the main target of the picture (extra-inverts as Dr. Allen might say)... I ended up with:

831 Observations (3rd in the Baton Rouge region)
517 Species (1st in the Baton Rouge region)
898 Identifications (2nd in the Baton Rouge region)

Pretty dang good! I'm really happy with that species / observation ratio, in particular. I'm mainly happy that as a region we had such an amazing showing, and that we have a great group of enthusiastic naturalists leading the way and pushing each other to get out there and find more and more.

Some more random stats & trivia:

• I added more observations as part of this Challenge than I did in the entire years of 2020 (786) and 2021 (518)

• I saw nearly double the species during this Challenge than both of those years as well: 470 in 2020 and 413 in 2021

• I finished 42nd in the Americas for number of species observed

• I finished as the only observer for St. Helena Parish for the City Nature Challenge, so that was a really great effort

It was a great experience and I'm already looking forward to next year. I'm hoping to organize another BioBlitz at the ARWS at some point in-between because it deserves it. I would really like to organize some kind of iNaturalist-specific meetup of naturalists in our area too.

Here's a link to all of my observations from the 2024 City Nature Challenge on iNaturalist.

Happy observing!

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

Overall, the Mulberries continue to thrive in their respective ways, and so far we've gotten the best crop of actual mulberries that we've had since they were planted.

Mulberry #1 keeps growing tall and strong, and right now it's full of berries that are going to be ripe just in time for the migrating birds moving through later this month. Mulberry #2 is doing so well in its spot next to the Big House, and it had some huge, plump berries on it this year that got eaten up by the birds last week.

Little Mulberry #3 continues to maintain its lovely bushy shape, and I hope the improved Liquid Fence application will help protect it and really grow out a bit more this year.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

The bigger Black Willows by the Pond continue to do well, with Willow #1 growing taller and taller and Willow #2 continuing to bush out. Willow #2 does have a bit of a leaf rust/fungus issue right now and so I'll be trying to get that worked out. It may need a pretty major pruning and some fungicide but I'm hoping it'll hang in there. We'll just have to see.

Willow #3 survived, shockingly, though it did accidentally get hit with the weed eater a couple of days ago. I think there's a chance it will hang in there, but the broken paddle boat needs to be moved away from it before it gets crushed or mowed again.

Willow #4 back in the Old Pond area is small but it's still hanging in there and has some new growth on it so far this year. It may not get enough sun back there to grow as fast as the ones by the Pond, but I think it'll be okay in the long run. This summer should be an interesting test.

Common Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

Sadly, it looks like Pawpaw 1 died this winter. I can only assume last year was just too much for it in the end.

Pawpaw 2 has hung in there, and so far looks like it has one little flower getting started and a few leaves budding. We'll see if it hangs in there. But only one tree means definitely no fruit this year, sadly. If I continue with them here, the Pawpaws might need a deep-soaking watering system to keep them nice and happy while having a bit of an afternoon exposure in the summer.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

A gift from my friend Janine, this little tree has replaced the fully-dead Eastern Redbud that struggled so heavily in this spot. I think the cedar will be much better suited to be surrounded by these pines and living in full sun.

If I go with Eastern Redbuds again, they'll definitely need to be somewhere where they're hidden from the afternoon sun.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

Much to my surprise, two of the "Pond Maples" survived and have started growing again. I had completely written off the ten or so saplings that I'd transplanted from my mom's house last year, but these two seem like they are going to give it a go this year. I hope they can have a good year and get a couple of feet of growth on them.

I think the more Fall (and early Spring, actually) color I can bring into the yard will be greatly appreciated by everyone, so I'd really like to get Maples going wherever I can.

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

Titi 1 is doing great — it flowered last year and put out some seed, and now has a fresh batch of bright green leaves for the year. I noticed today that it's just starting to put out this year's racemes for flowers, and there are a lot more than it had last year. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be able to have a really good year.

Sadly, Titi 2 died. It was mostly dead by last November, but the base still had a little life in it, and that little bit of life seems to have left. There is something growing near its root ball that isn't grass and could possibly be Titi, but the leaves are so small that so far it's hard to tell.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The Buttonbushes are having a great year so far, and since we avoided the last freeze this year, I'm really hoping we're going to get some flowers this summer. I think that would be a really beautiful addition to the pond — it's lovely, spherical blooms.

Buttonbush 1 started leafing out first, and got nibbled back a bit by the deer, but now is bushing out nicely in its slightly shadier spot. Lots of great new growth the last couple of weeks, specifically.

Buttonbush 2, the taller of the pair, took a bit longer to get going but has absolutely taken off in the last two weeks, putting out a few new branches probably over six inches long already. I really think this one has a great shot of flowering this year.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Ranch Elderberry had completely died back last year between the drought and constant bombardment by the deer, and I'm happy to report that it survived all of that and so far is coming back pretty strong. It's small and shrubby, but it's alive, and I just hope that it can get some good growth in this year and I can keep the deer away.

The Oklahoma John Elderberry held on despite being broken in half by the deer last year, and it started leafing out a bit in February and they were already nibbling the tiny leaves off every few days. Well so far the new Liquid Fence regimen is working well, and since the days really started getting warmer and longer in April, it's put on over a foot of new growth in a few spots.

If I really let myself hope I would love to get some blooms on the Oklahoma John this year, but I would be very happy just to keep it healthy and undamaged by the deer and able to get a lot of nice new growth over the summer.

South Meadow

The South Meadow has changed quite a bit considering the damage it went through last year (and a bit so far this year, too). But once again I'm happy to report that more survived than I was expecting.

Both of the Lanceleaf Coreopsis and two Black-eyed Susans made it, along with one of the Purple Coneflowers from the Dry Patch. After further review, though, the location of the Dry Patch was not working well with my in-law's mowing. So last week these plants got moved over to the spot where I transplanted the Narrowleaf False Dragonhead last year, in what will now be called the Triangle Meadow. As long as they survive the transplant, this should be a pretty colorful little area this summer.

The Wet Patch of of the South Meadow got very overgrown, and by November it was pretty much impossible to tell if anything had survived the last summer. It got mowed back a couple of weeks ago, and lo and behold, at least one plant has survived. One of the little Swamp Milkweeds has started coming back, and I'm going to protect it with all my might. It looks like one of the Beeblossoms (Gaura lindheimeri) might be coming back, but it just started putting out tiny new leaves today, so we'll have to see.

The three Stokes' Aster, two Butterflyweed, and other Swamp Milkweed and Beeblossom all seem to be dead.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

These two took a long time to get started this Spring but they are doing well now. Neither flowered, and it may be a few more years still before either one does. That will be a happy time!

Mayhaw #1 looks great and is leafing out really nicely. I love the form of this little tree and I think it will be really beautiful one day. I trimmed off a couple of dead branches and a small basal sucker that had started and was growing up into the middle of the tree.

I also trimmed Mayhaw #2 a bit, removing one of the larger "extra" trunks to give it a bit better shape and removing a couple of small suckers on it as well. Apparently this is going to be pretty regular for the first few years of maintenance on them.

This one is also leafing out well but is having a bit of an issue with aphids the last couple of weeks (which both of them struggled with last year), and I am going to be a lot more aggressive about getting rid of them this year. It was obvious how much they stunted the Mayhaw's growth last year.

Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

This was an interesting little lesson in growing plants, and so far it's a little funny. Of the two Swamp Sunflowers, only one was able to put out any blooms last year. The other was pretty much cut down between the deer and the weed eater.

The one that flowered seems to have died — I don't see anything coming back around it so far. The one that cut back? It seems to have taken that opportunity to send out rhizomes instead, and now it's coming up in at least a half-dozen spots around the original planting, spreading just like I'm hoping it would in this spot along the bank of the pond. I'm thrilled!

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

Possibly the most successful of last year's plantings, the Aquatic Milkweed continues to thrive in its wet spot in the Old Pond area. Both spots held on and seem to have gotten bigger, including the one that got run over by a truck this winter, and both are starting to bud out with this year's flowers already.

This seems like an example of a perfect siting, and honestly I would love to get a couple more to plant throughout this area that stays so wet. But maybe it will be able to spread on its own this year!

What's Next for This Year

Our big plan right now is to really improve the Casita Garden, the area next to our little house on the property. I planted three Scarlet Sages and three Purple Sages there last year, and so far those don't seem to be coming back.

De and I are hoping to make this a lovely area in the time before we hit the road this summer. I've potted some young Elderberries and Beautyberries, and we're going to try growing a few other things in pots and on trellises here and there. It's a decent sized spot (25'x17') to bring some beauty closer to us.

Other than that, I think it will mostly be about maintaining the plants I've got in place, and planning out this winter's yard work far in advance. I really want to transplant a lot more stuff, including some of the Red Buckeyes growing under our Mother Cow Oak, but it's already a little too warm for it now for most things that I have in mind transplant-wise.

I want to continue to build out the trails in the South Pine Woods and along the Creek, to make accessing that a lot easier and to encourage other folks here to explore it and see how beautiful it can be.

All in all we're trying to find a balance of continuing to grow here while looking forward to what might be next. We're learning a lot, and that feels great.

A resident expert on iNat - @annieliveoak - soon confirmed the ID and let me know that it was a host plant for butterfly with another intriguing new name: Falcate orangetip. A gorgeous little white butterfly with hunter’s orange tips to their wings.

In the days after, I was driving up our long driveway back home and happened to spot these newly familiar blooms growing just feet from the gravel: a healthy little patch in the farthest northeastern corner of the western woods as it butts up against the neighbors. What a nice surprise! But as far as I could tell, no butterflies. The flowers went on their way for the year and I looked forward to trying again.

A year later, in late February, I was on a bird walk at the Greenwell Springs Hospital site, when a fellow birder called out a Falcate orangetip going by a few feet from us. Aha! It was much smaller than I was expecting, and so fast you could barely see the orange unless it came by pretty closely. Now I knew what to look for when the Bittercress came out again in the following days.

The next day, in the Old Pond Meadow, I was looking for some of the first dragonflies of the year (since we'd seen some while birding the day before), and there it was — a tiny little white butterfly flittering just over the top of the little flowers in the meadow, circling the meadow again and again.

I started snapping photos furiously, as it never stopped to land; I wondered what would bring it to investigate this meadow and remembered it was full of Cardamine of a different sort — possibly Cardamine parviflora or Cardamine occulta — much smaller and initially less impressive, but plentiful and apparently sharing some of the same qualities of the more ostentatious Bulbous Bittercress.

I soon spotted one or two more flying nearby and that was enough. I nearly ran over to the patch of bulbosa and soon found two or three flowering plants and at least five little orangetips perusing the area! I was treated to the sight of three of them chasing each other near one plant, and was thrilled when one flashed right in front of my lens as I was taking a photo of the cress.

I reported the butterflies and bittercress to iNaturalist and to my local Wild Ones chapter to share the interaction and presence of the relatively rare plant somewhere where I had access to it. They were excited, and my friend and chapter president Janine asked to come and collect a few plants to hopefully try to get some seed for future propagation of a wonderful native and hopefully holding on to these beautiful little butterflies.

She came and gathered a few plants, and one for me as well to transplant to the Old Pond Meadow and hopefully establish a little population back there as well. We saw the Orangetips using the smaller bittercress, which I observed separately throughout that week as well, and we both went away thrilled with witnessing these little interactions that mean so much to us.

My little plant bloomed, and I even saw an orangetip near it one day (though not on it). Today, I realized the blooms had completely fallen off, or seemed to be completely gone, and much to my surprise there was a tiny, green caterpillar hanging on to the end of the stem. Some quick searching confirmed there was a pretty good chance it's a Falcate orangetip caterpillar, and this little plant is doing exactly what we were hoping it would.

I was going to try to protect and raise the little friend as best as I can, with the advice from Janine who does this sort of thing regularly, but seeing as it should spend most of the year as a chrysalis, I brought it to one of the bigger plants out in the patch and hope it can do its thing naturally.

This sort of story is the goal of conservation and naturalist work, in a lot of ways. Learning about the entire ecosystem, these relationships across the kingdoms and food cycle, and how taking a little extra interest in something that catches your eye can lead to a naturalist adventure that brings excitement and beauty into the lives of more people around you.

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

The Red (or are they?) mulberries mostly did pretty well this year, other than some grazing from the deer during the drought.

Mulberry 1 near the pond easily gained a foot or two in total height, as well as some nice thickening of the trunk. It has held up very well to some strong winds over the last few months, and is feeling pretty well-established at this point. In general it might just need to be watered a little more regularly during the hotter months because it is just so exposed way out on its own in the yard like it is.

Mulberry 2 near the Big House is pretty much thriving. It's at the point where it is even starting to grow some of the larger, lobed leaves near the top of its tallest branches. It did suddenly start to lean pretty heavily in August, and I'm not sure why. My father-in-law has braced it for now but I need to pull the mulch back and investigate the base and see if something was digging in there or what, and if it needs to be filled in with more soil or what. It may have also just been pulled over by the deer when they were aggressively grazing the lower branches. It's also been decorated a bit, being near to the house, which has given it some nice character. Really welcomed into the family!

Both of the taller Mulberries will be pruned a bit this year, because I'm not sure they need to get so tall so fast. The pruning will also encourage more fruit, because Mulberries mostly put out fruit on the year's new growth.

Little Mulberry 3 in the circle is hanging in there, despite also being grazed pretty thoroughly. I think it will still hang on in this spot and I think it will do well there, eventually. I need to give it some good compost this year and do some pruning in the middle of it so that it doesn't have quite so many crossing branches, but I love the bushy form and I hope it keeps that because I think a shorter, bushier tree would be perfect for this spot.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

Willow 1 and Willow 2 are still doing great, and at this point are by far the most successful plantings I've ever done.

My hope for earlier this year was that Willow 1 would finish the year taller than me, and it has beaten that goal and then some. It's a good 12-18 inches taller than me at this point, and looks like a real-deal tree. The lower branches have been aggressively grazed by the year, and I'm planning on pruning the dead bits and surrounding it with some deer fencing this winter to hopefully prevent more destruction. This is probably my favorite plant that I've grown so far.

Willow 2 had a bit of a rougher go of it, mainly because it's too short to escape the deer entirely, but it's still grown a ton this year and it's a nice bushy companion to its taller, lankier sibling. It will also get some pruning and fencing this winter.

I need to mulch around the bases of both of them because they have both been damaged by some haphazard work from the weed eater.

Several caterpillar species have been seen on both throughout the year, though only one that I've seen has actually survived long enough to pupate. I think because these trees are likely used by the birds as they make their way across the yard, they tend to get picked off. I don't know -- do deer eat caterpillars?

I love that both of these are rescue transplants from near the burn pile, where they surely would have been mowed or burned. They survived being eaten back by the deer last winter, but both started this growing season as bare twigs maybe a foot high. Willow 1 is easily seven feet tall at this point. It brings a lot of joy to my heart.

The much smaller Willow 3 was mowed down or hit by the weed eater at some point while we were gone, despite being marked with orange tape. It seems to still be alive, but I'm not sure how long that will last. I might try to move it a little closer to the water's edge (or where the water's edge should be). Willow 4, another transplant to the Old Pond area this year, has been chewed on by the deer, but it's still alive and hanging in there! I think it might end up being great for that spot, but I might need to fence it in this winter.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

The largest of the Red Maple saplings that I transplanted from my mom's house, near the pond, seems to have almost met its end while we were gone in September and October. I did a scratch test all along its main trunk and there was some green at the very base. I cut it down almost to the ground, but there may not be much of a point in trying to keep a tree alive when the main trunk has been killed so thoroughly. We'll see.

With it dying, that means all of the ten or so saplings that I attempted to transplant are now dead. Most of the others have since been mowed down, and the few remaining "standing" are just dead twigs.

My mom still has pretty of saplings as their mature Maple is extremely productive, so we'll see if it might be worth trying again this fall or spring. Near the pond's edge would probably still be the best place for them, or possibly in the Old Pond area. There's a volunteer growing near the Old Pond now that's probably 5-10 years old, so maybe it would be good to give it a partner.

Common Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

Both of the Pawpaws seem to have survived the drought in their nice shady drainage area. Like everything, they'd probably be happier if we'd had more rain, but I'm just so happy that they survived and that I was lucky enough to get to eat a fruit from Pawpaw 2 this year. It was delicious, and the more people I tell about it the more I realize how lucky I was to get fruit at all in the first year after planting just two trees.

Pawpaw 2 probably needs to be helped out with guy poles and maybe have a little more soil added this winter — right now it's leaning and feels a little loose at the base. Pawpaw 1 responded really well to me backfilling its base with some more soil this spring, so I'm hoping its partner will do the same.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Dead. Not going to be planting any more Eastern Redbud in the yard here, especially with the updated USDA Hardiness zones. I just think it's too warm for them in South Louisiana unless you can keep them shaded and watered consistently. Would have been a beautiful addition but it's just not quite the right climate. I guess that's why we don't really see many, and instead are covered in Crape Myrtles.

I'm planning on putting in the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) gifted to me by Janine in this spot to replace it. I think that will look lovely surrounded by the tall pines and it should handle the location a lot better than the Redbud did.

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The Buttonbushes ended up recovering well from the last frost this year, and put out lots of nice green leaves throughout the summer, but we never got any blooms. I'm not sure if the frost zapped whatever would have become buds, or if they were still overall recovering from being planted, but we didn't get a single bloom. Buttonbush 1 had old blooms on it last year when I bought the plant, so I'm really not sure what might have been wrong with it. I heard from others in the area that theirs did just fine.

Buttonbush 1 struggled a little bit, and I'm wondering if its place on the Eastern side of the tallest tree and the tall iris leaves next to it actually ended up blocking out too much sun. I might try to trim back the iris leaves there next year -- that particular iris bed is probably too large anyway, so it won't be hurting anything.

Buttonbush 2 had significant new growth and seems to absolutely love its spot. It was joined by an extremely large Anglestem Primrose-willow (Ludwigia alternifolia) next to it and was a really nice looking pondside habitat throughout the late summer. It still has quite a few leaves on it even now, as opposed to Buttonbush 1 which is completely bare at this point (but still seems alive everywhere, from scratch testing).

Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

The Titi both started off the year and summer well, but as the pond's water level got lower and lower, they struggled a bit. Titi 1 still did pretty well, consistently putting off its racemes of flowers even throughout the drought. Titi 2 did not do so well, probably because it's a little further away from the water and because it's pretty much full exposed to the Western sun. Scratch testing showed that most of the current wood is dead, and it has lost all of its leaves despite being a mostly evergreen plant. I will cut it back and try to keep it watered while the hopefully pond refills this winter, but it may be a goner.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

The Oklahoma John elderberry has mostly been deer food. It had a ton of new growth this summer and all of it has since been eaten completely back by our local grazers. It's still alive, and has a few green leaves on there now, so I feel good about it making it through winter.

The Ranch elderberry is almost completely dead — at the very least, all of its above-ground growth is completely dead and dry. There is a small rosette of new growth near the ground, so we'll see if it makes it through the winter.

Honestly, after this summer, I may just need to go and find a mature Elderberry somewhere and take a bunch of cutting and just put them in all over the place, especially in some places closer to the house. I think the only chance to really get it established here is to overwhelm the deer with sheer volume. It does answer my question last year as to why I hadn't really found any native Elderberry when I'd found so many other native species on the property.

South Meadow (Wet Patch)

The plants in the Wet Patch didn't do a whole lot this year.

The Gaura/Beeblossom that didn't get dug up half a dozen times by squirrels held on throughout the whole summer and kept putting out new flowers consistently, which made me really happy. I got a few small blooms on one of the Butterfly Weeds, and I'm not sure either ended up surviving the entire summer. The Swamp Milkweeds grew pretty tall, especially one of them, but never got any flowers and right now the surrounding grass is so tall I'm not if they got eaten or just died back.

The three Stokes' Asters didn't do much at all this year, which was expected to a degree in their first year of growth, but their rosettes didn't even get very big. I think I might have chosen a bad spot for them, and possibly a bad site for all of these plants. It certainly did not stay as wet in this area as I was expecting, of course largely due to the drought.

I was letting the grass grow around the plantings early on and trimming it back by hand, but when the drought really kicked in I just let it all go. These plants were also hit the hardest by the squirrel or whatever was digging all the plants up for the few weeks they were the ground before the rain stopped.

South Meadow (Bank Patch)

The plants in the dryer Bank Patch on the south-facing outside bank of the pond did a lot better. We had pretty consistent blooms for a while from one of the Lanceleaf Coreopsis, and even one of the Black-eyed Susans shot up and put out flowers, which even surprised Ian from Beaver's Abundance when I told him recently. So that was great. The Purple Coneflower grew out some rosettes but didn't do quite as well as I'd hoped for the location.

Like the Wet Patch, I was cutting the grass manually here for a while, but just let it go once the weather really got bad. It ended up actually protecting the plants pretty well, it seems, with the longer grass keeping the ground cool. This shaggy little patch ended up being an oasis in the worst part of the summer, consistently full of little butterflies and calligrapher flies when the rest of the lawn was more than half scalded to death.

It all got mowed down in October, despite the orange tape, and I feared the worst — but the Lanceleaf Coreopsis and Black-eyed Susans have regrown a few leaves, and one of the Purple Coneflowers has a few tiny leaves starting to come out now, so it seems like at least some of them survived. Interestingly, the grass here is now growing twice as fast as the grass in the surrounding area, which seems like further testament that letting it grow instead of mowing it down when it was so hot kept the entire area more healthy.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

The Mayhaws hung in pretty well, but didn't see much new growth. Mayhaw 1 did pretty well despite struggling with aphids and seemingly being nibbled on by some kind of insect and the deer like most everything else. Both of them could use some pruning of crossing limbs, and I'll probably cut one of the several main stems of Mayhaw 2 to try to get it to put its new growth efforts into its largest stem. I think they'll be great in this spot, eventually, and hope that they can get some nice growth next year.

Around the Yard

One of the biggest successes of all the plantings this year was the Aquatic Milkweed I put in the Old Pond area. It absolutely loves it there, surrounded by Smartweed, Water horehounds, Beaksedges, Mitreola and several other wetland-loving plants. It did two full rounds of blooms and has put out quite a few seed pods, so I'm hoping for it to spread itself in that area and continue to thrive.

The little Spiderwort plant that I installed in a low spot near the driveway is still alive! It's not necessarily thriving, but it seems to be alive and still has quite a few green leaves on it. Hopefully it will make it through the cold and stay happy if we get some consistent rain these next few months. It would be really cool if this spot was eventually full of it instead of just draining away topsoil.

The Swamp Sunflowers along the pond did pretty well through the weather and being browsed on by the deer. The larger of the two held on and put out some flowers in early November, which was very exciting. The other got mowed down while we were gone, but it's put out new leaves from the ground so it seems like the roots are still alive. I really think sunflowers lining the Eastern edge of the pond, facing the West, would be an absolutely beautiful scene if they can eventually fill out.

The Sages that my mom gifted me for my birthday actually ended up doing well after I finally put them in the ground. The coccinea is still putting out new red flowers almost every day! It's just about the only thing blooming right now other than some Blue Mistflower along the ditch. So that's a lovely bit of color in our garden area.

Sadly, most of the rest of the potted plants I was gifted by Janine Kharey did not make it. I just could not keep them watered and happy enough, and despite setting up an automatic sprinkler for them for the time we were gone in September and October, it still wasn't enough to keep most of them alive. The Hackberry saplings are still doing well, the larger of the two is especially doing just fine in its pot still. The little Eastern Red Cedar I mentioned earlier, and I hope to put it in the ground where the Redbud failed. The False Aster was the only other potted herbaceous plant that I managed to keep alive, and that is just a huge bummer. The baby Catalpa, Mexican Plum, and the two Beggarticks that were meant for the Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary really, really break my heart.

Lessons and Plans for the Winter

The biggest takeaway from this year is that I need to not try to keep so many potted plants alive, especially if we are not going to be in town to take care of them. I just don't have a good enough setup and don't know enough about all of them yet to give them what they need to live and thrive.

I also don't know if I'm going to be buying any more potted plants from our local commercial nurseries, because I just can't really trust their provenance. This extreme drought showed the importance and resiliency of local ecotypes and I can't simply can't afford to buy more plants to put in the ground right now, especially if I don't really know where they're coming from.

I think I'm going to try to plant some seeds here in the next few weeks, and maybe do another planting in late winter/early spring and just see what comes up. I would love to start a prairie area in a couple of the large, now still partially dead from the drought, lawn, but I'm not sure our landlords (De's mom and dad) will approve any more wild areas or want to deal with mowing around them. The sections of the yard that I marked off this year did pretty well for a while, until the tape marking them off got eaten up from it being mowed right up against the edge of what I marked off. And while we were gone in October some of that got mowed and weed-eated anyway.

We're also not sure how much longer we're going to be here, so we'll have to take that into account for all of these plans as well.

It was a hard year, but I'm glad I tried all of it. I started off by telling myself it was all an experiment, and that's a good way to think about it, but it's hard to feel like so much effort was wasted. A dedicated, but ultimately more relaxed approach to planting seeds might do me good when things are so uncertain, instead of spending a good bit of money on plants someone else grew and putting all of my hopes for a good year into them.

I do plan on building a "Master Plan" for the property, or at least what the Master Plan would look like if this was actually our property and I could really go for it the way I want to. I think it will be a great exercise, no matter what the future holds.

Out of over 900 observations added to iNat in the state of Louisiana, only a few dozen had been annotated at all. This screenshot might actually be after I started to work on a few! While it gave me some general information on timing, it was disappointing until I realized it was also a great opportunity.

In early 2022 I'd resolved to start using iNaturalist every day as part of doing more naturalist work in general. In the depths of winter, when there wasn't much to observe, I started to look into Identifying on the iNat website, where you can "confirm" other users' observations. This new Elderberry problem offered me the opportunity to help hone my identification skills and add more helpful information to the observations.

So over the last year, in a few different bursts, I have gone through every Black Elderberry observation in the state of Louisiana and added Phenology documentation. Now, the same graph looks like this:

There's a pretty clear picture there now of the progression of the phenology over the course of a year!

Black Elderberry is a good example species as it's still fairly large and noticeable even before it starts flowering, and maintains its woody stems over the winter, so it's often observed even without foliage at all.

Now I'm expanding my efforts to the entire Gulf Coast region — there are 1400+ observations of Sambucus canadensis in the region without a Phenology attribute remaining (the gray line), and I hope to work through those over the rest of the year and continue to flesh out this information for one of my favorite species.

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra) — or are they?

The Mulberries are hanging in there still, with Mulberry 1 growing taller and taller, and Mulberry 2 near the house filling out a bit more noticeably, both are about par for the course compared to last year. I would have liked Mulberry 1 to fill out a bit more as well, but I think it's just been too hot and dry. The smaller Mulberry 3 in the circle was growing nicely after waning a bit, but just in the last couple of days suffered some damage from deer (this will be a recurring theme).

One interesting development is that I learned about notching trees to encourage root growth at a node, and I tried it with both of the large Mulberries to try to get some more branch growth in the area where their support poles was blocking sunlight for a while. So far, it seems to be working on Mulberry 1! Mulberry 2 looked like it was trying to start some new growth, but I think I might have notched it a little incorrectly — I think you need to notch it directly above the existing node, and I did it a little off-center and it feels like that may be the issue.

Another interesting development is that both of those two larger Mulberries might not be true Red Mulberries at all. Word has apparently gotten around that the plant wholesaler who sold the plants to our local nursery has maybe not been labeling these trees accurately, and they might be non-native White Mulberry (Morus alba) trees or hybrid cultivars. Either way, it's a bummer. I know that there are fewer and fewer true native Mulberries around and things like this don't help, especially if the wholesaler was truly just trying to take advantage of the increasing focus on native habitat and plants. I haven't confirmed it on my individual plants, but those two definitely came from that wholesaler, so I suppose they're suspect until further notice.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

The Willows continue to thrive and impress. Willow 1 is indeed about as tall as me at this point, which I think I guessed would happen in an earlier edition of the Watering Can. Willow 2 continues to bush out and be a beautiful young specimen. Both of their trunks have probably quadrupled in diameter, if not more, since they were bare twigs starting to emerge with new growth in February.

Another lovely surprise is that they are both supporting at least three Limenitis caterpillars right now! I spotted one on Willow 1 this weekend, and then when looking for it on Monday, I found two more even larger caterpillars. Then when inspecting Willow 2, I found three more small cats of the same genus. The genus Limenitis is the Admirals, and in our area they are likely either Viceroy or Red-spotted Purple butterflies if and when they're able to emerge.

The other caterpillar that was on Willow 1 weeks ago did eventually hatch, but I missed it, so it's very exciting that I might get several more chances to see some new butterflies emerge from these wonderful young trees.

Willow 3 and 4 are still doing ok, they haven't grown much but they've survived their transplanting well so far. Willow 4 did get nibbled on by deer recently, but I think it'll be fine based on how 1&2 rebounded from their damage last Winter.

Black Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)

The Elderberries had been one of the more successful plantings so far, at least in terms of new growth and overall health, despite not doing any flowering this year. I think I did the transplant a bit too late for them this year, and if I'd put them in the ground when I first got them in the early Spring I think they might have even flowered.

Unfortunately, they were hit very hard by the deer this week, with the Oklahoma John elderberry having all of its major limbs snapped in half in the process of all the foliage being devoured. The Ranch just got nibbled back again, thankfully, but it was pretty devastating to see so much damage to the both of them.

I did salvage three large cuttings from the damaged parts, and just went ahead and stuck them in the ground in a few wetter spots around the yard. A piece of the Elderberry that Janine gifted me broke off a few weeks ago and I stuck it in the ground by the Old Pond area and it just rooted and kept on going, so I figure there's a chance that these three might do the same if they can keep their feet wet. We'll just have to see. I think the Oklahoma John will be ok and should recover next year, but what a brutal way to find out that the deer will go after the mature elderberries in addition to the baby volunteers.

South Meadow (formerly the South Prairie)

I realized this area is technically more of a meadow than a Prairie, as it's not truly full sun and overall it's relatively more moist than what I feel like a true prairie would be. It also just feels more like a meadow now in the afternoons, with the high grass in spots and a few flowers coming up here and there.

Bank Patch (formerly Dry Patch)

The spot on the down-sloping south bank of the Pond has had a steady supply of golden yellow flowers of one species or another the last few weeks. After the Lanceleaf Coreopsis came out in early July, one of the Black-eyed Susans surprised me and tripled in size before putting out four beautiful blooms. The Coreopsis then kept the party going by putting out a second round of blooms, though this one struggled a bit more than the first with July's drought conditions.

The Purple Coneflower are still just growing their rosettes of leaves and planning on next year's flowering, and the remaining Black-eyed Susan and Coreopsis seem to all be doing the same. I don't really know what to expect from any one of them this year, so that we've gotten any flowers at all is wonderful, and that they're all still alive is great.

Wet Patch

This spot near the elderberries and eastern log pile has had some ups and downs. Unfortunately, the critter that was digging up everything finally dug up one of the Guara plants and one of the Swamp Milkweeds enough that they could not recover, and they are not doing very well. The Guara may still technically be alive, though it's really struggling, and the Swamp Milkweed is definitely dead.

On the brighter side, the larger of the Butterfly Weeds suddenly popped up a few buds, and much to my delight, they held on just enough to give us a lovely little bunch of bright orange flowers for a week or so. The plant has also doubled in height since blooming, which was a nice surprise too. It gives me hope that it'll be strong enough to hang on over the winter and come back next year.

The Stokes' Aster are just hanging in there. Not much in the way of new growth, but they haven't died, and seem to be doing fine so far. Once again I don't really know what to expect from their first year of growth other than not flowering, so they might be doing great! And once again, at least they're still alive for now.

The three Physostegia angustifolia plants that I planted nearby have all been dug up and through a couple of times already since planting them, and without much actual plant left it's tough to tell what's even still around root-wise. But hopefully at least one will be okay and some of the seed I try to plant will work out.

Common Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

The Pawpaws are both still doing good, with their nice healthy leaves still a lovely shade of green pretty much throughout. Once again, I really think this spot is going to be ideal for them. I can't wait to see how they do when we maybe get a little more rain.

The two fruit of Pawpaw 2 have been doing great, and then suddenly a few days ago one of them was gone! Based on the one fruiting Pawpaw tree I'd ever seen, I knew early- to mid-August would be around the time they might start getting ripe, but I was surprised to see it gone already. No traces of it or anything! I can only imagine a raccoon snatched it up and had a great somewhere else, and I can only hope that wherever they ended up, the seeds might start some more Pawpaw trees in the area. That would be really lovely.

I really hope to get a taste of Pawpaw this year, it would be really magical. They say that they're best when they've fallen off the tree, so I will really need to be staking it out until we head out of town to see if I can get a chance. They are apparently really good chilled. This will be a small one, but I think it would be a really lovely treat after a tough summer of growing.

Around the Yard

There are a few more updates from different places around the yard that haven't changed so dramatically but maybe warrant at least a note.

The Spiderwort plant that was put in a low spot near the gravel driveway seems perfectly happy so far. It got nibbled on by something one night, but it's growing back strong and putting out new growth pretty regularly. I bet if we were getting rain it would be doing really well, but I'll take it so far!

I installed the Frogfruit plant from Janine in the driveway circle low spot, where I tried the Lizard's Tail in June (it unfortunately did not make it), and so far it's hanging in there. Once again, if we were getting even semi-regular rain I think it would be doing great there, but so far it's mostly just hanging in there. I might try to move it to a little shadier place instead, maybe in the spot near where the Pawpaws are growing, because the ground there is a little bare and any kind of improvements in groundcover would be good.

The Mayhaws are doing well, though Mayhaw 1, the larger of the two plants, has had a pretty serious infestation of some kind of leaf-eaters. I haven't actually found any evidence of the culprits, but most of its leaves have had 90% of their green matter eaten off of them. Overall it still seems to be doing ok, but that was tough to watch. I also realized from watching some pruning videos that I'm going to need to so some work on the smaller Mayhaw 2 this winter to open it up and make give it some room for new growth and eventually fruit.

The Eastern Redbud is still alive, somehow! One little branch came back to life and started putting out leaves, and so far they are hanging in there. I trimmed off the other small dead branches for now, and I'm still planning on moving this to a shadier spot over the winter and replacing it with the Eastern Red Cedar that Janine gifted us.

The Swamp Sunflowers are growing big and strong and I'm mainly hoping we'll get to see a bloom or two before we head out in September. I would really love for them to fill in around the pond and have a lovely wall of sunflowers on the eastern bank throughout fall, shining in the afternoon sun.

The Titi are doing well, with Titi 2, the smaller of the two, consistent blooming and making fruit/seeds for the last few weeks. I think they'll both do great in their spots and I'm looking forward to them having a full season along the pond next year.

Sages (Salvia coccinea and Salvia guaranitica)

The last bit of news is the beginning of what we hope will become our garden area near to our house, the Casita. There's a nice 15x20' patch of lawn that gets partial sun and I've been thinking it would be a really nice spot to grow some things closer to our carport/patio.

So to start things off, a couple of weeks ago I finally planted the six sage plants that my mom got for us in May! Three of them are the red Scarlet/Tropical sage, Salvia coccinea, and three are the black-and-blue cultivar Salvia guaranitica. They'd been hanging out and doing well in their pots but had gotten so tall that it was a multiple-times-a-day effort to keep them upright, so I figured it was about time to get them in the ground and just see how it goes.

So far all of the plants seem to really like being planted there, and the red sages have even started to put out new blooms. I'm not sure if we're just a bit past the yearly prime of the Guaranitica or if they handled the transplant a little worse, but all of the plants are growing green and hanging in there even if they aren't putting out more flowers just yet. It feels like a great way to start things in this area, and De even caught a hummingbird flying low and nectaring on the small red flowers just the other day.

It's been a long summer and technically we're only halfway through, so here's hoping that I can continue to keep most of these plants alive until it's time for them to rest for the winter. I think the only potential new blooms at this point will hopefully be the Swamp Sunflowers, but I'd be happy to be surprised by some of these little guys growing in pots.

I still intended on writing up a little something about the rest of the plants gifted from Janine, how they're doing, and what I intend to do with them — so I hope to have that so share soon.

In the meantime, thanks for reading this far and I hope sharing my journey through all of this has brought a smile or two to your face, or made you think about planting some more stuff of your own. Maybe it's raining where you live!

Spiderwort (Genus Tradescantia)

This is another one of the many plants I was gifted by Janine Kharey, and I finally got it in the ground this week after much hand-wringing over the weather. It's in a spot that usually holds some moisture, near the driveway on the West side, and I'm hoping it will like this spot and fill out like it's known to do. So far it seems to be responding well to its new home, and has actually perked up a bit from how it looks in the photo.

I really want to start getting more and more color and new life in the understory of the area along the driveway — it's a long, winding introduction to this property and I would like to fill out the understory a little more to go with the wonderful, stately canopy trees.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

The Mayhaws are still doing good, though the bigger one (Mayhaw 1) has had its leaves eaten up pretty badly the last couple of weeks. I haven't found any actual caterpillars or bugs of any kind on there yet, though, so I'm not quite sure what could be doing it. It still seems to be pretty healthy overall.

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

The blooms have just kept coming, with four total now and three looking good. It's been so nice to have this splash of gold in the middle of this part of the yard. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the plants filling out and having a bit more color next year!

I've seen a few little pollinators on them so far, mostly skippers, and a little snail one morning.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Much to my surprise, one of the three Black-eyed Susan plants from Beaver's Abundance has absolutely taken off and now has several buds starting on it. It's at least twice as tall as the other two at this point!

South Prairie - Wet Patch

The three Swamp Milkweed plants have grown so much since planting. The middle of the three is especially tall and healthy looking. No signs of flowering so far, but who knows what to expect with this summer.

The Butterfly Weed is hanging in there. This spot might be too wet for them, though they are on the dryer end of the patch. The smaller of the two, which I've commented on before, is finally getting a little more sturdy and upright, even with watering.

The Stokes' Aster is doing fine. Holding on, not growing up much leaf-wise. I can only hope and assume that they're building up their roots just fine. At least one of them had been dug up by the critter culprit and the roots seemed to look like they were doing well.

Narrowleaf False Dragonhead (Physostegia angustifolia)

Not much to look at now, but I have high hopes for these three. I rescued them from a nearby ditch, where they were very likely to get mowed right as they were flowering, just like they did last year. I've kept them in pots for the last few weeks as they've progressed through they're blooms, and this weekend collected the seed before planting these three near the Ranch Elderberry.

They're perennials, so I'm hoping they'll come back next year, and I'm also hoping to plant some of the seed around this spot as well to try and get more. In any case, it's another wildflower addition to the larger South Prairie area.

Once again I hope to have some details on the potted plants next week, now that I've rearranged my gardening station a bit and have gotten into a better routine with them. It's been another great lesson learning all of their different needs. Looking forward to it!

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

One of the three species in the Dry Patch of the South Prairie, this one plant in particular has really thrived since going in the ground, I think due to being in a spot that holds a little bit more moisture. I thought that all of these wildflowers were going to be spending this year growing roots, not flowering, so imagine my surprise when buds started appearing! I've been watching it closely since then, and wouldn't you know it, today we finally had a bloom!

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

These three are also in the Dry Patch of the South Prairie, and one in particular is quite a bit taller than when it was planted, and even taller than the Watering Can itself now. It's encouraging that these three are looking so good when the Purple Coneflower and the non-blooming Lanceleaf Coreopsis are all looking a bit sad, I think mostly due to being dug up repeatedly.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

After a few weeks of solid growth, the Ranch elderberry appears to have been eaten on pretty significantly by one or more deer. I'm sure it's established enough at this point that it will recover nicely, but it's a good reminder that I need to be spraying these plants with Liquid Fence as well after watering them.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

All of the Willows continue to do well, and Willow 1's latest guest, the Viceroy caterpillar, emerged from its chrysalis and left sometime this weekend. I'd been keeping a close eye on it, but it must have come out very early one morning or overnight and by the time I checked it again, I noticed it was empty! Still, happy to have the first of hopefully many large caterpillars pupating here on this keystone species.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Well, well, well. Look who decided to join the party! I'm not sure why, but right after the Solstice two tiny new leaves started emerging, and now there's already three little clumps of new growth on this one limb. What a nice surprise!

It was a late update this week, mainly due to my back and hip still feeling pretty bad until Thursday. But I'm feeling strong again and was able to carry the watering can around a good bit without feeling completely exhausted, even with the heat. So that was nice.

For the next update I hope to review some of the plants I have in pots, and what some of the plans for those are for now. Especially since I've been watering these more than anything these last couple of weeks!

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

The Pawpaws have handled being un-staked well so far, with a couple of blustery, if very brief, storms that have come through in the last few days. The branch with the two fruit was very droopy this morning, which makes me nervous, but I can only hope it's because the fruit are growing nicely. If it continues, I might figure out a way to keep it propped up because it would be a huge bummer to lose them like that at this point.

South Prairie

These have been hit the hardest by the digging bandit, with almost every plant having been uproot at least once so far. But these new friends are hanging in there!

The Black-eyed Susans and Lance-leaf Coreopsis in particular seem to have really taken off. Both are showing significant new growth since planting, with one Black-eyed Susan easily three times the size it was at first. The Purple Coneflower are looking good and are growing a few small new leaves.

The Swamp Milkweeds and one of the Butterfly Weeds are doing really well too; the Swamp Milkweed especially looks really happy in its place and has recovered well from the replantings. It would be really nice to get some blooms this year, and it seems like the most likely candidate other than the Beeblossoms that've been blooming since I got them. The larger Butterfly Weed keeps adding new layers of leaves and looks strong and healthy; the smaller of the two has been dug up at least three times and spends a lot of its time slumped over. I am still debating re-potting this little one for a while until it gets a bit stronger

Black Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)

Still going strong; both are steadily showing new green growth which makes me really happy. I do need to mulch these two a bit. They're doing ok because their soil stays pretty moist in this location, but I wonder if mulching would help them thrive even more.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

Not much change for most of these guys, though I guess that's because most of them are dead by now. But Pond Maple 1, which showed so much activity last week after removing its dead leader, continues to put out new growth! The leaves that emerged last week have quickly become the largest and healthiest leaves on the tree, and it really seems like it has begun to establish itself and will hang on quite nicely in this spot.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

All four of the Black Willows continue to do their thing in their sunny, wet spots. The only "setback" that one of them has had, Black Willow 1, was a welcome one. It lost a couple of small branches' worth of leaves feeding a beautiful Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) caterpillar that has now begun pupating on one of the lower limbs. My first butterfly host! I was so thrilled to see the caterpillar on there and even more excited that I might get to see it emerge sometime in the next week or two.

As for the rest of the yard there's not much to report, but mostly that's good news because it means they're still alive. The Titi are still doing good at the edge of the pond, putting out more and more racemes of flowers, the Buttonbushes continue to have happy and healthy leaves, and the two Swamp Sunflowers seem like they are going to do just fine in their spot too (though one of them did get dug up once).

The Eastern Redbud is still very sad and I'm just hoping it hangs on long enough to move it once it gets cooler. I think I'm going to try out the Eastern Red Cedar that Janine gifted me in that spot once I do, because it should be able to handle the dry soil and sun exposure in that area.

The smaller Partridge Pea is still doing well in its spot and hopefully it can hang on and flower so that we can get some seed and more to put along the ditch.

The two Aquatic Milkweeds in the back in the Old Pond area are doing great, and continue to consistently have pollinators. There are quite a few seed pods on them too! So I'm hoping we'll have even more next year.

Until next week — hopefully it'll be a bit happier news!

Swamp Sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolius)

One of the favorite native sunflowers of South Louisiana gardeners and naturalists, these tall sunflowers should fill in nicely around the pond. I've placed the two gifted to me on either side of Titi 2, and if all goes well should start filling in those gaps with 4-5 foot tall bunches of sunflowers throughout the late Summer and Fall.

I've only found one Sunflower volunteer on the property prior to this, and right after I found it last year, something (probably deer) apparently ate it down to the ground! So I'll have to try to keep these two protected as well as I can. So far they really seem to like their new home.

Black Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)

These two continue to leaf out more and more, and have definitely shown the most overall growth in the weeks since I've started the Watering Can. The Ranch variety has fluffed out significantly, with it being almost completely bare when planted, compared to a pretty healthy batch of new growth everywhere now.

The Oklahoma John elderberry is also coming along strong, with some really nice new branches starting to get bigger and fill out its thin and tall profile.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum)

While the majority of the Red Maple seedlings that were planted in May are now dead, there are some new signs of life to be excited about.

I did a bark scrape test on Pond Maple 1 since parts of it were looking pretty fried, and ended up cutting off its (former) leader as a result because was completely dead. Since then it's put out no less than six tiny new branches with their little starter pairs of leaves! So it's either really getting settled and finally growing new roots, or cutting off the leader for good gave it the signal it need to launch some new growth, but either way I'm thrilled. It's the tallest of the Maples so far and I'm glad it's managing to hang on.

The one Trail Maple that has had some success, Trail Maple 2, continues to surprise. It's now got quite a nice little cluster of leaves growing on it, and seems to be getting some good midday sun right now, which should continue for at least the next month or so as we move through Solstice season.

I scrape tested the other two Trail Maples and they didn't seem completely dead, surprisingly, but it's not looking great. Especially considering this lack of rain. But I'll try to keep them watered for at least another couple of weeks, because I still can hardly believe how well TM2 is doing now, and maybe these others will surprise me.

South Maple 2 is still hanging in there. It's not showing much growth but the leaves are still nice and green and it's hopefully got some more going on underground. South Maple 1 also passed the scrape test for now, but 3 and 4 are goners.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Boy oh boy. The lone leaf remaining is now brown, and I just don't have much hope for this little one. I might try tenting it on the West side to see if that will help keep it alive long enough to move it later in the year, but I just don't know. The damage may already be too severe.

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

The Pawpaws are still doing good, though not much change. The biggest thing for them is me deciding to un-stake them now, like I did with the Mulberries, to let them grow up and get stronger this summer ahead of storm season. They were taped too tightly to their cane supports anyway, and it was probably a good time to go ahead and undo that. I wonder if the trees you get from the nursery with the stake are generally ready to be un-staked once they're planted?

Other than these major updates, there's not much to report. The South Prairie plants from Beaver's Abundance are still doing great so far, even with all the heat, which really makes me appreciate these natives. The Monday waterings really do just feel like a nice reward for them otherwise toughing out the heat without complaints.

All of the plants with wet feet around the pond and in the Old Pond area are doing great. The Titi continue to put out more blooms, the Buttonbushes have so many healthy green leaves, and the Black Willows continue to bring joy every time I check on them — I was reminded this week of Salix nigra's keystone species status and it just makes me so happy.

The goal for this next week is mainly just to keep everything alive, hope for rain, and if I can find a space for the Frogfruit and Spiderwort that Janine gifted me I'll try to get those in the ground.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

This sad little guy just can't catch a break. It looks like something has been eating its leaves now? I don't really know what to do for it. It seems like trying to transplant it right now would probably shock it to death, but at this point I'm not sure if it will make it to the winter. I'll keep watering it, and maybe spray it with the Deer & Rabbit liquid fence in case that might protect it.

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

Mulberry 1 is still doing its summer thing, browning leaves but hanging in there. It may be a little too exposed in its spot in the wide open next to the pond, but I'm not sure what I can do for it now that it's pretty established. One interesting thing is that I removed its support pole that it came with from the nursery, and the base of its trunk seems to have noticeably thickened in the couple months since. It feels like that was the right move, letting it build up its own strength for a few months before potential late summer storms.

Mulberry 2 is also doing its thing, still looking great, showing some nice healthy leaves and filling out its growth a bit. It seems to really like this spot, planted over the roots of a recently removed Water Oak and near the garden.

One thing I do wonder about these two is how I'll get their crowns to fill out a little more in all directions. Right now they're both a bit "two dimensional" in their major branches — I assume a symptom of how they were grown at the nursery or stored at Clegg's.

Mulberry 3 seems to be doing a bit better since last week, and I have to assume it's from the rain. There seems to be quite a bit of new foliage and it looks just a bit more "full." Hopefully that continues! This tree has a beautiful round crown shape and I think it is going to be a really lovely specimen once it gets going.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

Willow 1 and Willow 2 are loving life. Growing on the bank of the pond, they are well-watered and thriving. Willow 1 may have grown 2-3 inches in just a week. I think there's a good chance it could be as tall as me by the end of the summer. Willow 2 is growing more out than up and it looks beautiful. Both of these trees were scraggly, deer-chewed twigs in February!

Now the first of this week's new plantings — Willow 3 and Willow 4! These two volunteered near the Burn Pile, which is where 1 & 2 popped up last year. It may be obvious, but the Burn Pile is not really a safe area for young plants that I want to keep alive! So last Tuesday I transplanted these two to their new homes.

Willow 3 is now living on the bank of the pond, near the pier. I think if it takes off it will be a really nice, picturesque tree hanging there next to it. So far it's hanging in there great, and has maybe already grown a little bit since moving — always a good sign. (So far, it seems a lot easier to transplant things that like to keep their feet wet.)

Willow 4 was moved to the sunny edge of the Old Pond area, where it should still stay pretty wet and get some good sun in the middle of the day. This one might end up growing a little more slowly, since it's not in the wide open like its siblings near the pond, but that might work nicely for a smaller area in general.

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

Both of the Pawpaws are still going strong! As I hoped, the area they're planted in holds on to the moisture from the rain really well, and their healthy, green leaves seems to confirm it. The two fruit on Pawpaw 1 are still looking good so far, at least as far as I can tell.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

Not much to report on these two other than they both still seem really happy. I think this spot will work out nicely for them, and they'll be lovely little trees near the house that shouldn't ever threaten it, size-wise. And if we get lucky maybe in a few years we'll be eating some Mayhaw jelly!

South Prairie - Dry Patch

These new plantings are doing well so far. These are the main ones that I might have been watering too much for a week and half or so before the rains returned. I was focused too much on how much the soil surface. seemed to have dried out, but none of them ever really looked to be drooping, especially not in the mornings.

I've noticed some new leaf growth this week, especially on the Purple Coneflower, and the three Black-eyed Susans seem to have grown up a bit as well. The Lanceleaf Coreopsis are doing well, but they are so long and gangly it's hard for me to tell how much they've changed — but looking at pictures, they've actually grown pretty significantly already! I also need to maybe trim some of the grass growing up around them.

South Prairie - Wet Patch

This bunch is also doing well so far. The Beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri) is standing tall and keeps putting out new flowers, which brings me a lot of joy. The Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) seems to have grown up quite a bit already, and the Stokes' Aster are definitely putting out new leaves.

I couldn't tell on the Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) just eyeballing it in the yard, and once again I'm glad to have started this project. It has actually grown quite a bit, especially the larger of the two. Even the smaller one (which I mentioned last week and worried it was too soon for it to be in the ground) has added a few new layers of leaves and is looking a bit stronger.

Black Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)

Between the rain and some more time to settle into their spots, both Elderberries have greened out significantly this week, especially Elderberry 1, the "Oklahoma John" cultivar. I don't know if I'll get any flowers or berries this year, unless these varieties really do come on a little later than our local ecotype, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

These two are happy and doing their thing in their little wetland area. The most exciting thing about them this week was spotting a new insect species for the property, and the first pollinator on any of the new plants: a Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta)!

Pond Maples (Acer rubrum)

Pond Maples 1 and 2 are doing ok, still hanging in there and maybe even trying to grow some new leaves. I think they'll hang in there, especially if the rain keeps up.

Pond Maple 3 is very dead. I did a scrape test and it was all brown under the bark, and actually loose in the ground as well — the roots. not hanging on to the soil at all. Sorry little guy! It's hard to know how well it was doing after being transplanted, since it was dry when it was pulled and stayed dry for so long. I'll get another transplant soon, and I might move this site a bit closer to the water. The bank is a little steep here and it might just be drying out a bit too much.

South Maples & Trail Maples (Acer rubrum)

No real changes for these seven transplants — most are struggling, but two are hanging on. Trail Maple 2 has put out a couple more small leaves and I think will hang in there if I can keep the Japanese Climbing Fern off of it, and South Maple 2 is still hanging in there and looking green. Unfortunately it looks like South Maple 1 didn't make it after all. I need to scrape test the rest of the stragglers and find out for sure next week.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

These two continue to establish themselves nicely. Buttonbush 2, in particular, has really filled out nicely after its dual shocks of freeze and sawflies. I did trim off a bit of dead growth after doing a scrape test here and there.

Titi, or Swamp Cyrilla (Cyrilla racemiflora)

These two are doing great so far! Titi 1 has started putting out its racemes of flowers which makes me so happy, and Titi 2 has started putting out more after what seemed like a pause in flowering right after transplanting. Once again, I think these water-lovers handle transplanting a lot better during these hotter months if you have a nice wet spot like this.

Blueberries (Vaccinium)

The Blueberries are all pretty much the same, except we've eaten a few more berries off of Blueberry 2!

And last but not least...

New Addition! Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

One of several new plants from my friend and Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge President Janine Kharey, I've added two Partridge Pea plants along the edge of the drainage ditch on the East side of the property. With a combination of being annuals and nitrogen fixers, I am hoping they love their new sunny spots and help to fill in the ditch area with some lovely yellow flowers in the summer. So far they seem to be doing really well.

Partridge Pea 1 is the smaller of the two, and nearer to the pond. It's planted in an area that already has some decent wildflowers and other natives growing along the ditch, but it would be nice to add some yellow to go with the vervain and blue mistflower nearby.

Partridge Pea 2 is quite a bit larger, and I put it further North along the ditch where there isn't much growing now. I hope it will seed well here and start filling in this spot nicely, and maybe even spread to the field next to it! I have some ideas for that field, but that might be a story for a later day....

Overall, I'm feeling good about how things are going. My biggest worries are actually all these potted plants I have now from my mom and Janine, and figuring out where the next ones will go and what should probably stay in a pot for now! But I've kept them alive so far, and that feels good.

I did plant one species this week that I think will be really great, site-wise, but we'll have to wait until next week for the first report on those. I also collected some plants from a ditch in our neighborhood and am excited about sharing news about those soon.

This second edition was a little tougher because I had something to compare it to, and I got rained out Monday night, but I hope to get future editions out a little closer to Monday. It's been such a helpful practice so far, and I've really been encouraged by some of the early responses, so thank all of you who've taken the time to read. You are greatly appreciated. 🙏🏻

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)

We'll start with one of my favorites and two trees that are really having a great spring and early summer so far: the common Pawpaws (Asimina triloba).

Pawpaw 1 is recovering very well from a slow start this year. I realized a couple of months ago that some of the roots were a lot more exposed than they should have been. After covering the roots with some planting mix, the tree has had a sudden surge of growth lower on the plant, with bunches of big new leaves on either side and new life in the two existing branches that appeared to be dead. The top of the tree did not survive the winter.

The amazing Pawpaw 2 still has its two fruit, and so far they are coming along well. All in all it looks healthy.

The Pawpaws are probably one of my best plantings yet, as far as picking a great site for the species. This is a nice shady spot under the edge of a big Magnolia, along a bit of a natural drainage in the yard. If these two thrive this year, I'll be looking to plant a couple more in this same spot and starting a little Pawpaw grove.

Red Mulberries (Morus rubra)

Mulberry 1, which I somehow forgot to take a picture of, is doing its usual summer thing so far -- hanging in, growing a bit, but the leaves are pretty brown-tipped all over. Not thriving, at least not yet. It may need some nutrients in a very clay part of the yard.

Mulberry 2 is doing better than its sibling, as usual. A lot greener leaves, other than a couple of spots, and just a generally slightly healthier looking specimen.

Mulberry 3 was a gift from my mom, and I think this will be a great spot for it eventually. But we're just not getting enough rain to keep it happy here, I think, or maybe it's not shady enough yet for it being so young. I'm going to try to increase my watering of this little one this summer and see if it shows some signs of new growth.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Sad, sad, sad little tree. It's hanging in there, but it really just does not like it in this spot. I think it might be getting too much sun this far down South. I'm planning now to try to move it to a shadier spot this winter.

Mayhaws (Crataegus aestivalis)

Two of the newer trees, I planted these behind the Big House in an open area that used to have a few trees, and so far they really seem to be happy there. They get lots of good sun while being somewhat protected in the afternoon, and I really hope we can get some fruit someday.

Mayhaw 1 has a really lovely crown spread and look so far, and though it's had a bit of an aphid problem so far this year it's improving a bunch and looking really good.

Mayhaw 2 is a bit smaller and bushier, but it's growing well and I hope it'll get some more height throughout this summer, reaching for its sunlight.

Black Willows (Salix nigra)

The two Black Willow volunteers that I transplanted to the pond last September are absolutely thriving after being eaten down to twigs over the winter. They've both added a ton of new growth this year already and I can't even imagine what they'll look like by the fall. I'll want to protect them from the deer, but they shouldn't be nearly as threatened this year.

They love the water and growing on the pond's edge has been the perfect spot for them.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The two Buttonbush got zapped really badly by the late frost, losing all of their great early growth, but they are recovering nicely so far this year. I don't think I'll get blooms this year, which is a bummer, but there should be a lot of nice new growth that will hopefully support some next year. And I'll be a bit more diligent about covering them if it looks like another late freeze!

Titi, or Swamp Cyrilla (Cyrilla racemiflora)

The newest larger tree/shrub planting in the yard, the water-loving Titi (pronounced tie-tie) produce bunches of long racemes full of little white flowers that are loved by all kinds of pollinators. Both of these new guys are flowering so far, and seem to want keep flowering through the transplanting process, which I'm really excited about.

De loves these so much she really wants me to get a couple more to fill in some more of the gaps between Iris beds along the East side of the pond. I think that's a lovely idea.

Titi 1 is a more upright plant, growing nearer to the existing Bald Cypress trees where a more upright, tree-like posture will suit it, I think. It also leaves room to add some more on either side if we find more water-loving plants! We really hope to fill in this Northeast corner of the pond nearest to us.

Titi 2 has a really cool shape, and I planted it so that it will hopefully sort of hang over the water as it grows and provide some really unique habitat for our location. I'm hoping that I can find similarly-shaped specimens to fill in the other two spots!

Pond Maples (Acer rubrum)

Three of the larger and healthier specimens from the second batch of Red Maple volunteers that my mom gifted me this month ended up planted on the South end of the pond. My main hope with adding Red Maple in general is to get more and more Fall color all around the property, as well as it just being a lovely tree year-round.

Pond Maple 2 is the only one that looks pretty good still, with mostly green leaves and even the newest growth holding on so far. Numbers 1 and 3 aren't doing so great. Number 1 was the largest volunteer by far, and is showing some new green growth since planting, which is encouraging even though it has mostly died back so far. Number 3 is just fried. I'm not sure if it's alive, honestly, but I didn't have a knife on me to scrape the bark and check. My mom has plenty more volunteers where that came from, though, so if it doesn't survive I can try again.

I'm going to keep watering these guys consistently and I think they'll be able to make it. Hopefully the summer rains will be here soon and help them out a bunch.

South Prairie - Dry Patch

Some of the newest plantings, just put in last Tuesday (May 23rd); the Dry Patch of the new South Prairie area is looking good so far. It's an arrangement of seven plants from Beaver's Abundance: two Purple Coneflower, three Black-eyed Susans, and two Lance-leaf Coreopsis. They're all responding well to the transplant so far, and I'll just keep an eye on them this year as they'll all be working on growing their root systems and not doing any flowering in 2023.

South Prairie - Wet Patch

The other newest planting in the yard, the Wet Patch of the South Prairie includes nine individuals in a mix of Stokes' Aster, Swamp Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, and Beeblossom. So far they all seem to be doing good, though I'm wondering if the Butterfly Weed might have been a little too young to go in the ground just yet. We shall see.

Black Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)

Another favorite of mine, and one that I've found several volunteers around this year after struggling to find any evidence of it on the property all of last year. I bought these two from Clegg's in Denham Springs, both a different named cultivar, to try to add a little variety in addition to our local ecotype which I'm hoping will take off a bit from the volunteers. From what I've learned so far it seems to be helpful to have as many different lines of a fruiting species as possible to help with pollination.

Elderberry 1 is the taller and so far healthier of the two, though neither really started growing this year's new growth until just the last couple of weeks. This is an "Oklahoma John" variety, but I'm not sure what that means because I can't find any references to it anywhere on the Internet. Go figure.

Elderberry 2 is smaller, a bit lankier, and still doesn't have much new growth on it so far this year, though it does appear it's been nibbled a bit by the deer. This is the "Ranch" cultivar. It's in what I thought would be a decently sunny spot for it, but I'm not sure if this will be its forever home. Still early days though, as it seems both of these purchased Elderberries are later-starting and maybe even later-blooming than our local ecotype, which is already well on its way with huge umbels of white blooms all along the roadsides.

South Maples & Trail Maples (Acer rubrum)

The first batch of seven Red Maple volunteers that I got from my mom got planted along the Upper Trail and in various places around the Burn Pile area and beyond. As I mentioned before, I'm really just hoping to bring in more Fall color around the property. Most of these transplants are not doing well, but a couple are hanging in there.

• Trail Maple 1 is pretty much dead. Just a twig at this point with no since of new life yet.

• Trail Maple 2 has been pretty dead but just in the last week or so sprouted some new growth! So who knows?

• Trail Maple 3 is pretty dead.

• South Maple 1, north of the Burn Pile is hanging in there, and started to put out some new growth which has since started to wilt. Hoping it hangs in.

• South Maple 2 is easily the best-performing of all the transplants so far. It's at the base of a big Loblolly and is just loving life.

• South Maple 3 got dug up a bit by the wildlife, and is now just a dried-out twig.

• South Maple 4 is pretty dead too.
  

Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)

The last of the new natives from Beaver's Abundance that I planted last week, this Aquatic Milkweed seems to be absolutely loving it back in the very wet Old Pond area in the South side of the property. There are several water-loving plants thriving there, so it seemed like the perfect spot for this addition, and so far it seems to be going very well.

Blueberries (Vaccinium)

Last but not least are some natives that I didn't plant but I need to do a better job of caring for while I'm looking after all these others. My in-laws got these four blueberry plants from some dear friends of theirs a few years ago, whose blueberries they love, but this is maybe not the best spot for them. Only one of the four (the one that looks like it was already pretty well established) seems to be doing very well so far.

Blueberry 1 is pretty healthy, but bushy, and not producing much fruit in its current form. I might try splitting a piece of it off this winter and seeing if it will grow better near some pines, which is where I think blueberries tend to grow in the wild.

Blueberry 2 is pretty happy. Seems to like it's spot, grow pretty consistently, and puts out a good amount of nice fruit. We actually ate our first two blueberries from it just yesterday!

Blueberry 3 is doing ok, a few fruit here and there and generally healthy, with some fairly significant new growth already this year.

Finally, Blueberry 4 is really struggling. It's the furthest from the pond, and the cypress trees, and I think it is just that little bit more exposed to the afternoon sun because it isn't in the shade of the cypress trees, and it is really struggling. I might try to move this entire plant to a new spot this winter.

What I’m feeling now, as I rest and enjoy a much more typical day of observing nature, goes well beyond data.

After Master Naturalist training last year and the trips to Texas and Costa Rica so far this year, this CNC was shaping up to be the new high water mark as far as my naturalist skills go, and it certainly lived up to that. I can already feel the change in my Eye, a further deepening of seeing the web of how everything is connected and how there is so much life and so much thriving.

I am realizing so much more fully how native plants are the foundation for all of it. 

Hand in hand with that, I am realizing how much more I need to work with the plants, and how much more I need to just try to plant stuff here, transplant stuff, just try try try. Each growing season is an opportunity to grow the relationships with these plant friends as well.

As the relationships and understanding deepen, as I meet the insect friends who like to live on and eat and have babies in and on these plants, as I meet the birds that like to come and glean those insects and eventually fruit from the plant, as I learn which parts of the property support different plants and their animal friends, my role in all of it can only become clearer.

But I have to keep getting my hands dirty. A few transplants have gone poorly recently and that took the wind out of my sails a little bit, but I just have to keep growing.

I didn't think much of it at first, other than being a little disappointed that one of the trees got burned badly enough that it needed to be taken down, and that a lot of the new growth on a couple of young trees got taken out for the year.

For the first month afterwards nothing much happened, with our late Winter hanging in and not much new growth at all around the yard. Six weeks after the burn some small things were only starting to poke through. Looking at the photo now, I see some Muscadine, Hempvine and maybe Dollarweed and a few others coming up.

I focused on other parts of the yard once Spring really got going, until one I noticed on the last day of May, after getting home from Jukai, that the burned patch was flourishing beyond belief. Not only that, there was a bunch of Pokeweed growing!. I'd only found one (large) Pokeweed plant on the property at that point, and to suddenly see a half dozen plants growing together was great.

The more I looked, the more I found plants that I hadn't seen anywhere else -- Beefsteak plant, some new kind of tall Nightshade (that I would later find out was a rare species), Cuban jute -- and certainly not in this density. Since I'd lost some other small plants to the lawnmower and weed eater, I quickly taped off the area in the hopes to try to protect it -- just to see what else might come up in this newly fertile ground.

The orange tape worked, and this accident became one of the most dense, diverse and thriving parts of the property in a matter of a couple of months. In the Fall, Dogfennel, Common and Late Boneset and other rare-for-here plants emerged, along with the incredible Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moths, which I'll have to write about more another time.

Over the winter, I let things break down naturally for a while without any disturbances. I eventually decided to remove the Beefsteak plant remnants and try to discourage more of its growth in the patch specifically. It's not a native, and can get a bit weedy if left unchecked. From there I concentrated on removing other non-native species that could really impact the entire patch, namely Chinese Privet and Chinese Tallow.

I lined the patch with large fallen limbs from around the property, to establish a more natural border and finally remove my orange tape, and started stacking smaller branches around the back of the patch to establish another border, add some new kind of habitat for animals, and just sort of add some natural compost to the area instead of those sticks going into a burn pile.

With the early Spring of 2023, so far the Pokeberry Patch has been exploding once again, with at least 40 species growing by mid-March. The privet and tallow are almost completely gone, at least for now, and I am working now to cut back the Blackberry before it gets too bad. The Blackberries are native, but we already have a couple of Blackberry patches around the property and it could quickly become another without some help.

If you have a little "waste" space somewhere that you control, just let it grow if you can. You really never know what might surprise you, and what you may learn from it.

This little patch, probably around 500 square feet, has turned into one of the most thriving and diverse areas of the yard in just a year of being allowed to grow wild after the burn. Who knows what it will be in a few more years, based on what's already started? I look forward to finding out.

I taped off my new little friend to protect it from the weed eater while I figured out what to do next; I felt pretty sure that it needed to be moved somewhere else. It wouldn't survive the weed eater long, and in general this was a spot that would be pretty hard to grow at all, much less thrive. The potential beauty and usefulness of the tree in the years to come was very attractive, as was the fact that I hadn't found any other Sassafras here or nearby.

I'd never moved a plant before, of any kind, anywhere, but I knew it would be better to wait until the end of the growing season. So for the next few months, it grew and did the best it could in the shade of its tall pine caretaker, while I slowly learned more and waited for the right time. In the meantime, the deer found it and took away most of its leafy growth, though enough remained that I felt like it would still survive the winter.

Fall came, and the deer took the rest of the few leaves they'd left behind, and I still hesitated to move this ltitle friend. In the meantime, I had transplanted my first two trees in September: a couple of Black Willow seedlings were now living on the banks of the pond, after they'd volunteered in the back near the Burn Pile, destined for destruction. 

They both seemed to be doing really well, and I was feeling more confident about my burgeoning transplant skills – but I still hesitated with the Sassafras. It was still the only one I'd found, and it was growing so closely to the pine, not out on its own in an already muddy patch of yard. 

So again there it sat, checking on it daily during my morning walks with Loki. Hanging on, surviving the winter, reduced to a bare twig that was maybe, finally, not enticing to the passing wildlife for a while. 

Now, these last few weeks, as Spring was coming in early and strong, I knew that I needed to finally make the move but I was still nervous. I'd recently moved a young Elderberry and another Black Willow that'd come up by the Burn Pile, but they didn't go so well. The young Elderberry was maybe actually too young, and the Willow actually snapped off of most of its root base when I rushed a bit as I tried to dig it out from its spot. (They're both still alive, so far.)

On Thursday, as I finished planting the second of our new Mayhaws, I realized it was time to move the Sassafras. I gathered all the necessary tools and materials -- the watering can to soak the soil and ease the process, a trowel to carefully loosen the tree from its spot, a small pot with some planting soil for it to live in for now, and a foam pad to kneel on so that I could be comfortable and take the time I needed to do it all. I would really take care this time, not rush anything, not force anything, but work with the plant. 

I watered the area a bit, and then knelt in front of this scraggly little twig, now turning a bit green with the Spring's life and a few tiny budding leaves starting to show. I thanked it for holding on through the winter, and thanked the Pine for taking care of it for this time so far. Studying and clearing the spot around the base of its small trunk, I gently drove in the trowel as far away as I could that still felt close enough to lever it out without breaking any roots. After working the area loose, I realized I would need to use my bare hands to safely do what it needed. 

I poured a bit more water and started to work the base of the trunk loose, clearing away the mud as I went. There was no pulling, just sort of a shifting as I went, trying to find the larger branching roots that it had grown so far, gently separating it from the roots of the other nearby plants growing in this shady microcove. Before long, the little Sassafras was free, coming right out with a gentle lift, as intact as I could have ever hoped for. 

I carefully lowered it into the half-filled pot, placing the roots as well as I could so they'd have room to grow, and filled in the rest to welcome it to its new home. Taking my first look at the first wild plant I'd ever potted with tears in my eyes, I couldn't help but feel this huge energy, and weight – that this was the first of many, that I was sad it had taken me this long in life to do this for the first time, but so happy that I'd finally done it, and that this little Sassafras would hopefully live on for years to come. 

Now I can't wait to try more, to pot more, to give more of these little seedling who happened to sprout up in "dangerous" areas a chance to thrive in a better spot. I am thankful to my little Sassafras friend for all the lessons its taught me these last few months, and once again I thank it for hanging in there, and promise to do my best to give it a fighting chance.