This is the story of Vista Farm, a 30-acre flatwood (pine savanna) in southeastern Louisiana where native plants and small wildlife thrive. I loved it the minute I peeked through a stand of small pines on a neighbor’s property and saw a six-acre pond I just knew had bass in it. I paid dearly for my land in 2005, but it’s a place we enjoy every day whether we’re fishing, feeding the ducks, fending off pesky neighbors who don’t understand “No Trespassing,” or photographing some new wildflower, sedge or bug.

From the beginning I took early morning walks with the dog. We scared up deer who bedded down for the night in the tall meadow grass, we found turtles on their way to lay eggs, snakes looking for a turtle egg breakfast and logged a lot of birds in a book I’ve had since childhood.

Then the bulldozers arrived next door.

I made the developer fill the portion of the pond that was on his property and create a levee wide enough to drive over between the fence and the pond.

Then the Posted signs went up.

I cut the grass in the East Meadow . . .

. . . and in the West Meadow.

Everywhere . .

The grandchildren even helped the Captain cut grass. That 1959 Ferguson tractor still works as long as the filter is clean. The steering wheel comes off when you bump over a ditch but otherwise it runs just fine (sort of).

What a nice lawn I had! But it seemed like something was missing. The deer had no tall grass in which to sleep and give birth. Without nearby brushpiles hawks and other predators had an easy time catching rabbits and squirrels. I missed the flowers, the tall grass and migratory birds and waterfowl. So I let it grow over a lot of protests. Uncut, it grew naturally in the sun and rain. The orchids and perennials came back; the sedges, and other grasses came back. There were new species like carnivorous Sundew, four species of Meadow Beauty, and my favorite — Turkey Tangle Frogfruit. Today the meadows are again teaming with insects, snakes, rodents, mammals, birds and plants — everything small wildlife need in a healthy, balanced ecosystem. It’s a beautiful place!