At Vista Farm the weather conditions affect everything. If it’s stormy the animals hide; if it’s cold the plants are dead and the animals are burrowed down somewhere; if it’s sunny everything comes out to bask in the glow. This is not a day-by-day report of temperatures, but a subjective report of the conditions that make plant and animal species either more or less active as we see them. Check us out on iNaturalist.org as well.

December 26, 2020 – OK, it’s cold — low 40s today and 29-degrees last night. We’re Southerners. We hate cold.

December 19, 2020 — A few cold days and nights in the low 30s. Nothing but birds and squirrels are out looking for food. Bluebirds, a chickadee and a bunch of Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding on tallow tree seeds in a thicket.

December 7, 2020 — Sunny and cool the last few days with nights in the mid-30s. A flock of wild ducks, Scaup, have taken over the far side of the pond. Still cleaning up and moving debris. Now that the meadows are dry and brown we will cut them to keep down the large wax myrtles, hardwood seedlings and briars.

November 29, 2020 — Lots of rain after a long dry spell. Cool – in the 40s. Observed a really beautiful white mushroom–maybe an Amanita, maybe something else. Doing a lot of cleaning up and moving debris after a stormy summer into several new brush piles in the meadows that will provide shelter for wildlife and food for bugs in the years to come as it decays.

November 8, 2020 — More cool nights and warm days with a little rain. Observed a Song Sparrow on a dead stem in the meadow and I finally got photos of the Red-tailed Hawk who was hunting prey from the top of a dead pine tree in the meadow and an Eastern Towhee of which there are several as year-round residents.

November 2 — A welcome cool snap after Hurricane Delta ripped through. The fall birds are arriving, notably the Yellow Rumped Warbler which I am determined to photograph. A new visitor is an Eastern Phoebe which like to perch on an old rusty post in the middle of the tall grass. Finally got a photo of the old Loggerhead Shrike that’s been around for years.

October 21 — Endless beautiful days at the Farm. The grasses are waving in every breeze and the yellow sunflowers seem like they will last forever. Took the canoe out for a spin yesterday and was able to identify that very tall cane-like grass with the purple plume on the far side of the pond along with some dark blue-black seeds from the Swamp Tupelo tree.

October 12 — Beautiful days since Hurricane Delta roared through Louisiana missing Madisonville by a hair. Lots of warm, dry air. The meadow is gorgeous and the insects are working overtime among the asters and Goldenrod. Spotted an Eastern Carpenter Bee, new to the meadow. Standing in a golden patch of natives you can spot a dozen or so Common Buckeye butterflies attracted to the meadow by one of their host, False Purple Foxglove.

October 5 — Such a gorgeous couple of weeks here. Cool nights and warm sunny days. The yellow Asters are not quite at their peak, but even so, the meadows are ablaze. Butterflies are everywhere.

September 15 — Don’t know if it’s Hurricane Sally nearby or what, but the critters were especially active yesterday. I encountered so many new species, I ran the battery down on the Sony and all the gas out of the TrailWagon. We had dirt delivered last year and all summer stuff has been sprouting out of it. Melochia corchorifolia is an ugly, possible invasive plant, but it draws an amazing assortment of pollinators to it’s tiny white and green flowers. A Southern Leopard Frog was in a drainage ditch.

September 7 – Never a more beautiful day! Lots of time to hunt for new critters in the flower patches. The list includes a Southern Plains Bumble Bee whose body “fur” lays flat and is more white than yellow and an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail who was a little raggedy, but still beautiful. Check out all the new finds in the Inventory.

September 3 – Warm sunny days now. Just beautiful. Mushrooms are popping up everywhere. I observed a bunch of bright red Brittlegills and some puffballs. Finally, got a photo of a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly.

August 28 – Marco and Laura missed us, but our friends in Cameron Parish were hit hard. We wish them a fast recovery. Some rain filled up the wetland and turned the meadow a bright, healthy green. New little Swallowtail caterpillars are eating the Cowbane.

August 22 — It’s sunny right now, but there are two storms headed our way that are expected to become hurricanes when they hit the coast on Tuesday. We are in storm preparation now. On Thursday I found a new Smilax. Laurel-leaf Greenbrier has dark green leathery-smooth leaves and I didn’t see any thorns. It’s working its way up and around a Wax Myrtle on the edge of the pond.

August 18, 2020 — After a few days of much needed rain the meadows are alive with butterflies and caterpillars. We found a beautiful Banded Sphinx munching on Ludwigia, one of its hosts in the Onagraceae family.

August 14, 2020 — Finally, some much needed rain. More expected over the weekend. Found a newcomer in the meadow, a Painted Lady butterfly sitting on a Cowbane flower. It was almost mistaken for a Monarch.

August 11, 2020 — It’s HOT, HOT, HOT. The wetland and meadow need some rain. The Swallowtails don’t seem to mind it though and a gorgeous Spicebush was observed on the Cowbane. A giant Yellowjacket Hover Fly, first observed last summer, was seen in the Partridge Peas.

August 3, 2020 — A few days of full sun have dried things out from a lot of the rain we’ve had lately. In the meadow, eggs laid by the Swallowtails have hatched and gorgeous caterpillars are eating away at the Cowbane, one a their host plants. We’re keeping an eye on them to see if we can find a chrysalis.

July 22, 2020 — A week of nice, sunny and dry days behind us, but there’s an unnamed storm in the Gulf that looks headed for Texas putting us on the northeast side. That will certainly bring some rain if it follows the suspected path.

July 15, 2020 — A normal July with frequent afternoon showers and thunderstorms between 2 and 4 o’clock. Observed a pair of Eastern Giant Swallowtails trying to mate in a patch of dogfennel. The little blackmouth cur ran through it at top speed chasing a dragonfly and the Swallowtails disappeared over the fence. That’s nature for you!

July 4, 2020 — Three days of overcast, muggies. Thursday it was breezy and the perfect conditions for a long exposure of the pond. I love the silky, smooth texture of the water after 52 seconds at f/14 with a 6-stop filter.

July 1, 2020 — Oppressively hot and humid. Not even a breeze in the meadow today. The dragonflies were about the only thing out and I caught a beautiful Needham’s Skimmer, Libellula needhami. What a prize! It was worth a little sweat.

June 27, 2020 — Another day with bad air due to the Saharan dust cloud. The sky has a muddy cast to it and the upper level clouds are yellowish. Not a pretty sight. I could swear there is a bad smell in the air, but it might be just swamp gas which can’t escape into the atmosphere when it’s hot and the humidity is very high.

June 25, 2020 — A string of rainy, hot muggy days this week with a considerable wind yesterday. Observed a Black Swallowtail and a couple of new Skippers in the meadow today: a Gray Hairstreak and an Ocola Skipper.

June 16, 2020 –– It’s been hot and mostly dry for a week. A Muscovy has six eggs in the old jeep. Found an interesting new spider yesterday. This Magnolia Green Jumping Spider Lyssomanes viridis, is a native of the southeastern U.S. and, according to sources of Wikipedia, they have very acute vision to find and ambush their prey.

June 7, 2020 –– We are in the middle of Tropical Storm Cristobal. The farm is wet, wet, wet and draining slowly, but no trees are down and everything looks fine. The ducks are swimming around and finding lots to eat in the grass at the edge of the pond.

May 31, 2020 — Temps are in the 90s and it’s humid, but it’s sunny and everything is healthy and beautiful. We have a new little Blackmouth Cur puppy at the farm. The Captain says he’s a Southern gentleman and named him Rhett (like Butler!).

May 15, 2020 — Yesterday there was a massive surprise storm that dumped 16 inches of rain flooding homes and clogging rivers with debris. The farm didn’t lose a single tree despite a number of nearby micro bursts and violent lightning. Today, mostly cloudy with more rain in the afternoon.

May 11, 2020 — After a good night of solid rain a few days ago the weather has been cool and beautiful. A very shy little female Wood Duck is a newcomer on the pond. She joins some young domestic ducks we were given who aren’t so sure they want her around. Lots of intimidation, but so far she’s standing her ground, corn rather. Check them out on the Inventory of Species. The tomato plants in the garden are staked and have little tomatoes, same with the hot peppers.

April 26, 2020 — Warm and beautiful, sunny days we’ve had. Lots of new discoveries last week. Check them out on the Inventory of Species.

April 23, 2020 — Warm and muggy, but the rain is welcome. Big storm a few days ago and misty all day today. It’s been a month of checking the milkweed for Monarch caterpillars, Assassins and Milkweed Bugs. Several Swallowtail Butterflies and some interesting IDs for trees. Check the all the new additions to the Inventory of Species.

April 4, 2020 — Warm and beautiful, but we need some rain. Only a sprinkle last night. Check out the new insects added in the gallery. I shot a pair of tiny Zebra Longhorn Beetles mating on a thistle flower. Spring has sprung around here.

April 1, 2020 – After a week of warm, sunny weather this morning it’s down in the 40s. We put in the new veggie garden. The Captain tilled up a new (sunnier) plot in the meadow with the tractor and planted two rows of corn, bush beans, tomatoes, peppers, and some herbs. Time to start watering!

March 19, 2020 – What a perfectly gorgeous week it’s been. Perfect temperature in the 70s with sun; perfect day for the spring equinox. The meadow is turning green, the ducks are mating, and the snakes are looking for a warm, sunny spot to curl up. A HUGE Chicken Snake must have been on top of a red metal storage container when he decided to slither down the side and go for a hunt. What a beauty!

March 5, 2020 – Warm yesterday, stormy overnight, cloudy and cool today. Typical winter in south Louisiana. Saw a large black snake in a pile of branches near the pond, but it hit the water before I could identify it and swam to the east bank.

March 2, 2020 – After a nice dry weekend, we had rain overnight and clouds today. It’s in the upper 60s which is about right for the season. Three Canada Geese have decided to make themselves at home on the pond. Looking for a creative way to make them go elsewhere. Spring is sprouting up all over. The huge Blackjack Oak, Wax Myrtle and the pines are blooming. Saw a weird Cattail Toothpick Grasshopper for the first time. Stuck my finger on a huge pink Bristle Thistle.

February 26, 2020 – Cool and cloudy. Expecting a frost tonight. The hen began sitting on 15 eggs on February 25. Should hatch in about 33-35 days–April 1.

February 21, 2020 – Feels like Winter on the gulf coast. Solid rain all day yesterday, 30s overnight and 40s today with bright sun. There are 10 Muscovy eggs in the old junker car. 2 males and five females at the pond. Don’t know who the mother is but she’s still laying and not sitting on the eggs yet.

February 17, 2020 – About 70 degrees. Gloomy, humid. Three new discoveries this week: Yellow Jessamine, Chickasaw Plum and Pineland Daisy.

February 12, 2020 – About 70 degrees at 8:30. Must be 100% humid with every surface dripping with moisture. Cloudy. Plenty of new bugs hatching out for the ducks. Saw a hawk and a Swallowtail butterfly yesterday. The first bright yellow Buttercups of the season are opening.

February 11, 2020 – Hot. Probably 80 degrees. Cloudy. Muggy. Fog at 7:00a.m.

February 8, 2020 – Low 60s, gloomy with a little drizzle now and then.

January 20, 2020 – BRRRR. It was 85 on Saturday with 30mph wind. Today it’s 37, with sun and a light breeze. The meadow still has standing water. Not a creature is stirring, except for the Muscovys.