December 31, 2023 —

Happy New Year To All.

December 5, 2023 —

What a difference a good rain can make. The pond rose a couple of feet and standing water in the new wildflower meadow has drawn a flock of White Ibis and Snowy Egrets who come for the worms and crawfish drawn to the surface by the water. The new wildflower seeds that were tiny seedlings two weeks ago are now growing like crazy.

November 25, 2023 –

The native wildflower seeds we planted back in October have had a little rain and tiny sprouts are popping up all over the field. Today we’re putting up a rope light around the boat dock.

November 21, 2023 –

Twice in the last week we’ve seen two does in the meadow and crossing the pond road. When we were first on the property in the early 2000s there were deer everywhere, pheasants and hogs, too, but after two new subdivisions were built the population dwindled and until last week we had not seen a deer in a couple of years. Nice to see those tall ears and white tails jumping over the tall grass again. We saw the Merlin again yesterday, too.

November 12, 2023 —

Lots of activity; still no rain since October 12. Our neighbor, Alex Dimarco, is an offshore boat captain and in his spare time he runs a skid steer mulching machine called Annihilator. He cleared two big areas for us where dead trees fell and brush grew up around them. You can find him at Limitless Land Clearing in Madisonville on Facebook.

November 2, 2023 –

My questions as to whether Apple Snails are so invasive as to require immediate removal, or is the possibility of them drawing in a resident Limpkin bird worth the risk have not been answered, BUT today there was a Limpkin hunting snails along the edge of the water where we found the eggs. What to do? The linked photo is of a Limpkin perched on the bow of our boat at a nearby marina.

October 20, 2023–

Well, there was an interesting find today–Apple Snail eggs laid on a log that, until the drought, was under water in the pond. We know there have been several IDs around the parish, but until today the closest Apple Snails were in Bayou DeZaire in Madisonville. We made several calls to the LSU’s and Southeastern University’s marine biology departments, but I guess no one works on Friday. My questions have to do with whether Apple Snails are so invasive as to require immediate removal, or is the possibility of them drawing in a resident Limpkin bird worth the risk. Out of an abundance of caution and knowing that the snails are already present we decided to remove the cluster and do a further search around the pond for others. Stay tuned!

September 27, 2023–

Today is the Captain’s birthday and we are taking the day off. The Mahindra is working great. In anticipation of our first project under the NRCS Stewardship Program and with the dry weather still holding, we bush hogged the west meadow where the new improved pollinator habitat will be planted. Relying on the experts’ advice we are in the process of turning over 2-3 inches of soil to break up the sandy clay soil and will go over it with a hay rake in a few days to take out the thatch and remove as many of the clumps of grass roots as possible. That grass is very aggressive and although we don’t expect to get rid of it all, we’re hoping the new native wildflowers will have enough room to become established before the grass crowds out the new seeds. A new Swallowtail has just been identified–Pipevine Swallowtail–a beautiful iridescent blue and black butterfly. Trying to find his host now.

September 17, 2023–

The Trail Wagon is back in somewhat acceptable operation after an adjustment from our favorite neighborhood mechanic. The big news is the “new_to_us” Mahindra 4500 tractor with a bunch of implements we don’t know how we ever lived without. The only thing we are waiting for to begin our first project under the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS)Stewardship program is a notice to proceed from the State Dept. of Cultural Affairs. The first project in this five-year program is the improvement of the two-acre west meadow as a habitat for pollinators with a mixed crop of annual and perennial nectar-producing plants. At Vista Farm we favor bees, wasps and butterflies, especially monarchs and swallowtails. The seeds suggested by the NRCS, in our opinion, did not include enough plants that are tolerant of extended wet clay soil, nor were there enough swallowtail hosts. That being the case we are reviewing the companies that do provide these varieties and are working with them to build a custom mix we are happy with.

September 7, 2023–

The Trail Wagon with a Honda engine has been broken all summer and no amount of tinkering on our part fixed the problem which seemed to be in the carburetor even after replacing it twice. We called around locally for a small-engine repair shop and finally Tractor Supply who sold the thing to the fellow we bought it from suggested Kirk’s Small Engine Repair in Hammond, LA. Two more out-of-town shops recommended Kirk so we called and he agreed to fix it. After a month at Kirk’s and with him leaving on vacation at the end of the week, he said it was fixed and we could pick it up. Well, after half an hour of working with it, I couldn’t start it, the Captain couldn’t start it and neither could Kirk. It would fire up and run for a few seconds, then quit, choke or no choke. Kirk made all kinds of excuses and finally said it just needed to warm up for “a while,” and it was supposed to do that and it was my fault I couldn’t start it even though I had been running it just fine for four years. So before I called him a fat, stupid redneck, I got back in the truck. The Captain paid the $350 charge and promised we would never bother him again.

August 31, 2023–

In an afternoon walk around the meadow we found this beautiful Great Golden Digger Wasp busy feeding on a stalk of Water Cowbane. He’s rather large as the name indicates with bluish wings, a golden head and thorax and reddish orange legs.

August 24, 2023–

We are pleased to finally announce Vista Farm will receive funding for four environmental projects under the stewardship program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Almost a year ago we applied to put our 30-acre small-wildlife habitat in this program and settled on four improvement projects: Pollinator habitat, fish pond, invasive species removal and the planting of nut and fruit trees. The term is five years and we are already at work searching the web for companies that sell seed mixes with the maximum germination rate and nutritional value to cover the 2-acre west meadow for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. We’ll keep posting as the project moves along.

August 9, 2023–

It’s hot; it’s August in south Louisiana. Deal with it! We are a carbon based life form and CO2 is the building block of life.

July 27, 2023–

First observation on this day in 2023 of a Swallowtail caterpillar feeding on Water Cowbane. Two in close proximity to one another in the west meadow.

July 26, 2023 —

Catch of the day–White Crappie/Sac-a-lait.

July 23, 2023 —

It’s still hotter than July in south Louisiana , but the Trail Wagon is finally working, sort of. One of our dumbass helpers put diesel in the gas tank and tried to run it. Everything was so fouled it took weeks of cleaning and two new carburetors to finally get it to the point it runs, but rough. Mercifully we had a decent rain today. Saw a pair of Spice Bush Swallowtails yesterday. The Captain and his new helper bush hogged the grassy meadow and I have to say it looks beautiful.

July 20, 2023 —

It’s still hotter than July in south Louisiana around here. The Trail Wagon is still broken, but I’m hoping a new carburetor will get it going again. It’s also still very dry. We cut a wide swath around the perimeter of the meadows and I’ve been walking it despite the heat. Tall stalks of Water Cow Bane are just starting to open their blossoms and I’m looking for Swallow Tail eggs and caterpillars. None found so far but it shouldn’t be long. I don’t know how the heat affects the adults laying or the hatchlings.

July 2, 2023 —

It’s still hotter than July in south Louisiana around here. The Trail Wagon has some kind of mechanical issue the Captain is trying to fix so we haven’t been out in the meadows in a while. It’s also very dry. On the other hand the fishing is good. Went trolling for bass and caught six nice, fat ones. Paddling almost every evening around sundown when it cools down to 91 or so.

June 12, 2023 —

After a year or two with no sightings of a White Tail Deer, two does were spotted in the tall grass in the east meadow yesterday at sunset. It’s too wet to get out into the meadow, but after bush hogging early in the spring, we noticed the Sandswamp White Sedge was blooming again with a much larger patch than before.

May 17 2023 —

I was enjoying a little ride around in the meadows when I left the trail to check out a large bed of Pale Pitcher Plants. The phone rang and after a brief conversation I realized the Trail Wagon was stuck in the mud. No amount of rocking did anything but throw mud over my clothing, so I walked out. I did have time to notice a dramatic increase in the amount of Longleaf Milkweed, Asclepias longifolia, in the west meadow. Looks like the Whistling ducks are nesting in one of the boxes. Also, a lovely little Pearl Crescent on a patch of white clover and a Straight-banded Nursery Web Spider on a Pitcher Plant.

May 12, 2023 —

Rain overnight, but clear and beautiful this morning. On an early morning visit to the pond we saw a male Woodduck perched as a lookout on top of one of the nest boxes. No sign of his mate, but their regular visits to the feeding station with a couple of friends indicates they are both alive and well. Hope there is a family soon.

May 4, 2023 —

Beautiful, warm days consistent now in May. Five Wood Ducks on the pond today–four males. Still trying to get the tall grass bush hogged between rain storms.

April 11, 2023 —

Easter cold snap brought chilly temps on Sunday. It warmed a bit today. A low pressure system in the Gulf is predicted to bring downpours tomorrow, Wednesday.

March 26, 2023 —

Beautiful few days with warm temps bring out the critters. I started up the Trail Wagon and a long, skinny garter snake crawled out from behind the dashboard. I put a fish carcass and guts at the edge of the pond and in no time, two small water snakes came and began eating. They looked like the Diamond Back Water snake we saw last season, but much smaller. Caught a nice bass and a White Crappie on Saturday.

March 20, 2023 —

It was 32 degrees last night, but didn’t see any frost on the ground. It is COLD for this time of year. Did the usual Easter Cold Snap come a little early this year? I don’t know but it should be in the 70s. It is 55 degrees right now. Expecting a warming trend for the rest of the week.

March 19, 2023 —

It’s 42 degrees and the wind is at 13mph from the north. It is COLD for this time of year. Did the usual Easter Cold Snap come a little early this year? I don’t know but it should be in the 70s and there is a freeze forecast for tonight.

March 12, 2023 —

Cool. Still too wet to bush hog the meadow. Caught four White Crappie (Sac-a-Lait) on some sort of small brownish crankbait. Lots of pollen in the air. Blue Flag iris are blooming in the wetland. Four Wood Ducks and about 10 Whistling Ducks at the pond.

March 5, 2023 —

Warm, humid weather. Still a little too wet to bush hog the meadow. Two tractors and the jeep are stuck in the mud. Not a good day! The loon has left the pond. Caught two bass.

March 3, 2023–

A Common Loon was alone on the pond–a first sighting for this bird. It was too far away for a photo, but we are confident in the ID.

March 1, 2023 —

Warm, humid weather. No rain. The first group of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks arrived on the pond today. They migrated out in October, probably to Mexico, maybe south Texas. It was a welcome sight when all five headed straight for our feeding station. Time to clean out the nesting boxes.

February 11, 2023 —

Cool, rainy weather. But, all is well–the Wood Ducks are back! Is it the same ones who raised their family in the boxes last year? Don’t know, but they sure came straight for the corn and seemed comfortable around the domestic ducks who have been on the pond for years.

February 4, 2023 —

A week of very cool, rainy weather. Gloominess has given way to bright sun today and a warming trend. A quick ride around found a beautiful patch of beautiful Peach-colored fly Agaric mushrooms. They are fairly common in pine/oak regions and produce fruit from Christmas through spring.

January 23, 2023 —

Cold and rainy for the last three days, but now it’s a normal 60ish and time to get back out in the field and try to find something new. It’s a soggy mess, though, and impossible to explore with a risk of getting stuck in the mud and having to walk out. Check out some new species just added to the gallery at Native Species of Vista Farm including a Paper Pondshell mussel probably caught and eaten by the big white egret.