Outdoor
Assignment: Texas with Russell A. Graves A Prairie in Pieces – Part 1
By Russell Graves
Less than 24 hours ago, rain fell on the prairie. A spring thunderstorm, spawned just a few miles southeast of here, rumbled its way toward Oklahoma. Along the way the storm dropped about two inches of rain on the patchwork of prairie, wooded draws and cultivated farmland in western Lamar County.
Before the sun ever rose, Tridens Prairie was already waking up. Frogs creaked and groaned in the subtle light of dawn, trying their best to attract a mate and multiply while conditions are optimum. Flitting across the top of the vegetation are birds I cannot identify at first. It’s not until one lands in a nearby tree and starts to sing that I realize it’s a dicksissel. Its warbling song penetrates the still, humid morning.
Tridens Prairie isn’t necessarily all that pretty by conventional measures. To the untrained eye, it looks like a tangle of weeds or an old farm field that’s been left fallow. The beauty of this place, however, is in the diversity of plants that populate the 97-acre patch of ground that’s never been turned over by a plow.
To read more pick up the April 2015 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By: Jelly Cocanougher
Delicate microbes buried just beneath the surface. We walk by them, unbeknownst to us. Spores, spawn, and sclerotia, each with distinct characteristics. It is said that these fungi are all connected, speaking to one another as they populate the earth. The interconnectedness of all living things and the decaying world, such beauty lies within these otherworldly alien organisms.
By: Landon Moore
Landon Moore is the Wise County 4-H President and a member of the Wise County 4-H County Council. He is involved in beekeeping, as well as raising rabbits and poultry.
This essay was one that he wrote, and it was named the champion for both the Texas and National chapters of the Foundation For The Preservation of Honey Bees.
Varietal honey is honey that comes from a single source.
This honey has a flavor derived from the source flower and can even have a similar scent. In general, lighter colored honeys have a more subtle taste and dark honeys are more intense. Varietal honey has been compared to wine, in that honeys produced in different years can be distinguished, even if they come from the same flower and location.
This phenomenon is called terroir and is responsible for the individual taste of each honey harvest.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
Early in the summer, I was sent a press release that caused one of those holy wow moments. The headline said it all, “Proven Winners ColorChoice Expands Catalog with the Addition of Hollywood Hibiscus.”
I had already become familiar with the Hollywood Hibiscus series and was thrilled that the Proven Winners was adding this to their lineup.
This flower is nothing short of beautiful and exhibits prolific flower production. The flowers show three distinct colors, deep red in the very center, then the majority which is a rich rose pink with lighter pink to white along the margins.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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