The Log House Farm

Here's a fun, brief article on mycorrhyizal fungi. I'm trying t boost this fungal presence on the farm with new mowing practices (=infrequent) and exploring alternatives to tillage for vegetable production. Tillage=fungal community destruction.
http://www.untamedscience.com/biology/ecology/mycorrhizae/

How do mycorrhizae work? Explained Simply Mycorrhizae and plants are mutually beneficial.

Was lucky enough to hear and record this guy tonight outside the kitchen window. He was loud! Need to steward more bugs and maybe I'll hear him again.

Chuck-will's-widow Learn how to identify Chuck-will's-widow, its life history, cool facts, sounds and calls, and watch videos. Listen at dusk and at night for the rolling, seemingly endless call of the Chuck-will’s-widow. If you are lucky and have a keen eye, by day they can be found resting motionless on the ground o...

There are thousands and thousands of bees that are not honeybees out there, pollinating our flowers and helping plants produce food. Who knew? Learn more: http://www.cornucopia.org/2014/04/bees

Garden classes by working farmers in DFW! This Saturday... Register now.

Gardening With Biology Classes! | barkingcatfarm | Barking Cat Farm Get off to a great start with your vegetable garden in 2014 by learning how to garden by working with your soil biology and using organic techniques. Kim Martin of Barking Cat Farm & Heather Rinaldi of Texas Worm Ranch will be teaching. You can attend just one of the classes or attend both for a dis...

Darned good advice...

Take a little good Advice from an old Farmer:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life... Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Don 't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around..

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight,
he'll just kill you.

Skunk woke us up by spraying outside on the porch. Twice. The good news is 1. she survived the encounter and 2. skunk smell fades by the 2nd day. http://www.wildlifenorthamerica.com/Mammal/Striped-Skunk/Mephitis/mephitis.html

Striped Skunk | Mephitis mephitis | Mammal Striped Skunk : Striped skunks have black fur with a white stripe that starts on the head and forks into two stripes down the sides of the back. The stripes usually...

First ever bumblebee sighting here! She was foraging on the wild sunflowers.

Image from http://www.equark.sk/index.php?cl=article&iid=819

Glad I caught this in Rowlett and not here on the farm. These guys are tree borers. Large (1.1") and pretty though. Ivory Marked Beetle (Eburia quadrigeminata)

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Ivory-Marked-Beetle

Via Chickens Magazine - Flashback Friday: "Two boys give a presentation about chickens," circa 1940.

(Courtesy National Archives)

Flashback Friday: "Two boys give a presentation about chickens," circa 1940.

(Courtesy National Archives)