Sparkle Farm

08/13/2024

I think I need this tattoo.

05/25/2024

We got a tad bit of a late start this year. This table should have 20 jars, bowls, and scattered bits of veggie carnage.

There were exactly 2 pickling cucumbers ready this morning so I rounded up some dill, garlic, and thinned out the onion patch to make exactly one, 1 pint jar of fridge pickles.

One more month of spring please, oh please. Do it for the pickles.

03/02/2024

If any of y’all are looking for some kid friendly plant activities this morning, come out and visit us at the Asian American Resource Center.

We also have a lot of great info for getting those veggie gardens going.

https://www.austintexas.gov/event/aarc-its-my-park-day-gather-and-grow

Travis County Master Gardeners

Help us get the Asian American Resource Center’s Senior Garden ready for another year of growing! This one-of-a-kind cultural center is a part of Austin’s Parks and Recreations Department, and this year, we’re gathering in the garden to give back.

10/20/2023

I’m channeling some Navin Johnson phone book energy this morning.

My night blooming cereus night bloomed!

My night blooming cereus night bloomed!

06/11/2023

I think I got the ID correct on this monster.

Tachinid Fly: Juriniopsis (Juriniopsis adusta)

I was about to phone an exorcist when this giant hairy bear of a housefly started posing for me on the porch. It turns out, unless I'm a caterpillar or some other unfortunate creature that this fly lays eggs on or IN, they are harmless and even beneficial around the garden.

Tachinid Fly: Juriniopsis (Juriniopsis adusta)I was about to phone an exorcist when this giant hairy bear of a housefly started posing for me on the porch. I...

01/23/2023

I honestly thought that the gray fox sighting would be a one-off, but the saga continues. We got ourselves a little fox family.

01/19/2023

This little cutie has been visiting every night. Full disclosure, I left kibble out last night for one of Robyn Roberts' possum rescues that she released last week. First come, first served on the snacks out here.

01/15/2023

Gray fox from last night.

This was a nice treat to see on the game camera. A gray fox marks his territory on some old pecan shells.

12/01/2022

Am I a Nutter Mother? A Grandpa-cahn? An endocannibalist?

After three years and a considerably thirsty season for our poor trees, I have exactly one pecan from the first tree that I successfully grafted.

The variety is ‘Desirable’ and supposed to be a lot larger. The shell was easy to crack and the meat looks tasty. I’m going to toast a half with this evening and chalk it up as a win.

05/17/2022

Any winged creature bigger than a quarter always puts me slightly on edge. Add a bright orange butt and menacing micro-faceted google eyes and even this seasoned back yard baron gets a little wary. That is exactly what the perfectly harmless Mydas Fly wants you to think. I'm a big, bad wasp and if you try to eat me it will not be a happy meal. A quick post to the handy iNaturalist site revealed to me that they are all bark, no bite, and despite their appearance are actually quite nice to have around.

I also picked up a quick tip on softening my knee-jerk bad bug reactions.

Things with stings have more than two wings.

Four wings to be exact, at least in the wasp, hornet, and bee department. To get real, real nerdy about it, the mydas fly is in the order Diptera which literally means 'two wings'.1st place on your scary halloween costume, Mr. Fly but I am on to you.

If y'all are lucky enough to spot one of these gentle giants in your yard, I hope you have the opportunity to give it a pass so it can go about it's work as a native beneficial insect.

02/21/2022

12/08/2021

Only two wood ducks have been tootin' around the creek this year, but hopefully they are making a few more.

07/28/2021

Sigh.

There was literally a video advertisement for Round Up in the middle of the attached article.

One of my oldest memories is of my Aunt Margie singing "There Once was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly" and squealing with laughter at the anticipated belly tickle that came with her verse, "wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her." I can only ponder that level of innocence now.

Like all good nursery rhymes, this gem drags a deeper meaning that time-releases in perfect harmony with crow's feet and brow furrows.

We are facing a reckoning from 100 years of being in a lawn cult.
That poison doesn't just kill the one bug that you hate on the label.

That other poison, you know, the "good one". The "safe one". There are quite a few beneficial plants that they conveniently leave off that label as well.

Your St. Augustine is no saint either. It is never going to look like the picture on the bag. Each individual blade of grass is a moisturized and highly compensated model trying to lawn-shame you. Don't fall for it.

These magic greening sprinkles aren't just being lapped up by fantasy house fronts either. All manners of algea are getting hopped up on these steroid-like fertilizers that are endlessly trickling into our water sources. Not even taking into account the frequency of red tides happening around the globe, dogs are literally dying around Austin from algae blooms.

Dogs.
Dogs are dying from algae blooms.
Dogs, some of them very cute, are dying, because of your lawn.
Dead dogs. Your lawn.

Next time you are looking at the carefully marketed 'wanted posters' on these labels, go ahead and picture Fluffy, alphabetically, between the crab grass and nutsedge.

Please try to limit your pesticides, herbicides, and inorganic fertilizers around your home. They are usually the first domino in a disastrous chain.

"I don't know why she swallowed the fly. I guess she'll die."

02/12/2021

It's difficult for bird species to survive during extremely cold weather. Here's what you can do to help.

02/12/2021

March 2020 Update: click this link. I’ve just updated my “Winter-kill” list, adding information from last winter to update for this winter’s planning. For several years, 201…

02/03/2021

These ducks are squirrly, but I did manage to grab some rough, but distant footage of them this morning. Three males and two females. It is the beginning of their nesting season and this may be the only time I post a video as I do not want to encroach or spook on their business. Wood Duck hens are known to lay and hatch their ducklings in the same area that the hens, themselves, were hatched. This makes 5 years running that I have seen a small flock this time of year and I cannot help but wonder if these are multigenerational.

01/24/2021

The wood ducks are back! Ok, this is last year's footage because you basically have to belly crawl the last 30 yards to the creek to not scare them away, but I saw them this morning. I pinky promise swear. They are my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdfuoZzY_QM&feature=youtu.be

01/12/2021

I realize I am late to the game on this info, but thought I would share for those of you relying on curbside for the hardware stores.

01/04/2021

I present to you my first go at an old man generalization farmer observation....

"If them Gray Redhorse Suckerfish are moving up the creeks, it'll be hotter than a goat's butt in a pepper patch in a matter of weeks."

12/28/2020

Christopher Castleberry spotted a Juvenile Red Shouldered hawk hunting in the backyard this afternoon.

12/21/2020

Sparkle Farm is proud to announce that our little farm stand is up, running, and socially distanced. Please check out our pecans and seeds on our page or on our online store. We are only accepting online orders and they are ready for pick-up the same day the order is placed.
We also have a porch drop off option for a small fee or message us for shipping options.

Our cute little wooden baskets of delicious make great gifts.
https://sparkle-farm.square.site

12/20/2020

11/05/2020

One of my chores on the daily is to 'seek and destroy' invasive species. Privets, Brazilian vervain, Bastard cabbage, and the allelopathic and cattle toxic Whitetop share the spotlight as 2nd place irritants, but no plant gets further under my skin than plain ol' Johnson grass.

It may be plain, but this grass is not average in it's obtrusiveness. One plant can spread by rhizomes (think bamboo) up to 200 feet, all while flinging seeds like playground snot that stay viable for up to 20 years. Not overly competitive enough for ya? Extreme heat, cold, or drought conditions induce it to produce toxic levels of everyone's favorite international spy poison, cyanide.

We have managed to control it enough to give plenty of natives a healthy chance in our little ecosystem and it has paid off all up and down the food chain. The uptick in diversity and populations of native birds, mammals, plants, and insects has been a welcome sight around the Sparkle Farm.

A lot of folks would have gone herbicide and started from scratch, but we have enjoyed discovering all of the volunteer species come back into their own. We will continue hand pulling our little micro prairie until things tip back into balance.

Chris suggested we get a keg when all this covid mess is over and invite some friends over to comb the invasives out once and for all. He said, "Let's have us a good ol' fashioned Johnson Pulling Party".

I don't trust any of our friends with that particular theme. I will just do it myself.

11/04/2020

A little break from the gloom and doom of all of the feral hogs. This healthy 6 point does not seem to mind the IR emitters at all as he grazes along Walnut Creek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oOTsVrUAzQ&feature=youtu.be

A little break from the gloom and doom of all of the feral hogs. This healthy 6 point does not seem to mind the IR emitters at all as he grazes along Walnut ...

10/21/2020

and I are doing a light zhuzh on the bathroom.

I have seen these razor holes in medicine cabinets used to a certain degree in other remodels, but wow.

For those in pre 70s homes, how many punk rock starter kits do you think are hiding in your walls? Kinda creepy, even for 2020.

10/19/2020

Every once and awhile, when Walnut Creek goes dry, the feral hogs cross. Sometimes this is in our favor when they leave, although I do not wish them upon our neighbors. This month, they have crossed back over to our side with new litters in tow. Here we go again.

10/17/2020

Penelope Casserole has taken to paying me a visit each and every morning. She calls out with these adorable chirps and I do my best/worst to answer her back with my colloquial and questionable Eastern Phoebe whistle. Most times I cannot even see her because she is so far away in the top of a tree, but she does not waste any time in coming to perch on my finger, head, or phone.

10/12/2020

Spoiler, not bees. I thought this was a hive of ground nesting bees, but after footage with a better zoom, I'm lucky to have not been stung (or poison ivy for that matter). It was a bee hole full of B-Holes a.k.a. Yellow Jackets.

10/10/2020

More adventures with our new bird friend this morning at Sparkle Farm

10/07/2020

We have an Eastern Phoebe that has been around for a couple of years. Recently she has decided that it's ok to start landing on our hands and heads while she looks for bugs to eat. Her name is Penelope Casserole and she definitely has boundary issues for being a wild bird.