First Snow

The prairie had its first snow of the season this morning. It did not stay around long. Every bit was melted shortly after 10 AM. Fortunately, I took a couple of pictures of the white stuff before I left for work.

In all my 20 (times 2 and plus a couple more) years, I do not recall an earlier snowfall in Dallas.

Open! Open! Open!

It's been cloudy, wet, and frequently cool almost every day this month. A few days ago, I found this little butterfly perched on the flower buds of a white mistflower bush. It looks like he is just waiting for the flowers to open.

White mistflower, Ageratina havanensis (possibly Ageratina wrightii), is a butterfly magnet. The weather guessers say we will have a few dry, sunny days before it starts raining again next week. This should be enough time for the flowers to pop open. When that happens, the plant will be covered with butterflies, bees, wasps, flies, and various other insects and reptiles looking for a feast of one kind or another.

Be patient, little guy. It won't be long.

I used to have a lawn, but now I have...

I used to have a lawn, but now I have more...

...more plant diversity,

...more recognition and appreciation of the changing seasons, January 2009

May 2009

September 2009

...more wildlife,

...more pathways for wandering and more time for wondering.
Now, I have so much more than I could ever have with a lawn.

Earlier this month the Lawn Reform Coalition launched its website. The goal of the organization is to promote change in the American lawn.

The typical American lawn is doused with chemicals to make it green and free of insects and disease. Lawns are flooded in more of our precious drinking water than necessary to keep them green. Lawns require regular maintenance that creates noise and air pollution. After all that work, the lawn is a sterile, monoculture environment that does little to support wildlife and it looks just like the one next door.

Susan Morrison, one of the members of The Coalition, is running a contest on her blog Blue Planet Garden Blog to win a copy of John Greenlee's new book The American Meadow Garden. The premise of the contest is to fill in the blank: "I used to have a lawn, but now I have ______." Thus, the purpose of this post. I believe in the cause and I want a free book!

Check out the Lawn Reform Coalition website and Susan Morrison's website for more information.