More Ceasar weed

I went out to do some followup work on the large Caesar weed patch I found near the fire lane and started checking around and found another large patch to the east.

I got most of the stalks with seeds, but have to go back and get the new plants before they spout seeds. I also found some more trash in the process, so I'll bring a bag when I come back.

I also cleared one the paths/haul routes of Guinea grass,which has invaded.

Bobwhites

I have seen bobwhites here from time to time over the years, but now it's possible the post-burn landscape may be more attractive than the overgrown conditions in the past.,

In recent months I have occasionally flushed some bobwhites.

Last night I heard two of them calling.

Interesting.

Schlepping the stones

Yesterday afternoon I took care of a chore that it was time to deal with.
After the burn last year I uncovered some large chunks of concrete in the rear area of the preserve,
I took the wheelbarrow out and hauled five loads of them out and deposited them at the main driveway along with the other debris I'd collected and recycled.
Good exercise after a day in an office chair.

School of scrub

Yesterday I hosted some students who are studying Florida ecosystems.

Lake Blue Scrub turned out to be a convenient site for a quick tour for classes on tight schedules because it is less remote than other scrub sites and you can see quite a bit in a short time.

There was plenty to see.

I showed the students several of the rare plants, the experimental scrub lupine site, sand skink trails in the sand and what one kind of ecotone looks like.

A couple of them took me up on my offer to try a gopher apple. They agreed it's delicious.

It was fun to share .

Transplanting, weeding

Hot, sweaty work this time of year. On Friday Marian Ryan and I dug up some Hercules Club that had grown up into the fence and took them to Circle B Bar Reserve for transplanting in the butterfly garden,

Saturday a Ridge Ranger group weeded the newer lupine patch. Plants seem to be doing well, but drought has been rough on older plants, which died after blooming.

Sunday I finished cleaning up area where we dug Hercules Club and removed Guinea grass around walk through entrance to keep the patch clear.

Bugs and bug hunters

As I was surveying the butterfly population and checking on things this afternoon, I suddenly caught movement ahead of me.

A pair of American Kestrels were, well, hawking just above the regrowing low tree line, probably in search of large grasshoppers, of which there are some at the moment.

The Ceraunus Blue numbers are gradually recovering from freeze and drought. Today I saw 57. which is the most in three years and far more than I've seen anywhere else in Florida, particularly in so small an area.

Pulled a few Caesar Weed along the western fire lane before they formed seeds. I may control this weed yet.

Surprise in the palmettos

I was checking on the Ceasar weed patch I' ve been clearing and encountered a series of barely buried trash piles. Then I found more under a patch of palmettos nearby.
By the time I was done, I had uncovered enough to fill two trash bags.
This was a bit of surprise because I thought I had already checked this area for trash, but the palmettos have turned out to be a frequent dump site. I recall finding some transmissions in this general area in the palmettos.

Ceasar weed roundup

Yesterday afternoon I finished uprooting/.bagging a dense patch of Ceasar Weed not far from the fire lane where it had been rife in the past.e

I will have to monitor the section, but it seemed easier to do it now while the new plants were emerging and most had not formed seedheads than to wait.

Wish me luck with this experiment.