Field Full of Flowers

by Donna Lewis

The pastures at our place did not get mowed during the time we normally do that this spring. I really hate to mow at all.  Too many little things live there.

The rain and strange weather threw our normal twice a year mowing off. So, we have very high grass with dewberries and other various stuff everywhere.  You cannot even walk through it. 

The wildflowers have stopped blooming. So, while we thought we should mow it. But, I looked out and there were morning glories on top of all the grass with hundreds of butterflies everywhere. What a beautiful sight.

So it is always good to consider who is using your pastures.  You might need to wait until they are finished and then mow. Mother Nature never mowed her fields…I like to learn from her.

So just to make my other half happy, I said she could mow just around the edges. So now the butterflies were happy, but something else was not. The toads starting hopping for their lives.  Oh boy!  Most of them were Gulf Coast Toads.

So I walked ahead , caught all I could see and carried them to safety elsewhere. I just couldn’t let them get run over. I rescued about 20 or so.

Another day in the life of a Master Naturalist.