Ah, fall flowers, dogs frolicking in the dog fennel, and mysterious molds, all on a morning walk.
And chiggers. Most likely Trombicula alfreddugesi, aka Eutrombicula alfreddugesi, in the genus Trombicula, family Trombiculidae.
Whichever species of arachnids, cousins of ticks and spiders, these ones will make you itch for days. They can raise red welts and send you to the doctor seeking steroids. You don’t want to see pictures of that.
![[Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale]](http://www.okraparadisefarms.com/pictures/2022-09-18--dirt-dogs-plants-fire-pit/20220918_084342.jpg)
Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale
After the prescribed burn, it’s a lot easier to see, and there are more gopher tortoise burrows than we thought.
Here’s another Gopherus polyphemus near the road. It’s good there are so many. Gophers are a keystone species, hosting Continue reading
Fall in south Georgia:
Picture by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms,
Lowndes County, Georgia, 5 October 2013.
-jsq
These are the same longleaf planted in 2008, blogged 10 October 2010, burned a second time 
16 December 2011, and greening and candling again February 2012.
Pictures of Gretchen Quarterman with the planted longleaf (Pinus palustris)
by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 17 April 2012.
Almost all of them survived the prescribed burn, and many of them are quite tall. The planted little bluestem and big bluestem are also thriving, along with native verbena, and some less savory invasive exotics, including trash along the road. Plus Gretchen’s favorite: dog fennel! And along the fence row cedars, pecans, plums, grapes, wild cherry, and a gopher tortoise. Here’s a flickr slideshow:
We didn’t know there were any longleaf at the bottom of the pond, but the white candles are unmistakable:
Pictures of Longleaf pine (Pinus Palustris) by Gretchen Quarterman
for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 April 2012.
The needles are also longer than on the nearby slash pines:
Continue readingThis is a road, at least a hundred years old, after a prescribed burn:
Those are mostly slash pines (Pinus elliottii), with one or two longleaf and some oaks.
-jsq
Yellow Dog and Brown Dog pointing:
Can you see it there, between the wiregrass and the oak log?
Back in December
we burned some planted longleaf.
Six weeks later, they’re greening up and candling.
I couldn’t find a single longleaf that didn’t survive.
Even ones that a few weeks ago you would have thought
were burnt sticks now have green leaves or white candles
or both.
Here’s a slideshow.
Pictures by John S. Quarterman 29 February 2012.
-jsq
