Mandarin tree re-homed

Yes, alas, I have re-homed my Texas satsuma mandarin tree. She was just getting so big and tall that it was getting harder for James to move her in and out of the garage come winter. Not to mention she had outgrown her small corner, as you can see in the photo. 

 

As of today, my mandarin tree is now at the best place possible – the home of Dr. Tim Hartmann, an assistant professor and extension specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in College Station. He has a PhD in horticulture and specializes in fruit. What's more, he and his wife, Grace, have a greenhouse on their property. Happily, my mandarin tree – a Mother's Day gift to me in 2004 from my son Patrick –  has a whole new career ahead of her. Thanks to Tim's grafting knowledge and expertise, she'll be the mother of many future mandarin trees that will be a part of a future orchard planned by Tim and Grace. Best of all? Tim and Patrick have been long-time close friends since grade school. So the mandarin tree's still in the family!

I'll miss her!

At her new home!

Notes to myself

Two Sundays ago, I collected seeds from some small purple asters that grow outside the front doors of the First Baptist Church in Blanco. I'm not sure of the species. This afternoon, I finally spread them where I think they'll be protected if they germinate. Some briefs rains yesterday and drizzle today should help in that department. 

Porcupine!

Earlier this week, James and I drove out to our property northwest of Blanco. On my own I went down a trail. It wasn't long before I spotted something nosing around in the grass.

"Psssst, James," I whispered call to him. Together we watched a North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum). My first one to meet in the wild! As he/she waddled away, I took a short video. So cool!

Very defensive wolf spider

All photos and videos by James Hearn

So James met up with this cranky wolf spider last Wednesday (December 3) on our driveway. He emailed me his photos and videos (I was with my mother). Wow! At first I thought she was an aggressive huntsman spider. But no, this is a wolf spider, probably Hogna baltimoriana. We'd never seen one act so defensive. Had she maybe been stung by a wasp? No, too chilly for winged insects.  

 

I sent the videos to Eric Neubauer, my wolf spider expert/Texas Master Naturalist friend. He was intrigued with her odd behavior and shared the videos with Russell Pfau, a professor in the biological sciences department at Tarleton State University. (I worked with the pair to write First-Name Basis, a November 2024 essay in Texas Co-op Power magazine about their efforts to name a misidentified wolf spider – Hogna incognita.)

 

"I think this belongs in the category of why are there distinct ventral markings?" he wrote Pfau and me. "I've noticed that individuals will rarely flash their ventral side by flipping over. They also can end up on their backs while subduing prey and flip back upright as soon as they have it in their jaws. I've seen females with young end up on their backs and assumed they were top heavy, but maybe it was to protect their young."

 

He sent us a link to similar behavior he found on iNaturalist: California wolf spider. 

 

Always so interesting to observe nature! 

  

No second spring

American beautyberry

Alas, there will be no second spring this October. Usually, this time of year we have a second bustin' of blooms. But with no substantial rains in the past few months, it's just been a plain bust. Most of our plants are really struggling. The difference, though, is I don't worry as much as I used to. After the rough summer of '24, our native gardens still looked good this past spring. We'll see how everything how it goes this time around. 

Velvetleaf mallow

Turk's cap

Lindheimer senna

Trumpet creeper

Plateau goldeneye

Texas lantana

Tithonia

  

As a general rule, we try to plant only natives. But I gave in last week and bought six tithonias (Tithonia rotundifolia) from the Arnoskys at their Blue Barn. I've seen how tall they grow there and how they do indeed attract a lot of butterflies. This species is native to Mexico and Central America. We'll see what happens!   

Mandarin tree

Normally, my Texas satsuma mandarin tree (‘Miho’) puts on fruit every other year. Last October, we picked a good number of mandarins. Then this year – SURPRISE! – it put on two mandarins. I think it's a way of telling us good by. I'm hoping my son's best friend will adopt my tree before the first freeze and rehome it in his new greenhouse. We just can't move it back and forth into our garage any more. Plus, it's really getting big. Believe it or not, I've keep this beauty alive since May 2004, when my son gifted it to me for Mother's Day. 

October 10, 2025 UPDATE – We peeled our last two mandarins. Oh, my! They were sweet, sweet, sweet!