A few days ago, before our second windstorm and third or fourth Logan County wildfire in a week, I began eradicating eastern redcedars from my rural garden and our surrounding landscape. The winter landscape in the back garden in 2010 shows the size of the eastern redcedar which we cut down a few days ago. Eastern redcedars are out of control in Oklahoma. I have never liked eastern redcedars, Juniperus virginiana, unless we're talking about one of the named cultivars like 'Taylor' or ''Canaertii.' Even then, I would be careful where I plant any tall juniper, and I wouldn't plant one near my home. Rural Oklahoma is being overtaken by junipers. In rural Oklahoma, eastern redcedars have swallowed up acres of land shoving aside other native species with abandon. They also burn like flaming torches, and suck up gallons of water that Oklahoma doesn't have. A new law attempts to...

It's that time of the month for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day where we show what we have flowering in our gardens. First, the weather It's been extremely warm, dry, and windy in Oklahoma this week, and there are still fires burning this St. Patrick's Day. I'll be glad when things calm down. Also the Eastern redcedars (Juniperus virginiana) are in pollination mode so the air quality isn't great. I have some residual trauma from the Simpson wildfire two years ago, but I'm basically ignoring the fires today so I can post about beautiful things instead like flowers for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Don't worry, I have the Watch Duty app on my phone that alerts me to any changes. These clear blue pansies are wonderful in these terra cotta pots. This is one of my pots out in front of the house. I slapped a hellebore it it, surrounded it...

Newly diagnosed alpha-gal syndrome patients frequently ask, "What should I eat?" This is understandable, given that many are only told they must eliminate mammal meat from their diet after receiving their diagnosis along with a prescription for two Epipens. People wrongly think avoiding red meat is enough, but it's actually mammal meat of all kinds that should be avoided. Some of P. Allen Smith's heritage chickens before his barn burned down. Chicken is a safe protein for alpha-gal, What is alpha gal? Alpha gal syndrome is both a food allergy and a tick-borne disease. The allergy is complicated because alpha-gal (galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose) is a sugar found in most mammals, but not humans, old-world monkeys or apes. Because it is a sugar instead of a protein, allergic reactions can take hours to emerge. However, if you react to airborne scents like cooking meat, severe reactions can be rapid. So, fill those Epipen...

I've been planning on downsizing my garden piece-by-piece, bed-by-bed, for years. Why am I downsizing? Putting together Vego garden containers. I love my containers because they make gardening easier. This land and I have had a long and fruitful relationship. I've been growing in this space for 36 years. If you give a plant nut 7.5 acres to grow, you'll end up with an extensive garden, or maybe several gardens. I had great freedom, and I ran with it. I presently have 1.5 acres under cultivation, and I need to downsize it to an acre or so. That's still a lot of garden for one person and perhaps, a helper or two, to maintain. Then, there's the meadow, which is about an acre as well. Everyone's favorite view of the back garden. I can't stand the thought of letting my garden become weedy and overgrown. It's like when people stay...