When we bought our place several years ago I was determined to take good care of the roughly three acres of native tall grass prairie grasses that waved in the wind below my pond dam and up into a pecan thicket. I'd watched as the "natives" disappeared on another rural place we owned as cedars and briars overtook them in a place where I couldn't burn and it wasn't economically feasible to mow.

So, this spring it was evident the woodies (oak, sumac and wild blackberries) were beginning to catch up to my fairly decent stand of Big Bluestem, Indiangrass and Switch grass. (Little Bluestem is rare on my place for some reason). As an "anniversary present" my wife had a guy run his brush hog over the grasses in late June -- a romantic act one appreciates after nearly 40 years of marriage! The difference this fall has been astounding.

We've always had lots of Indiangrass with its fiery arrow-shaped heads lighting up the acreage in the late-afternoon sun, but this year, those neon arrows highlight a sea of purple -- the collective appearance of Switchgrass inflorescence. And, the tall "turkey-foot" reproductive growth on the Big Bluestem complements the scene in our own small nod toward what this country looked like 150 years ago.

The "woodies" are still present, and without a good spray program, continued mowing, or a controlled or "uncontrolled" burn (where I live I can't graze it), they'll continue to threaten the existence of grass stand. Maybe next year, for my wife's birthday, I can get her a new tractor and brush hog!!!