



Winter in Swoope. I walk along the banks of Middle River on our farm in search of treasure. Dexter, our Border Collie usually walks along with me but he passed on and I sure miss him. Cold air seeps through the opening in my collar; the brown, frozen grass crunches...
Let me apologize right up front to all my ethical hunter friends. Thank you for hunting. It is a true American tradition and it’s needed to manage wildlife populations. Hunters also feed the hungry. But today I gnash my teeth and rub myself with ashes because of the scum...
I finally found a plant that will take over tall fescue – wingstem, but I’m not sure I like it. Let me explain. Both plants are invasive, tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is a non-native invasive plant; wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) is a native plant that is invasive.
Here in Swoope, it’s been raining for three days – we’ve had 10.5 inches of rain.
This week’s flood prompted this post on how we deal with floodwater from our river with our cattle. It was an out-of-bank flood event but it didn’t wash our cattle crossing out because we’ve learned to work with the river not against it.
“Bobby is a force of nature! And with this compilation of his blog posts, musings, and articles, we gain insight into farming, family, and the forces that shape the Shenandoah Valley he calls home. I enjoyed his humorous yet direct writing style as he shared personal and professional observations on conserving the natural landscapes that, quite literally, feed and nourish us.”
Atlantic Coast Pipeline . calving . calving season . Chesapeake Bay . Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint . Chesapeake Bay Foundation . chesapeake clean water blueprint . clean water . Clean Water Act . Climate Change . Climate crisis . Conservation easement . Conservation Reserve Program . Earth Day . endangered species . EPA . feral cats . Green Ash . livestock exclusion . loggerhead shrike . Middle River . native prairie . non-point source water pollution . Northern Bobwhite . Princess of Swoope . quail . riparian buffer . riparian buffers . riparian forest buffer . riparian forest buffers . Shenandoah River . soil erosion . stream fencing . Stroud Water Research Center . swoope . Swoope almanac . tall fescue . tmdl . water pollution . water quality . Whiskey Creek . Whiskey Creek Almanac . Whiskey Creek Angus . Whiskey Creek Regenerative Farming . wildlife habitat
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