We’ve had dozens of people walk into the Payne County Extension Office this fall asking for help in identifying an unusual fruiting tree. Turns out it’s not unusual at all, it’s just unusual for native Mexican plum Prunus mexicana to fruit in this part of Oklahoma. The weather conditions must have been just right this spring […]
Last week’s storm inflicted some serious tree damage in isolated parts of the area. What was most striking at first glance were the number of mature trees that were down, with clean breaks at or near the soil surface. It takes a LOT of wind to produce that kind of damage, more than the weather […]
Does this look familiar? Given the shape of the web, funnel spider seems like a perfect descriptor for this common landscape spider. While that does usually identify it in our part of the world, grass spider (Agelenidae family) actually the most widely accepted common name. Using the term “funnel” can also lead to unnecessary worry for […]