Caretaker's note: Plant diversity is desirable to encourage a variety of animal species. Selections are made that are native to Texas. Plants that are deer resistant are left uncaged. Most flowering plants need to be caged to protect from deer browsing. One exception is the Blackfoot daisy (seen in the foreground of this photo).

In harsh conditions, no plants are safe from deer browse. Typically, deer avoid strong smelling leaves, like Rosemary, Lavender and Lantana.

Native plants require frequent waterings until they are well established in their new location, then they should do fine on natural rainfall.

Caretaker's note: Many frogs and tadpoles are found in the pond near the house. This juvenile has grown its legs, but the coloring on the back of its head is still in its youth phase.

Caretaker's note: Suggested remedies to reduce the spread of the Oak Wilt fungal disease are to treat individual trees with a fungicide and in larger areas, trenching 5 feet deep, is recommended. The trenching cuts the roots of the infected trees, and prevents the fungus from spreading through the intertangled root system.

Standard trenching plan: 100 feet from visibly affected area in an arc, with 2 lateral extensions on each edge out another 100 feet, which happened to be along a fence line in the southeast corner. Continue to observe this edge to catch any new infections. Leave standing snags for wildlife