Cajun Prairie Gardens

http://www.cajunprairiegarden.wordpress.com

Marc will maintain this page for your information.

Malcolm

We have just finished a new book. This one is on mites–mites have long been the focus of my interest. I wrote both a thesis and a dissertation and now 6 books about them. These mites do not have an immediate link to prairies, but they are linked. They occur in mussels in streams that drain prairie soils, and the loss of the hydrological features that create streams by runon recharging of springs that feed the streams and bayous and rivers. The loss of this recharging is destroying our rivers–the home of the mussels and their mites. What happens in the prairies dramatically affects life in the streams.

You can read about the mites and the book at my site http://www.unionicola.wordpress.com .

Malcolm Vidrine (malcolmvidrine@yahoo.com)

 

 

We have completed 3 new books on the Cajun Prairie in the recent months. Nearly 900 pages contain text and photographs depicting the history of the Cajun Prairie Project in Eunice,  the Cajun Prairie Gardens and the historical remnant prairies that were studied in the 1980s and 1990s.  These books expand the information presented in our textbook, The Cajun Prairie: A Natural History, which was published in 2010 and is currently out of print.

The books can be previewed and purchased at the http://www.blurb.com bookstore. The books are available in the following formats: e-books, hardback and paperback tradebooks with matte-finished paper, hardback and paperback photobooks with satin-finished paper and a hardback photobook with paper cover wrapper. Blurb is an on-demand publisher of our books–it occasionally has sales on its books, especially the photobooks.

Gail and I have finished our new book on the gardens. Once again, we published it at http://www.blurb.com. Blurb provides the opportunity to publish the book in many formats:

• pdf
• ebook
• soft cover and hardcover tradebook
• soft cover and hardcover photobook
• hardcover with wrapper photobook.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Malcolm and Gail Vidrine

http://www.blurb.com/b/9188917-the-cajun-prairie-gardens?ebook=684098

Saturday (May 5) was prairie training day for Master Naturalists from the Lake Charles area. Dr. Tommy Hillman organized the day. The group visited 3 prairie restoration projects in Eunice: The Cajun Prairie Restoration Project (30 years old), Cajun Prairie Gardens (20 years old) and Shallow Lake by Vernon Fuselier (15 years old).

After a real winter in south Louisiana, the prairies are busting into their late spring blossoms. The Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society meets next Saturday (May 12) in Eunice for their spring tours and meeting. Check http://www.cajunprairie.org for details. I plan to be placing images of my gardens at a new site http://www.cajunprairiegarden.wordpress.com — so check that site out in the near future.

My powerpoint presentations are attached.

Malcolm Vidrine (malcolmvidrine@yahoo.com)

general prairie ecology for MN

cajun prairie for MN

Spring has come to the Cajun Prairie Gardens, and I will be posting this year’s activities at an alternative site, namely http://www.cajunprairiegarden.wordpress.com . Marc has been very generous with this site, and I will use it occasionally.

The site began as the layout for a book, and I think that it has served that agenda well. I will close with a short list of accomplishments.

Malcolm (malcolmvidrine@yahoo.com) March 11, 2018

accomplishments

A powerpoint presentation.

 

milkweeds and monarchs

The Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society is meeting in Eunice on Saturday, the 8th of April. We are having an auction to help support our maintenance program for the Eunice Prairie. My donation is a group of Louisiana Irises and the photos of these is here attached.

iris auction

We prepared this a couple of years ago. But as things usually go, we were challenged elsewhere. Anyway, here is our lamentation for the Frey Prairie remnant, which provided us with not only a tremendous amount of data but also seeds and propagules for hundreds of prairie species now growing in numerous locations around Louisiana. What a piece of prairie this was!

120716 malcolmvidrine@yahoo.com

 

frey-prairie-lament-final-version

I am preparing a talk for the meeting, and I have decided to post the powerpoint in advance. I will probably make a few changes and finalize it later in the week. Updated on October 13.

Malcolm Vidrine (malcolmvidrine@yahoo.com)

102216