Pozzanghera has never been in my backyard.


According to that pussy (willow) Pozzanghera the following Wetland Tree and Shrub Species very important for wildlife food.

Tag Alder, downey service berry, hickory, hackberry, sugar berry, button bush, Atlantic white cedar, hawthorn, persimmon, Carolina ash, green ash, deciduous holly, myrtle holly, American holly, swamp tupelo, black gum, long leaf pine, pond pine, oak, weeping willow, black willow, arrow wood, nannyberry.

It’s actually not as bad as it sounds. I think the gigantic tree is an Oak, I have a Crape Myrtle which sounds like a cousin to the myrtle holly and the drug dealers shade my yard with their hateful, drippy, hackberry. I kill cedar on sight.

I looked and looked for what constitutes “wildlife” and was shocked how wild my backyard is.

Bugs gone wild

Dragonflies. I have dragonflies. I have seen them. They count. Damselflies, again, I have actually seen these. Score. May Flies, ditto, stone flies? Not so much. A Dobsonfly, according to the literature, these bite. No. Not in my backyard. Crane flies, yup. Waterbugs. Lets just say, not yet.

Then we move on to beetles. I saw one beetle. Big guy. So big, he was in the front yard and the back yard simultaneously. It scared the Dog.

We move on the crawfish. No Joy. Sadly. I know! I’ll go buy some for the cause. They can live in a nice pot in the kitchen. In nice warm water. Then, um, after, I’ll pitch the left overs in the back yard and say something killed my little crawfish babies and I think I should be a super fund site.

Scuds are more then just a weapon. Scuds are also a type of wetland creature, specifically crusaceum of the amphipod group. We move on to snails. There are snails slugs no leeches though. I draw the line at leeches.

Fish are a major player in the wetlands game. Too bad. No fish for me.

After the fish family, we have snakes. The less I know about whether or not I have snakes, the better. Yuck. Lets move on.

Turtles. I like turtles. I think turtles would do well here. I saw a huge turtle out in the world, going to the mall. It was dead but it wanted to go the mall. I feel the turtle going to the mall. I think I would make an excellent turtle mummy.

Frogs. I have no issues with frogs. Frogs are nice.

Okay. So far no leeches, no Dobsonflies, no cedar, no fish – what if I put a couple of feeder fish in Doggers bowl. Hmmm.


More fancy Wetlands Knowledge.

A Wetland has:

surface water - water above the surface of the ground that is in channels, diffuse flow or standing. Not necessarily permanent

temporarily flooded - surface water that is present during brief periods during the growing season, but the water table lies well under the soil surface for most of the season.

travel corridor - an area that is used by wildlife to move from one place of suitable habitat to another! God bless Daisy and her huge feet!

Water supplies – sources of water supply for drinking, culinary or food processing purposes as designative by Environmental Management Commission. I have a water faucet out there!

wrack lines debris such as sticks and leaves that get washed into small piles or lines as a result of surface flow or scour. Oh. My. God.

scub shrub - A wetlands class dominated by woody vegetation less then 20 feet tall. Gawd, this is like, all about my yard!

seasonal flooding - I’m feeling damp now!

snag - a standing dead tree with a DBH (the hell? ) of at least 10 inches. Daisy has killed everything out there smaller then she is.

Okay. It’s settled. I want my grant money, my gift shop and my Park Ranger.


What else makes a muddy mess into a prospective wetland? A threatened newt? , night fishin’ rednecks? , those rednecks using that threatened newt for fishing?