The Sula-Richards Farm consists of 136 acres located in central Texas, in Milam County. The farm is approximately 15% open pastures and 85% woods. In addition, there is one pond on the property at this time, a man-made tank that we call Turtle Pond.

The woods on the farm are consistent with the region, known as the Post Oak Savannah, with the large amount of overgrown understory that is common for the area. Most of the understory consists of yaupon, American Beauty Berry bushes, and small cedar trees; however, other bushes, vines, and trees can also be found in the understory. Other than the clearing done many years ago to create the pastures, there has been relatively little development on the Sula-Richards Farm. This history has made this land very well-suited for conversion to a Wildlife Management Plan.

Wildlife Management Plan

When we bought the farm from Joni's parents, we decided to pursue obtaining tax status for the farm under the Wildlife Management Plan provisions. This allows us to keep the equivalent of the agricultural tax exemption that the farm had for the many years during which Joni's parents raised cattle on the land. There's significant work involved in both preparing the Wildlife Management Plan and in implementing it. However, I can say that once our plan was approved by the county tax offices, we have found the work involved both interesting and rewarding. It's definitely a continuing learning experience.

To read more about the process and the plan, go to this link for details on the Sula-Richards Farm Wildlife Management Plan.

Wildlife Study and Photography

One of the more enjoyable aspects of our farm is the opportunity for nature study and photography.

Birds. A good number of birds can be seen on the farm, either as permanent residents or as migrants. We have started doing regular bird counts and plan on continuing that activity. Bird counts are not only enjoyable, but can be an important part of monitoring how we are doing in our land's wildlife management. Here's a list of bird counts that we have done:

Game Cameras. We also use game cameras to monitor animals on the farm. For the most part, the game cameras capture photographs of mammals. The most frequently photographed mammals we have found on our game cameras are hogs, deer and armadillos. More infrequently, we also find coyotes, skunks and foxes will make an appearance. Opening up the memory card and viewing a week or two's worth of photographs is always interesting and exciting. You never quite know what you will find.

Game Camera Number 1

Game Camera Number 02 (2008)

Game Camera Number 04 (2010)

Hunting and Birding Blinds. For Christmas 2008, I gave myself a present of a portable hunting blind. My main intention was to use this for bird photography and it has been a great tool for that purpose. If I ever actually hunt any of the hogs, I will use it for that as well.

A Field Guide to the Sula-Richards Farm. However, nothing is as enjoyable as just walking around with a camera and see what you can find. To document my photographs from the farm and the many species of plants and animals found there, I have created an online field guide.

Here's a link to my farm field guide pages.