Ah, March in Texas. As much as everyone wants to joke about Texas weather in general, the real fun is waiting for the week of St. Patrick’s Day/the vernal equinox, because just about anything can happen. Tornadoes, dust storms, snow…stick … Continue reading →

This last week, Dallas’s weather confirmed the general warning I give people about any kind of gardening, whether with carnivores or any other plant: don’t make plans to get anything in the ground until after St. Patrick’s Day, Sure, the … Continue reading →

The weather may shift back and forth, but at least the Triffid Ranch has a warm and dry space indoors. The March open houses continue this Saturday, running from noon until 5:00 pm, with free admission and masks being highly … Continue reading →

A preamble on the enclosure backstories: With enough dedication, almost anything can become a source of energy. Gather enough dead flies and pile them up, and the options increase, depending upon the gatherer’s needs and resistance to revulsion. When that … Continue reading →

March is always interesting around the gallery: as expected, March 2022 so far is a cross between a frilled lizard and a common house cat. Not that this is going to last, because things are going to get weird. Now … Continue reading →

We’re now into March, which means that the kidney stone of calendar months is finally over. As things start to warm up, keep an eye open for outdoor events toward the end of the month and into April, culminating with … Continue reading →

(Background: this essay was one of several columns commissioned for the magazine Gothic Beauty between 2009 and 2011. Since the magazine hasn’t published a new issue in years, it’s time to drag up a few of these old columns so they can … Continue reading →

Five years ago this week, the last vestiges of the old Valley View gallery moved to the current locale, and Dallas hasn’t been the same since. The fifth anniversary celebration of that move became decidedly bittersweet with the surprise move … Continue reading →

A public service announcement for upcoming open house attendees: the original plan was for Caroline Crawford Originals/Tawanda Jewelry to stay in the front of the gallery until the beginning of May 2022, but apparently the timeline was moved up. As … Continue reading →

It’s back on schedule: the Fifth Anniversary (At This Location) Open House is on for this Saturday, starting at noon and running until 5:00 pm. Over the next few weeks, the flytraps and North American pitcher plants will be waking … Continue reading →

A preamble on the enclosure backstories: Not all of Earth’s monsters were myths, and not all of them remained on Earth when they had the opportunity to escape. Of all of the great menaces from humanity’s distant past, a few … Continue reading →

A preamble on the enclosure backstories: A standard physics thought experiment: the gravity well around a black hole is so tremendous that matter or energy cannot escape, but information could possibly escape. The unspoken implication: what kind of information? Merely … Continue reading →

No gallery activities this weekend due to necessary errand-running in anticipation of March renovations, but the Triffid Ranch’s fifth anniversary (at its current location) open house starts at noon on February 26, and most of March will be packed with … Continue reading →

And it’s done. The move from the ex’s house is now complete, and with it the move of all of the plants, containers, and accoutrements. Leiber’s ashes now sit on the mantelpiece of my new house, the reference bookshelves were … Continue reading →

For those keeping score at home, you’re not imagining things: the gallery is hosting a lot more open houses than usual. That’s for a lot of reasons. Firstly, because we’re still in the dead of winter and we still have … Continue reading →

Bad weather is coming through the Dallas area, but it’s coming through after the weekend. In the meantime, the Texas Triffid Ranch Valentine’s Day Massacree and Carnivorous Plant Open House is still set for February 12 from noon until 5:00 … Continue reading →

A preamble on the enclosure backstories: Do you ever really think about where your garbage goes? Of course you don’t: you went to college because your parents were on your case about “go to school so you can get a … Continue reading →

As seems to be par for the course for the Year of the Tiger, it’s an exciting time around the Triffid Ranch. Fiona Forney at the Richland Chronicle, my alma mater’s school newspaper, added an interview in the February issue … Continue reading →

It happens so often that it’s a Dallas punchline: make any plans on the first weekend of February, expect an ice storm to hit right when the event starts. And so it was with this Lunar New Year, with massive … Continue reading →

Icepocalypse or no, this Saturday is the big Texas Triffid Ranch Lunar New Year open house, running from noon until 5:00 pm. It’ll be cold (it seems as if this weekend is always the one with the massive Dallas snow … Continue reading →