Random Thursday

Howdy, y’all. Today is National Golf Cart Day, and while I don’t play golf, we have a golf cart, because that’s what one does when one lives in a town of 7,000 people and five 18-hole golf courses (plus one 9-hole putting course with real turf and nary a windmill in sight).

For some reason, though, the local golf consortium refuses to let us on the courses with our cart. I can’t imagine why. Take a look and see if you can figure it out.

JK. Here’s our actual cart, all gussied up for the 4th of July parade a few years ago. But we still can’t drive it on the golf courses because it’s a “lifted” cart, so its tires and wheels are deemed to be hazardous to the delicate grass that are subject to mangling by actual golfers.

Today’s RT post features a few nature-related observations, including one seriously snaky video at the very end, and those with ophidiophobia will want to bail out before getting there (and I don’t blame you one bit).

Everyone has heard by now about the massive Cicada Invasion of 2024, and some of you may still be experiencing it. It’s not a phenomenon that affects us here in Central Texas, but we have our own multi-legged noisemakers: katydids.

Based on what I’ve seen on various social media, a lot of locals don’t realize that the cacophony they’re hearing isn’t being produced by cicadas. Katydids don’t have the same publicity machine as cicadas working on their behalf. But, believe me, they deserve major respect for their “vocalization” skills (and they’re also prettier than your average cicada). Here’s a short video to prove that…be sure to turn up the sound:

Here’s an explanation of the mechanics behind their “songs,” a very loose description, unless, of course, you’re a katydid. I was going to link to another website for this explanation, but the author also wrote about how pleasant they found the sound and how they like to fall asleep to the “songs,” and I have a strict rule against sending visitors to websites written by the clinically insane.

We’re not entirely bereft of cicadas around here. I’m fascinated by their life cycle, especially the part where they emerge as nymphs from their years-long underground tarry, and shed those ugly brown exoskeletons to emerge in their sci-fi personae. If one is really paying attention, it’s sometimes possible to capture the before-and-after in a single photo.

It’s a pretty amazing transformation…but I still contend that katydids are more pulchritudinous.

June is always a fun month in Horseshoe Bay because of an event called Boogie At The Bay (BATB). Each Wednesday of the month, the Horseshoe Bay Business Alliance hosts a free outdoor (weather permitting) concert on a venue overlooking Lake LBJ. We missed last week’s concert, but were able to attend last evening’s, which featured a band from Kerrville called Exit 505. The band’s name is a reference to the exit from I-10 that leads to Kerrville in one direction and to Harper in the other, via RM 783.

They put on a very enjoyable show, and showcased a wide range of musical genres (and skills — I counted at least a dozen different instruments, not counting kazoos).

I intentionally mentioned the kazoos, because one of their creative audience-participation ideas is to distribute those “instruments” to each person in the audience, and then invite them to hum along as they performed Mungo Jerry’s 1970 classic, In The Summertime. I must say that we as an audience were absolutely smashing. Watch for national tour details, tba.

This is the time of year when the whitetail does are dropping their fawns, and it’s always cool to encounter those little guys. We were on a bike ride a few days ago and were fortunate to view a mother nursing her fawn in a field as we passed. But it’s also the time of year when the bucks are growing their antlers, and for some reason that I haven’t investigated, hanging out with each other.

We watched these four guys from the walking path that circles our neighborhood. They tend to be more skittish than the does, especially when dogs are present (we were taking a couple on their morning walk).

Warning: Snake-related Webcam Follows

I forget how I ran across the Project Rattlecam website, but I confess to being a bit addicted to it. Some people enjoy watching bald eagles tend to their nests and that’s fine, but I find the sight of scores (possibly hundreds) of rattlesnakes slithering about in an undisclosed location in Colorado to be almost mesmerizing.

Here’s how Project Rattlecam is described on its website:

Project RattleCam is a collaboration between scientists from Cal Poly, Central Coast Snake Services, and Dickinson College. Our mission is to study and raise awareness about rattlesnakes, their behavior, and their importance in the ecosystem.

I realize that many (most) people feel that rattlesnakes (and all other venomous serpents) have no redeeming value, and that’s understandable. But the scientifically-supportable fact is that they do play an important ecological role, especially when it comes to controlling vermin. But that’s neither here nor there for purposes of this post. For those who have interest or curiosity in this natural phenomenon, here’s the live feed via YouTube.