“Eric…come quick!” I was sitting in the office late yesterday afternoon when I heard MLB‘s overly excited summons from somewhere in the middle of the house. I ran out to find her staring out the living room windows at something in the front courtyard. “Oh, man. That’s a water moccasin. Keep an eye on him… Continue reading Snake Mistake
Category: Texas Hill Country
Beaver Believer (or “See…canadensis!”)
It’s probably common knowledge that beavers slap the water with their tails as a warning about – or an attempt to startle – potential predators. They also tend to swim with their heads slightly above water but with their bodies slightly submerged. So, you may be ask, why are you – a native Texan living… Continue reading Beaver Believer (or “See…canadensis!”)
The Fugitive Fox
It’s been a quiet couple of weeks at Casa de Fire Ant, at least from a trapping perspective. I haven’t bothered to bait the raccoon trap for a variety of reasons — laziness being at the top of the list — although the armadillo trap has been armed and routinely ignored. I assume that either… Continue reading The Fugitive Fox
Outfoxed
In my role as a wannabe trapper I’ve grown accustomed to being outsmarted by raccoons, who have frequently escaped with the bait without being captured. However, I’m now being outfoxed by an actual fox. Here’s what happened last night: I didn’t catch footage of the sardine abscondishment, but the tin was missing in another video… Continue reading Outfoxed
A New Year’s Day Surprise: Ice Flowers
New Year’s Day in the Texas Hill Country was a cold, dreary, and breezy one. Temperatures hovered in the 20s for most of the day, and the sun never made an appearance. It was a good day for staying inside, eating black-eyed peas, and watching football. That was basically my agenda for the day, until… Continue reading A New Year’s Day Surprise: Ice Flowers
Building the Perfect Beast
The power of reason, the top of the heap We’re the ones who can kill the things we Don’t eat … And now the day is come Soon he will be released Glory hallelujah! We’re building the perfect beast — Don Henley [1984] With apologies to Mr. Henley, who likely didn’t anticipate his lyrics would… Continue reading Building the Perfect Beast
Hiking Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve
In 1969, a wealthy visionary named J. David Bamberger — co-founder of Church’s Chicken — bought 3,000 acres of land in the Texas Hill Country a few miles south of Johnson City. Over the next few years, he increased the size of the ranch to its present 5,500 acres. In 2002, the Bamberger Ranch Preserve… Continue reading Hiking Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve
Another day…another skunk. This time, with 100% more me.
I woke up around 4:00 a.m. a few days ago (hold your snark; you’ll be old someday, too), and detected the unmistakable odor of skunk. I found this a bit unsettling, but not enough to get out of bed to investigate. I rolled over and went back to sleep. A few hours later, I opened… Continue reading Another day…another skunk. This time, with 100% more me.
Pepé Le Pew Deja Vu
Alert Gazette readers – and, really, aren’t you all? – will recall that I successfully, if foolishly, released a trapped skunk a couple of days ago without incident other than an elevated heart rate. I decided to give the trap a night off, but re-baited and re-armed it last night. I figured that a trapped skunk… Continue reading Pepé Le Pew Deja Vu
Skunk Works, or — “Do you smell what I smell?”
Alert Gazette readers know that I began documenting my critter trapping adventures last summer. Since then, I’ve caught armadillos, raccoons, possums, and one pretty stupid cat. The captive count has ballooned. In fact, I had to expand the Critter Capture Scorecard to accommodate all the new “guests.” Here’s the latest version: Uh…notice anything different about… Continue reading Skunk Works, or — “Do you smell what I smell?”