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.
Drone Blown
Show of hands: who remembers Rosie from The Jetsons? [Ed – Nobody. If you’re old enough to remember the TV show, you’re too old to remember anything about it.] Rosie was the family’s robotic housekeeper. Almost six decades later, we’re still waiting for a Rosie to come along and rescue us from the burden of… Continue reading Drone Blown
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?”
Stranger Things in the Back Yard
I haven’t had much activity on the game camera lately, possibly due to the fact that the batteries were dead. Once I figured that out, I replaced them and set the camera on a step on our back porch, facing out into the yard. When I downloaded the images this morning, there was our neighborhood… Continue reading Stranger Things in the Back Yard
Nature…as I see it
One of my goals in retirement is to spend more time with my camera, doing some creative things with it and Photoshop. I’ve managed to check off a few projects on a rather lengthy list, so yesterday I grabbed my macro lens and ring flash and went hunting. Here are some of the subjects that… Continue reading Nature…as I see it
Paging Dr. Dolittle (or “Is someone building an ark?”)
I’m not a parent so I can only guess at the accuracy of what I’m about to say. I suspect that at some point in every child’s life, they realize that most of those dire parental threats (“If you don’t behave, Santa isn’t coming.” “Your face is going to freeze like that!”) are idle, and… Continue reading Paging Dr. Dolittle (or “Is someone building an ark?”)
This possum isn’t playing
Well, I may not be able to outsmart a raccoon, but that doesn’t mean I’m a total trapping failure. Last Saturday I awoke to find that the door on the trap was closed, but through the bathroom window I couldn’t identify the occupant. I got dressed and walked through the back yard and around the… Continue reading This possum isn’t playing
Scoreboard: Raccoons – 2, Me – 2
Alert Gazette readers will recall that I was feeling pretty triumphant after the capture of not one, but two marauding raccoons who had been brutalizing our lawn. I’ll admit that I was sure the human race could be proud of the way I was representing it in the mammalian biped-vs-quadruped battle. Alas, pride goeth before… Continue reading Scoreboard: Raccoons – 2, Me – 2