Bigtex Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 We got the South leading edge of that storm, high winds, and about 20 minutes of intense rain. But the parched ground soaked it up, was completely dry by afternoon, and didn't even add water to the creeks. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who suffered during this storm.......crazy weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tracker Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hey BigT I do more reading in this thread than posting. But i wanted to ask about that huge wild fire you got down there . Are they containing it, are many people in danger, is it near you, whats the 411 on it? thanks Tracker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks for asking Tracker.......we are OK here for the time being, fires are well West of here now. I am worried about my research area on the Brazos River near Possum Kingdon Lake though, the whole area is on fire up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 (edited) Haven't been hiking very much, it's just so dry, and I worry about my dogs drinking nasty water in the bush. The watering holes are few, and the remaining ones stagnant & nasty. Bad news from the Brazos.......looks like my little research area got torched pretty good, and I'll be going there after the fires are out to see what's left. Here's my little private pool under normal conditions, and now......about 6' down. Also, a little baby Brown Bat, fell out of his tree hollow, I put him back......a Ribbon snake.......and some hair poop......yummy. Edited April 22, 2011 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Some signs of Spring, one of the few spring-fed pools that has nice water, and a assume Polyphemus caterpillar, which turns into a gorgeous & huge silk moth. Hard to believe it's flooding other places, and not to far off.......yet we are in the middle of a severe drought, WEIRD weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) Found some interesting prints yesterday in a recently dried creek bed that had been stagnent for a while, and had a film of moss on top before it dried. The print was made roughly 4 weeks ago when the creek bed was still moist, with the layer of moss resting over the mud, but no standing water. First picture is an old footprint of mine, circa the same time & place, and must have been made just before the others right in the immediate area......hadn't been back there since until yesterday. And two pictures of one of the better prints that I found nearby; first picture is in 'as found' condition, and the other one I had pulled back a section of the moss, showing it was still green underneath. The green underneath moss helps determine age too. Notice how the lift-off stage of the toes caused a layer of the moss to peel back and fold over to about mid print. Print must have been heel first at a slight angel, as it cut through the layer of moss, and pushed it to one side. Toe impressions were more noticable 'live', and had slide impressions caused by the lift-off phase. The print should stay relatively intact if the weather stays dry.......could try to cast it. Edited May 4, 2011 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 I have heard of marking your territory, but this is ridiculous. This is a huge poop pile, of all shapes, sizes, species, and has obviously been happening over a long period of time. The leaves are covering a lot of it now, but this thing is about 8' X 3' X 2 to 4" deep! It is located in and around the base of a large Live Oak tree at the top of a 40' cliff, growing right on the edge, and is also the location of a game trail that leads from the bottom. Any animal down in the creek bed would use this game trail to reach the top, or vice versa......nothing unusual about that, see it all the time - why lay a turd? Never seen anything like this, has anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 That's a lot of poop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKD Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 (edited) That is one big pile of... Edited May 7, 2011 by TKD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UnknownHairyOne Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I have heard of marking your territory, but this is ridiculous. This is a huge poop pile, of all shapes, sizes, species, and has obviously been happening over a long period of time. The leaves are covering a lot of it now, but this thing is about 8' X 3' X 2 to 4" deep! It is located in and around the base of a large Live Oak tree at the top of a 40' cliff, growing right on the edge, and is also the location of a game trail that leads from the bottom. Any animal down in the creek bed would use this game trail to reach the top, or vice versa......nothing unusual about that, see it all the time - why lay a turd? Never seen anything like this, has anyone else? Yes. It's just a matter of convenience. They obviously spend much time up there observing hunting sleeping. I am sure it's rather convenient to just drop a turd in their designated spot instead of walking long distances to a spot. A friend in the NE found a spot similar to that you've described in the same situation (high cliff where it appeared they ate, slept and obverved (spent much time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) The poopies are smaller, and I am about 99.9% sure this has nothing to do with our favorite subject. These are medium sized animals doing this, and represent several species. Should probably dig through some of it to look for content, but it's a bit nasty and smells.......tried to get one of my dogs to leave a little pile, but they wouldn't go near the area. Yup, and I know some of you are thinking the same thing......but the wifey might wonder why I came home with just one sock on:) Edited May 8, 2011 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 What a nice cool (88) overcast day to hike, and was about 3 miles from my truck.....when I hear thunder and distant flashes in the sky. It's official, this part of Texas is in its worst recorded drought so far this year, but this approaching storm sounded like a biggie, so I started counting at the next big flash - 1....2....3, and on 10 the thunder - storms about 10 miles out. Started heading back to the truck double-time. Waited 5 minutes, and counted another flash.....storm is 7 miles away now, and moving fast. Anyway, just barely got myself and the dogs back to the truck within minutes, if not seconds, before the sky unleashed......WOW, we need the rain! All was not lost however......had to check the poop tree on the way back, and a rather large deposit since the other day (swear, not me or the dogs). Then decided to take a game trail near the tree down into the ravine as a short-cut, came between these two rocks, and a very aggressive baby buzzard jumped out, fanned his wings, and hissed at me........pictures below. I kept the dogs from messin' with him, so he's fine.....a future garbage man that works for free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Really cool finding the baby buzzard! The tree restroom has me stumped...amazing find, catching what's doing it is problematic tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) Here's my friend from 2 years ago Buzzy.......watched him grow from a chick, and even brought him meat scraps. He got to the point where he kinda liked me comin' around with treats. First picture shows him in his little cave waiting for a snack, second picture is when he was all grown up in the top of a tree, and the last picture shows the really nasty stinky animal guts his parents would regurgitate while dive bombing me. They never hit me with this nastiness, but came very close. Edited May 11, 2011 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 What an amazing weekend to hike, and spent over 6 hours out in the woods Saturday & Sunday, including two good scares. Nothing BF related, but nevertheless, always good to stay frosty out there at all times. The first picture is a cool waterfall, dry now with the dogs looking down at me. Just a little further down this dry creek is a drainage pipe that goes under a public dirt road......no biggie, but there were 3 wild hogs in this thing when I came up on it, and with the dense brush, it was sudden & offered a few tense moments. The two smaller hogs hauled ass out the other end, but the Boar came out on my side giving me a menacing glance, before the dogs chased him off. Tried to get a picture of the hogs, but was thinking about climbing a tree first......took a pic of the newly named 'Piggy Pipe'. Next is an amazing huge old Live Oak tree, Shadoangel has seen this, and is 100's of years old. I was taking pictures of the tree and was hit 3 or 4 times in the face in quick succession by flying insects. These were warnings for sure, plus I was being 'marked' for attack. A few seconds later Killer Bees started pouring out of a hole in the tree......time for me to haul ass now, at least 300+ yards, and keep moving. As soon as I felt safe, I stopped & rested a bit, and there was a dead Buzzard, probaly killed & eaten by a Bobcat, as he was consumed in a cat like way - ass end first. Mmmm.....now I'm hungry, and the rains last week brought out the beautiful white flowers everywhere, plus some nice Blackberries. Of course, carefully dig up the white flowers and you'll find tasty wild onions.....ate a few of those, and had Blackberries for desert......surprisingly I was full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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