Bigtex Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Absolutely WSA.......love that lil Rat! If I was in a survival situation, my money to stay fed is on the Terrier, the Ridgeback & Wolf are certainly good, but my Rat Terrier Izzy is a killin' machine:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) Nice hiking weather over the weekend, and had a new experience........there are a lot of dead & dying trees from the drought. They are a real danger if they fall on you, but can be dangerous on the ground too. Of course snakes like to hang out there, but many are hollow, and a great place for a Killer Bee hive. Blazed a new trail, came up over a ridge, and right there in a large downed Red Oak was the nest opening less than 10' from my face. I immediately retreated, but these buggers were quick to come after me.......heard their buzzing for a ways, luckily didn't get stung, and probably because I headed into thick brush instead of a more open area. My apologies for not getting a picture:) Careful out there.......lotta ways nature can get you, and time to be looking for the snakes. Edited April 13, 2015 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Here are some print pictures I've been meaning to post......first one appears to be a juvie print, and 3 pictures from a track-way in and along a creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Why is there only one track per picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) 1968......a very fine year indeed:) It is hard to find a track-way that can be photographed, unless in sand, soft soil, or snow, etc. The track-ways I find are usually very long, and do not follow the classic 'left-right-left-right' where the tracks can be seen one right after the other, like a human might leave, BF's seem to be very careful about this. A recent rain with fresh tracks afterwards is the best scenario, where you can follow a track-way, sometimes over several miles, with good tracks sporadically along the way, and being 'fresh'......you can (usually) attribute these to the same individual. Here's a track-way I followed for about a mile yesterday, rained Saturday night, was a fresh track-way but only yielded one decent print, and the rest were inconclusive disturbances along the way. This print was made from stepping off a 3' ledge heading slightly down an incline, resulting in a deeper print impact from the step-down, with more weight on the front portion of the foot, making it deeper than the heel. This had nothing to do with the track-way, but was nearby, and an older kill of some type of critter. Edited April 20, 2015 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) Here are several short track-ways 1968..........the Story, and several years ago - there is a fairly large man made lake near town, not used for quite sometime, and has been hidden in the woods for many years now. About 6 years ago during the drought, it dried up, and some of the old timers said it hadn't since being built 40 to 50 years ago. It was a great fishing lake too, with several species, and probably stocked at some point. Pictures of the Lake full during normal weather conditions, drying up, and finally dry due to drought.....Lucy is running around, and gives it scale (dry lake picture taken 2 years after it dried up). I was watching the reseeding water fairly often, and the poor fish in their ever shrinking pond. As the water got lower, there was sign of birds and other critters getting after them, but still plenty to go around. About a week passed, went by there, and the water was pretty much gone. There were at least 3 sizes of barefoot prints in and around the area where the fish had their last stand. Didn't find any fish, scales, or bones, NOTHING. The prints had come in from several directions, with none appearing to stop to put on shoes when back on dry soil.......I checked the dry areas closely. Not saying it's BF's, but certainly belonged in my 'Intriguing' file:) As a note.......the lake is now back full, and is the location for my BF sighting back in December '14. Edited April 20, 2015 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflower Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) Tex, That is perfect habitat for them. Hope you get some rain soon. Thanks for the great pics. Cheers Edited April 22, 2015 by Sunflower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTreeWalker Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Bigtex, I have enjoyed this thread from the beginning. I enjoy your pictures of your explorations and your insights into your experiences. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thanks for the comments guys, appreciated more than you know........no support from family & friends, in fact I'm a Closet-footer around these parts.......only here can I just be Bigtex:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTreeWalker Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Well keep it up Bigtex. I know how much family support means to me. I am glad to have it. The evidence I have presented has at least convinced some of my friends of the possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflower Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Sometimes family will come around but I will say it took me a very long time. I had to find out for myself. My brother and sister had one jump over their car on the way home from school. It was about a mile from my house, dark, November 1978 and right beside a game preserve. My place faced the preserve and there were some crazy sounds coming from across the road. I, though, was a blockhead and didn't believe them. Finally, did some investigating on my own around 2003-2004 and here I am. So, give your family some space, don't hammer on them and just be patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 I have never tried to push it with them, and have rarely mentioned it in over 40 years of searching......which is totally cool, no patience needed:) That's a really cool story....over the car, WOW.....please, give more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Holy smokes......was having a lovely hike today, found some cool 'teenage' prints, and saw this 7 footer just in time to jump out of the way. Folks, it was too dang close......if I don't jump, I'm tagged. I already knew about this, but the Hogs down here eat snakes, and the Rattlers have learned not to rattle. It wasn't until after his strike - and miss - that he went nuts rattling. Wolfy immediately took off without looking......she's soooo smart, but dummy Duncan the Ridgeback wanted that snake. I had to hit him 3 times with large rocks to get through to him.......better than a snake bite. The red arrow is my path and direction, it was coiled under the tree. Edited April 24, 2015 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtex Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Still thinking about where I would be right now if El Snake-o had tagged me, lordy. Anyway, here are some teen sized prints that I found yesterday, just before meeting Mr. Rattlesnake......FYI, other than getting the one picture, I left him be, and didn't try to kill him. The print pic with the red high-lights had amazing toe definition, with the ground material built up higher between the toes. Also, went by the location where I had my sighting back in December, and was surprised to see that the impressions he made while crouched down looking at me, are still there.......2 pics of that. I put my round throwing 'Thumper' rock down for scale, and is where his body was crouched. The other shows the low area he was crouched behind the tree, with both pics showing green marks where I think his hands were, throwing rock in picture too. As you recall......Wolfy found & flushed him from hiding. PS......as mentioned before, I always carry a good sized rock in my hand, the reasoning & fact is you can get it heading in the direction of danger faster than any weapon, and it works even if you don't hit your target directly. Edited April 24, 2015 by Bigtex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunflower Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Jeesh, I hate snakes, had several run ins with them. Luckily never got bit but the fear is there. Hope you are wearing snake proof boots and be careful out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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