Photo: Oso, our German Shepherd male, being prepped for surgery after being attacked by a feral hog. Note the puncture wound oozing blood on his abdomen. This blog didn't post to Facebook as it was supposed to. I've been told this has been fixed. This is the second test to see if that ... Read More
Dogs
Early Dewberry Warning System
Photo: Blondie with purple dewberry stains from rolling in dewberries. Note the purple patches behind her shoulder and on her upper haunch.Every early summer, we go dewberry picking on the farm. Susie makes jam and cobbler from the berries. We have large patches of dewberries, but they are a bit ... Read More
Official Start of Summer on the Farm
Photo: A male Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after being captured in our backyard. The sure-fire indicator of the beginning of summer on the farm happened March 27th this year. This was a full month earlier than last year. For comparison, read my blog from last year, ... Read More
Maybe I can get some invertebrates identified, finally.
Photo: Grandnephews, grandnieces, and nephew’s girlfriend’s daughter returning home from a visit to our greenhouses to see the fish. Our German Shepherds, Oso and Maya, are providing escort and security. Our nephew Devin Rokyta, his girlfriend Anndrea, Anndrea’s daughter, and whole passel of ... Read More
Baby Texas Rat Snake
Photo of Oso apprehensively observing the baby Texas rat snake he had captured. The day before winter solstice, the official start of winter, Oso, our male German Shepherd Dog, and Sunshine, our female rescue mutt, went missing mid-morning. Suspecting they weren’t up to anything good, I went ... Read More
The Attic Monster
Photo of the Attic Monster in a live trap. He's not very happy about it. Thanksgiving night about 11:00 PM I was awakened by a loud noise. I immediately thought of the live trap I’d set in the attic above our bedroom. Maybe I’d caught the current attic monster. I asked Susie, my wife, “What ... Read More
Rescuing a Baby Cardinal
Photo: Rescued baby Cardinal perched on fence. This afternoon our German Shepherds (Canis lupus hybrids), Oso and Maya, and I (Homo sapiens) were walking up to the yard from the greenhouses when the dogs alerted to a distressed chirping sound in the grass off the path. Following the dogs I found ... Read More
Life and Death on the Farm via a Squirrel
Photo: Me up a tree next to a squirrel nest. No, I’m not the squirrel! One recent afternoon Susie, my wife, and I were sitting in the living room reading and doing Sudoku puzzles (we’re real party animals!) when the dogs jumped up and rushed outside. Simultaneously, a hawk began screeching in ... Read More
Copperhead Bites Sadie
Photo: Sadie on sofa about a half hour after being bitten by a copperhead. I hadn’t planned on blogging about copperheads any more for at least a year, but Sadie our son’s family’s rescue pit bull was bitten, so here goes copperheads again. In previous blogs I’d explained that copperheads ... Read More