farm fauna

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

Signs of Summer on the Farm

Photo above: The farm's first sign of summer, a rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after being captured in our yard.   We know the beginning of summer on the farm not by calendar, but by nature. The clearest sign of summer is snakes. Specifically, rattlesnakes and copperheads. The ... Read More

Roof Snake

As we continue our recovery from Hurricane Harvey, on a Sunday in late March 2018 I was on the roof finishing the removal of a large blue tarp that had been keeping our roof from leaking during rains. I had to remove and replace it because our insurance company required me to pull it up for ... Read More

It’s Going to be a “YUGE” Snake Year

Photo: A large female Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after capture and prior to relocation. No, this is not a political post. It appears that we are in for lots of snakes this year, hence the “Yuge!” We usually see lots of snakes; after all we’re in the country and ... Read More

Update on Fingernail Clams, Sphaerium corneum

Photo: Closeup of three Fingernail Clams, Sphaerium corneum, on a finger. Okay, I thought I could get away with a short blog (see my previous blog: http://goliadfarms.com/fingernail-clams-sphaerium-corneum/), but right off the bat its shortness and lack of natural history led to a question from ... Read More

Fingernail Clams, Sphaerium corneum

Photo: Some fingernail clams on a hand. The few spiral shells are dead pond snails. A couple of years ago, we started noticing some small white, translucent clams living in the bottom of some of our vats. I idly wondered what they might be. It wasn’t until I read an article by Sara Sneath a ... 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