Critters continued

Here are some more photo's of the local fauna. Enjoy and please don't be afraid to ask questions. Thanks everyone!

eastern ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus

I found this handsome fellow under an old bucket yesterday. They are very docile and quite harmless to humans. They are the only species within their genus and have rear fangs and are poisonous. However the chance of being bitten is so darn remote due to the tiny size of the mouth. They bite their prey (worms, slugs, frogs, salamander and lizards as well as juvenile snakes of other species) and constrict. The venom eventually kills or incapacitates its meal. The venom is not produced in regular poison glands like a rattlesnake but in tiny organs called Duvernoy's gland which is located directly behind its eye. They rarely even attempt to bite a human and this would seem to prove that their poison is used for feeding rather than defensive purposes. They are fairly common, but being nocturnal, they are seldom seen. Special thanks to Annie for doing the photography and for sharing my love for all things natural.

American gree treefrog Hylidae cinerea

American gree treefrog Hylidae cinerea

 Another common resident here at the property. At night they like to climb the office window where Annie and I work and ambush the light loving insects. Cute little critters, aren't they? By the way, they are the state amphibian for Georgia and Louisiana.

Here's a full grown one-about 2 1/2 inches long perched on an elephant ear stem.

Copes Gray Treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis

Copes Gray Treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis

Copes Gray Treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis

 Anyone see the skull and crossbones on his back? That design would be more appropriate to a poison arrow frog from Central America.

Copes Gray Treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis

This handsome little guy is usually found hiding during the day under debris and comes out at night to eat. No two Copes have the same pattern. Each is individual and as you can see in the last photo it is very good camouflage.

Again, due to unauthorized use, I must repeat, all subject matter and photo's are my personal work and are in my copyright. Please don't republish them without my permission. Thanks! More to come so stay tuned!

Some Florida critters I've met

I live in the area of Florida called the Big Bend which is where the pan handle coast curves northward on its west to east swing. Or east to west if you really care. Take a look at a map of Florida and you'll see. The area is sub tropical and unlike south Florida we do have a winter, though you wouldn't think so with yesterdays temperature being 80. This climate is highly conducive to a preponderance of animal species or in other words there are a lot of critters around! I remember seeing way too many snakes when I took survival class at Eglin AFB up near Crestview a long time ago. I've only seen two snake's here on the farm since I've been here-a juvenile black snake with a BIG attitude and a very docile corn snake. The only alligators I've seen were at the St. Marks River wildlife reserve. Of course the famous little anole or so called chameleon is everywhere. One day we caught around 25 just on the buildings here at the farm. They work on the local bugs so we let them all go after our little bit of fun.

Spiders are another story. I have seen dozens of different species here on the farm and it amazes me that I have seen NO black widows around since they are supposed to be so prevalent. I saw way too many up in Idaho but not a single one here. Yet. There are some huge orb weavers here such as the golden orb weaver or locally called the banana spider due to the shape of its abdomen. I read where they bite but not sure how poisonous. They build the most fantastic webs! Another one new to me is the orchard spider with its fluorescent looking orange and green markings. There is a big, beautiful lynx spider living in the banana trees. I see him buy the porch light some mornings taking care of any lingering insects. Another locally named spider is called the crab spider. I'm not too familiar with a lot of spider names but this name seems appropriate.

Every morning we see signs of armadillo digging during the night. They make a conical hole in the ground in their search for insects. From what I've read the eat earthworms and grubs as well as other critters. The local opossums are healthy and thriving. The neighbor has live trapped a few and we take them out in the way-back and release them. Ugly critters.

Here are some photos to give you an idea of whats going on here in sunny Florida. Please remember that these photo's are under my copyright. Feel free to download or "save image as" for your own personal use as long as you don't publish them. Enjoy!

                                                                           Alligators

                                                                         Anole's

                                                                          Spiders

spinybacked orbweaver Gasteracantha cancriformis

spinybacked orbweaver Gasteracantha cancriformis

              

daring jumping spider Phidippus audax

daring jumping spider Phidippus audax

orbweaver Araneidae

orbweaver Araneidae

green lynx spider Peucetia viridans

green lynx spider Peucetia viridans

green lynx spider Peucetia viridans

southern house spider Kukulcania hibernalis

orchard orbweaver Leucauge venusta ?

unknown orbweaver

to be continued.......

Florida-Busy Making Preps and Life in General

Well, I made it through the hot and humid Florida summer. This has been a typical subtropical winter with highs being in the hi 70's today. Water is NOT a problem here! There is so much of it coming down. We had one day where there was a rainfall of 4 inches in a little over 10 hours. With the right storage system a person could store a lot of water for the garden. Speaking of gardens, we have our winter crops in and new seeds are under the lights right this minute. I have been checking out the local fauna & flora. The variety of insects is incredible, especially the spiders. Of course there is the Florida state bird, the mosquito. I hate those things with a passion but I have seen a few of the local "insect repellent" plants such as dog fennel and beauty berry. I tried beauty berry leaves this summer and by darn, it works! As a plus the berries are edible and can be used for making jelly and have medicinal properties. We, my fiance Annie & I, are selling some local natural items in our eBay store as well as the usual stuff. Look on my eBay link at the top right column to see what we have if you're interested. This economy is getting very rough and we are barely making it but we work hard and by the Good Lords blessings we do OK. I am doing research and some things with yaupon holly, Ilex vomitoria. The famous "black drink" was made by the local Native Americans from it, and I plan on seeing if selling the leaves for tea is feasible. The yaupon has a caffeine content that is less than coffee or tea, but enough to satisfy any craving for caffeine. "Dry, unprocessed yaupon leaves contain between .65 percent and .85 percent caffeine by weight. Coffee beans are about 1.1 percent caffeine by weight and tea leaves about 3.5 percent caffeine," according to a University of Florida article. As a plus they are rich in certain vitamins and antioxidants. I can reach out the bedroom window and grab a handful of yaupon leaves, its that abundant down here. Kind of like sage brush out in good ole' Idaho. Worth a web search if you are interested. It was used in the 1800's and during the Civil War as a coffee and tea substitute and unlike some other substitutes, it stayed around for a while until coffee became more plentiful and cheaper. I've read where birds will eat the berries but only as a last ditch effort in late winter. They must be considered as a "starvation food" among our feathered friends. Also, the wood is very nice and has been used for turnings, inlay and carvings. I removed the biggest yaupon I have ever seen from our goose pen. It was 20+ feet tall and about 6 or more inches in diameter. I am cutting it into 3 foot sections and sealing the ends. We have an aviary that's not in use so I'll stash it in there till its dry enough to use and sell. I don't know how well it does as a green wood for carving and I've read that the holly's have a nasty habit of cracking and checking if it drys too fast. Here are some shots of the local yaupon bush's. I'll be posting more interesting stuff in the near future as time permits. Thanks everyone and enjoy the holidays!

Gators, bugs and beautiful women

I am living in Florida now. The land of alligators, bugs and very green forests. I met the love of my life and decided to leave the ranch in Idaho for greener pastures, so to say. I loved Idaho but I am down right tired of the cold winters and the dry western states. I have a ton of photo's and have been learning about the local flora and fauna so will post some pics tomorrow. I also have an Etsy store where I'll be selling some things. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RealNature?ref=l2-shopheader-name I have some nice old petrified wood from Colorado for sale and will be putting it up soon. I have a few photos listed and will be working at listing more, too. If anyone has suggestions on good books about Florida plant life and ethnobotany, please feel free to let me know. Thanks in advance and I'll be posting more soon.

My fiance, Annie, and I

Baby gator at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge-about a foot and a half long

Update on the fire and the heat wave

Here's a link showing video of the fire in the Owyhee mountains of Malheur county, Oregon . The view on the video is the same as I had from my living room window here in the Spirit Ranch area. I heard on the news tonight that 70 square miles have been burnt. Amazing. The heat and dry weather combined with high winds did a nasty job but nature always restores and next spring the burnt area will probably be full of wildflowers. Most of the area is rabbit bush and some cedar and sagebrush. Hopefully there will be a lot of survivors. The fire tankers were flying in and out all day from Gowen Field in Boise http://www.museumerica.com/national-aerial-firefighting-museum-concept.html. I didn't see a sign of any smoke today so I think things are well under control.

The wind from the storm that caused this fire was gusting at least 40-50 MPH. The next night the wind from a similar storm reached gusts of 60-70 MPH here at the ranch! It did a lot of damage to the roofs in the neighborhood and knocked down a few tree's here on the property. I had a huge, half dead elm take a fall and it messed up some of the old farm vehicles here but not too badly. I spent most of the morning chasing junk out in the adjoining fields and picking up plenty of dead wood (read:firewood!)

The heat wave ended yesterday with a high of 102 degrees and today it got up to 98 degrees and is slowly going back to normal. It was rough working on the ranch and in the garden but life is good and God is good. I found myself enjoying working in the "cool" 90 degree weather today. Odd how fast we adapt to natural conditions. But, I still drank plenty of water and Gator Aid!
Take care everyone until next time..........

Crazy weather, heat, wind and a forest fire

Wow! Its 109 degrees here in the Treasure Valley! We are having quite a heat wave here in the northwest. Working in the garden past 10AM is torture. Fortunately everything is in the ground and its just maintenance such as watering and weeding. Last night I watched a thunder storm roll in from the west over the Owyhee (pronounced OH-WHY-HE) mountains and the lightening show was terrific! I saw where a particularly bright bolt struck and a minute or so later I noticed an orange light. I thought someone was 4 wheeling up in the hills so I got out my Minolta 8x to 20x zoom binoculars and set them on the tripod. Sure enough the lightening had set a wild fire. In a matter of a few hours it had spread over several thousand acres. The wind was terrific and helped it along. Today the Snake river valley is full of smoke and I can't see across the valley to the Owyhee's.
This weather reminds me of several things: be hydrated constantly! After a few hours work outside I started to feel the effects of heat sickness so I got in the shade and downed a bottle of Gator Aid. I still drink plenty of water but when you sweat a lot you loose valuable minerals and need to replace those electrolytes. Sometimes I put 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in a quart of nice cold water. It helps replace some electrolytes but its not as efficient as Gator Aid. My trusty bandana is always soaking wet and worn around my neck cowboy fashion. This of course gets my tee shirt soaked which helps with the cooling. And I always wear a booney style hat, doctors orders because of the skin cancer and its a great shade giver as well. When its this hot and you work outside you just have to make sure you are drinking plenty of water.
The wind was gusting at around 60-70 MPH last night and when I awoke at 5AM I noticed a lot of damage here on the farm. An old dead elm finally bit the bullet and laid down. Fortunately it didn't take anything with it. There is a huge cottonwood that has a lot of dead limbs and I'm afraid its going to come down soon. If so it will only block the road until we get it cut up and moved but God help the person who has the misfortune of being under it if it falls. Several pieces of equipment were blown over and some roof damage to a shed or two but nothing really serious from the wind storm. I think the heat really gets the wind speed up as it cools in the evening. I don't know all the mechanics of weather but I think I read about this particular phenomenon somewhere.
Take care everyone and stay safe! Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated if you are out in the hot summer weather.

Nampa Parks & Recreation

Today there was a event put on by the Nampa Department of Parks & Recreation concerning the very fine trails and bike paths here. There were some things for the kids like a scavenger hunt and a raffle for a nice new bicycle. This kicks off the bicycling and walking week and on Saturday it all concludes with a bike race downtown. Earlier this morning I hit the trail heading west and saw a nice big slider sitting on the bank getting some sun. The rest of the photos are from the event that took place from 3-5PM today. There are some really great trails here and if you are into birdwatching, nature or just like to get out in the country check it out. Its worth the trip.

This is blown up version of the map that is currently available from Nampa Parks & Rec. The green lines are trails at present and the green dotted lines are future projects.

Heres the sunshade and table. The fellow in the green shirt was very helpful as were all the staff. This is also the parking area for trail users off of Sunnyridge Road

This is the Wilson Pathway trail headed west.

This is the creek next to the trail. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here's a shot of the Wilson Pathway trail headed east. The trail is paved for quite a ways and to the left of the black pavement. This will take you to the Wilson Springs ponds and the Anderson Wetlands. This is just off of Sunnyridge Road.

Here's Mr. slider doing what turtles do best.

Idaho Fish & Game

Today was a "free" fishing day. I'm not sure but I think its a day when anyone can fish, license or not and I also believe its to get kids into the outdoors. I'm 100% behind that! Get the kids the hell away from the mind numbing TV and stupid video games! Turn off the damn cell phone and put your thumb on that Zebco, junior! Here are a few pictures I took yesterday evening on my daily walk. The boys and girls from Idaho Fish & Game were dropping net loads of trout into the local ponds at Wilson Springs. Some of the trout were 2+ pounder's!!  Sweet! I managed to get a few shots of them as they were getting accustomed to their new surroundings. By the way, I found out what species of Oriole is in the picture I posted Thursday, June 6 and updated the caption.

Idaho Fish & Game truck-the long handles are for the nets they use to transfer fish from the tanks to the ponds, etc.

Idaho Fish & Game truck-thats a standard oxygen tank on the back.

Freshly stocked trout. Some nice sized fish!

More trout.

The creek and some interesting aquatic plants.

More aquatic plants.

A wider shot of the creek. Its about 3 feet deep here. That water is very clean & clear!

Excellent habitat for fish, birds, etc. That's an ash tree growing across the creek.

I love Idaho!!

Yours truly after a great hike to the top of Jump Creek in the Owyhee mountains. The Oregon border is 2 miles to the west.

I love Idaho! Its been one good time after another. I got my concealed permit and I can buy any kind of firearm I choose! The local economy is going strong. I have been taking a lot of pictures lately. Here are a few to wet your appetite.

Look at all those AR's!!! Sportsmans Warehouse in Nampa.

One of my local haunts-5 walking minutes from home.

One of the ponds at Wilson Springs.

This area is rich in wildlife and plenty of  cattails.

Ducks and geese everywhere! I don't know if this is a major flyway but I have never seen so many birds of different species.

More wetland-two varieties of cattail grow here side by side.

Red wing blackbird-these guys are everywhere! I love to mimic their call-they get all antsy and start flying at me thinking I am the "competition".

Bullocks Oriole-male in breeding plumage according to my Nat. Geo. Birds of NA, 4th ed..

One of the many ponds-bass and trout are plentiful.

This is the canyon at Jump Creek.The trail is straight up and I took this at the top.

Jump Creek Canyon-its all volcanic rock like most of southwest Idaho and the adjoining states of Nevada and Oregon. Lots of interesting minerals to be found in the surrounding hills!

Top of Jump Creek looking east-Boise mountains in the distance and the Sawtooth range barely visible behind them

Gooseberry Globemallow, Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia. The "gooseberry" is alluding to the similar shaped leaves.

Looking up the creek at the bottom of the canyon-lots of alder trees and several useful plants like teasel, elderberry and mullien. I saw the tallest poison ivy plants I have ever seen here! And plenty of them! It makes me want to scratch just thinking about them!

This is a creek flowing past my house. Its loaded with good size trout. Lots of ducks and I saw a few muskrat.