The Scorpions of Utley

The Bark Scorpion Centruroides vittatus is the only Scorpion known from Bastrop County. It's sting is painful though usually not life threatening. They can grow to be as long as almost 3 inches but are usually about 2-2.5 as adults.

Like most scorpions, they glow under black light as show to the right. Here is a female with young on her back. Notice they do not glow as babies. Scorpions give birth to live young. This female has about twenty five on her back. They stay with her eating scraps of her meals until they can fend for themselves.

Bark Scorpions are efficient hunters and when they get hungry they can consume large prey items. Note the red mite parasite on the scorpion's tail.

 Below  is a photo of the same female taken with a regular white flash which shows the young more clearly.

  Bark Scorpions make hardy and interesting 'pet" but I don't like sleeping with them.  I have before and it was not pleasant I can assure you.

The Nine-banded Armadillo and the number 4

  Nine-banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus...Gotta love that genus name) are all about 4s.  Everything about them seems to revolve around the number 4.  Of course they have 4 legs but beyond that.....

1. population increases seem to run in 4 year cycles
2. they have a maximum of 4 young at birth all of the same sex.
3. they only live 4 years
5. they only have 4 toes on the front feet
6. they only have  4 feet of small intestines
7. They have been reported to spring into the air
up to 4 feet when surprised suddenly.  This habit of jumping upwards when startled accounts for many of the belly up critters one sees on the highways.
8. after blastocyst (delayed implantation) the gestation period lasts 4 months
9. young are fully capable of walking after 4 hours of birth.
10  content of inherit debris of their diet amounts to ~4% (sand etc.).
11.  burrows avg. 4 ft. in depth.
12. they only have 4 major predators...Cars, Man, Coyotes and Mountain Lions.
13. Since their expansion started in the early 1900's, they are
reportedly moving north at about 4 km per year (Walsh 1975)
14. Young are usually born in April the 4th month of the year.

 Another interesting fact is their teeth lack any enamel at and
wear down quickly which likely limits their age to 4 years. They have the potential, rarely, of  being hosts of trypanosomiasis, which can be passed to humans potential via it's exposure to the blood sucking insects, vector, in burrows that belong  to the genus Triatoma (Cone-nosed or Kissing Bugs)


  15.  Getting down to the meat of it now, slow baking an Armadillo for 4 hours with potatoes and carrots will provide 4 people a succulent, bacony tasting and very greasy southern dish. During the Great Depression many knew them as "Hoover Hogs" and many of them filled bellies.I tasted a plate many years ago.
...swimming in buttery fat.
  16.  A serving of Armadillo will likely provide you with 4 times the recommended amount of  cholesterol one should ingest in a single day.


   If you have other "4s" I can add them .


Brush Freeman

Passenger Pigeon "Article" by Jack Freeman c1932

• Commentary by a 12 (?) year old Jack Freeman c1932 ( though I really think around 1938 given the signature) in an unknown Oklahoma newspaper of the time.  He had published or was mentioned in numerous FFA articles especially in the 1930's  regarding his interest in birds especially hawks, owls, nighthawks and shrikes.  An artist all his life , he lived long enough to see his works soar in value at various non-profit auctions...The Freeman's are blessed with artistic genes, even with no schooling.

Jack Dempsey Freeman Jan. 4, 1921-June 21, 2010

  Photo of dad taken during World War II... Lived 89 yrs, 6 months and 17 days.  Died just moments after summer solstice 2010.  Never liked hot weather anyway. He was proud of his service as a pilot and instructor..  The props here are spinning as one can see the wind blown trousers and his grip on the wing,  He is ready to go.  Those must have been the days.

Easy Flea Control for outbreaks

I have been away from my cabin for much of this year and recently returned to find I had a pretty good flea infestation, likely from a hen flea that jumped off the cat months ago.
  I don't wish to use poisons in the house as I have jumping spiders and geckos as renters/owners.  I just want to be rid of fleas.There are plenty of other critters that want to eat me (mosquitoes, scorpions, kissing bugs etc.) and need to save some chow for them.

Here is a flea killer that will suck every flea from your floors and carpets.  Works like a charm and completely without pesticides and works real fast.   

I picked this up years ago from somewhere and it is even better than these poisons.....Just take a desk lamp and shine it over a 10-14" in pie plate.  Fill the plate half full with water and add a bit of dish washing soap.  Turn the light on and it is a done deal.

  When I found I had an infestation I sat up 3 lamps through the house and within 1 day and two nights, I have not found a single living flea.  I seem to be completely free of them in two days.  I do not know if they are attracted to the lights or the heat they put off by the lights or both nor I do not know how many eggs a hen flea can lay but over the years have learned a flea outbreak is a flea outbreak and is short lived if dealt with.  Its like all the pupae hatch at about the same time when the temperature and humidity is just right....Then it is over, done, finished and the next out break may not occur for a year to several years...My last out break was 5-6 years ago.


 

Horse Guard

The "Horse Guard"


A Purple Martin dropped this male wasp on Ladd Hockey as it was delivering it to young in Port O'Connor on June 17. Fortunately for me it was a stingless male. A female likely would have stung the tar out of me. These large wasps fit into a group called Horse Guards by the layman as they are often found around livestock where they search out and paralyze Horse and other flies. These the wasps then take the flies to a pre-constructed tunnel that has an egg laid by the female. The wasp then stuffs the tunnel with those flies before sealing it, providing food for the next generation.

They look similar to, but are not the larger Cicada Killers we often see flying about in the summer months hunting cicadas. Both burrow into sandy soils.

I have been very busy with family matters and work and have had little time to keep the blog updated. Hopefully that will change soon.

Ladder nest and Black-eyed Susans.

   I returned to my Utley place after almost 6 weeks of being mostly absent, spending only the night of May 14 here. Much has changed in that time. Completely different than last year, this spring has been one of regular rains . Lots of wildflowers especially Black-eyed Susans that cover the property. It has been more than a decade since I have seen it like this on the place and find it awesome that the seeds of that flower could remain viable for that long. The Bluebonnets, I have the very localized subspecies called Sandy Lands Bluebonnet, must have gone crazy as the now dead plants are all over the place up by the road....Also a bloom I have not seen in several years.

  The night I was here on the 14th of May to stay overnight from a business trip to N. Texas,  I had little time to look around as I had to be back in S. Texas the next morning. Now back, I am discovering quite a few interesting things around the place. One is pictured to the right. It looks like just two ladders leaning against the wall of the house but the next photo shows that a Cardinal chose this place to build a nest. I have no idea if they were successful in raising a brood or not, however there are several juv. birds about. I am trying hard to remember if I have ever seen a Northern Cardinal use an artificial structure of any kind to construct a nest on but come up empty headed...I just don't think I have.

Also when I returned yesterday evening I heard a constant frog like call right behind the house, maybe less than 25 ft. from the back door. I knew exactly what it was so I did little except open the back door for some breeze. The cat however ran out the back, and when I went to retrieve her I saw a
Chuck-will's-widow fluttering thru the dense brush in distraction mode.. A quick glance revealed she had left two half grown chicks in the leaf litter. I grabbed the cat and kept her in thereafter. Today I went out to photograph the chicks in better morning light and they were gone, however a short walk back into the woods found me disturbing the adult again so I made no further attempts to locate the young. It is pretty potent to have a Chuck calling from 30 behind your house all the while neighboring birds on territory are also calling. I guess my question is, can an adult Chuck incite/provoke it's young to move elsewhere when they are not yet fledged?

Since I was not here virtually the entire migration period/spring , I now find the property to be a jungle. I do not mow, I don't even own a mower and would not mow if I had one... Have no use for such wicked things so the place gets really over grown which I like. The Trumpet Vines high up in the oaks are in gorgeous full bloom this year finally, which is distracting the hummingbirds for now. However at least one Buff-bellied continues to come in to the feeders which I replaced with fresh stuff instead of the "whiskey water and carpenter ant" cocktail that was in them before my return

Here is a shot of the front "yard". I hate to call it a yard as I don't like the term but you know how it is. That bird box amid the Black-eyed Susans has at least it's second brood of intergrade (Dixon's) Titmice. There are 5 young in there now that will fledge out within the week. The pole is well greased with automotive grease to keep any rat snake from climbing up it. And while I was more interested in getting Bluebirds to nest here, I am perfectly happy to have the titmice use it. Today I have often seen curious chickadees come and visit the box and check out the youngsters inside . The adult titmice do not seem to mind at all.

There is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo nest in a Cedar Elm down the lane but it is too high to peer into. The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have finished nesting and now there is a family group of 5-6 roaming the property.

Rotten bananas I put out upon my return are covered with butterflies, including a rare (for here) Eastern Comma and a somewhat worn Mourning cloak.

There are baby toads the size of my thumb nail everywhere ...Anoles and skinks keep a roadrunner handy.

Finally within a mere 15-20 minute after my return, the crow people came in and milled awaiting chow waiting  treats they knew would be forthcoming.   The two tames ones were chatting away. I had nothing to give them except dried cat food, the expensive stuff too, and as soon as I got it on the feeder and walked 20 feet away Jim was already there wolfing it down. 9-12 pc.s then to the bird bath to soak up some water to go with it before going back for more. They had left another little stone as a prize on the feeder while I was gone. My collection of crow "prizes" is getting larger.