Category Archives: Field Log

March 25, 2010 · 7:11 pm

Field Log 3/25/2010

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Rain yesterday, 0.90 inches. Cannot work field, too wet to plow (literally, folks).

Bow hunter died this morning. My colleague at college, David Kanady, passed away. Forty-ish.

He taught British literature at a juco place — oh, the bowels of pedagogy. David would walk the hall to invigorate himself to teach. He saw teaching as an opportunity, not a preparation. But, a bow hunter died this morning. That’s what I want to write about, that’s his legacy. A bow hunter: giving the animal a chance. He missed his shot. He ate what he killed. Traveled to Wyoming, followed the herd, and took his shot. I know it was part vain, but he shot with honor, giving life a chance. He was appointed on a contract to teach at a juco place, $24,000.00 a year. Hey, but you get benefits! He gave the antelope a chance, then he dressed it, and brought the meat to the table of his parents, an only child he was. He missed shots. Bow and arrow. David hunted parttime, respected nature always. RIP, David.

Lilly settle in to her stall. Hija adjusts to corral again. Oh, she is a peppy girl — see her pedigree.

Called Duncan Steele-Park. Will pick up Fanny tomorrow.

The Origin of Urantia by Dipti Bhakti

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Filed under Duncan Steele-Park, Field Log, Shiners Fannin Peppy (Fanny)

March 21, 2010 · 3:54 pm

Field Log 3/21/2010

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Prepared one acre of pasture for seeding native grasses, 3/19/2010.

Received shipment of native grass and wildflower seed, 3/17/2010

Scattered deer corn in The Grove. Note: find article on supplements to corn, move low steel feeding trays to The Grove.

Definite typing of hawk.

Harris' Hawk (Parabuleo unicinctus) Peterson's Field Guide

Field surprise (always). As I sat listening to the wind in The Grove, the hawk flew within fifty (50) yards of me, displaying flashy white rump and white band on the tail. White banding very conspicuous. Black and chestnut colors on thighs and shoulders. He flew extremely fast back and forth three times in front of me, then angled over to the pond. Fast. Peterson writes that the Harris’ Hawk resides in c.-w. Texas south into Mexico. Habitat is river woodlands, mesquite, brush. Nesting of sticks in yucca, mesquite, low tree. I have been looking higher for a nest. Must look lower. One hawk.

Take photo of Harris’ Hawk in field.

Cleaned out stalls, hay bins.

Addendum, 3/22/2010, here is my 1969, Peterson, A Field Guide to Western Birds, and the plate with identification factors. It’s well-used and a treasure of mine.

Plate 15, Peterson, A Field Guide to Western Birds, 2nd ed., 1969 (click to enlarge)

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Tagged as Fieldwork, Hawk, Roger Tory Peterson

March 20, 2010 · 11:13 am

Field Log 3/20/2010 (Deer Track)

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Windy from north, intermittent slight snow mist, 34 deg. F. Heavy rain last night. Rain gauge not measured.

Drove DX-55 tractor to arena area. Slippery, used four-wheel drive. Walk to grove revealed no track. Camera tucked under zipped field coat.

Hawk sighted, soaring low from north to south along pasture. No definite typing. Voice resembles a high-pitched shrill pweeeeeee; diminishing (see Peterson, A Field Guide to Western Birds, p. 68, under Broad-Winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) [2nd ed., 1969]). Tailbanding verification is ambiguous.

Deer track found on north side of The Grove, near corn site. No corn set out for five days. One deer track. Mature. Headed southwest.

Deer Track North Side Grove, March 20, 2010 (approx. 2.5 in. length, click to enlarge)

Deer Track North Side Grove Large View, March 20, 2010 (click to enlarge)

Scouting to creek area revealed no deer track. Creek running high at approx. three (3) feet above normal.

Salt Creek After Rain, March 20, 2010 (click to enlarge)

Upon returning to house, deer track discovered along Poprock Hill Pasture, near the Blue place pond. This indicates the one deer is still browsing between Blue’s pond, our pasture and the grove area. No track emanates from Hall place to the southeast, as it used to. Note: talk to Blue and verify continued support of brush growth around his pond.

One or two deer, not fifteen.

Returned to house at 11:15 a.m.

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Filed under Deer, Field Log

Tagged as Erath County, Nature, Texas, Tracking Wildlife

March 16, 2010 · 4:43 am

Field Log 3/15/2010

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Cooler today than expected, lower 50s F. most of day. Partly cloudy.

Re-checked horses for nicks, scratches and punctures. None found.

Moved hay bin in arena for easier access by tractor and pickup. Shiney the colt thinks it’s play. Gallops around and rears up several times, challenging the black hay bin and noise. Brenda climbs over arena fence to assist, adding to his fun and excitement.

Edited sale information for Shiney. Gave a copy to Cooper’s Feed-store in Stephenville. Amber looked carefully at the flyer and said, “Beautiful.” Bought three (3) alfalfa, two (2) coastal bermuda, one sack of Senior feed for Lilly and one Country Times cat feed for barn. Hay consumption is down with spring grass. Linsey, manager, gone for lunch. No sales tax for feed for barn cats, Bubbles and Paint.

One Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) sighted on front fence.

Composed operational instructions for caretaker, Jeannie Chisolm, while on trip to Fredericksburg, Texas, March 16-17.

Lilly has taken up a new habit. Without halter, she walks to her stall through the alleyway from the corral, avoiding up-and-downs of terrain. She waits for me to open the gate to the alleyway, then slowly brings her twenty-five-year-old body down the alleyway, pausing at her stall door, then turning into the stall, exhaling loudly. I make sure that in her grain, she has her arthritis medicine, Active-X, the powder with ground yucca. (Note: I took my flex medicine this morning. Correlate man and horse in article.)

Worked with Shiney on ground manners: grooming, full-body touching with hands, approaches on flanks, lead rope, halter. Has habit of wanting lead rope or halter in his mouth when I first approach. Nervous habit deflects tension?

Unloaded hay and feed. Barn cats, Bubbles and Paint, not amused that I took away their scanning area on the hay in the pickup.

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Filed under Field Log, Lilly, Shiney (Shiners Fannin Pepto)

Tagged as Active-X, Coopers Feedstore, Horse Training, Jeannie Chisolm, Stephenville Texas

March 15, 2010 · 7:17 am

Field Log 3/14/2010

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Four Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) soaring about house and Poprock Hill. First sighting this spring. (Note: clean off mud nest on front porch. Verify type again.)

Resident hawk(s) is not a red-tail. Unable to verify type. Possible Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Conventional scream or call. Same resident hawk with sibling I have seen in the grove. Nest high.

Grasses emerging in Pecan Tree pasture. Side-oats gramma is approx. three (3) inches high. Dead grass has given cover for small untyped birds and gramma sprouts.

Three flocks of Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) seen in afternoon. Tuk-tuk alert to look up. Flocks flying 75-100 m.p.h. ground speed est. Altitude est. 2,000 feet above ground level. Wind south-southeast. Three stragglers. Again, only a few tuk-tuks, indicates leader or alpha call? These flocks number 200-300, but only few calls. Why? Evangeline Chavez in at Bosque Apache in New Mexico sights Crane flights today. She is 600+ miles away.

Shiney the colt has twenty (20) mane hair samples with roots sent to U. of C., Davis for DNA typing and registration with AQHA. Brenda reached through corral fence for mane hair. He’s a good boy.

Nephew of Kelly Dooley, the Dooley place, shoots .22 caliber pistol or rifle to the west of us. Bullets whiz through corral near Hija and me. Emergency call to Kelly. She gets nephew to orient himself away from corrals. Four (4) bullets pass through air while I am in corral. Brenda on porch has one bullet pass by. Bullets sound like big, fast mosquitoes: low tones, not high tones, buzzing. Nephew is from town, goes goofy in country. Deeply apologetic.

Native brush sprouting buds and yellow blossoms in grove. Gathered two (2) large stones from grove. Filled Pecan Tree water trough that Olivia helped me fill at Christmas.

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Filed under Field Log, Sandhill Crane

Tagged as AQHA, Barn Swallows, Goshawk, Sandhill Cranes, Side-oats Grama, Spring, UC Davis

March 12, 2010 · 10:43 pm

Field Log 3/12/2010 (With Notes)

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

Runoff from Blue Place Pond into Poprock Pond, March 12, 2010 (click to enlarge)

Runoff from rains and snow of past month from the Blue place to the east of us are indicated in this photograph. (How I wish Ms. Chavez could take a more artistic photograph.) There are three stock tanks that are interlinked in tandem with water surface runoff: Blue place, our pond, Hall pond to the south. From time to time, ditches to divert the water to these three stock tanks have to be reconstructed. The terracing is not difficult, but politics enters into the construction that I must do to keep the Hall pond (recently revamped) full. I have to perform the construction task with my Case-Farmall DX-55 tractor.

Close-up of Runoff from Blue Place Pond, March 12, 2010 (click to enlarge)

This is a close-up of the vitality of the runoff from the Blue Pond into Poprock Hill stock tank. One year, ca. 2005, the runoff continued from winter to early fall. This is a healthy source of water. The Blue place pond derives about one-third to one-half of its water from our front pasture.

Unidentified Shrub on Poprock Hill Pond, Northeast Side, March 12, 2010 (click to enlarge)

[Presently, an unidentified shrub. I’ll type it eventually. Help anyone, quickly? See close-up of blossoms, next picture.]

Close-up Unidentified Shrub Poprock Hill Pond, Northeast Side, March 12, 2010 (click to enlarge)

[Unidentified blossoms of shrub, close-up. See previous photo for global view. I’ll eventually type, but does anyone know the name?]

Black Wasp Nest Winter with Mesquite Tree, March 12, 2010 (click to enlarge)

In Texas and in the West, writ large, there is a saying: Out here, if it doesn’t bite you, it will stick or sting you. This photograph indicates sticking and stinging. To be frank, I am not sure the empty nest is Black Wasp or Yellow Jacket. I’ll get back to you this summer with an answer.

Tracks of coyote from yesterday’s sighting unconfirmed on Poprock pond. No track found. Doubting what I saw.

Mallard ducks flushed from Hall pond. Photographs of flight.

Wind is strong from north, 20+ m.p.h. Temperature in 50s F.

Brenda and I unable to take DNA sample from mane hair. Shiney uncooperative today with wind and other distractions.

Seed ordered. Native grass seed ordered: Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Buffalo Grass, Plains Bristlegrass, Little Bluestem, Prairie Junegrass and Sand Dropseed. Two day shipment by U.P.S.

Native wildflower seed order for front pasture and terraces:

Texas Bluebonnet	A	Lupinus texensis	Blue
Purple Coneflower	P	Echinacea purpurea	Purple
Lance-Leaved Coreopsis	P	Coreopsis lanceolata	Yellow
Annual Gaillardia	A	Gaillardia pulchella	Yellow-Red
Dwarf Evening Primrose	P	Oenothera missouriensis	Yellow
Annual Phlox	A	Phlox drummondii	Red
Scarlet Sage	A/P	Salvia coccinea	Red
Engelmann Daisy	P	Engelmannia pinnatifida	Yellow
Purple Prairie Clover	P	Petalostemon purpureum	Purple
Blue Sage	P	Salvia farinacea	Blue
Lemon Mint	A	Monarda citriodora	Lavender/White
Prairie Coneflower	B/P	Ratibida columnifera	Yellow/Red
Clasping Coneflower	A	Rudbeckia amplexicaulis	Yellow
Golden Wave Tickseed	A	Coreopsis basalis	Yellow
Showy Evening Primrose	P	Oenothera speciosa	Pin

———-

Sought information on stallion insemination of Sweet Hija.

Sought information on sales and trainers for Shiney.

Rainfall, March 8, 2010 (click to enlarge)

Rainfall and Runoff from Barn, March 8, 2010 (click to enlarge)

A storage tank for rain water needs to be installed. I know that Caralee Woods and Jimmy Henley (see their site) will look at this and give me a link to Tractor Supply or Higginbotham Hardware, so that I can purchase a storage tank to save this precious water. The runoff goes through a channel in the Broke Tree Corral and then is drained into our stock pond, so not all is lost.

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Filed under Field Log

Tagged as C&C Trailers, Case Farmall Tractor, Native Grass, Native Plants, Native Wildflowers, Terrace, Tractor Supply, Water Conservation

March 12, 2010 · 6:45 am

Field Log 3/11/2010

North Erath County, Texas, 32.43 lat., -98.36 long. Elev. 1,086 ft. Turkey Creek Quad.

5:00 p.m. Elm tree shows first green leaves on Gibson place, two miles to the north on SH 108. This elm tends to be the first tree showing leaves in the immediate area as it lies in a shallow draw.

Horses, Hija and Lilly, have been in Poprock pasture for two days without coming back to corral for grain, browsing on newly-emerging grasses.

Two large coyotes, off-whitish to a Charlois color, sighted near Poprock pond, trotting southwest across top of dam. Trot in single file. Large tails. Horses ignore them. Coyotes paused, then traversed down into Grove, I think. Will check for track in the morning.

Rain and thunderstorms this afternoon. Cooling off to lower 50s F.

Rosemary bush blooms.

Dove calls more prominent. Type Dove.

Star’s feet less tender today from farrier trimming on Monday.

Order native grass seed tomorrow.