Tag Archives: Honeybun

Rat snake Black racer and dogs 2024-06-06

Update 2024-06-16 The snake experts say it’s a black racer (Coluber constrictor). I’ve come around to that identification, because it doesn’t have the narrow neck and wide head of a rat snake, and its body is round in cross-section, not loaf-shaped. Also, it struck like a cornered black racer. See this reference. I was just surprised it didn’t run away fast like a typical black racer. Maybe four dogs made it think cornered. Anyway, black racers also eat rodents, so happy munching, snake.

All four dogs didn’t like this rat snake at the workshop door, although only Blondie and Honeybun feature in these pictures.

[Dogs, snake]
Dogs, snake

It appears to be an eastern rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), with the white under its chin and side of head and otherwise black body.

It did try to strike at the dogs when they got close, but once I called them off it slithered back under the bench, and onwards.

Here’s a video:
https://youtu.be/e5AvoYPQmTE Continue reading →

Turtle, dogs 2024-06-09

A small turtle crossing the path to the garden. It’s maybe 4 inches long.

[Turtle, dog leg]
Turtle, dog leg

That’s Sky’s dog leg.

None of the dogs noticed until I’d been looking at the turtle for quite some time. Blondie, Honeybun, Sky, and River sniffed and moved along.

I think it’s a box turtle, but I didn’t pick it up to see, since it wasn’t in the way and it was in no danger.

[Turtle and dog leg]
Turtle and dog leg

[Turtle back]
Turtle back

[Turtle front]
Turtle front

-jsq

Turtle 2024-05-10

What kind of turtle is this? It’s about 5 inches long, so presumably quite young.

[Lively small turtle]
Lively small turtle

The triple ridges with radiating patterns look to me like an Alligator snapping turtle, Macroclemys temminckii. I don’t see anything else among the 29 turtles of Georgia that is even close.

I don’t know what it was doing out in the open, 500 feet from the nearest water, which is our cypress swamp.

Anyway, it provided yet another opportunity to remind our dogs: no turtles!

-jsq

Four roof trusses 2024-01-01

Update 2024-01-09: Steel Roof on Wood Trusses 2024-01-09.

Previously we saw the roof trusses multiply from one to two.

They doubled again to four, and then leapt on top of the plates.

[Four roof trusses on the ground and on the plates]
Four roof trusses on the ground and on the plates

What next for these engineered products?

-jsq

Prescribed burn 2023-12-21

Update 2023-12-29: Afterburn 2023-12-22.

We got the band back together!

[Pyromaniacs, prescribed burn, pine tree wedge, Blondie the Fire Dog, burned turpentine guide]
Pyromaniacs, prescribed burn, pine tree wedge, Blondie the Fire Dog, burned turpentine guide

Thanks to Abigail Barzallo for sending two helpers for this prescribed burn.

Here’s a video.
https://youtu.be/aEDwt6zVVgY

Those who do not live in a fire forest like ours, and who do not understand prescibed burns, please read this, Prescribed Fire, Longleaf Alliance:

Frequent, low intensity, and often large scale, surface fires were the dominant factor in shaping the longleaf pine ecosystems across the historical range. This frequent fire regime, over generations, selected for longleaf pine’s fire-resistant attributes.

Prescribed fire may be the best management tool that we have for attaining range-wide restoration and management of longleaf pine ecosystems. Increased frequency of fire leads to more diversity and abundance of grasses and forbs; seasonality of burn also plays a role but is secondary to frequency.

This wedge that I cut out of a deadfall pine tree that morning to get it out of a firebreak was fascinating to the helpers.

Max counted 92 rings. I counted 80. How many do you count? Continue reading →

Hurricane Idalia and aftermath 2023-09-02

A few scenes from during and after Hurricane Idalia.

We had many deadfalls, but no property or personal damage. So we were much luckier than many others.

[Deadfalls, power lines, cooking, rainfall]
Deadfalls, power lines, cooking, rainfall

This still just looks like heavy rain, but the video shows the wind was blowing. Idalia’s eye went a few miles east of us, but those were probably still 60 mph winds from the north. Continue reading →