Tag Archives: Honeybun

Canebrake rattlesnake relocated 2023-03-21

This canebrake rattlesnake was too close to the farm workshop at Okra Paradise Farms, so I used a hoe to put it in a cardboard box and took it far away.

[Snake, hoe, box 2023-03-21]
Snake, hoe, box 2023-03-21

How? I show the snake a hoe. It either gets in the box with a nudge from the hoe, or it gets in the box in two pieces.

Here’s a video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk2OxkA4UvxPbeykZkfos36dRbcvIIeu Continue reading →

Seven-acre burn 2022-12-30

Another successful prescribed burn at the end of 2022.

This was actually the burn of the area in which the Treat’s Rain Lilies have since come up, six weeks later.

[Fire and ash 2022-12-30]
Fire and ash 2022-12-30

There’s more to do if we ever get good conditions again, as in dry for enough days after a rain.

For those who are not familiar with prescribed burns, they are necessary to the health of pine forests. Pine trees, especially longleaf pine trees, are more resistant to fire than other trees. So burns favor pines, and without burning, oaks, sweetgums, etc. take over. And burning temporarily cuts back the gallberry, blackberry, and Smilax vine thickets that get too thick for wildlife. Quail and other birds have already moved into areas of previous burns.

Here’s a video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk2OxkA4UvyyTZYEfjLstI_3DK0QDieb

Continue reading →

Trees, lightning, hurricane, chainsaw 2022-11-10

Some weeks ago, lightning struck a bunch of trees and killed them.

During Hurricane Nicole, two of them fell across the front driveway.

A little chainsaw work cleared the driveway.

[Lightning, Hurricane, Chainsaw]
Lightning, Hurricane, Chainsaw

Before

These two pictures are from November 5, 2022. Notice how the dead trees are in a line. Continue reading →

No turtle! 2022-11-01

Blondie brought me this box turtle. I repeated her lesson: no turtle!

[Box turtle, Blondie, Arrow, Honeybun]
Box turtle, Blondie, Arrow, Honeybun

Then I showed the Terrapene carolina to each other dog, with the same lesson. Finally, I put it down by the driveway and we continued on.

-jsq

Dog Bath 2022-10-21

Update 2022-12-15: Washing the dogs 2022-12-10.

The dogs got really muddy in a beaver pond just before dark, so Gretchen gave them baths.

[Blondie and bathtub]
Blondie and bathtub

After I unclogged the drain, this is what was left.

Honeybun also got a bath, but I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. Continue reading →

Snake moved far away 2022-10-03

The dogs found this snake, and Gretchen didn’t like it.

[Canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus]
Canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus

Honeybun, Blondie, and Arrow led me straight to this Crotalus horridus. Unlike our previous dogs, they kept their distance.

Gretchen called them back, I got the hoe and a cardboard box, put the snake in the box, the box in the truck, and drove the truck miles away.

This rattler now has woods to catch mice with nobody living nearby.

-jsq

Dogs, dog fennel, longleaf, beggarticks, chiggers 2022-09-18

Ah, fall flowers, dogs frolicking in the dog fennel, and mysterious molds, all on a morning walk.

And chiggers. Most likely Trombicula alfreddugesi, aka Eutrombicula alfreddugesi, in the genus Trombicula, family Trombiculidae.

Whichever species of arachnids, cousins of ticks and spiders, these ones will make you itch for days. They can raise red welts and send you to the doctor seeking steroids. You don’t want to see pictures of that.

[Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale]
Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale

Continue reading →