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middleagecrisis

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Location
Seguin, TX
I love the privacy of living on 5 1/2 acres in Central Texas, but there’s no shortage of critters you have to watch out for. So far this year I’ve been stung by two scorpions, killed at least a dozen, knocked down I don’t know how many red wasp nests, killed the one rattlesnake in the below picture in my shop and killed the below baby copperhead in my yard this evening. Probably seen a dozen copperheads this year and killed two or three others. We also lost one of our family dogs to a snake bite this year. Mind you, I’m not complaining and my neighbors all see the same amount of stuff, which is why my head is always on a swivel! Maybe that’s why I see as much as I do.

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ummmm.... I'll let you enjoy the lay of that land... LOL Any tarantulas?
 
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That can be pretty nasty with all those snakes.

Always something out in the country. Pigeons crapping on things, moles digging runways in the lawn, field gophers, fox coming in digging out the varmints in the ground leaving basketball size holes. Dandelions out of control, plenty of grass to mow. Yes mosquitoes, ticks and poison ivy.

That's in Minnesota. ^

Florida has their own annoyances. Fire ants, Mosquitoes that feed daily at 5:00 p.m. No-See-Ums, Sand burs in the grass that stick to shoes and you can get them in your feet, nasty. Tropical Storm Imelda just went by offshore today.

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Always something, name your poison.


☆☆☆☆☆
 
I ranch in N. Central Texas. Basically just South of Ft. Worth and live in the middle of several hundred acres and I can't even remember the last time I have seen a snake. See scorpions occasionally including a number in the house and have never been stung. I see a lot of wasps/bees but I never shy from them and also have not been stung in years. I enjoy fox, they never bother anything. I do thin out the coyotes some purely to keep my calves safe. My biggest nemesis are fire ants and feral/dumped and/or neighbors dogs. I have lost calves to both. I feel pretty dang lucky for comparisons sake.
 
middleagecrisis said:
I love the privacy of living on 5 1/2 acres in Central Texas, but there’s no shortage of critters you have to watch out for. So far this year I’ve been stung by two scorpions, killed at least a dozen, knocked down I don’t know how many red wasp nests, killed the one rattlesnake in the below picture in my shop and killed the below baby copperhead in my yard this evening. Probably seen a dozen copperheads this year and killed two or three others. We also lost one of our family dogs to a snake bite this year. Mind you, I’m not complaining and my neighbors all see the same amount of stuff, which is why my head is always on a swivel! Maybe that’s why I see as much as I do.

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But I bet early mornings sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee and evenings on the porch watching the sun set while listening to the silence only interrupted by some wildlife is amazing.
 
That looks like a nice ranch you have there. We have a retarded coyote...I think it may be blind. He was running down the middle of the road the other day with no roadrunners in sight...LOL A den of red fox behind our barn and a Mean and Nasty old ground hog burrowed under the barn. Karin has a couple pictures of him shaking the dirt off his fur but we could not get them to post. She named him Chester.
 
George Jets said:
That can be pretty nasty with all those snakes.

Always something out in the country. Pigeons crapping on things, moles digging runways in the lawn, field gophers, fox coming in digging out the varmints in the ground leaving basketball size holes. Dandelions out of control, plenty of grass to mow. Yes mosquitoes, ticks and poison ivy.

That's in Minnesota. ^

Florida has their own annoyances. Fire ants, Mosquitoes that feed daily at 5:00 p.m. No-See-Ums, Sand burs in the grass that stick to shoes and you can get them in your feet, nasty. Tropical Storm Imelda just went by offshore today.

View attachment 1716461769


Always something, name your poison.


☆☆☆☆☆
Click to expand...
I battle the gophers as well. My wife and I bought this place because we have horses and we needed the pasture land for them. Sometimes it looks like a scene out of Caddyshack when I’m trying to get rid of the gophers and their holes
 
RustyRatRod said:
Hopefully yall ate the rattlesnake. They're good eatin.
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This one was too small. Besides, my better half wouldn’t let me bring anything snake related into the house. She’s terrified of any kind of snakes! She doesn’t see them as much because she’s not looking for them.
 

MoparCowboy said:
I ranch in N. Central Texas. Basically just South of Ft. Worth and live in the middle of several hundred acres and I can't even remember the last time I have seen a snake. See scorpions occasionally including a number in the house and have never been stung. I see a lot of wasps/bees but I never shy from them and also have not been stung in years. I enjoy fox, they never bother anything. I do thin out the coyotes some purely to keep my calves safe. My biggest nemesis are fire ants and feral/dumped and/or neighbors dogs. I have lost calves to both. I feel pretty dang lucky for comparisons sake.
Click to expand...
I’m surprised you don’t see more rattlesnakes up that way. I think a lot of the snakes that I see around the house are because we live on a pier and beam farmhouse that’s 100+ years old. Nice cool place for the scorpions and snakes to hang out in the summertime underneath the house. I go through a lot amdro on the fire out mounds, as well. Everything has a purpose in life, but I’m not sure where fire ants fit into all that. That really sucks about calves being killed by the ants. That would be a horrible way for an animal to go.
 
harrisonm said:
But I bet early mornings sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee and evenings on the porch watching the sun set while listening to the silence only interrupted by some wildlife is amazing.
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We have a wraparound porch that faces west. The money shot is the sunsets. Sitting on the porch with a cold beer, right as the drops over the horizon, makes it all worth it.
 
jeff alder said:
That looks like a nice ranch you have there. We have a retarded coyote...I think it may be blind. He was running down the middle of the road the other day with no roadrunners in sight...LOL A den of red fox behind our barn and a Mean and Nasty old ground hog burrowed under the barn. Karin has a couple pictures of him shaking the dirt off his fur but we could not get them to post. She named him Chester.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the compliment. We have put a lot of money and effort into making the place better than we bought it. Chester sounds like an awesome character, lol. I used to have a little cottontail in the barn area that I could walk up to and almost pet. Ever since we got our latest puppy, who loves to chase rabbits, I don’t see them as much. She doesn’t catch them, I just think they’ve gotten a lot more wary with her around.
 
We live out N a ways from Houston and have about 6 "barn" cats. They kill any snake small enough and I guess they run off the bigger ones, copperheads, timber rattlers, those little coral snakes, never lost a cat to a snake bit and have not seen a snake in 8 years. All neutered. We raise Boer goats and have a large dog bred to protect the goats. Funny part is how the "barn" cats all hang with the goats day and night! Otherwise, ferrell dogs running in a group would be death and goats.
I have no answer for fire ants, wasps, an the darn spiders.
 
barbee6043 said:
We live out N a ways from Houston and have about 6 "barn" cats. They kill any snake small enough and I guess they run off the bigger ones, copperheads, timber rattlers, those little coral snakes, never lost a cat to a snake bit and have not seen a snake in 8 years. All neutered. We raise Boer goats and have a large dog bred to protect the goats. Funny part is how the "barn" cats all hang with the goats day and night! Otherwise, ferrell dogs running in a group would be death and goats.
I have no answer for fire ants, wasps, an the darn spiders.
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Barn cats would give our dogs ulcers, lol. They love to chase cats too much! How far north of Houston? I went to school in Nacogdoches. I just started this thread, because I realized I never saw any of this stuff when I lived in neighborhoods and now I just take it for granted. It's just normal occurrences for me to live the "rural" life, but I enjoy the quiet and privacy too much to go back to a neighborhood setting.
 
I grew up on a farm in southern Arkansas but have been living in Maine since I retired from the Navy in 1995. Had the same types of critters growing up. Bailing hay in the summer was fun with all the snakes in the fields! The only snakes we have in Maine are harmless brown garters. We do have bees and hornets. I live in a rural area so we have a pack of coyotes in the area, deer and the occasional moose. Did see a bobcat in my backyard a couple of years ago.
 
middleagecrisis said:
I love the privacy of living on 5 1/2 acres in Central Texas, but there’s no shortage of critters you have to watch out for. So far this year I’ve been stung by two scorpions, killed at least a dozen, knocked down I don’t know how many red wasp nests, killed the one rattlesnake in the below picture in my shop and killed the below baby copperhead in my yard this evening. Probably seen a dozen copperheads this year and killed two or three others. We also lost one of our family dogs to a snake bite this year. Mind you, I’m not complaining and my neighbors all see the same amount of stuff, which is why my head is always on a swivel! Maybe that’s why I see as much as I do.

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Those critters can't argue with six rounds of .410 on your hip.
Beautiful dog there

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I got a little handle on the fire ants this year. Diatomaceous earth. Doesnt work on the Grizz. Gotta keep your head on a swivel around here. There is more grizzley bear per square acre in the river drainage I live in than anywhere.
 
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middleagecrisis said:
Haven't seen snow like that in a while. I take it that was from last year?
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2 winters ago. I had over 12 foot drifts in the yard . That picture was taken from the top of one! Last winter we got about 2-4 inches total. No idea what will happen this year
 
jeff alder said:
That looks like a nice ranch you have there. We have a retarded coyote...I think it may be blind. He was running down the middle of the road the other day with no roadrunners in sight...LOL A den of red fox behind our barn and a Mean and Nasty old ground hog burrowed under the barn. Karin has a couple pictures of him shaking the dirt off his fur but we could not get them to post. She named him Chester.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of this.

TWO WOLVES.jpeg
 
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