An Egg Up?

Wild Animals That Trust Their Human Friends

I saw this video on You Tube and I was fascinated while viewing. I am not posting this as a promotion for people to go out and obtain a wild animal to keep as a pet. The animals in the video are in very special circumstances either in a zoo or running free in a wildlife preserve.

It remains a sad state of affairs where people are still getting their hands on exotic reptiles and other animals right here in the US. Why this is happening, I don’t know but it needs to stop.

Here in the US, there are strict laws in almost every state that protect our native birds and wildlife from being kept in captivity. The wily coyote even though it has become a bane can only be kept as a pet in maybe 2-3 states. No species of bird/wildlife is allowed in captivity except in a certified zoo or under the care of rehabber or rehab rescue/center.

Hunting preserves in Texas and other states are another matter as far as I am concerned and canned hunts using exotic deer, etc goes against my grain. But that is for another discussion or post. There are many pros and cons and I am not up to climbing on my soap box. 🙂

In The Garden: Lizard, Anole, Gecho of Central Texas

The male anole “blows out” his throat pouch as a means of attracting mates and to assert territory.

This little beauty was basking in the sun on the dead stem of a Frostweed plant that blooms in my yard in the fall.

The little anole perched on a wrought iron chair on the front patio which is surrounded by lots of vegetation.

The friendly green anole here is a yellowish-brown color. Color is affected by temp and sunlight. I like this color. I think he/she knows it’s cute. 🙂 Well not really but it’s posing nicely for me in this photo op. 🙂

An odd looking little creature that was introduced from Europe. Eats roaches/insects and is considered beneficial. This is the largest one that I’ve seen It was perched on cracked plastic garden pot- Outside of course. They thrive inside homes if it can escape the clutches of a cat.

Look closely or you will miss the lizard.
The Texas Spiny Lizard in this photo blends perfectly on this small decaying tree sapling.

This Green Anole changes color depending on temperature and sunlight. In this pic the anole is looking dapper in his brown suit.

I have not posted in a while so I’ve had a bit of a problem with the captions. Not sure why they did not show but it might be because I changed the photo sizes several times before inserting into the post.

Top three pics are of the Green Anole (anolis carolinensis)

The spoted one is a Mediterranean House Gecko (hemidaclylus turicus)

The Texas Spiny Lizard (sceloporous olivaceus) is the gray lizard perched on the decayed small tree that had grown into the chain link fence. He is so well camouflaged that he/she is almot invisible.

The last pic is of the Green Anole (anolis carolinensis) in his brown suit for the day.

A few photos here to give my viewers, readers, lurkers, and visitors a glimpse of some of the small creatures that I encounter, almost on a daily basis. I often get a fleeting glimpse of these beneficial little critters as I water my butterfly garden or walk about my yard. I generally try to have my camera nearby so that I can grab a pic here or there. These pictures are not so much here as they are there simply because I had to do some mad scrambling to capture these little beauties on film or rather digital mode.

All of these are beneficial for they eat small insects and I think they are just cute. I really feel entertained when I see one on a leaf or twig as they bask in the sun.

The anole dressed in his brown suit was almost like a pet. I saw him almost daily on the same spot of wood. I could see him watching me and he only moved when I needed to move the 2×4 that was his basking spot. After two months he had disappeared and I am pretty certain that he had been eaten by a predator such as a snake. I was sad when he no longer made an appearance but I knew that eventually he would meet his Waterloo. The literature says that an anole in the wild lives an average of two years but can live up to seven years in captivity.

Post and photographs: yvonne

Please do not reblog without permission.

Billy Bob -The Goat (Repost for Lottie) Original Post: 8/25,2011

Billy Bob, “You wanna fight? I’ve got horns and I WILL hurt you!”

Billy Bob loving his bath

Change of pace from the cats and dogs. This is a repost from August 25,2011. Billy Bob is still doing okay as of today. He is now about 12 years old. I don’t remember what year I rescued him from becoming cabrito. He was maybe 5 months old at the time.

Brandi giving Billy Bob a bath .   The following is a post dated August,2011 about Billy Bob my goat, so understand that this is not a recent happening.

August, 2011
This past week has been rough for out pet goat. I noticed he was limping on his right front foot and when I examined his foot I found that the pad of his hoof was tender and swollen. From the large animal vet in our town I obtained a huge syringe of an antibiotic which I injected into the deep muscle tissue of his neck. The veterinarian’s instruction was, “wait a couple of days and see if the injection makes any difference.” Two days passed and by Thursday of last week his limp was the same if not worse. I then managed to wrangle our son and two of our welders to load Billy Bob into a large wire crate that was roomy and secure. The large animal vet was across town but Billy Bob made the trip without undue stress. Dr. J. gave Billy (2) antibiotic injections, an oral dewormer and then scraped around his  infected hoof  which allowed the “crud” to drain which helped reduce the swelling and infection. After our goat arrived back home, I moved him to the back yard where I was able to observe him more closely as well as soak the hoof in a solution of iodine mixed in water.  I needed help to keep his foot in the bucket of antibiotic solution. It was quite a circus of three people holding a goat that had one foot in a red bucket as he munched on carrots. We could only keep his foot in the bucket for about 3-4 minutes but I was satisfied that at least the foot was cleaned and soaked at the same time. As of Wednesday, Billy Bob was limping slightly. He has been quite pampered  with carrots, apples, alfalfa hay and goat pellets. He now shuns his costal bermuda grass hay. Billy Bob actually became spoiled in one day.I am happy to say that he appears much improved and seems to have gained a few pounds. He lost weight from being ill. The foot may have been infected for several weeks before I noticed that he was limping. Last Monday my part time helper for special projects, Brandi, gave him a great bath.Of special note here, Brandi is not afraid of any animal whether she is working with a wayward dog, semi-feral cat, or a goat. She is much more talented than I when working with animals.

Update: May 18,2013. Billy Bob continues to be spoiled and would hurt me if he could. He is special none the less to me and he will have a home with me for as long as he lives. Presently he is probably about 12 years old but I am just not sure of the year that I saved him from being barbecued. Gee I hate the word barbecue!

Photographs and post by ~ yvonne~

Iron Horses- Out to Pasture

 

Iron replica of a foal out in the pasture

I happened to see this iron sculpture on some property owned by a veterinarian whose clinic is in the country about 12 miles from the town where I live. I think these iron horses are unique. The pictures turned out okay but the time of day was early afternoon so the light is not the best. If I knew how to use Photoshop, which I installed on my computer, maybe I would be able to improve the lighting some.

The veterinarian who owns the property where the iron horses stand has a large and small animal practice.. She sees a significant number of horses in this area. There are several horse farms that raise primarily quarter horses and there are many individuals that own one or more horses. 

Other equines consist of a donkey that might be the  herd protector of the cattle, sheep, or goats. If the herd is large there might be 2 donkeys. I just do not have any pictures of donkeys for I have yet to see any near enough the road to get a decent picture.

Post and photographs Yvonne

 

A different kind of iron horse

 

The View From the Highway (click to enlarge photo)

Very old stone ranch house

My view from the highway is more than what one would expect driving in this rather unimpressive area of Texas.  It sounds boring but I always find something of interest. I drive about 130 miles from where I live for an appointment with a medical specialist. There is not much traffic and the countryside is wide open and rather desolate in some areas. Mostly it is ranch land on each side of the highway with many hills covered with cedar trees- mountain cedar or juniper to be correct. Lots and lots of cedar and not much of anything different to break the monotony. But there are some interesting views about every 10-15 miles or so.

It is Texas hill country and this time of the year there is not much scenery except dead deer that are too numerous to count. To me, it seems that hunting really isn’t needed to control the deer population. Four wheels to the deer are just as deadly as a hunter’s rifle. It still bothers me to see all the deer carcasses which makes me wonder if the deer’s death might not have been as swift as a bullet through the chest.

Game ranches are fairly frequent and are evident by the  8 to 10 foot tall fencing with special wire attached. Here the deer are enclosed and get to graze on oats or wheat, hay and or special deer feed. The game ranches are generally owned by wealthy individuals who make a profit by operating a swank hunting ranch. Some of these ranches have exotic game and the rich and privileged fly in from Dallas, Houston, or where ever to have a “relaxing week-end” of shooting at animals that have been fed and more or less pampered.

This kind of hunt is known as a “canned” hunt, meaning that the hunter really does not have to do much more that take aim and pull the trigger and he will have bagged a white tail stag with a huge rack. The rack refers to the spread of the antlers and how many points are part of the rack. Most hunters want a deer with a large rack which indicates a magnificent trophy.

Mules walking to the fence to check me out

Back to the drive to Marble Falls. I like this drive for several reasons. There are beautiful mules and donkeys to see if they happen to be near the road on my drive to and from Marble Falls.

Back in the summer some mules were fairly close to the highway. I stopped the truck;  gave my best whistle call for horses and mules (learned from my dad) and to my surprise that whistle is either a universal equine call or the mules just wanted to see what I was about. In the past I have attempted to take photos of the donkeys on my drive but they have yet to be near enough to the highway for me to get a decent picture.

My other reason for liking the drive is seeing all the old farm/ranch implements, old houses and barns. The tractors, plows, rakes, etc are rusted but I consider these pure objects of beauty. One small town that I drive through has a shop where cars that are in various stages of  rust and age are restored.

And finally,  my best reason for this post (that has become too long and rambling)  is the old 1800’s ranch house that I was able to get a few shots of when the lighting was not the best.  Writing about my  130 mile trip has given me a greater appreciation of my view from the highway.

Friendly mules that rolled in the mud

 

Post and photographs: Yvonne

Billy Bob, The Pet Goat July 30,2011

 

Billy Bob, the goat in the photo insert, came into our life about 8-9 years ago. It was Friday- end of the work week for my husband’s crew.  I walked toward the shop to speak to my husband about a job that was in the planning stages. As my husband and I were talking, my eye drifted over to the truck parked under the live oak tree. There in the back of the truck, inside a large cage was a small brown goat. Welllllll- that little goat got my immediate attention and I quickly ended our talk and walked over to the pickup. The little goat began baaaa, baaa as if he wanted out of his prison. He looked absolutely pitiful and I began to think about what one of the workers was going to do with the little goat. As the men were leaving for home, two of the men came over to the truck. Of course, I began asking questions and to my dismay I learned that the little brown goat was destined to become cabrito. Cabrito actually means goat in Spanish.  If you are a Texan, you most likely know that cabrito usually refers to a kind of meat- barbecued young goat meat. Lots of people are completely wild about the taste of cabrito I knew that the little goat was about the right age. My husband’s primary welder was on the receiving end of the goat deal and was about to pay the guy $35 for the kid. A kid is a young goat that generally ends up as cabrito unless it is lucky and happens to be a female that will be retained as a milk goat. People that own several acres sometimes keep a small assembly of goats to use them as browsers and grazers. In this capacity the goat will replace the lawn mower. But to get back to the story- After learning the little goat was destined for a meal, I offered to buy the goat for $50. Having seen the goat I simply could not envision him being eaten and so the guys agreed to let me have him for $50.       

 

 

Billy Bob, the goat July 30,2011  I actually had a pen that was/is large enough for the goat where he would have plenty of room to kick up his heels and move about freely. And so the little brown goat became my pet that grew into a very large goat. Presently he dines on coastal bermuda hay, goat pellets, apple peelings, and trimmings from hackberry trees. His treat is a carrot and a hand full of alfalfa hay. Billy Bob is REAL FOND of his treats and runs along the fence and baas until I drop his treats into his feeding pan.                                                             

My pet goat provides manure for composting along with the wasted hay, that he has trampled and “fertilized.” I need help to clean his pen since there is a significant amount of hay mixed with manure. I have two composting areas and the hay and manure are added to one pile in early fall.  By the time spring arrives the compost will be ready to add to the vegetable garden. At the end of April my helper and I clean his pen again and that hay and manure mix is added to the other composting area. That one will be ready to add to the flower beds and fig trees by the end of November. I don’t have to buy manure anymore and I get the added benefit of some really good compost.

I have no idea what breed of goat Billy Bob might be. My guess is that he is of mixed heritage. Part of his make-up is possibly Boar goat mixed with something else. Before goats are sold for meat the males are neutered. The meat has a better flavor if the male does not remain intact. Not intact refers to the removal of the testicles and in ranch or farm jargon people usually say castrate instead of intact or not. Another word that is used is neutered but neutered and castrated have the same meaning.

Post and photograph Yvonne