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Swamp Donkeys and a Sasquatch
By Andy Anderson
It’s 5 a.m., on this cold December morning. I’m sneaking through the house quietly, careful not to wake the house. I gather my hunting gear, fill the thermos with coffee and head out the back door, climb into my truck and head out down the road to the deer stand. Because I hunt on my own land, I pack light, just the basics: rifle and ammunition, coffee, a snack and binoculars.
It’s about 30 degrees and not a breath of wind. I park about a half mile away and walk into the stand.
As I’m approaching the hunting area, I can hear movement in the woods to my left, about 15 yards away. I think to myself, must be a opossum or armadillo. I try to keep walking, but my mind will not stop wondering what it is that seems to be following me. I can’t stop thinking about what’s out there making all that noise. It has to know I’m here, and it’s not scared of me.
So, I take out my mini flashlight and shine it into the woods. I can still hear it, but I can’t see it. The forest area is dense, over grown with underbrush, and briars. The ground is littered with all the leaves from the trees. It’s getting louder and closer. I hold my ground shining the light intensely in the area of the sound. Then it stops, no sound. All I can hear and feel is my heart beating hard and the exhale of the air from my lungs. Then, a little rustle in the leaves, a crack of a twig, and there I see it, an armadillo.
As a smile begins to raise and a sense of relief comes over me, a loud crash is heard.
The sound of large limbs breaking and the distinct indication of something very large running through the woods away from me breaks the silence about the woods. I’m startled. My body becomes warm all over, my eyes focused, hearing intensifies. I drop my gear bag, shine the light in the direction of the sounds. The armadillo flees for its life as well. It runs right at me, hits me in the left leg, bounds straight up nearly doing a back flip and hits the ground running. Almost as quickly as it started, it was over.
To read more pick up a copy of the October 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
One of my professors out at Texas Tech University always told us that we aren’t just raising cattle, we’re raising grass, because without grass there is no cattle business. The same applies to most livestock species and crops we seek to raise- without good land management, no good yield can grow.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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