#chicken snake

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow Rat Snake aka Chicken Snake (Spilotes pullatus), Threat Display, family Colubridae, Costa Rica

photograph by Diego Ugalde

[ramona-sourdough]

Garden Update 🌧️

A few peeks into the garden between storms! We are simply in flood city after weeks of rain and severe storms (tornadoes haven’t touched near me, thankfully). I will share the full picture soon!! Also, new friend that I walked up on and said “Oh.”

My tomatoes (some of them) are finally growing after stinky fish fertilizer and some good soil that I added. We might just have some tomatoes. The green been beans have been producing for a few weeks now!!! Fun!! The zucchini, okra, and potatoes are all doing well. Potatoes plants are low-key stressful in how massive they are, but it’s a vibe.

[screwyouandrew]

Snake on the wall by Kasia Halka Via Flickr: Black Rat Snake climbs a brick wall.

[Side note: oh lawd he comin]

[dragomircho]

those are all results of my sleep deprivation

enjoy

[vacationsoup]

New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/do-you-have-a-problem-with-snakes-at-scurlock-farms/

Do You Have a Problem With Snakes at Scurlock Farms?

Can you guess the number one question I get from guests?

I love giving tours of the farm to my guests in a Polaris.  The tours range anywhere from 3o minutes to 2 hours, depending on the guests.  The number one question I get while giving tours is "Do you have a problem with snakes?", meaning "Do you have a problem with snakes at Scurlock Farms?", meaning rattlesnakes.

I have hosted guests from 21 countries and all 50 states, so you can imagine the preconceived ideas many folks have of Texas!  Many think all of Texas is desert, cactus and you guessed it - rattlesnakes!

The members of a band from Spain playing at SxSW spent a week with us last year.  They said all of their friends and family had warned them about rattlesnakes before they left for Texas!  Another gentleman from Georgetown was going to rent one of the homes for friends of his that were visiting from out of state, and they were afraid to stay in the country because of snakes.

A rattlesnake "belt" modeled by Annie B Sweet

I tell all of my guests to just be aware of where they are walking when out hiking.  In eight  years of hosting hundreds of guests, would you believe not one of them has sited a snake!

Tom N. is a guest from Canada whose family has spent January through March with us at Scurlock Farms the past three years.  Year before last Dan and David were moving a huge brush pile at the far end of the property, 1/2 mile from the homes, that had been there for 4 years, getting ready to burn it.  At the very bottom of the pile the skid steer picked up a rattlesnake.  Dan called me to bring a gun.

I stopped at Indian Bluff where Tom was staying and asked if he would like to see a rattlesnake and he was thrilled!  He was going back home to Canada in two days and commented he was going to call me to see where he might look for a rattlesnake!!  I would have had no idea.  Tom got some good photos and video as David cut the rattles off for him to take home with him.

David getting rattles off headless rattlesnake for Canadian guest

Believe it or not, snakes really are just as afraid of you as you are of them!  Given the chance, they will run away from you.  When going over a log, step on the log rather than over it.  If a snake is under it, it will warn him and he will warn you.  I'm sure that snake they found thought he was safe at the bottom of the pile!

In Williamson County (and throughout most of Texas) we do have rattlesnakes, copper head and coral snakes.  We have never seen a copperhead on the farm.  I think they like sandier soil, and we have black clay.

There ARE beneficial, friendly snakes!

I know to many people "a snake is a snake", but we also have many very beneficial snakes like the king snake and chicken or rat snakes.  Did you know it is illegal to kill a king snake?  They eat rattlesnakes! as well as rats, mice, etc.  We have had several chicken snakes.  I call them chicken snakes rather than rat snakes as they eat my hen's eggs!  When Dan and David cut and baled hay in May, they found a large rat snake that the cutter had caught.

This chicken snake was eating an egg my chickens had laid in a flower pot.  David videoed him, then dispatched him.

Just so you know, we do kill all rattlesnakes we happen upon.  David skins them and makes beautiful pens with their skin.  Dan made a gorgeous belt and Dan mounted one of a stained board as a Christmas gift.  Believe it or not, they are expensive to buy.

In 50 years, we have seen 2 baby coral snakes.  Coral snakes are very venomous, but they must chew on a thin part of your body, such as between the fingers, in order to bite, so I am not worried about them.  Remember, "when red touches yellow, he's a dangerous fellow".

Funny story about the first one seen at the farm.  It was 50 years ago right after we moved out here.  I found a very small one in the side yard and killed it.  Dan put it in a brown lunch sack, rolled up the top and took it to the County Extension Agent, Ronnie Lepps.  Ronnie wasn't in his office, so Dan just left it on Ronnie's desk.  He called later to verify that it was a coral snake.  Ronnie informed Dan it was, and to "not ever do that again!"  I think he about had a heart attack when he opened the bag.

Baby Coral snake

Want to attend the largest Rattlesnake Roundup in the world?

Sweet Water TX holds the largest rattlesnake roundup in the world.  They actually go out and hunt for them, and thousands of pounds are collected over a weekend.  They are cooked in a variety of ways and guests can purchase the different foods prepared with rattlesnake.  You couldn't pay me to go to one!!

Finally, to answer guest's questions "Do you have a problem with snakes?" I tell them we are in Texas, so there are snakes, but we don't have a "problem".  I advise them to watch where they are walking,  don't be sticking their hands down holes, and let them know the snakes really are as afraid of them as they would be of the snake.

  Travel Tip created by Sheron Scurlock in association with Vacation Soup

[xfadedmemoriezx]

We found a chicken snake trying to sneak some bird eggs. We got it down and set it free into the pasture away from our yard.

[vacationsoup]

New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/scissortail-flycatchers-dive-bomb-vultures/

Scissortail Flycatchers Vs Intruding Vultures

We never know what awaits us when we step outside, and are continually surprised and delighted if we have a few minutes to slow down, watch and listen!  There is always some drama in nature occurring if we just notice – many times life and death events.  Last week we witnessed a pair of beautiful Scissortail Flycatchers dive bombing intruding vultures at Scurlock Farms!

Last week, a breeze was blowing late in the evening and it had cooled down considerably.

Dan and I were sitting under the trees in the front yard when all of a sudden we heard a pair of Scissortail Flycatchers really raising a ruckus!  We looked up, and 2 large Vultures were sitting on an antennae on Dan’s radio tower about 55′ in the air.  They were being repeatedly dive bombed by a pair of Scissortail Flycatchers.

In order to help you understand why the pair was so upset, you should know that every year they build their nest at 55′ on the top of another tower that is about 40′ from the tower the vultures were perched on.

Talk about bobbing and weaving!

One of the vultures was braver than the other and he kept sticking his neck and head up – big mistake!  The pair of scissortails would dive bomb him and he would quickly tuck his neck and head back in!!  Talk about David vs Goliath.

The scissortail flycatchers did not give up until the vultures decided the better part of valor was to give in to the much smaller birds and depart the premises.

The next evening, we happened to be sitting outside again, and low and behold, there were 5 Scissortail Flycatchers flitting about the area.

Scissortail Flycatcher

  Three babies had fledged and were flying about with their parents.  That definitely answered the question of why the pair of Scissortails had been so determined to chase off the interlopers the day before.

According to Wikipedia:

“The scissortail is now considered to be a member of the Tyrannus, or “tyrant-like” genus. This genus earned its name because several of its species are extremely aggressive on their breeding territories, where they will attack larger birds such as crows, hawks and owls.”

For several years, I had a large black-eyed pea patch near Rocky Overlook at Scurlock Farms.

Beautiful Scissortail Flycatchers

A pair of Scissortail Flycatchers always nested in one of the pecan trees on the border of the garden.  As long as I was in the garden, they were flitting around and fussing about my being there.  Luckily, they never dive bombed me like they did the vultures!

Did you see Scissortail Flycatchers when you were growing up?    Have you noticed them being territorial?  We would love to hear where and when you saw them.  Scroll down and leave a comment below?

[capaldis]

in this house we zesty plums show love and support

my zesty plum fam is the best… lil spicy, lil tangy, lil zesty