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| Timber Rattler |
I've found several of these (but none this big) at our place. "The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is a large, heavy-bodied pit viper species native to eastern North America. It is also known by the names canebrake rattlesnake and banded rattlesnake. It is a very poisonous snake with a deadly bite." Source: Google. Image: Meta via Texas Snake Identification.
Find out more on howstuffworks.
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| Skink - Author's Picture |
According to Google Image Search, the picture of this creature "shows a five-lined skink, likely a Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) or a Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus). You can get an idea of its length by the porch boards it's lying on. They are 2"x6". This picture was taken in July of 2025.
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| Pygmy Rattlesnake |
The pygmy rattlesnake, or Sistrurus miliarius, is a venomous snake. It can grow to a length of about 2'. It can most definitely be found in East Texas. See Wikipedia for more information.
Image: Meta via Texas Snake Identification.
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| Moss - Author's Picture |
The pictured flower is called moss, or Portulaca. 2025 was the first year that I got it to grow, because (in previous attempts) I didn't give it enough sunlight. It's native to South America. It's a plant that survives/thrives in full sunlight. Check out the Martha Stewart website to learn all about this very pretty plant. The picture was taken in June of 2025.
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| Eastern Rat Snake - Author's Picture |
My mom's dog, Chaos the beagle, found a rat snake on the front porch. The picture was taken in the summer of 2015. It had dropped by to try to steal the eggs from a bird that had nested on the porch. These snakes can grow to be 7' long. This one looks like a long one.
Eastern rat snakes used to be called black rat snakes. When I was little, we called them "chicken snakes." When (as an adult) my daughter raised some chickens, we frequently found them raiding the nests for eggs. They ate little chickens, too.
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| Orange Day Lily - Author's Picture |
According to Google Image Search, the plant is the Orange day lily, aka Hemerocallis fulva. Cats are allergic to it. They are edible, but I don't think I'd take the chance. The picture was taken in July of 2025. Check out the article on Wikipedia.
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| Terrapin - Author's Picture |
Tentatively named, "terrapin," because I don't really know what s/he is. When I was young, we called them "terrapins." We pronounced it "turpen" (like turpentine) because of our weird Texas accents. This one was crossing the driveway when we returned home. We stopped and picked him up, kept him around for a little while, took pictures, and then let him go. He was moving fast, trying to get away. That week had been very wet because of a lot of rain. All kinds of turtles and snakes were moving about.
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| Raccoon - Author's Picture |
I guess I post too many animal/wildlife shots. This is the third sighting of a raccoon in the front yard this year. It's not the same coon that often visits. He's a bit skinny. He had been eating some leftover food that had been tossed out. Then he came onto the porch where I was sitting. He was wary of me, and I of him. He didn't stick around long, though, and then he made his way into the woods. Woods surround my house on three sides.
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| Lantanas - Author's Picture |
Lantanas are native to the tropical areas in the Americas and Africa, but they are considered an invasive species in many places. They are poisonous to most herbivores. They do attract butterflies. There are many species of lantana. The picture was taken in the summer of 2025.
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| Cottonmouth - Author's Picture |
I got a poor picture of a venomous northern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus). I've seen a few too many this year, and I'm always on the lookout for them. I don't think they've ever chased me, but I have had them roll into a defensive position and "gape" at me. The "gape" is where they open their mouths and hope that you go away. The inside of the mouth is very white, thus, "cottonmouth." They're also called water moccasins. Oh, the time that one "gaped" at me, hoping I would run away? It happened when I was a teenager, and I ran away. Seriously, though, I was terrified.
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| Agkistrodon piscivorus |
Technically, a cottonmouth is not "poisonous." The way it works, if you bite it and get sick, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you are envenomated, it is a venomous snake. So, a cottonmouth is a venomous snake. They're dangerous if you mess with one. Source: Meta via Snake Identification.
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| Agkistrodon piscivorus |
Source: Meta via Texas Snake Identification.
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| Blue Jay Feather - Author's Picture |
The above picture was taken in June of 2025. I had been seeing a lot of blue jays in the yard. I saw bright blue birds and some that were not quite as colorful. I think the bright ones are male, and the less bright ones are female. They're very vocal creatures.
I'd been trying to see if I could find a feather. It's not too impressive, and I have found beautiful, perfect feathers in the past. Officially, the bird is called Cyanocitta cristata. There are four subspecies of them. Oh, I took the feather back outside and put it on the ground.
More sources about Blue Jays:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bluejay/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_jay
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| Blue Jay |
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| Black-eyed Susan - Author's Picture |
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| Black-eyed Susan - Author's Picture |
I was raised to call these flowers and others similar to them "black-eyed Susan." The pictures were taken in June of 2025. According to various sources, the flower has been used in folk medicine and even to make dye. There are several varieties of them. It is the state flower of Maryland.
Sources: Wikipedia, Almanac.com, and Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi.
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| Rosy Maple Moth - Author's Picture |
This picture, taken in the spring of 2025, shows the Rosy Maple Moth, or Dryocampa rubicunda.
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| Muscadines |
All of them haven't fully ripened, but many have. The name for this plant is Vitis rotundifolia. They are a kind of grape that you can find growing in the wild in areas of Texas.
The vines in the first picture belong to my in-law's. If they get enough, they're going to make jelly. I helped pick some the other day and kept three for myself to see how they tasted. Yes, I washed them thoroughly. They have a good taste.
The other day I had an unplanned visit to take my mom to the doctor. She saw her PCP but didn't have an appointment. They told her to come anyway, so that's what we did. It took forever after we got there.
First, it started thundering. It never rained, so that was okay. Then, mom saw the doctor. From there they sent her to labs, where she had bloodwork and a urine text. Then she went over to have an x-ray. After all that, she went back to the doctor. Then, she went to the in-building pharmacy to pick up prescriptions. Finally, we got to go home. After all was said and done, I had to take her car to the store to put gas in it. I was exhausted.
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| Petunia - Author's Picture |
"The image shows a Wild Petunia, which is a common name for plants belonging to the genus Ruellia, particularly species like Ruellia humilis (Hairy Wild Petunia) or Ruellia caroliniensis (Carolina Wild Petunia)." Source: Google Image Search and AI.
I've been doing dishes, laundry, washing carpets, and making hummingbird food. Remember, it's 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. You don't need to buy it at the store, and the food that's dyed red is not recommended. It probably won't be long until the hummingbirds vanish until next year, but for now they're very active. Also, I fed the dogs and watched the neighbor saddle and ride her horse for a while.
It's August, which is generally a scorching time here in Texas. It has been unseasonable cool lately. I'm not ready for fall and winter weather. If I had the money, I'd move some place where it stays warm year around. It's supposed to warm up, tomorrow.
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| Feral Pigs - Author's Picture |
The picture shows a couple of feral pigs in front of our house. My wife took it. I spent some time last night watching movies and drawing out a map of Dobbs City on a piece of graphing paper. The extended holiday weekend is now over. Tomorrow it's back to the household grind.
After the above events, a friend of ours came to visit. He rode up on his 4-wheeler. All was well with him, but he would have to do without breakfast the next day. There was no food in the house, and he had no money. We gave him $5 to help him out - he said it was more than enough for his breakfast. I then had to make him take it. He didn't really want to.
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| Walkingstick |
"The image shows a walkingstick, also known as a stick insect or phasmid." (Google.) The one in the picture seems to have been attacked or something. It's missing limbs.
We took our usual trip to Walmart, but we haven't really done anything else this weekend. I did get a roast for supper (dinner).
It's been raining and surprisingly cool for August. I don't really care for cool or cold weather. I much prefer it when it's warm or even hot outside.
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail |
I posted a picture of two butterflies previously. Here's another, single one. It's an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Tonight, I had to take some trash up to the dumpster. Garbage goes into a rented dumpster. The dumpster is too far away to walk to it, so I have to carry it up there in the car. On the way back down the driveway, I saw my sister-in-law doing something beside her house. I stopped. She was pulling cattle panels out of the weeds. I helped her, and before long, we had dragged several panels out into more tall grass. We set them up and moved a young lady's horse into them so it could graze. That's probably the most interesting thing I've done all day, if not all week. The young lady is very nice and respectful, but she's bored, I think. I wish we could have invited her to dinner, though my sister-in-law had already fed her.
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtails |
Google says the butterflies pictured are Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. I was walking in the back yard near the property line when one landed. I was trying to get a picture of it, and then a second one landed. I had been trying to get a picture of one of these for the past few weeks. Then got two in one.
Happy Birthday to H.P. Lovecraft (August 20, 1890)!
Well, we had the burgers at my father-in-law's cookout the other day, and we burnt the burgers. Those that were not burned were delicious, as were the hot dogs that were grilled along with them. My S-i-L and I sat outside on the back porch and started talking. We weren't paying attention, and the next thing you know, we had "burn-burgers" instead of hamburgers. We had chocolate cake for dessert, which was also good.
I met a fellow from Nepal a few days ago. He talked about how he'd seen Mt. Everest. He'd never been really close to it because it's dangerous. It's almost 50k to attempt to climb it, he said. I wish I had had more time to talk with him about it.
