[JWSmith1959]

I moved to my current place about 14 months ago and it has been a journey to say the least. Within a week or two of moving here I began having issues with my legs....stamina, pain, numbness, etc. After a few scans and tests it was determined I had a 100% blockage in the artery that feeds my right leg and a 70% on the left. Three stents later and some time, I am finally able to get around more or less like I used to. I still have some bad nerve damage in my left leg that causes some issues, but it is manageable.

I have a Bushnell spotting scope that came with a digital camera as part of it. Alas, it is no longer made. All of the new ones use phone attachment devices that I will need to look into as I screwed up and left mine out a week ago and my remote shutter quit working probably due to something getting wet on the inside of the electronics. I tried a new remote shutter and same result. Nonetheless, I was able to get some great Fall photos of my place and some of the wildlife I have.

Some of the winter rye I planted is starting to come up and the deer seem to really like it. I have about a dozen or so wood ducks that like my oxbow lake (about 1 acre that borders a portion of the property). Here is some of the things I have photographed in the last couple of months. I have to figure out something with the remote shutter as when I try and manually take the photos with the button on the spotting scope, most are blurry and I get maybe 10% useable photos.

I won't comment as that always seems to screw up photos. Nice healthy deer that I am lucky enough to watch at times. All of the deer photos were taken with the long lens from inside my garage as they get spooky when I move around out back. I had moved the camera out for the ducks and that is how it got wet. I will have to figure out a replacement if I cannot get my remote shutter working.

 

[JWSmith1959]

Some other wildlife too. Birds and twins from last Spring. More woodies.

 

[JWSmith1959]

A few more. Oh...and I do have a few gators too...lol

Some Great Herons that my wife think sound like dinosaurs when they are waking up in the morning.

 

[JBelk]

VERY NICE!!! My desert winter is considerably different!

 

[mikekoch]

Nice place you got there! That one buck would give me "buck fever". Probably be my next story of missing.

 

[Jeepergeo]

Yikes on the gator! Nice shots, looks like a great place. Hope the health situation works itself out.

 

[Jack]

Great photos!

 

[7MMRLC]

Very nice! How close is the alley gator to your house? Haven't seen that many wood ducks since I left Kalif.

 

[JWSmith1959]

Can't figure out how to do multiple quotes in the new format, so will answer what I think was asked.

The BIG buck has come through here a few times, but always moves toward the back. There are a couple of old goat pens that are right at 120 yards from my back porch/driveway/garage. In these photos he is just on this side of the fence of those pens. He has always bolted if he notices any activity of me moving around. I caught a glimpse of him a time or two before I got these pics. I set my camera up in the garage to get these. I can come in through the Utility room and the deer don't seem to notice when I am in the garage. I have some photo's of a couple of the small bucks fighting, but am having issues with my SD Card reader on this computer. I will try and upload them once I figure out those issues.

The Gator (estimated at about 6') is in the Oxbow lake (about an acre or so in size) that is within 30-40 yards from the house. My wife likes to take her coffee down closer, but I cannot mow all the way to the normal bank, and she is aware of them. My BIL thinks there are as many as three that hang out there. I am less than a 1/4 mile from the Brazos River, so they probably can come and go as they please. The Oxbow bends around to another property on the low side, so there is a portion of it that I cannot see because of dense trees. We don't have pets and won't have chickens til spring. I wasn't up to that this past year...so not to worry about the gators getting free food. My neighbor directly across the pond has a couple of older labs, but the bank is very steep on his side. From my house, it is about a 50 foot drop to the Brazos in normal stage. Even during our floods in the last three years, it hasn't encroached on the property.

I have counted as many as 14 Wood ducks. I have enough Duckweed to support 1000 or so...lol They move around the entire Oxbow when it is full, but tend to like the back part where it is deeper and bends around to my neighbors. Had some Blue Wing Teal in September, but they would always fly off when I tried to get my camera set up. I checked with the local Audubon group and other research tells me that some wood ducks will breed here, so I plan on building some nesting boxes before Spring. I used to hunt Wood ducks in some Pecan bottoms near Austin, TX when I was in college. I plan on leaving most of the wildlife alone here though. I have seen some evidence of wild hogs in the goat pens rooting up wild onion and a neighbor (1/2 mile away) told my FIL he killed a 250 pounder a week ago. I think I saw him/her a few months ago and hope I don't see them again. I have been keeping a .22 Mag in the garage just in case though.

Chicken coop which I hope to have full in Spring.

 

[Darkker]

Can't figure out how to do multiple quotes in the new format,

FAQ

www.shootersforum.com

Scroll down to find the "Quote/MultiQuote" tutorial

 

[MikeG]

Looks like there is a gap where the roof is over the chicken coop.... hope the raccoons don't let themselves in.

Nice pics.

 

[DickelDawg]

I moved to my current place about 14 months ago and it has been a journey to say the least. Within a week or two of moving here I began having issues with my legs....stamina, pain, numbness, etc. After a few scans and tests it was determined I had a 100% blockage in the artery that feeds my right leg and a 70% on the left. Three stents later and some time, I am finally able to get around more or less like I used to. I still have some bad nerve damage in my left leg that causes some issues, but it is manageable.

I have a Bushnell spotting scope that came with a digital camera as part of it. Alas, it is no longer made. All of the new ones use phone attachment devices that I will need to look into as I screwed up and left mine out a week ago and my remote shutter quit working probably due to something getting wet on the inside of the electronics. I tried a new remote shutter and same result. Nonetheless, I was able to get some great Fall photos of my place and some of the wildlife I have.

Some of the winter rye I planted is starting to come up and the deer seem to really like it. I have about a dozen or so wood ducks that like my oxbow lake (about 1 acre that borders a portion of the property). Here is some of the things I have photographed in the last couple of months. I have to figure out something with the remote shutter as when I try and manually take the photos with the button on the spotting scope, most are blurry and I get maybe 10% useable photos.

I won't comment as that always seems to screw up photos. Nice healthy deer that I am lucky enough to watch at times. All of the deer photos were taken with the long lens from inside my garage as they get spooky when I move around out back. I had moved the camera out for the ducks and that is how it got wet. I will have to figure out a replacement if I cannot get my remote shutter working.


View attachment 100239 View attachment 100240

A few more. Oh...and I do have a few gators too...lol

Some Great Herons that my wife think sound like dinosaurs when they are waking up in the morning.

Some very nice pics. Looks like you have a great place there!

 

[JWSmith1959]

Looks like there is a gap where the roof is over the chicken coop.... hope the raccoons don't let themselves in.

Nice pics.

Thanks for pointing that out Mike. The whole reason for the forum. The fence is curled around the open area of the top 1-2 inches and the previous owner put some "spikey/razor" things along there. Not sure if it is enough to keep out all critters, but probably many. Snakes and Raptors seem to be the biggest problems around here from what I am told by my neighbors. I have not fiddled with chickens for many years. My Mom was always the keeper of them. My wife wants to give them a try, but Covid has raised prices and we will probably have to start small once the weather cooperates.
I still have several #3 Victor traps that I can set out around there if need be to try and take care of vermin. I have a Bobcat that frequents the area, so I don't want to accidentally catch him/her. I enjoy watching more than catching if I can.

 

[JWSmith1959]

Looks like there is a gap where the roof is over the chicken coop.... hope the raccoons don't let themselves in.

Nice pics.

I had a buddy come over to sight-in his new S&W .22 rifle and while I had him here, I had a bunch of chain link fence pieces that I was able to cover the top of the coop with. I may be set for Spring now if I am able to find some chickens to buy...lol Apparently, they are also in short supply since the pandemic.

 

[JWSmith1959]

Nothing terrifies anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast of Texas as much as "temperatures expected in the teens"...except for "calling for temps as low as 10F"...which terrifies us even more. I have lived through around 10F in 62, 83 and 89-90. All of them had consequences. Most of all fish kills in Galveston Bays....it takes years to recover.

Water is cut off to the chicken coop and the barn. Water Well head is covered and a 75 watt light bulb (old style) in the small well house in anticipation. I've wrapped all the outside pipes and will run water in the house. I had the water company turn off water to my house in town and drained the pipes as best as I could. All outdoor stuff is wrapped. Hoping for the best on my irrigation system there as some of the electric valves are barely below ground and the backflow preventer is somewhat exposed. I haven't run it in awhile, so hopefully there is room in the pipes for expansion. Will be below freezing for about 30 hours or so with anticipated low of 12 with the highs of around 22 on Monday.

Wish me luck.

 

[Darkker]

Hope you kept your woolen knickers😉
Here's mine, will cheer you up a little.

 

[60DRB]

I'm fine in SE Alabama except the rain just won't stop.
Worried for my Mom in north central Missouri. Single digit temps more than usual this winter.

 

[MikeG]

The low Monday is supposed to be 3 (three!) degrees. It hasn't be above freezing in several days. Gonna be busted water pipes everywhere I suspect.

 

[JWSmith1959]

The low Monday is supposed to be 3 (three!) degrees. It hasn't be above freezing in several days. Gonna be busted water pipes everywhere I suspect.

Yup...I have a friend on Lake Buchanan who is scrambling to secure his place. He already has some frozen stuff on his out-buildings It's the extended low temps we aren't used to. I hope y'all fare okay up North a little as you get it a little more often. I called my youngest Daughter in Texas City this morning and offered to drive down to do anything she might need since her Husband is on a two month job in Iowa. She told me that he flew home last night for the weekend to get everything there buttoned up. They might not get as cold, but they have a pool (no worries...just run the pump 24/7) and will still probably be below freezing for 24 hours or so. Glad that he was able to make it home to help out.

Good luck to all you people who are getting hit worse than here. Hope it all works out for all of us.

Joel

 

[recoil junky]

You's guys and your whining about the cold!

I wish it would freeze here! Rain on top of a foot of snow and ice in my driveway sucks!!

RJ