Texas Drive

 Tuesday...

We have gone from 2 days of shorts to a deep freeze.  J cooked Red Beans with Rice (Louisiana style), cookies, and cheese sandwiches plus made a couple pots of coffee for warmth.

 

Wednesday...

A drive to Port Lavaca by pastures with cattle, snow geese, sandhill cranes, and deer.

            Texas has several types of deer with 3 in this area.  Here are the Axis deer with spots.

 

 

Axis deer are a native to India. They were first introduced to Texas in 1932.  They have a burnt orange to bright red coat with rows of white spots that persist throughout life and a black streak running the length of their spine.  Antlers are simple, usually only 3 points.  Axis deer can weigh up to 200 pounds.  They like semi-open, dry scrub forest and open areas as they are primarily a grazer; but, can exist on woody browse.  They are most active 2-3 hours after dawn and before dusk.  With few exceptions, the Axis deer are not regulated by game laws.  They are landowners property and may be bought, sold, or hunted at any time.  Because of this ranchers stock them for hunting when native species are not available.  The meat is of excellant quality and lacks the strong game flavor associated with venison.  The Axis deer tend to compete with the Whitetails for resources and space.  Resistant to disease makes them flourish.  They are the most numerous exotic game in Texas. 

Sambar is a large deer native to India.  Their appearance and size varies.  In general they are 40-63 inches at the shoulder and weight up to 1204 pounds.  Their size is equal to an Elk.  Their rugged antlers average 43 inches long and have 3 tines.  Their shaggy coat can be yellowish-brown to dark grey in color.  The Sambar has a small dense mane.  Their tail is black above with white underside and long for deer.  Their range is tropical forests where they are seldom far from water.  The Sambar are nocturnal and like the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses.  Having a long snout with air holes below their eyes, they have the ability to feed under water and still breathe.  Their antlers are highly prized for use as knife handles and as grips for handguns.


Sambar deer were introduced onto St. Vincent Island, Florida in 1908 where they live in the lowlands and marshes.  Whitetail deer also live there in the highlands.  To ensure the Sambar deer population does not disrupt the Whitetails, hunting permits have been issued since 1987 to regulate the population to 70-100 deer.

 

White-tailed deer is a medium sized deer.  They have reddish-brown coats in summer which fades to a dull grayish-brown in winter.  A buck can have antlers up to 3 feet across, stand 4 feet tall, and weigh up to 300 pounds.  Their antlers have several tines.  A hunter's saying is, "for every nub you can hang a ring on you count it as a point".  The largest deer ever harvested on our farm was 285 pounds with a 32 point rack.  Dad called it "an old swamp buck".  White-tailed deer are found in forests, fields, brushy areas, streams, and marshes.  They like grazing on plants and grasses; but, also enjoy twigs, fruits, nuts, corn, peas, alfalfa, and fungi.  They are primarily nocturnal; but, will venture out during the day.  We are now seeing them more in gardens, lawns, and along highways.

 

Coyote...the name is borrowed from Mexican Spanish coyote, derived from the Azec word meaning "trickster".  Its scientific name means "barking dog".  The coyote's color varies from grayish brown to yellowish gray on the upper parts, while the throat and belly are white to buff.  Mountain coyotes are darker in color than the dessert coyotes.  Here the coyote is a problem with the cattle ranchers.

Our Nebraska neighbor has been in this area for a while and told of a 4 foot aligator found in a nearby ditch.  So, beware where you walk or snoop around.

While in Port Lavaca we found Walmart with great gas prices and a few grocery items for the pantry.

Back at camp J baked a pizza with extra toppings and I fixed a yummy lettuce/tomato salad.  Chocolate Lovers cookies were baked for dessert in our NuWave oven.  Yum! 

                                               Until next time....take care and safe travels.