Texas and Woodvine
February 8, 1997
College Station here I come, right back where I started from... Yes, we are back in College Station for a few weeks. Time for our annual physicals, dental checkups, and eye exams. Found one bad tooth so must extend our stay in College Station until Feb. 19th when a new cap will arrive. Then we head for other parts of Texas and on to California, Oregon, and ultimately, Glacier National Park and environs where we plan to spend the summer. Tentative plans are to have a mini-reunion somewhere near Banff, Alberta with Jimmy, Brian, Ellen, and families. On the other hand, we may not leave College Station on the 19th. If we decide to have an electric line built on our "farm" we may stay here longer. With electricity, we can park our motorhome on the farm and maybe live there for a month or more during the year. The motorhome carries 100 gals. of fresh water that will last about 1 week - if we use water conservatively. Otherwise, drilling a water well will cost us about $5000 to reach water at 436 ft. that emits a somewhat sulfurous odor and sometimes exhibits a yellowish color. A septic tank will be added as needed.
The farm consists of 20 acres of woodland bordering Wickon Creek whose waters empty into the Navasota River, on to the Brazos River, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. It is located 15 miles east of College Station in the boondocks which means that it is a fairly quiet place. We sometimes see deer, squirrels, wild pigs, armadillos, coyotes, fox, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and birds in the yaupon thickets. Alligators, bobcats, and wolves have been seen in the area but we have never had the pleasure of seeing one. Post oaks, water oaks, blackjack oaks, hickory, pin oaks, American basswood, winged elm, American elm, Ironwood, cedar elm, honey locust, American holly, and white ash dominate the upper forest canopy while dogwood, redbud, possumhaw, yaupon, beautyberries, and farkleberry dominate the understory. Climbing through these canopies, in search of sunlight, are the vines of heavily-thorned brier, mustang and muscadine grapes, and wicker (used to made wicker chairs). The ground surface is generally covered with leaves in various stages of decomposition and where some sunlight reaches the ground, smut grass, little bluestem grass, and a few palmetto palms can be found. The creek is bordered by some very large water oaks, winged elm, bitter nuts and an occasional river birch. It flows steadily through the fall, winter, and spring but can become intermittent during summer droughts. Cotton-mouth moccasins and red-eared turtles can sometimes be seen swimming or sunning on logs.
Although we are in reasonably good terms with the animal and plant life of our farm, at times - and only with considerable attacks of conscience - we sacrifice trees or shrubs that impede access to our property. Although it is difficult to admit, when we purchased this property over 25 years ago, it served as our private hunting preserve. Deer, snakes, armadillos, and squirrel were plentiful and we harvested them, barbecued them, and fed them to our friends. Wild-game barbecue and beer were an almost irresistible attraction to the faculty, staff, and students of the Entomology Department. We played volleyball in the shade of the tall post oak trees and entertained visiting guests from China, Egypt, England, Israel, Brazil, etc. When interviewing prospective graduate students, one question I sometimes posed was: "Do you play volleyball?"
After a couple of rather gruesome deer kills, I had a conversion. It was no longer fun to kill. Since then, the enjoyment of the farm comes from observing living things rather than killing them. I have even been known to talk to plants. In a conversation with one of my friendly water oaks one year, I mentioned a perplexing problem at work - the next year this huge, beautiful, tree died - so now I am very cautious about talking to the vegetation. Unfortunately, it takes more than talking to kill the yaupon - a relative of holly that is nearly indestructible. Yaupon covets my driveway so every year it must be radically pruned or the driveway will disappear. My personal hell will likely consist of yaupon, extracting revenge by pruning my limbs, or mosquitos that will suck on my dead bones for eternity.
As with most things, there are limitations to my conscience about killing things - mosquitos, biting flies, ticks, and chiggers receive no mercy from me. When they attack, it is very easy to smash their little bodies and there is absolutely no attack of conscience afterward. Twenty-five years ago, when deer were plentiful, the farm was infested with lone star ticks and chiggers. Then, fire ants invaded and the ticks and chiggers disappeared. Fortunately, the fire ants do not prefer heavily wooded areas, so they are only a minor nuisance. I believe that the ants are the major cause of the virtual elimination of ticks and chiggers, so I coexist with them with little difficulty. However, the hoards of mosquitos that breed in the tree holes every spring present no similar virtue except to attract swallows and maybe bats. The appearance of mosquitos coincides with the onset of the hot and humid summer, so overall, the farm ceases to be an enjoyable place. Consequently, we can leave College Station for cooler environs. Besides, the mosquitos and black flies of Canada must also eat and seem to relish the taste of Texas, blood. They seem to have a special taste for blood with the consistency of sludge due to high platelet counts.
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