Look who's coming to dinner.

Masked bandits of the night.

Letter Jackets

Patricia and me sporting letter jackets. Patricia has on Victor's which was a big deal for dating couples then. The girl wore the guy's jacket so all of the other guys would know they were going "steady". Me, I'm wearing a jacket with "F" for Floresville which I got as playing on the winning Little League team that year. I was eleven then. The next year Poth had their first team when I was twelve. Poth won the area Little League Chanpionship that year when I was twelve. I got a jacket with a "P" for winning that year too. The teams we played were from neighboring towns, Stockdale, La Vernia, Floresville, and Nixon. I remember girls in Junior High thinking it was "hot stuff" to talk us in to letting them put it on. I guess they wanted to be like the older girls. I can remember all of us guys at that age being more interested in hunting, fishing, and all other things besides girls.

Feeder Camera

I installed an automatic camera on my trough feeder so that I can more easily keep tabs on the deer feeding there. It is neat because there is a date and time also recorded too. I change out cards so that I don't have to mount and remount the camera each time. It should be interesting.

Birthday Trip to Las Vegas

We took a quick trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Sandra's birthday. Remember, the secret is to keep a smile on your spouse's face for the rest of her life.

What happens to the "Big Ones"?

As I passed by one of the stock ponds this morning I noteced this bass floating on the surface. I'm not sure what happened to it. I could speculate on lots of reasons. It looked to me like it was about six or seven pounds.

Governor Perry's Super Highway form Oklahoma to Mexico

At the bottom of this map you can see where State HWY 541 intersects IH 37. If you move upward a short distance you can just detect County Road 427 as it leaves the Interstate. This is on the light blue or second choice plan. Lets all hope they go with the dark blue plan.
This is a map of the proposed highway and the alternate routes. Most of the blue shaded areas are ten miles wide. The actual route will be approximately one quarter mile wide...... that is 160 acres per mile of road. Think about that and it's effect on everyone in the path. Oh, and the state will own all of the gas stations, restaurants, and any other commercial interests along the way. I think the word is ..... upsetting!

Dreambuck

I mentioned this deer in the next group of pictures so I went into my files and retrieved these for you to see what happens sometime if the right buck breeds the right doe.

Pen raised whitetail deer

Whitetail deer hunting is now big business in Texas. Many resourceful people are now doing a quick fix for improving genetics in deer herds. The pictures above are from John Moczygemba who I think was one of the first ones doing this. His and his family's interest started with a deer named "Paco" who was an unusually outstanding buck. From this start they have built a business that now is being copied by many others. The deer you see pictured above will be sold to other breeders, bought and turned out in large tracks of "high fenced" ranches, or kept by the Moczygembas to carry on their herd of deer. If you have any interest in owning one of these deer they are not giving them away. You had better have deep pockets. The highest price I have heard of was for another breeder's deer named "Dreambuck" who was sold for $450,000. This particular deer had approximately 300 inches of antler on the Boone and Crocket scoring system as a four and one half year old deer. The deer pictured above I'm guessing could be bought for under $10,000 depending one their bloodline.

History, "Corrales de lena"

Cousin Tom Poth sent this article and picture to me. It is interesting reading. Corrales de lena refers to the mesquite log cattle pens that were common in South Texas when we were kids. The idea other than being good corrales was that cattle weren't going to try jumping out of something they couldn't see on the other side of. It worked great except that it wasn't easy for you to escape wild cattle from inside them either.

Rancho San JoseAround the 1860s, when the López family lived in Mexico, Chico Reyna, a cousin of Antonio’s, made trips hauling wool from Cadereyta, Nuevo León, through General Bravo, Nuevo León, and on to Corpus Christi, Texas. On his way through, he stopped to rest and visit with Antonio in San Pedro. Chico hauled his wool in a cart train, or tren de carretas, consisting of three two-wheeled carts. A strong lead rope made of rawhide held the carts together as they traveled. Oxen pulled the carts, which had bowed wooden arches covered with canvas. The oxen were fed, watered, and rested for the night at Antonio’s ranch so they would be ready to go the next morning.On one of these trips, Francisco López, Antonio’s oldest son, joined his uncle for the trip, little realizing the adventure that awaited him. The experience proved unforgettable for Francisco because there were so many new places to see. He later described the trip to his son, Francisco Jr. He found the speed of travel very slow and boring but steady. The oxen would keep on going and going. Francisco would walk for a while and then ride on the carts for a while. Occasionally, Chico prodded the oxen with a fancy decorated stick, a garrocha. The cart trails were sandy in places and rocky in others, making a rough ride. Francisco observed that his uncle knew where to stop to rest, to eat, and to water the oxen at the lagoons and creeks alongside the trail.Along the way they passed through some isolated ranches. Most consisted of sillar houses with one or two jacales nearby. His uncle knew most of the people living at the ranches, and he stopped briefly to talk to them. All of the ranches had names and served as landmarks in the area. Years later Francisco drove along the road in a vehicle and remembered the sillar homes. When new roads bypassed the old homes, their names as landmarks were no longer known. A few of the houses can still be seen in ruins alongside the road from El Sauz to Rancho Randado. A few of the old ranches had two or three of these sillar homes. On the small ranches, the stock consisted mainly of sheep and goats, a few cattle, and one or two horses to pull the buggy and provide transportation.Francisco remembered the largest ranch was Rancho Randado, which had several of the sillar houses and many jacales.The jacales housed the working ranch hands known as peones.Francisco saw earthen dams called presas. The ranchers made the presas by blocking the water flow of a creek with a ridge of dirt, un bordo de tierra. In some of the presas, an excavation was dug into the side wall and the dirt was used to build a ledge, giving it more depth so it would hold more water and form a small lake to provide water for a longer time for the livestock.These large ranches had cattle pens of mesquite logs, corrales de leña.A few ranches today have preserved this type of corral. Another ranch that Francisco remembered very well was San Lorenzo. Later, though it’s not known why, the name of this ranch was changed to Las Latas. His uncle usually made a late sleep stop there. Francisco came to know the owners, Albino and Crisanto Vela, well. They were very friendly, and he developed a good relationship with them. At that time it was a very busy ranch, a landmark in the community. It included some sillar houses and many jacales. From the 1860s to about the 1920s, this ranch was a thriving community. There is nothing left of Las Latas today except a nearby cemetery with the names of the early pioneer families engraved on the tombstones. The cemetery is southeast of Alice on Highway 665.

Mr. Cotton Robuck

This was when we left Mr. "Cotton's" home on November 19, 2003 to go hunt hogs. Note the pistol stuffed in the right side of his pants. He has just earlier said when I asked, "Sure I can shoot one with my pistol". And he did....................

Remembering "Cotton" Robuck

William E. Robuck 1907-2004 William Everett Robuck, better known as “Cotton” forthe cotton-white hair he had from age 5, passed awayon Sunday, April 18, 2004. He was born on March 8, 1907, in Pilgrim, Texas. Cotton was the youngest son of the 11 children born toand adopted by Henry William Robuck and Willie(Thackston) Robuck. Cotton was the grandson of a TexasRanger, Rosco Robuck, and the son of one of the lastof the Chisholm Traildrivers, Henry. The Robuck family moved when Cotton was quite small toWilson County and lived in a house along the banks ofthe San Antonio River. Cotton received his educationin San Antonio and in Poth, where he and his sister,Margaret, drove a horse and buggy to school. Thefamily got their first Model-T in 1910 when Cotton was3 years old. The Robuck kids were a tough bunch andsome recalled that the Robucks were so tough that theschool playground was divided in half: half for theRobucks and half for all of the other kids. When hewas 16, Cotton, along with his friend, Isidore Toman,hopped a freight train and rode it to California tomake their fortunes prize fighting. That didn’t panout and after further travels to Chicago during thetime of Al Capone and making his way through the GreatDepression, Cotton later worked on the E.B. Poth Ranchin Atascosa County, where he met and married HelenSmith. After leaving the Poth ranch, he was employedby Brown and Root Construction Company and helped tobuild the Marshall Ford Dam, now known as MansfieldDam, on the Colorado River above Austin. In October1940, his wife, Helen, and their small son, Billy Ray,2, died in an automobile accident near Austin. Afterthis tragedy, Cotton returned to his ranchingactivities near Poth. It was during this time that Myrtie Ruth Svoboda movedto Poth after graduating from the University of Texasand accepting a teaching position in Poth. Cotton andMyrtie were set up on their first date by the Pothschool superintendent and were married on April 2,1942, in the Catholic rectory in Poth. Cotton andMyrtie had two children, Michael, born Oct. 8, 1946,and Rebecca, born March 10, 1948. They both attendedthe Poth schools where they were especially active insports. The children awarded their parents an A+ forattendance at their athletic events and Cotton wascredited with having attended every game in whicheither of them participated. The Robuck cattle enterprise flourished for severalyears with calves bringing four, six, and on rareoccasions, eight cents a pound. The seven-year droughtof the 1950s, during which Cotton burned 1,200 acresof prickly pear to feed the herd, finally forced themout of the cattle business. During these years, Myrtieattended classes on Saturdays and through the summers,commuting to San Marcos to earn her master’s degree ineducation for a much-needed raise in salary. Meanwhile, Cotton had built and started operating theCotton Club; a steakhouse where he hoped beef on theplate would be more lucrative then beef on the hoof.Finally, with his cattle disposed of, his activitiesturned to buying and selling pecans. It was said thathe was well acquainted with every pecan tree in everypecan orchard and river bottom in Wilson County and agreat many in Atascosa and Gonzales counties as well. In the 1970s, Cotton turned his talents to the antiquebusiness with his son, Michael. He refinished antiquefurniture and helped run the Robuck’s Antique Shop inPoth well into his 90s. Cotton’s life spanned almost 100 years and there is nodoubt that he lived every moment of his life to thefullest. Cotton never met a person, a pitch game, or apistol he didn’t like. As most of us knew him, heenjoyed hunting, fishing, dominoes, card playing,driving the area looking for wildlife and wildflowers,and telling stories about the good old days (althoughhe often commented that these are the good old days).Cotton also enjoyed frying up a good home-cooked mealof catfish or oysters followed by his homemade icecream or date nut candy for anyone who happened tovisit. A good meal like this shared with friends orfamily would prompt Cotton to comment that we wereeating like “millionaires.” Cotton and Myrtie werewell known throughout Wilson County for theirhospitality and friendship. Cotton was especially good with children and taughtmany how to hunt, shoot, drive, swim, and enjoy thebest out of life. As his hunting buddy Freddy Poth canattest, Cotton was a great pistol shot and one learnedfast not to bet against Cotton making shots with his.22 pistol. Cotton hunted with Freddy up untilrecently. This last November at age 96, he shot andkilled a wild hog weighing about 125 pounds with a .22pistol using long rifle shells. However, sometimesCotton wasn’t so lucky with his shots. On at least oneoccasion Cotton spied a buck while driving in his carand got so excited trying to get the shot off beforethe buck moved off that he forgot to roll the carwindow down. He laughed and recalled, “I pulled thetrigger and there was only a small hole at first, thenthe whole right window fell out as the buck ran off.” Cotton was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years,Myrtie Robuck, who passed away nine months ago on July9, 2003. He is survived by his son, Michael, andMichael’s 10 children: Jennifer, Shane, Lillian,Everett, Joseph Lewellyn (Joey), Ella, Seth, Sita,David, and Nicholas. Cotton is also survived by hisdaughter, Rebecca, her husband Don, and theirchildren, Aimee and Josh. Cotton has fourgreat-grandchildren: Athena, Michael, Ava, and Elysia,and is also survived by his sister-in-law, LillianSvoboda. Cotton touched the lives and hearts of so many, andlarger than life tales of Cotton Robuck will make uslaugh for years to come. We would like to share onesuch tale — a poem written by Cotton’s friends, Pauland Peggy Fuller from Tennessee, who wrote this poemin honor of Cotton’s 95th birthday celebration. COTTON He’s a Big man from TexasAnd once you have metIt’s not very likelyYou’ll ever forget. He wears a white StetsonThat’s tall and wideDark gloves on his handsAnd a crutch by his side. He’s famous in PothFor his card playing waysHe’s out to defeatWhomever he plays Be it stranger or friendOr even his kin.This man from TexasIs out to Win! We’ll never play cardsWith this man from PothAnd give him the chanceTo beat us both, But as this ode endsWe wish to impartWith his wit and his charmHe has won our heart!

Dragonflies

Hmmmmmmmmmm... must be refueling, I guess.

Dragonfly

I believe this is the Common Whitetail dragonfly.

Male Butterflies at a "puddle party"

I think these are Cloudless Sulphur buterflies that I caught near one of the ponds.

Clemence Ranch Cabin...

The Clemence cabin is coming right along.

"Pear Apples"

The pear apples are ripening and all sorts of animals are eating them.

If you look closely enough you can see a feral hog track in the center of this picture with less obvious deer tracks.

#23 comes in to feed

I sat out this evening and this doe, #23, came in to feed about 7:45 PM.

Molting Cicada

Subject: cicada
Life Cycle
Immature periodical cicadas (nymphs) develop underground and suck juices from plant roots. After 13 or 17 years below ground, mature nymphs emerge from the soil at night and climb onto nearby vegetation or any vertical surface. They then molt into winged adults. Their shed outer skins or exoskeletons are found attached to tree trunks and twigs. The emergence is often tightly synchronized, with most nymphs appearing within a few nights. Adult cicadas live for only two to four weeks. During this short time, they feed relatively little. Male cicadas sing by vibrating membranes on the underside of the first abdominal segment. Male courtship songs attract females for mating. Females are silent. After mating, females lay their eggs in twigs
1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. The female's ovipositor slices into the wood and deposits the eggs. One to several dozen eggs can be laid in one branch, with up to 400 eggs being laid by each female in 40 to 50 sites.
Cicada eggs remain in the twigs for six to ten weeks before hatching. The newly hatched, ant-like nymphs fall to the ground where they burrow 6 to 18 inches underground to feed.
During the spring of the emergence year, periodical cicada nymphs may build mud tubes that project three to five inches above the soil, apparently to escape wet or saturated soils. These tubes are often mistaken for the tubes that crayfish build.
Annual cicadas usually emerge from June through August. Their emergence is scattered over this time and they rarely emerge in noticeable numbers. Annual cicada males also sing to attract females. The cicada killer wasp often captures these insects to provision its nest in the ground.

Cicada

Artifacts

Pictures are two pieces of a "metate", a flat usually sandstone piece of rock, which native Indians used to grind seeds in preparation for making some of their foods. I stumbeled on these a couple of weeks ago while out feeding deer. This usually marks a camp where other artifacts can be found. Lex and I have spent countless hours searching these sites for artifacts and have found some nice pieces. We started when we lived at the ranch and I then felt it would help teach him to look at where he stepped and avoid getting snake bit. After finding these pieces I told Lex that I would wait until he came to the ranch to check this site more closely.

Survival is tough in the brush...

I found this dead fawn this morning near one of the water ponds. I'm not sure what it died of. It could have been a number of things, coyotes, bobcats, fire ants, or probably a number of other causes. It was a little buck fawn.

Summer flowers

Isn't it amazing what a little rain will do?

Young Bucks

These two young bucks were checking me out this morning as I crossed this sendero. The one on the right barely has some knots on his head. Another one had just crossed headed to the right ahead of these two.

Beep beep...

Checking on the deer...

I was out late last evening checking on deer. This doe, #20, came in to feed at one of the troughs. It was late enough that the flash had to be supressed so as not to scare her off. The does are having their fawns now. This one looked like she was still had not given birth yet.

Sam's "Bevo"

This longhorn steer belongs to Sam Syring. He would make a better looking mascot than the current "Bevo". I would approximate his horns are now about seven feet from tip to tip. He was grazing up close to the road yesterday so I took the opportunity to get a few pictures.

Memories of "Sam's Town and Country"

This evening we met Doris at the "Store" for one last look. Doris has sold the store to a family that will open a Mexican Restaurant. Being inside the shell of what it used to be made us all think of what all went on during the days the store was open for business. It was fun remembering all the fun times and experiences we had while inside this building.