I walked out behind my home this Sunday to find over 100 Buzzards behind my back yard with over 120 dead fish floating in the pond behind my house or scattered along the bank. See Blog All of the Fish in the pond Appear to Have Died Overnight! What the?
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has concluded that the fish in the Woodcreek Subdivision died due to lack of oxygen. My understanding is that this was because: we had a long period with no rain, then lots of rain overnight, with not a lot of natural vegetation in the pond, and a fountain that had recently broken. Apparently, once the amount of oxygen decreases in a tank, it can kill the fish overnight. Now we have tons of algae in the tank and the whole thing looks nasty and green.
This brings me to my latest problem. I hand raised approximately 14 ducks and 2 geese last spring and then released them into the lake. At this point, the lake is clearly less than desirable and the ducks have moved into my back yard.
My two and four year old think it is Easter with the eggs in my back yard! The Tree Walker coon hound See Meet Snoofy: A College Station Animal Rescue in Need of a Loving Home is definitely NOT a hunter and is no help at all!
And it has become such an issue in the last 2 days to get water, they are even brave enough to reside on the back porch and drink out of the dog bowl! They don't go to the South Lake, which is beautiful and in working order because another flock lives there. I am worried they are going to distroy my back porch and kill the grass. Any suggestions would be most appreciated! ;D
College Station Texas is a wonderful place to live with a variety of wildlife. This toad was found in the parking lot at the Home Depot on University Drive. Luckily, "Kermit" was rescued and taken to a heavenly pond in South College Station where he found more water and bugs and less asphalt and cars. In case you didn't know, 2008 is the Year of the Frog. This has because Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, newts, etc. are going extinct. Luckily, most amphibians in College Station, Texas have not been affected.
In looking for information as to what type of amphibian this was, I came across the Texas Parks and Wildlife"Frogs and Toads" Texas website. The best part about this site is that there is a section where you can click and hear the calls each Texas frog makes. If you live near water in Bryan, College Station, you are guaranteed to hear many of these calls in the evening.
At the pond near my house, the frogs "sound an alarm" every night at 8:00 pm. They are on time every evening. Should you want to discover what frogs are around your property, please know there are rules for "Frogging." That's right, a frog is considered a wild animal. LOL! I am not a "Frogger" but I think this is a Narrowmouth Toad.
To officially participate in Frog capturing, you must have a State of Texas Hunting Licence. For parents of young kiddos, the licence is $6.00 if you are under 17 years old. You should also attend a TPWD amphibian monitoring workshop which will allow you to receive a scientific permit for hunting frogs. Be sure to check out the Official Rules for Frogging which clearly state how to keep both "Frogger" and Frog safe.
Collecting frogs on public roads is not allowed, but rescuing them from traffic is! For the record, even with a licence, a "Frogger" is not allowed to possess more than 25 frogs or toads. And since we live near Houston, it is important to know that the Houston Toad is federally listed as an endangered species and may not be handled.
Wherever you are, be sure to enjoy the wildlife around you!
Happy Buying, Selling and maybe Frogging!
Easterwood Airport is the only airport in Bryan College Station, and it is owned and operated by Texas A&M University.
It provides both commercial and general aviation services. When you are headed out of town from Easterwood, your choices are American Airlines or Continental, and currently approximately 85,000 passengers choose one or the other each year.
When you depart from Easterwood, your next stop is either Dallas or Houston and the cost will be at least $100.00 and will theoretically take you a little over an hours time. A drive to Dallas, in comparison and considering only minimal traffic, is approximately a 4 hours trip, and you are looking at a minimum of 2 hours if you are headed to Houston.
Gas prices being what they are, a short plane ride for the money doesn't sound that bad at all. And isn't time money to begin with; so why is there an issue at all?
The problem is that if you are flying to or from Easterwood Airport, you are rolling the dice as to whether your little puddle-jumper airplane is arriving or departing on time as scheduled. It seems that more often than not, the flight you booked has either been delayed or canceled.
If you are flying to Houston or Dallas on a strict timetable with a connecting flight to catch, and your flight out of CLL has been delayed, you now have no choice but to drive like crazy to the major airport to try and meet your connection. Refund for the now useless ticket? Not a chance.
Since the airlines could get you on a later flight, you are now out the money for your attempt at flying from Easterwood. If you are lucky enough to depart without delay, there is no guarantee luck will be with you on your flight home. This means that you are now stuck at a major airport with no vehicle. The delays unusually last between 3 and 4 hours so if you had a car, you would have made it home sooner that if you paid more for the "Quicker" flight back to CLL.
So what do you think? Is the conveninece of Easterwood Airport worth the risk of missing your connecting flight or a potential extended stay at a major airport? Personally, I don't like to gamble. If I have to fly out of Dallas, I'm more willing to roll the dice. If Houston has my connecting flight, I'll take my car and the 2 hour guarantee.
Articles on Home Buying and Selling
OK, so if you know me you know I am a big animal lover, gigantic really. I don't know why, but my broker and the office manager here at Century 21 Beal, Inc. in College Station TX can attest to the fact that I am always running into unique animal situations. I think it all started 6 years ago when I was a newer agent:
I was on a final walk through on a home in the country. The Buyer noticed that the chickens were still in the coup in the back yard. She didn't want them, and the Seller was long gone, so to complete the sale I took them home. Truth be told, at the time I lived in a subdivision and although I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh eggs, one day after work I came home to find two of the birds "nesting" on the top of my roof. After that, they had to go, but I found a great country home for them.
Since then there has been a plethora of creatures cross my path: from squirrels, turtles and rabbits hit by cars, to abandoned puppies, kittens, half-starved dogs, goats, wild birds, abandoned fish in fish tanks, etc, and I do my best to help each time the need arises. I have even assisted a chicken with a broken leg and a mole. Sadly, the mole didn't make it, but I do have a pretty good track record. ;D
This week, I helped a Buzzard. Yep. A Buzzard. When I arrived home from work, it became apparent that a buzzard had broken his wing (probably from being hit by a car) and had decided to call my backyard his new home.
I already have approximately 12 ducks that live in my backyard (a story for another day). As I have no medical training to repair a wing, and as his beak could easily have removed one of my fingers or one of my kiddos hands, it was obvious my backyard was not a good place for him stay.
Thus, I called on my friends at the City of College Station's Animal Control Division. Within 20 minutes, a officier was on hand to help relocate my new feathered friend. For those of you who don't know, Animal Control will take injured animals to be evaluated by a veterinary rehabilitation specialist. If the animal is in a condition that can be helped, help will be provided and the animal will be rehabbed.
One thing you may not know about buzzards, (I did not know this before today) when they get upset, they throw up. And if you think it is yucky and smelly to see your food for a second time, imagine the results this bird can produce as we all know what they just got finished eating. BLAH.
To put an end to this long story, I would like to thank the officer who came out and helped me de-buzzard my yard and I would like to thank my husband for helping him do it. I wish the buzzard a smooth recovery an a happy life at his new location.
Please: be kind to animals, and help them when they need it!
Happy Home Buying and Selling!
Raylene Lewis, a House-SOLD Name! This year, I have sold over 90 Units in Bryan/College Station. As a Realtor, my Job is to get you what you want in the time you want & I guarantee Satisfaction!!
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