First, I had to put a big culvert so that I could ALWAYS get across Blalock Branch.

Next, At the end of Rhino Road and across T-Rex Trail, is Mastadon Road. There were several BIG Oak trees blown down over it and I had to cut through them to get through. I ended up with a respectable pile of Firewood logs.

Then, On to Panther Swamp. Its about 30-40 acres and had to be drained.

After I got it drained, and let it dry out, I ventured out into land that nobody has been in during my lifetime at least.

I cut a road through it and hopefully, I can get my 4 wheeler though it when it fills back up.

Not ALL of the inhabitants were happy about my intrusion but I think they will be when I use the trails to kill some hogs.

Coach, that’s a workload for sure.
Walker

Hey Coach,

Amazing!!!!!

Take a day off!

Coach, give me a call when you get a chance.

Pap

looks like some damn hard work to me!!!

:-)Rocky

Rocky:

It was some hard work!

I had to cut those logs before daylight using a headlamp and it was still hot!

But getting access to the swamp was something I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid. It will make for some of the best duck hunting in Texas. It will also make for an awesome 4-wheeler ride when the weather cools off.

You never know what you might see over there!

Coach

Careful what you wish for

Yep. Him too!

And then there is Gladys.

Gladys Spruill grew up on this place. She was “touched”. She used to pull all her clothes off, throw them in the fireplace, and run out in the woods screaming bloody murder. They put her in Terrell State Hospital when she was about 18 back in the 1930s.

She spent her entire adult life in Terrell. About the only treatment that they had for mental illness in those days was “Shock” treatment. I remember some of my cousins telling that Gladys had been given more “Juice” than Frankenstein and would never die.

When she was in her late 80s, her brother, Harmon, went to Terrell, picked her up, and brought her out here to see her home place. Now I’m not saying it’s fact or fiction, but some say she ran off in the woods and was never seen again.

When the weather is cool, my Bride and I like to sit out on the back porch and listen to the sounds of the woods. We generally hear wolves, hoot owls, whooperwills, hogs, and panthers. But every now and then, there is this blood curdling scream that we can only attribute to Gladys. That’s when we go in and lock the doors.

How long did it take for the water to drain, and how long before you were able to walk/drive on it?

It took a week to completely drain. The Beavers dammed it up the first night. After that, I broke them from that.

About a month to drive on it after that.

There are still a few mud holes left but they are drying fast in this 100+ heat and wind.

We had this family of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks (otherwise known as Tree Ducks) raise in one of our ponds close by the house.

I understand that they are native to South America. We don't know why they chose us but we are glad they did. The babies have really grown in the last 2 weeks.

I had never seen these before, but I understand that they are becoming plentiful in parts of the South.

Heckuva’ investment in your land, wildlife, your own mental health…..etc., Coach.
You put sweat investment time into draining the swamp, & doing some custom clearing and won’t it be sweet now seeing nature do her thing adding what naturally fills in the woodlands, waters & swampy areas, bird sanctuaries and migratory flyways. Nice…and thanks for putting up pics.

Excellent “catch” on them Coach.
Hopefully they will return next year if they migrate away.
Walker

Coach--

The whistling ducks are also in Florida. I don't know if they migrate but they are there during the winter.

We also get the white pelicans which migrate down from Oregon-Washington-BC...long trip, but I also think you get them in Texas.

Also saw 3 Egyptian geese last year. Turns out some years ago they escaped after being imported as a novelty, and apparently are doing well in their new home.

Larry

Possibly down closer to the coastal regions.

Here in north half of Texas, the only all-white migratory waterbird we see are egrets.

We occasionally see White Pelicans on Lake Quitman and in the spillway of Lake Fork behind the dam.

We also had a huge flock of Canadian Geese with some Snow Geese land on one of our pastures one day several years ago. They came and went in a hurry.

The hot, dry Summer ended today.

6” of rain.

We were forecasted to get a foot of ran between Sunday and Wednesday.

So far we're just shy of 2" if you include the 4/10" we got today.

So far, we have gotten 8 and a half inches this week.

Since it was so dry, absolutely NONE of it ran off.

It sure did "green" things up!

I have not had a chance to go see if the swamp caught any water.

Yesterday ended out with 6/10" of rain, which still falls under 2" for the Sunday-to-Wednesday total.

No rain expected today.

Same as you coach, ground was a sponge, no water run-off at all.

8 and a half inches of rain last week and 3 inches on Saturday.

I went over to see what the swamp looked like.

It looked dry enough going in but a couple of places were 2 feet deep.

I had worn my crocs and I started to question my own intelligence especially when I started seeing moccasins dropping in the water from the vines and weeds that had already grown over my head.

The bottom was sand so I made it all the way through without getting stuck.

If it gets back as full as it was earlier, I'll have to take my flat bottom boat to get through.

Coach, you need about 20 goats to eat up all that green!

Pap

Pap:

I dont think the goats would survive in there. There are gators in there. One is about 10 feet.

During my lifetime, cows won't go in there.

It was a BIG Deal to cut a trail through it!

Coach

goats don't cost much....just keep buying them....

:-)Rocky

I don’t think that the goats would go in there. I can’t see goats going off into water to eat.

And there are WAY too many predators that would eat the goats. (both in the water and out)

I don't think I'd want to be there....I'm just say'n...


:-)Rocky

Rocky:

Not many people do!!! Or domesticated animals either!!

One of my bloodhounds followed me in there the other day, but he sure didn't want to. He whined the entire time.

Coach