agenttunaghost's Journal

Date: January 31, 2020
Location: Texas; Travis County; Pflugerville; My Backyard

The weather was finally nice, after days of chilly damp forecasts, and I thought the warmth might bring out some specimens from their hiding places. The weather was warm, a recorded high of 83F and sunny.

I was in my backyard gardening around 12pm, moving my plants around to finally get some sun on a warm day when I noticed some pill bugs between the bricks of a planter. This kicked off my curiosity and I began to move the borders. There were plenty of pill bugs and snails tucked away in the damp, cool earth between the bricks. Since I already had a photo of the snails, I started thinking “what other damp, cool places do I have in my backyard where critters might hide?”

So I moved to the opposite end of my yard and lifted some damp boards where I saw a snake, however it too escaped me before I could get a photo. There was a pile of rotting mesquite wood against my fence that I began to move with the help of my brother. Disappointingly, we didn't find much other than a few spiders and some more pill bugs. As I was giving up my search on that side, a honeybee (apis mellifera) flying to the dandelions caught my eye. It was nice to see them out and about, even if it was short lived. Before I moved to the front yard, I decided to check the pile of fencing we had just taken off and replaced. There I found a big fat grub, currently only identified as part of the genus Diplotaxis, but very likely a June beetle grub.

It was then I moved to the front yard, finding the same species of spiders and pill bugs in my corner gardens. I was feeling very disappointed that I missed that snake, but as I moved a bag of soil that had been settling for at least a year, there one was! A little brown snake looking a little surprised that it was suddenly found. But before I could appreciate it, my dog ran up excited about a potential new snack. Luckily I snatched it up, and even more lucky it was very docile and curled around my fingers. After re-gating my dog in the backyard, I was finally able to snap a few photos of this beautiful baby and set it free back in the spot I found it away from hungry puppies. It slithered away into the grass and I felt like I had accomplished what I had set out to do, pleased that a snake had come to visit me when I thought I had missed out.

Overall I had spent about 45 minutes out there hunting for critters, and ended my excursion much more satisfied than I had started.

Date: 2/17/2020
Time: ~ 8:50pm
Weather: Damp, slight chill but not uncomfortably cold. ~ 50-60F
Notes:

There wasn't much luck with finding specimens this second time around. The weather had been too cold or too rainy to even venture outside, and my window of explorative opportunity is very limited.
I was getting ready to go to bed, letting my dogs outside to use the bathroom one last time and as I stood out there I noticed a bunch of crane flies bopping around the light. So I decided to take my first picture--there were tons of them.
In looking for all these flies on the walls, I came across a little slug that was climbing up wet concrete. "Ah, they like moisture." I remember thinking. I unfortunately did not find many other slugs, but perhaps they were elsewhere in the yard.
It was unfortunately dark and wet outside, not ideal conditions for an amateur like me to go hunting for more creatures. I confined my search to my patio, and when I thought I couldn't find any more, I went back inside.
Hopefully the weather gets warmer soon.