Folks ,
We had a wonderful weekend at the Deep and Punkin Nature Preserve in Edwards
County. The weather was great, the food was even better and the company
wonderful with the exception of one uninvited guest.
There were three trips to Deep Cave and two to Punkin. There was no sign of
any bats in Punkin, however, we did not leave the entrance room. The guano
smell was very minimal. I wonder if the drought has pushed the bats to
another feeding area or to migrate earlier. In addition, there was no bee
activity from the bee hive in the main entrance drop so either the drought got
them, or they are suffering from colony collapse disorder. Though the property
has had some periodic rains, it is still very brown and dry and prone to fire.
There is a county wide burn ban in the woods and we every asked folks going to
the cave not pass gas for fear of auto ignition and subsequent fire.
Work was performed to extend the back porch of the cabin so it is now about 20
by 20 feet in size and makes a great area for community cooking and
socializing. On Sunday night, we watched the International Space Station and
Space Shuttle go sailing right over the cabin.
Mike Harris and John , both members of the Schertz Police Department arrived on
Sunday morning and went into Deep Cave to take pictures while some of us went
over and did Punkin to check on the bats. We all arrived back at the cabin
around dusk and proceeded to eat and clean up. After John was done taking a
shower, he went back to his truck (without a light), and ran into Joe
Noshoulders, one of the locals from Carta Valley. Seems there was a buzz about
with this chance meeting, and since Joe showed up without a reservation, Mike
got his gun and attempted an arrest. Following good police procedures, Mike
yelled to Joe, "down on the ground and put your hands up where I can see them"
(Joe was already on the ground). I was nervously running around yelling "don't
taze me bro" as I'm prone to do when near cops. However, Joe didn't comply
with the hands up part so he was dispatched. Seems old Joe was crawling around
the cars and the tents in the dark which is always a problem. Joe measured
(taped) at 5 feet in length and was the thickest rattlesnake I've seen in the
wild. He would have put the serious hurt on someone and was so large, he would
have been difficult to relocate, even with snake tongs. (Mike is also the
resident snake expert since he helps to relocate wayward snakes in Schertz - so
he knows snakes). If he would have been along one of the trails on the
property, we would have admired this fine creature and left him alone; however,
the risk to all the folks at the preserve was considered too great. Mike
Harris cooked him up for lunch on Monday. This just goes to show you that
you'll never know who you'll run into in the woods and always carry a light
after dark (and no, I didn't get tazed).
It was a good time had by all - except Joe.
Folks in Attendance: Geary Schindel, Sue Schindel, Zach Schuderwitz, Steve
Bryant, Kelly, Josh Rubinstein, Michelle Bryant, Mike Harris, John, Jill Orr,
Arron Wertheim, Renee Skwara, Tony Castro, Jacob Castro, Drew Wendeborn, Daniel
Galvin, Lisa Dolan, Don Dolan, Mike Cunningham, Christine Cunningham, and Joe
Noshoulders.
Geary Schindel
