The families associated with Maya's girl scout troop met near Goliad, TX for a two night camping trip this past weekend. Goliad is about two and a half hours south of Austin. It has a population of about 1,900 people. The Battle of Goliad was the second battle of the Texas Revolution. Schroeder Hall is a legendary Texas dance hall, which is located near Goliad. We didn't visit Schroeder Hall, or the town of Goliad. We were graciously hosted by Carl and Kathy Clapsaddle (whose girls were, until their relatively recent move to Goliad, were also girl scouts in our old [north of] Austin neighborhood). We had a great weekend filled with good food, kayaking, archery, chiggers, swimming, running around the woods, campfires and campfire related activities. A big thank you to Kathy for arranging (brand new) portable toilets. Thanks to Carl for arranging the kayaking and clearing enough camping sites for 47 people to sleep comfortably (it was obvious that each site was ethically harvested and artisanally hand-shaped). Also thank you to Carl's dad, Charles, for allowing us to explore Goliad Farms, his fresh water tropical fish hatchery. The camping started on Friday, but Christine couldn't join us until Saturday afternoon. On a related note, I didn't take out my camera until Saturday evening. Below are some of the pictures.
The kids had a great time consolidating these cow remains and attempting to reconstruct the skeleton. Because we were camping in Texas, that's why.
at the gate...
This road leads to a brand new portable toilet.
There were lots of awesome spiders. This one is a spiny orb weaver.
Here's another (less colorful) one. Don't worry, there are more spiders later.
Carl mowed some paths through the fields for the girls to explore.
https://youtu.be/Xs1NSQspizo
A yellow garden spider with an early morning meal.
Here she is again just a little closer.
Cactus, because Texas.
Sunday morning breakfast, before most of the kids were re-rounded up.
Cora "patiently" waiting her turn for archery.
She was a fan.
So was Maya. Even with the left-handed bow.
On the way to see Goliad Farms.
One of the greenhouses that house the hatchery.
duckweed.
The greenhouses are full of 55 gallon vats to breed, grow and maintain several types of freshwater tropical fish.
The floor of the greenhouses are also flooded; hollow cinder blocks form a walkway.
This is Oso. He is the most laid back three year old German Shepherd I've ever met.
The water is filtered solely by plants. There is no chemical or mechanical filtration, but the ammonia level in the water maintains at zero.
Mangrove and hoja santa fill the greenhouse (with their roots in the flooded floor).
feeding the fish
This is an example of hoja santa (with means sacred leaf). It is a fresh herb, ironically used occasionally to wrap fish for cooking.
There were yellow garden spiders just outside the greenhouses...
...and wolf spiders inside.
Mangrove root in the flooded floor. The fish living on the floors of the greenhouses are either escapees or have been judged deficient of commercial value.
At the end of each greenhouse is a sump with large pumps for recirculating the water.
Hoja santa again. Anyone fancy a tamale? Mole verde? Pozole? This is the herb for you.
This is apparently the reason this wolf spider was inside the greenhouse.
For perspective, this unfortunate fish was about 13.5 inches long. Everything is bigger in Texas.
Oso hanging out in the shade.
More Pogonomyrmex. These are not fire ants. They certainly weren't as aggressive as fire ants. I think these are specifically Pogomyrmex barbatus. They eat mostly seeds (hence the name harvester ant). I spent a fair amount of time standing on/around the several nests that were dotted around the property. They didn't seem to care about my presence, but apparently their bite is pretty vicious. Another species, Pogonomyrmex maricopa, has venom strong enough to kill a 4 pound rat in as little as 12 bites. You are welcome. Anyway, I hope I've convinced you to visit us in Texas some time soon.
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