Death, Construction, New Projects, and Moving Forward
As some of you know, we are adding a second floor to our home because we have four boys, and three of them are teenagers. There have been so many freakin’ rain delays and other issues, so it’s taking a lot longer than expected. Isn’t that how it goes with construction? Living at the house while they’re adding the addition has been a little stressful, but the payoff will be great.
My biggest concern during this process is ensuring that the AC unit purrs along while they finish the remodel. Well, my biggest fear came true… TWICE! When we went out to our Terlingua place during Memorial Day weekend, the power to the main AC unit was cut/turned off for three days. We’re in Texas, and it gets hot as hell here. The other time the unit malfunctioned, and overall I lost 12 adults and most of my froglets. I’ve worked with herps all of my life, and I’ve had many misfortunes and have lost animals. It’s never easy. Before we started this process, I had a long talk with our builder and explained the importance of not disrupting the AC. Shit happens, but these two events were avoidable. Anyway, it still stings, but I’m trying to keep my head up and protect the rest of my collection.
I can’t believe we’re halfway through 2026. My poison dart frog collection has grown steadily over the last few years. I have lots of new projects in the works and plan to add more frogs and geckos when the renovation is done. I’ll have some extra room, which is exciting! I finally picked up some Oophaga pumilio ‘Drago Colon’ from Andy Baker at National Frog Fest. I’m really enjoying them, and I think I have a trio. The male calls like crazy most days. They’re a little shyer than expected, but they’re starting to venture out more. I really dig ‘em. I’ve wanted to work with them for years. I’d say almost half of my collection is Oophaga pumilio locales. I also picked up a couple of Oophaga histrionica ‘Red Head - Large Form’ from Chris Anderson. I’m so stoked to finally work with some large obligates. I wanted a few years working with Dendrobatids under my belt before making the financial investment in them. I know I have at least one male. Praying to the frog gods for a pair.
This is my favorite time of year because it’s herping season! I primarily herp the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. We’ve gotten an unbelievable amount of rain this year, so the herping has been pretty good out west. I found another roundtail horned lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) on our property in Terlingua, which is super exciting. With all of the rain, the plants are growing and the harvester ants are more plentiful for the lizards to eat.
I’ve added so many new frog photos for sale on my website. I really appreciate all of you guys who have purchased prints from me.