A lot of people don't understand the benefit of snakes in their habitat. I understand removing venomous snakes from areas where our habitats overlap. Some prefer to use a long stick to remove them, others a long gun barrel...I understand both sides in that decision.

Coachwhips and rat snakes are very appreciated near our house at the ranch. We let one rat snake live in our outdoor tool shed/laundry area. Before he moved in the mice would get in and chew the electric wire components out of everything in there. Once the rat snake moved in, we had zero problems. He wasn't aggressive, so we just gave each other some space and all was well.

There are many videos of coachwhips taking out venomous snakes. They can also help you control your habitat in that way. We have a couple near the house and - maybe by chance, but probably not - we don't see any rattlesnakes as close to the house as we did before.

When I was a kid, I used to think every snake should be shot at the ranch. When I started to realize their benefits, that idea changed. I will say that if I see a rattlesnake or other venomous snake near the house, or in an area we are frequently around, I don't take chances. I relocate them to the freezer. I save the skin and eat the meat. I understand why others do the same, and I understand those that let them go on their way without harm.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share some benefits. It wasn't until I leaned that I evolved in how I thought. I encourage people to learn about the benefits and balances of all animals and plants in the habitats we hunt around. There's more to learn that just hitting your target!

We recently called Strong Skirt TX to come to the rescue to replace a very weathered and worn out skirting that was on our home. We researched many different types of materials and when we came across Strong Skirt, we knew we had landed at our destination. The metal skirting is wind resistant up to 100MPH, it is weed eater proof, affordable, and has a 40 year valspar finish paint, so we know it will stand up to the test of time better than all the alternatives. We highly recommend you give them a call and check out their website for more information!
​~GB

I first learned about the One80 headlight when the company held a kickstarter campaign roughly two years ago. I remember seeing an ad and thinking this was a truly ingenious product. Being a hunter, hiker, outdoorsmen and a dad, there has been many times when a good headlamp has come in handy.

What is unique about the One80 Light is that the LED lights cover 180 degrees of your vision – a truly first of its kind peripheral light - so you don’t have to move or turn to light up whatever is around you…this alone sent me to their campaign immediately to purchase one of the One80 Lights. It is worn like a headband and is super comfortable and not hot at all.
 
I can’t tell you how many times I have used it since I first purchased one. Around the house, I have used it to install ceiling fans (kinda hard to do in the dark), to work under the hood of my truck or my wife’s car, to find all those Christmas decorations that hide in the far corners of the attic, and for going to check the brakers when the electricity was knocked out during a storm.
 
At the ranch, I have also used the light to walk to my deer stand countless times. Using a normal headlamp would light up the pathway wherever I was looking. With the One80 Light, I was able to see my pathway, and all the areas around me. With a few types of venomous snakes in our hunting areas, you want more light, not less! One80 Lights will surely give you the comfort of being able to see more than your tradition headlamps. I used my One80 at night to fill feeders when it gets too dang hot to work in the middle of the day here in Texas. I have also used it when working under the hood of tractors and other farm implements. There are countless uses for the One80 Light!
 
Recently my wife mentioned she wanted to get her own One80 Light, so I ordered our second one on the One80Light.com website – and learned that it now has two illumination settings and comes with an improved battery – with 3 hours on high or 7+ on the low setting! The batteries are rechargeable via an included USB cable. I know it is only April, but I just finished my Christmas shopping early. Everyone is getting a One80 Light! Just keep this on the down low…don’t want to spoil their surprise!
 
UPDATE: check out the TREK Belt below! You can have a One80 headlamp and a One80 Belt - you so can run, walk, work, and more - in what feels like daylight conditions! 

A couple weeks ago, we ordered some custom Map My Ranch hats from Steve Freeman at Circle 66 Outfitters - and let me tell you, we were blown away with the quality and prices! We will definitely be doing business with them again, and suggest you do as well!

When you get a chance, go check out Circle66's website to check out their full line of custom embroidery and printing products:  www.circle66.com

If you want a free sample of our new foldable, tear-proof, water resistant WeatherProof maps, send us an email with your address and we'll send you a sample 4" x 6" in the mail for you to check out.

If you are looking for a unique and impressive gift for your favorite hunter, rancher, or landowner, you've come to the right place. We can create a custom map for you to gift, to be delivered in time for the Holidays! You can either create a map for us to design, print, and ship, or you can purchase a Gift Certificate to gift! If you want us to deliver a finished map, we will have to have you approve the Draft Map no later than December 15th this year, to guarantee a Dec 25th delivery. However, you can purchase a Gift Certificate anytime, 24/7 on our Products page and then print out a Gift Certificate to fill out to give the gift of a custom map! Feel free to call or email us if you have any questions, or to get started, visit the Products page, today. Happy Holidays for the Map My Ranch crew!

We are excited to announce our latest mapping product: WeatherProof Maps! After months of testing new printable products, we have developed the highest quality maps that are tear proof, water resistant, and foldable! While we are still offering our laminated maps (that are dry erase friendly), we recommend that you check out the WeatherProof Maps, especially if you are looking to get Field Maps made. WeatherProof Field Maps can be sized to fit your property. Our minimum order is (2) 12" x18" Field Maps, but we also offer them individually in the following sizes: 18" x 24", 24" x 36", and 36" x 48" (our large poster sized product). We can make larger maps as well, if you need something bigger. Please take a look at our Products page for more information, and if you have any questions, please feel free to call or email us today! Thanks again for visiting our website!

~George Blitch
george@mapmyranch.com
713-302-2028

Bob Lemmons was one of the greatest mustangers of all time. He became a legend in his day by perfecting his unique method of catching wild mustang horses. 

Robert Lemmons was born a slave in Lockport, Caldwell County, Texas in 1848. He moved to Dimmit County, Texas; then a sparsely uninhabited land overrun by wild horses. Lemmons gained his freedom at the end of the Civil War at age seventeen. He found employment with Duncan Lammons, a man who taught him about horses and gave Robert the surname “Lemmons,” (a variant spelling that evolved over the years). Robert Lemmons farmed, hauled supplies, and went on cattle drives for Duncan Lammons. 

No other cowboy equaled Lemmons in capturing mustangs, which were in high demand for roundups during the cattle drive era of the 1870s and 1880s. Lemmons usually worked alone totally isolating himself from humans to gain a mustang herd's trust and thereby infiltrate the heard.  He then uprooted the herd hierarchy by mounting the lead stallion and then taking control of the herd, which followed him into a pen on a nearby ranch. 
​
In 1870 at age twenty-two, Robert Lemmons had earned a small fortune of $1,000 for gathering wild mustangs.  He bought his own ranch and learned how to read and write. Eleven years later he married Barbarita Rosales, a Chicana, on September 3, 1881.  The couple had eight children. During his life Robert Lemmons had amassed 1,200 acres of land and impressive holdings of horses and cattle.  With his own financial security achieved, Robert and Barbarita Lemmons became well known as people who helped their neighbors during the Great Depression.  Robert Lemmons died on December 23, 1947 at the age of ninety-nine years.
​
(reference: http://www.blackpast.org)

I will try to get some better pictures of his rifle, but this was a shotgun he used as his primary weapon during his days on the frontier. Bob Lemmons carved out an Indian chief into the buttstock of the rifle, as seen in this photos below. Bob faced many dangers on the open rang while tracking and managing the wild mustangs, so this rifle was used not only for procuring food, but also for his own defense. 

Black Cowboy, Wild Horses
by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
​
"He could make horses think he was one of them. Bob Lemmons is famous for his ability to track wild horses. He rides his horse, Warrior, picks up the trail of mustangs, then runs with them day and night until they accept his presence. Bob and Warrior must then challenge the stallion for leadership of the wild herd. A victorious Bob leads the mustangs across the wide plains and for one last spectacular run before guiding them into the corral. Bob's job is done, but he dreams of galloping with Warrior forever -- to where the sky and land meet.This splendid collaboration by an award-winning team captures the beauty and harshness of the frontier, a boundless arena for the struggle between freedom and survival. Based on accounts of Bob Lemmons, a former slave, Black Cowboy, Wild Horses has been rewritten as a picture book by Julius Lester from his story "The Man Who Was a Horse" in Long Journey Home, first published by Dial in 1972."

Black Cowboys of Texas
edited by Sara R. Massey
"In the early days of Texas, the work of the cowhand was essential to the newly arrived settlers building a life on the frontier. The story of the Anglo cowboys who worked the ranches of Texas is well known, but much more remains to be discovered about the African American cowhands who worked side-by-side with the vaqueros and Anglo cowboys.The cowboy learned his craft from the vaqueros of New Spain and Texas when it was the northern territory of Mexico, as well as from the stock raisers of the South. Such a life was hardly glamorous. Poorly fed, underpaid, overworked, deprived of sleep, and prone to boredom and loneliness, cowboys choked in the dust, were cold at night, and suffered broken bones in falls and spills from horses spooked by snakes or tripped by prairie dog holes. Work centered on the fall and spring roundups, when scattered cattle were collected and driven to a place for branding, sorting for market, castrating, and in later years, dipping in vats to prevent tick fever.African American cowboys, however, also had to survive discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice. The lives of these cowhands tell a story of skill and grit, as they did what was necessary to gain the trust and respect of those who controlled their destiny. That meant being the best -- at roping, bronc busting, taming mustangs, calling the brands, controlling the remuda, or topping off horses.From scattered courthouse records, writings, and interviews with a few of the African American cowhands who were part of the history of Texas, Sara R. Massey and a host of writers have retrieved the stories of a more diverse cattle industry than has been previously recorded.Twenty-five writers here recounttales of African Americans such as Peter Martin, who hauled freight and assisted insurgents in a rebellion against the Mexican government while building a herd of cattle that allowed him to own (through a proxy) rental houses in town. Bose Ikard, a friend of Charles Goodnight, went on Goodnight's first cattle drive, opening the Goodnight-Loving Trail. Johanna July, a Black Seminole woman, had her own method of taming horses in the Rio Grande for the soldiers at Fort Duncan.These cowhands, along with others across the state, had an important role that has been too long omitted from most history books. By telling their stories, Black Cowboys of Texas provides an important contribution to Texas, Western, and African American history."

The Mustangs
by J. Frank Dobie

J. Frank Dobie’s history of the “mustang”—from the Spanish mesteña, an animal belonging to (but strayed from) the Mesta, a medieval association of Spanish farmers—tells of its impact on the Spanish, English, and Native cultures of the West. In this book, Dobie explores the cultural past of the Mustangs, and includes wonderful stories from Bob Lemmons, who Dobie claimed as "the most original Mustanger I ever met". Lemmons explained, "I acted like I was a mustang. I made the mustangs think I was one of them. Maybe in them days I was. After I stayed with a bunch long enough they'd foller me instid of me having to foller them. Show them you're the boss. That's the secret."

Below is a story, published in the Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, by George Bowe Blitch