# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Information regarding raccoons in San Antonio

# data[].attributes.body
The kind of pies that Chap and his mother make at Paradise Pie Cafe. Here's a recipe I found for Sugar pies:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A popular pie, this Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe has a caramel custard filling and flaky crust.

Additionally, Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe is simple and economical to make.... and it makes me want to sing 'Sugar Pie, honey bunch, you know that I love you...' Apologies, I couldn't help myself!

I had a reader ask about a Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe after I posted this Buttermilk Pie. I had not heard of an Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe before but did a little research.

A Sugar Pie has a single crust and is filled with a mixture of butter, flour, milk, eggs and brown sugar. When it bakes the filling turns into a caramel-like mixture. It's originally from western European countries and popularized in the U.S. by the Amish. Sometimes the Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe is referred to as 'desperation pie' because it could be made with ingredients that would always be on hand 'on the farm' much like the Buttermilk Pie, Vinegar Pie or Chess Pie.

I found a simple version of the recipe in one of my Grandmother's old recipe books. Basically, there were just measurements and no good instructions. After a couple of tries it turned out great and ready to share with you. Turns out this recipe is crazy simple to make. Most recipes that have been around a long time are simple. But, they stand the test of time because they're also good and usually economical to make.

Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe has a custard-like consistency. It's like flan or creme brulee without the caramelized sugar on top. You could totally top this pie with meringue, if you're not meringue opposed like me.

Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe Tips

Be patient when making the milk mixture for this pie. Heat it on a medium to medium-low heat and stir constantly until it reaches a low boil. Otherwise you'll risk scorching the milk.

Likewise, be patient when baking the pie. It takes a long time to bake, especially when you're dying to taste it. This pie will still be slightly jiggly in the center when it's done. But the edges will be set and the top will be lightly browned. And, hey, if you take it out of the oven before it's set, serve over ice cream as a sauce and it's still good. #becauseIknow

For convenience, I used a store-bought pie crust this time. You can use this Never Fail Pie Crust as well

Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe

If you like this Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe, you may also like
Chocolate Chess Pie No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie Apple Chess Pie with Streusel Topping chocolate Chip cookie pie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A popular pie, this Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe has a caramel custard filling and flaky crust. Additionally, Old Fashioned Sugar Pie Recipe is simple and economical to make.... and it makes me want to sing 'Sugar Pie, honey bunch, you know that I love you...' Apologies, I couldn't help myself!

# data[].attributes.body
The raccoons used an old and abandoned 1949 Sportsman DeSoto as their headquarters.

# data[].attributes.body
A pack of feral hogs. The reason behind Bingo and J'miah wanting to wake the Sugarman up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Description of brochure about feral hog control

# data[].attributes.body
Raccoon brothers on a mission to save Sugarman Swamp.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp -- Book Trailer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Newbery-Honor winning author Kathi Appelt Available July 23rd, 2013 http://www.amazon.com/True-Blue-Scouts-Sugar-Swamp/dp/1442421053 NYT Review http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/books/review/kathi-appelts-true-blue-scouts-of-sugar-man-swamp.html?_r=0 http://kathiappelt.com Footage by Maryann Malorgio Music by Cooper Appelt Voices by Cooper Appelt and Laurel Kathleen

# data[].attributes.body
Gertrude, the Sugar Man's pet, was a canebrake rattlesnake.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore the wild world of animals. Discover opportunities to care and conserve. Connect through our camps, courses, and careers at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.

# data[].attributes.body
Chap used this kind of trap to capture the raccoons that had taken his sugar pies.

# data[].attributes.body
Cypress trees with Spanish Moss, just like Sugar Man Swamp.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A swamp is an area of land permanently saturated, or filled, with water. Many swamps are even covered by water. There are two main types of swamps: freshwater swamps and saltwater swamps.

Swamps are dominated by trees. They are often named for the type of trees that grow in them, such as cypress swamps or hardwood swamps. Freshwater swamps are commonly found inland, while saltwater swamps are usually found along coastal areas. Swamps are transition areas. They are neither totally land nor totally water.

Swamps exist in many kinds of climates and on every continent except Antarctica. They vary in size from isolated prairie potholes to huge coastal salt marshes. Some swamps are flooded woodlands. Some are former lakes or ponds overtaken by trees and shrubs.

Freshwater Swamps

Freshwater swamps form around lakes and streams. Rain and seasonal flooding cause water levels to fluctuate. In the wet soil, water-tolerant vegetation grows and helps maintain a moist, swampy condition.

In many freshwater swamps in the southeastern United States, cypress and tupelo trees grow. Spanish moss may hang from the branches, and tiny plants called duckweed may cover the waters surface. Shrubs and bushes may grow beneath the trees. Sometimes poking as much as 4 meters (13 feet) above the water are angular knobs called cypress knees. They are outgrowths of the trees' root systems.

Alligators, frogs, and many other animals live in these swamps. These animals are adapted to fluctuating water levels. The shadowy tree root system and cypress knobs provide a rich, sheltered habitat for nesting birds, as well as fish, amphibians and reptiles.

The freshwater swamps between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East are so rich in biodiversity that the area is called the "Fertile Crescent." The abundant wildlife, agricultural opportunities, and ability for communication and trade fostered human technological development. The Fertile Crescent is recognized as the birthplace of civilization and the site of the first cities. The earliest recorded written language and the first recorded use of the wheel occurred around these swamps.

The Everglades, in Florida, is one of the largest swamp complexes in the United States. Called the "River of Grass," this freshwater swamp is actually a wide, slow-moving river flowing from the Kissimmee River near Orlando to the Straits of Florida. The Everglades is 97 kilometers (60 miles) wide and 160 kilometers (100 miles) long. A rich collection of wildlife, from alligators to panthers, calls this freshwater swamp home.

Saltwater Swamps

Saltwater swamps form on tropical coastlines. Formation of these swamps begins with bare flats of mud and sand that are thinly covered by seawater during high tides. Plants that are able to tolerate tidal flooding, such as mangrove trees, begin to grow and soon form thickets of roots and branches. Mangrove trees often grow on tall, thin roots. The roots anchor sand and other sediments. The growth and decay of the roots increase the accumulation of soil.

Among these mangroves live animals that feed on fallen leaves and other material. Crabs, conchs, and other shellfish are abundant in mangrove swamps. The swamps are also home to a huge variety of birds, whose droppings help fertilize the swamp.

Because the young of many marine animals find food and shelter in saltwater swamps, these wetlands are sometimes called the nurseries of the ocean. Many ocean species enter coastal wetlands to spawn. Fish swim into salt marshes to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the young find plenty of food and some protection in swamp grasses or among tree roots. Other species spawn in the ocean, and the young swim into the wetlands and live there until they mature.

People and swamps

Swamps are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. They act like giant sponges or reservoirs. When heavy rains cause flooding, swamps and other wetlands absorb excess water, moderating the effects of flooding. Swamps also protect coastal areas from storm surges that can wash away fragile coastline. Saltwater swamps and tidal salt marshes help anchor coastal soil and sand.

The swamp ecosystem also acts as a water treatment plant, filtering wastes and purifying water naturally. When excess nitrogen and other chemicals wash into swamps, plants there absorb and use the chemicals. Many of these chemicals come from human activities such as agriculture, where fertilizers use nitrogen and phosphorus. Factories, water treatment plants, and homes also contribute to runoff. Chemicals not absorbed by plants slowly sink to the bottom and are buried in sand and sediment.

For most of history, wetlands were looked upon as wastelands, and as homes for insect pests such as mosquitoes. (Swamps are home to a wide variety of insects, which feed on the wide variety of plants.) People thought swamps were sinister and forbidding.

In the United States, filling or draining swamps was an accepted practice. Almost half of U.S. wetlands were destroyed before environmental protections were enacted during the 1970s. Most of the Everglades have been reclaimed as agricultural land, mostly sugar plantations. Draining swampland also created valuable real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

Federal and state authorities drained much of the wetlands at the delta of the Mississippi River in Louisiana as part of a massive system of river management. When Hurricane Katrina blew in from the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, the spongy swamp that traditionally protected the city of New Orleans from destructive weather patterns was diminished. The city was hit full force with a Category 3 hurricane.

Eradicating swampland also threatens economic activity. Two-thirds of the fish and shellfish that are commercially harvested worldwide are linked with wetlands. From Brazils varzeas, or freshwater swamps surrounding the Amazon River, to saltwater swamps near the Florida Keys, commercially valuable fish species that depend on wetlands are threatened with extinction.

In the early 1970s, governments began enacting laws recognizing the enormous value of swamps and other wetlands. In some parts of the United States, it is now against the law to alter or destroy swamps. Through management plans and stricter laws, people are trying to protect remaining swamps and to re-create them in areas where they have been destroyed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A swamp is an area of land permanently saturated, or filled, with water. Many swamps are even covered by water. There are two main types of swamps: freshwater swamps and saltwater swamps. Swamps are dominated by trees. They are often named for the type of trees that grow in them, such as cypress swamps or hardwood swamps.

# data[].attributes.body
In the book, it talked about the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker and how it hadn't been seen in years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's been 73 years since the last clear portrait of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker came out of Louisiana-and according to Michael Collins, it could be decades more until another similar image is captured.

In a study published yesterday in the open-access journal Heliyon, Collins, an intrepid birder and a mathematician and acoustics researcher with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, argues that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers still persist in the forested swamps of Louisiana and Florida. He also believes that, despite the lack of any clear photographic evidence of the birds' existence, the sheer possibility that they could be out there means their habitat deserves better protection from clear-cutting, dredging, and climate change.

The study outlines personal observations and video footage collected by Collins when he was stationed at the Stennis Space Center between 2005 and 2013. Working in his free time, with no outside funding, he kayaked solo through the swamps of the Pearl River along the Mississippi-Louisiana border with a camera fixed to his paddle. He climbed cypress trees at dawn, and haunted places where the woodpeckers were most likely to be lurking.

After 500 visits and 1,500 total hours of observation, Collins produced two videos from the Pearl River in 2006 and 2008, and a third from 2007 in the Choctawhatchee River swamp in Florida. The clips fall short of conclusive: Most of the excerpts show distant blurs that only vaguely resemble birds. But in his paper, Collins describes the birds in the videos as large woodpeckers with rapid wingbeats, bright white marks on their wings, and exceedingly cautious behavior-traits shared by the storied Ivory-bill.

In the best video (above), a large woodpecker-shaped avian clings to a forked tree limb, then leaps to an adjacent branch. Collins collected the limb after a storm blew it down. He then borrowed a Pileated Woodpecker specimen and mounted it in the same position to compare body size, shape, and posture. (Adult Ivory-bills can run one to three inches bigger than Pileateds.)

Avian artist Julie Zickefoose, who reviewed the video, states in the study that the bird in question does have a remarkably "rared-back pose," a "long but fluffy and squared-off crest," and an "extremely long, erect head and neck." That silhouette is more typical of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker than a Pileated.

Collins also says he heard the film subjects make numerous, which is yet another Ivory-bill clue. Furthermore, he reports 10 other sightings, and has photographs of extra-large tree cavities with stripped-away bark. All this evidence considered, Collins says he has zero doubts that the birds are still hanging around the swamps.

The Ivory-bill debate has been plagued with decades of fake photos, failed searches, and quarrels among experts and scientists.

But when he wanted to go public with this conclusion, he had few takers. The journal PNAS rejected his study in 2009, citing inadequate evidence to back up his "extraordinary claims." The skepticism comes with good reason: The Ivory-bill debate has been plagued with decades of fake photos, failed searches (see here for our in-depth feature story on the most recent one in Cuba), and quarrels among experts and scientists. After the rejection, Collins then devoted his time to further analyzing and supporting his evidence. He admits proving the Ivory-bill's existence is an uphill battle, but not one that should be set aside just yet.

"People in conservation are afraid to touch this issue," Collins says."It's become politicized, and hasn't been about science for years. It's an iconic species, living in an area of the southeastern United States that's been neglected in terms of conservation, and could play a key role in turning the tide of conservation in this part of the country."

Geoff Hill, an ornithologist at Auburn University who helped guide Collins around the Choctawhatchee River for the 2007 video, published his own set of Ivory-bill observations in 2006. He says that although Collins' videos and rigorous analysis are intriguing, they're unlikely to change very many minds.

Jerome Jackson, an ornithologist at Florida Gulf Coast University and author of a book and numerous articles on the Ivory-billed woodpecker, doesn't agree with Collins' assertion that even the possibility of the species is enough to promote conservation. Jackson was one of the most vocal critics on a 2006 paper by Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick (who also consulted on Collins' study), and his belief then and now is that rushing in with overly optimistic ideas about where the bird exists could actually weaken conservation efforts around it.

The Heliyon paper, he writes in an email, makes a good argument for preserving swampland. But he doesn't think the entire effort should be underpinned by a bird that's very likely extinct.

"There are many other species that would benefit from protection of vast acreages of bottomland hardwood forest," Jackson writes. "Such protection can be justified by considering the other values of the forest, whether or not the Ivory-bill exists."

The bottom line, Jackson adds, is there's no way to know what Collins saw from that video. Which raises an important question: What exactly would be considered enough evidence to prove the bird's existence?

Fitzpatrick, an Ivory-bill chaser himself, says that only an image worthy of the cover of Time magazine-or even Audubon, for that matter-will suffice. There are more than enough capable bird photographers with good equipment out in the field that "a clear, unambiguous photo of an Ivory-bill is what everyone expects for full, conclusive proof." Fitzpatrick asserts that he is by no means ready to declare the Ivory-bill extinct.

Living Bird editor-in-chief Tim Gallagher, who led the search for the Ivory-bill in Cuba last year, agrees that the bar is high.

Collins argues that waiting for a flawless picture of a notoriously skittish bird is a waste of valuable time when it comes to conserving Ivory-bill habitat.

"I know of several excellent sightings that have taken place in the last three or four years," Gallagher writes via email. "I sympathize with Collins, and I believe he probably did see Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Unfortunately, it requires much more than a blurry video and some sound recordings to convince people that these birds are present and that their habitat should be saved."

Collins, for his part, argues that waiting for a flawless picture of a notoriously skittish bird is a waste of valuable time.

Given that the species' habitat is remote and scarce, and that surviving woodpeckers are likely fearful of humans, snapping the Ivory-bill is going to take a very long time, Collins says. That doesn't mean the debate should be over; it just might need to move away from an image-only definition of evidence. Collins notes that particle physicists didn't give up on finding neutrinos: They had to invent a completely new tool to do it.

"This is simply a bird that's extremely difficult to find," Collins says. "It's pretty clear that if you compare this with a more typical species, the expected waiting time [to get a clear photograph] is millions of times greater."

Still, it seems that until such an image is captured, the Ivory-bill debate will live on. And those seeking the truth will have to keep hunting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Possible Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Footage Breathes Life Into Extinction Debate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's been 73 years since the last clear portrait of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker came out of Louisiana-and according to Michael Collins, it could be decades more until another similar image is captured. In a study published yesterday in the open-access journal Heliyon , Collins, an intrepid birder and a mathematician and acoustics researcher with the U.S.