You Have To Be Kidding...

 The tesla was delivered last week and Peg has been going through various videos, etc. etc. getting it to function as her own.  Of note, she was trying to set up one of the functions and the AI "person (Ara)" was directing her from screen to screen at the same pace a drill sergeant would bark out orders.  She could not keep up so she said, "Slow down...I'm from Texas and we don't talk that fast here!"  The "orders" continued and Peg could not keep up...  So Ara got frustrated and said, "Go get your husband!"  Peg replied, "I don't have a husband!"  I don't know what happened next, but I imagine it got "colorful" on Peg's end!!  

I wanted to see how this "letting the car do the driving" would work.  So Saturday we drove to Leander to take the grandkids to lunch.  After some fits and starts the car moved towards our destination.  At one point I looked down at my hands, which were folded in my lap.  Each one of my knuckles was white.  Peg would say out loud, "I hope it doesn't try to merge into traffic with that small of a space."  We arrived at our destination, had lunch, then headed home.  I asked Peg a question about the car and she asked Ara, who responded promptly.  A couple minutes later, after not talking, I asked a question about GROK (a Musk AI Information provider).  Ara immediately said, "My name is Ara, not GROK!" The car, Ara, was listening to our conversation!!!  Whose car is this and who's really in control?  Personally, I'm not into the future this much, but Peg says this is where we are headed.   

Normal things continue here...  I haven't seen a hummer is 4-5 days.  I think the little guys have all passed through for the season.  The cows are doing well, tho we are now putting out a couple bales of hay per week as the grass is not very good. A truck drove down the road with a chain hitting the road sparking small but potentially bad fires along its route.  Yep, everything is bone dry and there's no rain in sight. 

Fall

Fall isn't here yet but we're closer today than we were yesterday...

Correction:  The calf we named Sunshine is actually a bull, so his name is Sonny.  The Vet was out and we had babies get their baby shots and the new little bulls became steers.  I believe it was Labor who while enduring "the procedure," kicked the Vet pretty good.  I saw her bruises and they are very colorful.

We have separated the bull, Lance, for the next few months in hopes of not having summertime babies.  The heat is very stressful for both the mamas and the babies.  Lance has settled into his new location and has figured out the feeding schedule, etc.  He also has a fence line that is not electric so he's been calling to cows in a neighbor's pasture.  I just hope we can keep him contained until we get that expanse of fence included in the electric fence.

Fancy left Saturday for her stint in show business. Ben is excited to see how well she performs and what prizes she will win!!!  I have my fingers crossed...

We really need some rain!!  We have fertilizer that is on the ground but not soaked in yet.  Mother Nature makes us wait sometimes for the "good stuff."

Finally, the hummers are about finished migrating through.  I'm only seeing 2-3 per day and the feeder needs juice changing before it is empty.  The scissortail flycatchers are mostly gone now too.  So... we are getting closer to Fall.

The Mornings are Glorious!!!

 It certainly is not Fall yet but with mornings in the high 50s and low 60s, it really feels like we are getting pretty close!!  With the cooler temps, the deer are very active and the hummers are moving through.  I can't keep up with the amount of Hummer juice the little guys are drinking.  My feeder holds about 16 oz.  So refilling it every day reflects it's importance to these travelers.

Both Calfie and Blanca had their babies in the last ten days.  Calfie had a heifer, Sunshine, and Blanca had a bull, Labor.  Guess what day Labor was born on?  Both mamas are very protective!!!  I had an encounter with Blanca that left me shaken and bruised up.  Thankfully she didn't kill me!!!!  This protective characteristic is good until it is leveled against you!!!!

The 18 acres has been fertilized, so we are waiting for a rain.  From the forecast, it looks like it'll be awhile before we get some.  In the meantime, all is well....

They're Gone!!!

Last week the swallows headed south and the chaos went with them!  Ben and a buddy came by Sunday and power washed the porch.  It is very pleasant out there now!  I am working on some strategies for next year to keep the pests away.  More to come...

Also we had three cows go to Vet Clinic for hoof issues.  I hate to say this but their days at the ranch may be limited.  Very sad...

After a lifetime of being lost and directionally challenged, Peg pulled the "trigger" and ordered a Tesla.  Apparently this car drives itself and knows where it is and where it is going all the time.  The test drive took her all over north Austin on freeways, side streets, etc. and she did nothing but sit in her seat.  It was so automatic and in charge that when the car returned her to the dealership, she had to ask how to open the door to get out.  I love driving and being in control of my car, so though I'm excited for her, I will hold on to my own steering wheel! 

Fancy will stay here awhile longer as Ben's fall schedule is very busy.  Is he making progress with her halter training?  Yes, I think he is but Fancy is making her training as difficult as possible.  We can say cows are dumb, but I disagree as they figure situations out pretty quickly, then work them to their advantage.  Ben is just more stubborn and determined, so my money is on him and his success!

It's NOT So Hot

 Knock-on-wood, but this summer has not been THAT bad.  We had rains into July with plenty of cloudy days.  Even these first couple of weeks of August haven't been awful.  But it could all go south pretty quickly...

Ben continues to work with Fancy.  I was told that Ben and Fancy are representing and promoting the ranch.  Hmmm...  I am not real sure what message we're trying to get out there, but Fancy certainly may not be the best ambassador for us!!!  Ben, on the other hand, is perfect.  What a combo!!!

Looked out in the pasture the other morning and I didn't see Lance, the bull.  I did see a shape that looked like a bull, but without the white face.  Well, that was Lance.  He had found some charcoal from an old brush pile burn and had rubbed the dark coal all over his face.  In the shade, he didn't look at all like himself.  A day or so later, several of the girls had also rubbed the coal all over their faces.  Must be the new facial regimen everyone is into...

The swallows are awful!  The back porch is as nightmare!!!!  They left August 25th last year, so I'm hoping they'll be gone by then this year.  I have someone lined up to power wash the porch when they do leave (Ben).  

I killed a rattlesnake who was hanging out around the back porch eating baby birds when they fell out of their nests.  It was small, but it had a couple "baby bird" size lumps in its belly!!!!  Honestly I think I prefer the snake getting the babies rather than the dogs bringing the babies into the house.  I wish the swallows were gone!!!!

The deer feeder is cranking out the corn so we're seeing deer under it in the mornings.  In the afternoons if the cows are nearby and they hear it go off, they'll run over to get a "corn treat."  

Summer Is Heating Up

 Finally or sadly, we hit 100 degrees yesterday for the first time.  The rains have stopped and it's just a slow march towards fall.  We sent five steers to the auction this morning.  It is always sad to see them go...  Everyone had a name and a known personality.  I have to leave "it" at that!!

The Purple Martins started leaving a couple days ago and noticed this morning, they were all gone.  Interestingly, we had our biggest group this year.  It certainly isn't because we made any improvements in the living quarters. I guess they just found we provided acceptable accommodations.  I'll miss their calming warbles and chirps!

Ben has chosen Fancy as his show heifer.  She's as bad as ever but still is a winner in terms of looks.  She'll stay here at the farm for another couple weeks then she's off on her adventure in "show business!"

I must make some comments on our recent service from Direct TV and Best Buy.  We required their service to set up the new TVs.  Both called us a couple days out from their scheduled setups.  Both said we had cancelled that arranged scheduled service and "did we want to reschedule?"  Well, of course we had NOT cancelled the scheduled service calls!  As luck would have it, the persons we were talking to were not native speakers.  After some heated back and forth, we were put back on the schedule with Best Buy, but Direct TV is another story.  All I can say is this is typical **** **** with these companies!!!  They know they have us. "the public," over a barrel and exploit it to the max!!!!  So our lightening strike nightmare continues....

Two Steps Forward, Four Steps Back...

Yep, just when we thought we were winding down our lightening strike repairs, we find we've suffered additional loses.  The TV in the family room went belly up about ten days ago as did the TV in the exercise room.  Big loses!  The TV upstairs has so far held up, but I'm not spending my money until I feel more comfortable that all is okay.  I'm calling our insurance guy since we've exceeded our deductible by now I'm sure....

The Vet came and did brain surgeries on the baby bulls and attached ear tags.  Rosie got the "all clear" so she's been out with all the cows for the past few days.  Lance, the bull, has been "wooing" her so I expect we'll see a calf in about 9.5 months!!!

The Hill Country of Texas, to our west, got the bulk of the rains the last couple weeks but we got over six inches in ten days.  The pastures are green, which is not a common sight in Texas in mid-July.  We'll get another cutting of hay this year which is a blessing.

Summer plans continue to unfold and all participating, are sharing their adventures.  Of course that means the canine family members are spending their time at the farm enjoying exotic meals (bugs, baby birds, cow poop, etc.) and cozy sleeping places (sleeping with us in our beds).  Fun, fun!!!