Happy Thanksgiving

 I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!  Our temps have been warm in the afternoons, but mornings are cool and pleasant.  So I guess our fall is in the mornings...

Mamas who had babies in January (there were four), are starting to domino now.  Dawn had a little heifer, Sunrise.  She's a real cutie!!  Red is showing signs that she'll be next to birth.  We're a little concerned about Big Mama because she should be birthing by now.  She's one of our oldest girls and her producing days may be behind her.

We sent Rosie to Waco as she was prolapsing,  She had a c-section and lost her baby early last summer.  We weren't sure she would be able to have any more calves.  Turns out she miscarried, etc., etc..  Very sad turn of events!

Rains scheduled to come in tonight.  With the warm temps, it should promote more grass to grow which is good.  We'll take whatever we can get.... 

Cooler, Cooler, Cold...

 The temperatures have turned cooler and cold mornings are predicted early next week.  Can't wait!!!!  We ended up getting 4.5 inches of rain with the storms from a couple weeks ago.  It was wonderful except for the mud.  The ground was so dry, that although we had mud for a couple days, it soaked in rapidly.  

I hear Fancy has been given the "all clear" to compete in shows.  I think her first show is in December.  This is our first experience with competition.  Fancy is Fancy and we'll see how she fares in the ring!!!

We were feeding the mamas and babies this morning and Lance started mooing softly to them from the other side of the fence.  It was mournful and it spoke to how lonely he is without his girls. I wish his time away from them was over. I think January 1st is when he can get back together with them.  

 Our winter birds are back.  We are seeing a bunch of Wrens, bluebirds, phoebes, etc..  I have not seen any geese, ducks, or sandhill cranes yet, but we should see them soon.  The sandhill cranes are one of my favorites as they squawk loudly while circling slowly toward the south. The deer and other critters are also active now that it is cooler.  

  

Rain?

 We may get some rain this weekend.  It'll be first we've gotten since July.  The ground is cracked and the dust is ungodly.  Still, I heard on the weather report last night, we are about an inch ahead of schedule for the year.  As always, we are never satisfied with where we are when it concerns moisture.  TOO much or Too little!  I'm hoping we'll get some cooler weather with the change.

We had our fence builders out to finish putting the electric fencing around.  It should save the permanent fencing we have and help keep the bulls in the various pastures where they need to stay.  

The Tesla news is good...  Peg has solved most, if not all of her questions and problems with the car.  She seems pleased and that's what matters.  I've been in the car twice when it has driven us someplace.  It seems to be trustworthy and is not unreasonably aggressive on the road.  I still don't like that "Ara" maybe be listening to us. Thoughts of 1984 can't be dispelled....

 

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!