Zeek And Bo

 Zeek"s hip dysplasia reached the point where the pain was too much for him and there was nothing more we could do for him.  He arrived as a rescue from The Heart of Texas Lab Rescue about 8 years ago.  I went to a Meet and Greet and he picked me.  From day one, Zeek had his own agenda.  He was not interested in pleasing anyone or in winning awards for most obedient.  The first several months after he arrived, I worked with him on all the usual commands and people pleasing things most dogs are only too happy to learn.  Zeek would arrive at these lessons everyday like it was the very first day of our training.  He could care less about any of it!!!   But as I say all of the above, he was always very loving and sweet.  He became "top dog" holding his tail high and moving deliberately thru his domain.  He showed great patience towards the antics of visiting dogs and puppies.  He knew this was his home and we were his people.  

Bo, in recent months, had been treated for heart failure.  Her good nature and calm demeaner were always appreciated and admired by all her knew her.  Tho she was slowly loosing her hearing and her eyesight, she responded to our commands as soon as she figured out what she needed to do.  Trained as a bird dog, her skills and knowledge were exceptional; so she was especially fond of her stuffed duckies which she carried around with her.  Bo enjoyed the company of visiting dogs and puppies.  She played and shared her toys with them.  All who met Bo loved her for her warm greetings and attention.  She was strict about meal times.  Although I never saw her look at a clock or wear a watch, she knew when it was time for meals.  She never missed one and never had one she didn't enjoy totally.  

Having said all of the above, I guess you've figured out that we lost both of our friends.  Their passing has left a big empty hole in our home and world.  RIP Zeek and Bo!!!!!!   

July Rains

A couple days ago we got a nice slow two inch rain.  Within 12 hours the water was absorbed tho it remains muddy in low spots.  The grass has started to grow again and there is renewed hope for a good second hay cutting.  The farmers are not pleased because they were planning to begin harvesting their corn this week.

The white deer we are seeing is not an albino, it is a leucistic (piebald).  Our neighbor was able to get a good look at her thru her binoculars and says she has a tan nose and belly.  Also I've seen her running thru our pasture with a fawn.  So far she is sticking around our property so we see her often in the mornings and evenings.  The poor thing has no camouflaging so if she's standing up, she's easy to spot.

The swallows are horrible!!  I was ready to order the sonic bird deterrents, but got on line and did not read even one halfway decent review.  So I'm not sure what I'm going to do...  At this point, the only good news is they will head south around the 25th of August.  

The Purple Martins moved on a couple weeks ago and I already miss their sweet warbles.  The scissortails and blue birds are around and busy catching bugs and training their babies for life lessons.  Alos a lot of painted buntings around, which is wonderful.  they have a very sweet song. I heard an owl the other evening but I was not able to see it.  They are easy to hear but unbelievably hard to see!!!

Summer's In Full Swing

Unlike last summer where we enjoyed relatively reasonable temperatures, this summer is turning into the typical oppressive Texas summer.  The problem has been the humidities which are in the high 70s to mid 80s.  We'll survive as we always do, but not without a whole lot of complaining!

The albino deer has been named Luna.  She is still hanging out in our trees around the culvert.  I expect her to stay put for now as there is plenty to eat and a water source.  

Last year our cows birthed mostly bull calves.  This year we have mostly heifers.  With our original mama cows going into retirement, we plan to replace them with those offspring.  This will mean Lance, our bull and the father of those babies, will have to go.  Where?  Who knows....

Knock-on-wood but the new world screwworm has not arrived in our neck of the woods yet.  We have stuff to treat any infected members of our herd; I hope we don't have to mess with all of that!!

We managed to break our washer stuffing it full of towels, etc. that we have to use to wipe the dogs and floors off with.  We are to get a new commercial grade washer today.  None too soon as far as I'm concerned!!!  Washing dirty ranch stuff by hand is not fun!!! 

Our flag is up and we look forward to fireworks and celebrating America's 250th!!!!  We are blessed to be citizens of this great country!!  Happy Fourth of July!!!!

 

An Albino Deer

 Our neighbor texted me a few days ago to tell me she just saw an albino deer hop our mutual fence and run into our culvert.  A couple days later, I saw the strange critter.  Most of the deer we have running around on our property are use to us and only slowly move away to hide.  This poor white doe is very afraid.  To see her, I have to be in the right place at the right time.  Honestly her coat so white, and it contrasts with the dark green of the foliage she's hiding in, making seeing her in theory easy.  We'll see if she makes it through hunting season...

Vet was here yesterday giving the babies their second round of baby shots.  We probably will keep a couple of this group of heifers to replace our old mamas.  For some reason I thought we would just keep all of our mamas when they went into retirement.  That's not the plan and they are destined for Waco...

Ben has a new showbiz heifer, Dawn.   She's a beef master.  We'll see how they do this year....

Everyone is going out of town this weekend so we'll be babysitting three dogs.  Our cleaning people are here today so "that money" is thrown into the wind!!!

The swallows threw caution to the wind and built nests every place available.  I have ordered the sonic deterrents for next season.  Also, the purple martins are finishing up raising their babies.  The babies are beginning test flights.  Everyday there are fewer hanging out around the condo.

Ah Summer...

 Yes, summer is officially with us.  The vacation schedules are set, summer sports leagues and camps have started, and the daily heat is intensifying.  We are once again babysitting grandkids, grand dogs, and whatever else gets dropped off at our doorstep.  The mosquitoes are big and hungry, as are the Chigers and tics.  Encounters with any of the above is unfortunate, leaving nasty itchy welts.  Throw in the fire ants, and an outdoor experience can become a nightmare!  AND now we have the really nasty flesh eating flies on our side of the border!!!  That's the bad news....  The good news is we have DEET in our bug spray which seems to be a pretty good deterrent.  The key is to apply it before our outdoor ventures.  Unfortunately, often we forget!!!

Three grandkids will be in high school this year.  One is even going to be a senior!!!!!  What happened to the idea that these are grandkids?  I thought they would be "kids" forever!!!  While it's interesting to see them grow and mature, I long for the simpler times....

The ranch notes include the cutting and baling of the first hay crop.  It was not a stellar crop.  We need a really good second cutting to be even halfway ready for winter feedings.  We may need to put down some more fertilizer.  But if we get little or no rain, it's wasted.  Hence the farmer's dilemma...

Had a skunk sighting the other morning!  The rascal was huge and close to the house.  We've had spray encounters involving the dogs in the past and do not want to have them repeated!!  Since its been several days since I last saw the critter, I'm hoping it's moved on.

Remember your bug spray and enjoy the heat!!!!

 

We Had Momentum

 The Vet was out for a Ranch Call yesterday to do yearly shots, a couple ear tags, etc..  We had a new cowboy recommended to us to help.  We were done in about an hour and a half (it's usually taken 3-4 hours in the past).  A record!!!  This guy was calm, knowledgeable, and young enough to do all of the hard physical stuff that make these visits very difficult for us.  We had momentum!!!!!  

We said goodbye to Calfie as she made her final trip to "Waco."  Calfie was such a wonderful cow;  always happy and calm.  Her downfall was her elf slipper hooves which caused her a lot of pain and required almost constant trimming.  Brownie was scheduled to go too (prolapse), but she jumped the fence and took off into the pasture.  She will make the journey another day.

We are looking at several of our older cows who have not had babies as they should.  They will be "retiring" and we'll be replacing them with their prodigy in the coming months.  I'm sad about this because these girls have been such good and reliable mamas!!  This change will necessitate a bull change as we don't want to breed back heifers to their father.  Lots of change....

One really neat thing, in the bird sighting department is, I've seen a pileated woodpecker couple flying through our little stand of trees.  These woodpeckers are magnificent and the biggest in the U.S.A. since we've lost to extinction the Ivory billed woodpecker.  They are not common here so a wonderful sighting!!

Ben is looking into showing another heifer next year.  He's looking at the Beefmasters.  I shutter at what it will cost him to buy one!  We'll see how that all shakes out in the coming weeks.

The Purple Martins

 The purple martins returned last month en mass and now occupy all of the units in the Martin condominium complex.  This is a first and probably reflects the tightening of the housing market due to the flood of illegals (yes, I said illegals).  The group is noisy in a happy purple martin kind of way which I find pleasant.  

On the other hand, the swallows are nesting and messy as ever.  Unfortunately beginning last year, they have brought a bunch of house sparrows with them.  The constant sparrow chirping is very annoying and they are even messier than the swallows!!!

On another note, I saw a family of grey foxes cross the road ahead of me the other morning.  They were happy and yipping as they called to each other.  Not a common sighting but one I was glad to witness.  Also, I understand someone released a bunch of turkeys several weeks ago.  We have seen them here and there since.  I would love to have them settle into the area but the coyotes make long term residency highly unlikely.  

The weather has been very pleasant and cool for this time of year.  More rain is in the forecast.  The farmers are happy as the corn and wheat grows.