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.   

The Rains Came

Finally, the rains have arrived.  We needed them and the farmers are happy again.  They get very sad and negative if there's no rain during this time of year especially.

Fancy is avoiding all her humans.  She is still trying to become a 100% part of the herd.  Her time away has caused some tensions because of jealousy or time away.  Who knows, but she wants nothing to do with us.

I have lost the battle with the swallows!  It was a good fight but I was outnumbered and less motivated during this nesting season.  There are eggs in the nests so nothing can be done at this point.  I'll be ordering the sonic system for next year.

The pastures have been fertilized and the hay is beginning to grow.  Everything was a beautiful green until the fertilizer was sprayed on.  It seems to burn what's growing.  The cows don't like the fertilizer taste and are back eating the remaining bales that were put out.  BUT I see the new healthy grasses coming in and all will be fine in a week or so.

Repeat And Repeat

My attempts to make the porch areas as undesirable as possible have failed and the swallows are nesting!!!   I go out again and again to knock down nests and move snakes as needed, but the little guys are persistent.   May have to go to Plan C, sonic deterrents.

Ben came by to pick up the doodles and wanted to see/connect with Fancy.  She wanted nothing to do with him!!  He tried to walk up to her and she didn't just move away, she ran away.  I think she is happy to be back with the herd and is over Show Business!

  

The Swallows Have Returned

 The swallows have returned and I was ready for them!  Ben had hung the sparkly swirlie things and I had ordered and put out the snakes.  The swallows are here and flying thru the porch areas but we've had only one nest built (the sparkly swirlie things blew down on the front porch).  We knocked down the nest and put the deterrents back up, so all is well at this time.  The bad thing is the hummers are frightened off also.  I'm not sure, long term, how this will shake out as the real pressure to nest is still a couple weeks off.

Also returning are the purple martins and scissortail flycatchers.  Neither are a problem.  Just good to see them return!  Turkeys have been spotted in the culvert and in other pastures nearby.  They add a "different call" when listening to birds that are around.  The coyotes are planning for future feasts.

Fancy continues to make a nice adjustment so will be turned out with the herd soon.  The Vet is scheduled for Saturday to ear tag, give shots, and do brain surgeries on the six babies.  It's going to be challenging to figure out who belongs to who as several of them could be carbon copies of each other.

We were feeding the cows in the big pasture a week or so ago and discovered major damage to the double gate into the 8 acres up by the house.  Either the bull or a cow had tried to "hop" the gates with terrible results.  We put a cow panel up over the damage in hopes they won't try again.  I guess over $1000 in damage was done.  

Praying for rain as we're about 4 inches short so far this spring.  The new plants in the fields can't go on much longer without it.  Long term, we might get some in a week or so... 

Fancy's Return

Fancy returned to the farm last night.  She "hopped" off the trailer and immediately started to graze.  According to Ben, she had not been able to graze since starting show biz (schools, etc. put harmful chemicals on their grass so she couldn't eat it).  Within minutes she had trotted away from the pens into the eight-acre pasture reuniting with Fria and other friends.  This morning she was grazing with everyone and moved with the group up for breakfast.  If I were to bet, it looks like she has transitioned nicely.  Longer term with everyone else, we'll see....

We have purchased a new ATV.  The Can Am was a beast requiring boat loads of gas and constant servicing.  It was loud and just not a good fit for us.  Our new Landmaster is all electric and has a dealership who will pick it up, service it, and return it.  I won't have to deal with buying the stuff to service it (waiting on back orders, etc), gassing it up, and trying to find a friend or neighbor to do the service. In other words, less headaches for me.  In many ways it's like a golf cart but with more power and amenities like a winch and 4-wheel drive.  It still is not lab friendly, but maybe with a rug or two it'll work for the dogs too.

Peg had her other cataract removed last week.  All seems to have gone well.  It will be good to have her back helping with feeding etc..

The grandkids are all involved in sports of various kinds. Ben with baseball, Beckah with track, Cinco with track, Evie with track, and John Reeve with rodeo.  Their parents are very busy driving and attending their activities.  Peg just punches in an address, and her car takes her to events all over Central Texas.  She has no idea where she's going or where she is BUT the car does and it has not been lost once!  That's what Peg wanted, so she is very pleased with her Tesla purchase.