Lance In Greener Pastures?

We sold Lance to our neighbor and he put Lance in the Hunt Pasture, a place Lance was always looking into and calling to those neighborhood girls.  It may look "greener" on the other side of the fence. but that is not always the case.  Mornings we often find Lance at our mutual fence line calling to his former girls.  Just goes to show, be careful what you wish for!!!!

Bella is making "progress" in the sense she is relaxing and not quite as nervous.  With the lure of hot dog pieces, she is improving on coming when called.  Going in and out of the doggie door is also improving if the flaps are taped up.  We believe we are at the end of Bella's first "HEAT."  What a trial it has been!!!  The good news is we've had no "callers."  So will make appointment to get her spayed as soon as possible!!

My hip replacement surgery is finally scheduled for November 3.  I'm looking forward to some relief from the constant pain.  I dread the surgery and would be happy with just the opioids at this point, but it is not to be....

Amazingly, the deer feeder is up and running!!!  It had blown down during spring storms and I held little hope of it being fixed.  The cows were the first to enjoy a little corn when it spun out last night.  We should start seeing deer coming in soon.

Fall is not hurrying its arrival.  Temperatures are still in the high 90s when they should be in the middle 80s.  No rain to speak of since July.  The cracks in the ground are getting wider and wider.  

Lance

 Lance, the bull, has been sold to make room for a new bull.  Because we are shifting to the offspring of our original mamas, we need to bring in new genetics.  It was sad to see him loaded up and leave.  He was a good bull!

Bella...  She's her own boss and stubborn as all get out! So far we've done no training to speak of which will bite us...

Grandkids are back in school and involved in all their sports and activities.  Peg micro plans her attending strategies as best she can.  Her tesla is over its leasing milage by 1000 miles for the year!!!

More 100 degree days.  I think we're at about 45 for the summer so far.  No end in sight!!

Ben brought back Sunrise from the barn where he is working with Dawn for FFA shows.  Sunrise, who is a "child" of Big Mama, was too dominant, etc...  Dawn apparently was becoming too dependent on her.  The good news is after she was gone, Dawn was halter trained!!  So Ben is off to the "races."

This And That

 Bella continues to get situated here.  She's very sweet and loving but afraid of loud noises and sudden movements.  She needs socialization and training.  Time will tell if she's going to be as wonderful in all areas as she is in the loving department!!  In terms of the bloodhound "bark," she's always greets us loudly.  Love it!!!!

We have not seen Luna in over three weeks.  I fear once the greater neighborhood sees her and with hunting season coming up, we've lost her.  

We got three drops of rain early this morning and the temperature came down 2 degrees.  The rain is needed badly and the heat (104+) has been horrible.  With September a few days aways, it's got to heading towards cooler temperatures.

The Buggy has been at the repair shop for three weeks now.  We're having trouble with rats chewing wiring.  Think we might get it back today.  We may be having the same trouble with the Bad-Boy mower too.  We'll see.  

I'm looking forward to fall and cooler weather!!

Bella

We have been heartbroken with our recent lose of Zeek and Bo.  Dog/dogs belong in our family!!  Peg texted a longtime bloodhound breeder in Central Texas.  She has retired but is still getting referrals of bloodhounds who need to be rehomed.  So we made contact with an owner who wanted to rehome her eight-month-old bloodhound.  Last week we made the trip to Sealy to check out and pickup Bella.  We found her outside chained to a tree. The good news is, she doesn't have heartworms and seems to only be a little flea bitten.  Bella is a red colored little girl who, once she gets over her shyness, is a real sweetie.  She's learning to go thru the doggie door, slowly, and can now sit, when she feels like doing it.  Bloodhounds are known for their stubbornness.  We need to set up some training and get her socialized but she needs to feel completely safe and comfortable with us first.  In typical bloodhound fashion, she's messy, drools and slobbers all the time.  Of course, none of this is meant to cause problems, but honestly, the frequency and abundance is ungodly!!!   However, she knows at some level what's happened, and comes over and rubs and leans against her "victim" with as much love as she can give.

Lance, the bull, has been sold.  We still have him but he's technically gone.  Peg wants to get a Brangus bull.  We are slowly making the transition from our old original herd to their progeny and don't want their daddy to be the papa of their offspring.

The corn has been harvested and the farmers are slowly beginning to get their fields ready for next year.  The circle continues...

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!!!!