Is It El Nino Or Global Warming?

Well if you ask me, I've got to say El Nino because when I was in college in the early 70's they said we were going into another Ice Age.  Let's just say, I don't take much stock in what the scientists are saying.  So why is this subject even coming up?  Well, May has been a real soaker for Texas.  It has rained just about every day all month long.  Over the Memorial Day Holiday, we've gotten at least eight inches of rain from two separate storms; one on Saturday and one on Monday.  The storm on Monday brought straight line winds in excess of 60 miles an hour.  Hence our corn has taken a turn for the worse...

This is what the corn looked like this morning.  It wasn't the hail or the locus, it was those winds!  Not much we can do but hope that some of it will recover.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

This is a picture of how the water was overflowing the tank during the height of the storm.
These next few pictures show how much water was running down in the culvert.

Pictures of the overflowing tank:

More rain is predicted for the next couple of weeks.  With the ground saturated, I suspect there will be more flooding.  Go back to the blogs in 2011 and 2012 when we were in the drought.  It is safe to say, we are done with that dry period!

So Sweet The Corn II

We've had another inch or so of rain and the corn has continued to grow.  Today we saw baby ears! The wind was blowing so hard that it was impossible to get a decent picture but I'll include what I did get.

I will try to add an "ear" picture later when there is less wind... Anyways, look, it's growing and doing very well!  Barring a hail storm or locusts, we are going to harvest some corn!

Peg has been in the country long enough to call this pump sprayer "the best thing since sliced bread," I don't know about that, but it is definitely convenient.  I was thinking today that this is the first time we've (Peg and me) grown sweet corn since our father did when we were little.  Back then, we lived in Michigan where the soils were rich and deep.  Our brother has had several successful corn crops over the years in Minnesota, so we're feeling good about the family connection.

Keep your fingers crossed that our good fortune continues!

So Sweet The Corn

Peg bugged me for a couple weeks to write about the corn crop and I told her she could do it.  Well after waiting a couple more weeks, it is obvious she's not going to do any writing in a timely manner. We've had probably 5-6 inches of rain in the last ten days and maybe close to ten inches in the last month.  The corn has benefited from the moisture, although the fertilizer we put on before the last two inch storm probably did the weeds more good than the corn.

Here it is today about 2.5-3 feet high.  What is very exciting is we are seeing tassels which are part of the pollination process.  

We have used some organic bug spray to keep the bugs off and the deer, etc. have not bothered it.  There have been a couple of very heavy rainy downpours where a good portion was pounded down.  But the stalks rebounded and are standing tall.  So we're still in business.

Life Is Easy

At those moments when we aren't busy, we all head outside for some down time.  I sit on the porch and enjoy the view, cool breezes, songs of the birds, and the doggies do a little sunning.

The Hummingbirds come in for their goodies as we enjoy their swift moves and incredible fly-byes. The air is alive with the songs of birds of all sorts; everyone is celebrating a beautiful spring day. NOTHING can beat this!

Berry Picking Extravaganza

For the second time in three weeks, Peg has braved the red bugs and other biting insects to pick enough blackberries for a giant cobbler.  Yummy, yummy!  With all of our rain this spring, we have had a bumper crop.

Beulah supervised the harvesting in hopes of getting to eat a sample or two!
Peg says the grapes also look to be prolific and perhaps we'll get some of those when they're ready!

Sad News To Report

It was just a matter of time before a tragedy was going to occur... This morning while mowing the lawn on the Bad Boy, a baby bunny "met its maker."  (No picture provided)
As I was mowing, besides the baby killed, I managed to see and avoid two others.  I think they are on their own now and mama is no longer in charge.
Here's a little guy hiding in our corn patch.  He's safe if he'll stay there.

We are hoping to avoid any repeats of this tragedy again!

Go Buggy!

We've been planning to make the Go Buggie purchase for a couple years.  Last weekend the stars lined up and we took the plunge into motorized farm transportation.  It was just in time for the summer season and the dogs could not be more pleased.  Beulah prefers the front seat area...

And Rooster has found a spot in the back where he can relax and take in the sights without any one stealing his space.

 Peg took off to do a chore and Beulah ran to catch up so she could enjoy the ride and fun.

It looks like Peg and I will not be riding together...

Once Rooster figured out that the front seat was available, He hopped in to enjoy the ride!

Believe it or not we didn't buy this thing to give rides to the dogs.  It is to be a work horse for us. But at least for the first few hours, the dogs found it to be great fun for them.

The Trouble With Cows

So we are leasing our pasture...  Before we built our house we built a cattle guard to keep the cows out of the area where the house is located so we wouldn't have to mess with a gate.  Good plan right? Well it has worked perfectly except that the calves figured out a design flaw and have taken advantage of it to the extreme.  Here's  the cattle guard:

Here is a side where the calves sneak through:

 

So I added some re-barb and wire in hopes of closing off the entry points.

  I duck taped them first then added the wire.

So why all of this work to keep a few calves out?  Well the little rascals get in then can't figure out how to get back with their mamas on the other side.  For reasons unknown, it is easy to get in but impossible to get out for them.  After a bit, the mamas start mooing for their babies and the babies start mooing for their mamas!  All involved are upset!  So I have to go out and try to herd the babies out a large gate at the end of our enclosed area.  No one wants to be herded and all are crying and mooing!  With any luck, after 30 minutes or so somehow I get the babies out and back with their mamas.  BUT man is it work to do it!  What I have done when I see all the cows munching and moving toward the area by the cattle guard, is hop in my car and go park on the cattle guard.  When any of the calves come close, I honk my horn.  I am tired of doing this, sometimes as often as twice a day.  Now you know why I have blocked the open areas of the cattle guard.  I hope it works.

I love the calves with their big brown gentle eyes and cute ears.  However, they are always in trouble. I had to call their owner to come get one that had stuck his head through the V in a tree.  Got his head stuck between two trees!  See trees:

 Yesterday's tree encounter with these trees.

 Saturday's encounter with these trees.

What a sad state when a head gets stuck between the trees!  Again mama is mooing and baby is mooing and thrashing about!  I was glad I didn't have to wrestle with the little guy to get him out especially with a very unhappy mama nearby!  This is the little guy who keeps getting into trouble.  Looks like he's weathered it fairly well.  He's too curious for his own good.

Again, I love these little babies but not so much that I want to be responsible for them myself!

New Fencing

We decided to put in new fencing on the east and north sides around the house in hopes of keeping the dogs from wandering so widely.  The old fence line was a mess with lots of holes.  See below:

Our challenge was finding someone who was willing to clear all the brush and trees out.  Our friend Hector signed up with his tractor and started cleaning everything up.

After a day of dozing, wow what a difference!

  Then came the fires.

They were allowed to burn all night and I checked on and off to make sure we weren't burning down everything.  After dark, I saw embers shooting several hundred feet in the air.  It was hard to not panic!  Amazingly, the county did not burn down!  The next morning the dozier dug two huge holes and buried whatever didn't burn.  I think it looks pretty good.

 

  At this point, Matthew and his crew were able to set posts and hang wire.

We did have to call in the surveying company as there were some questions about where a portion of the property line was.  They Geo shot our points and the fence work progressed to completion.

Now we are able to keep the doggies in, BUT now we are having trouble keeping the calves out!  (see next Blog)