Routine Management

I usually head down to the area of the deer feeder in the evenings whenever the cows have spent the day hanging out under the nearby trees.  I want to make sure the calves have not been pillaging the feeder and the area fencing around it.  Make no mistake, this is not a chore.  The evenings are cool and it is great to be out enjoying the sights and sounds at this time of day.

A few of our latest visitors...  Still nothing exotic, but we have to be ready when the unexpected happens.

  I bet this coon weighs 30-35 pounds!  It is huge!

I hear the crows calling and coming in to the feeder area after the corn gets tossed out.  Once the deer arrive, they are out of luck.

It has been a good summer for the deer in terms of forage.  They look great!

No AAA Coverage!

We were out in the pasture spraying Mesquite on Saturday when I got sidetracked while driving and I ran over a bunch of dead mesquite.  Remember this is the plant with the 1-3 inch thorns.  Even though the dead plants I ran over had been killed three to four years ago, the thorns are still lethal to tires and foot ware.

The front tire went flat before I had driven ten feet.  What a pain in the drain!  We limped back to the house and lamented about our misfortune.   Unlike a car, these buggies come with no jacks or spares. Add to that, NO AAA!  

Called the Buggy place and they'll be out tomorrow to pick up our buggy, take it to town, fix the tire, and return it, all for a fee.  I am hoping it will be returned before the weekend.  In the meantime, I've learned my lesson and will watch where I'm driving in the future.

Hummingbird Update

After posting my hummingbird observations, the hummer visits to the feeders fell off completely. Since Saturday afternoon, two days ago, I have seen maybe three hummers.  It may have been that the large numbers at the feeders prior to that time were migrating birds.  I wish them well on their journey!

Within two days of the above posting, all the hummers were gone.  It has been a week with no visitors.

Black Is Black & White Is White

I love Rooster but he is a black lab, not a white lab.  We are finished with his bleach sponge baths for his allergies and it is time to move on!  I needed to bring back his original color!  It was quite a process too. It took several tries and formulations before I was able to get my black lab back.

I will tell you this, it is hard to convince a dog to go through a color reversal after completing such a demanding allergy regime.  I think the shame of who/what he had become, motivated him to come full circle. Welcome back Rooster, my black lab!

A Couple Of Noses

We check on the game cams on the weekend.  We don't want to miss any visitors!  The feeder was broken for a couple weeks but is back in action now.  We should get some future pictures soon.  Here are a couple of noses checking out the camera...

 Beulah

Bambi

Extraordinary Display

I've had two hummingbird feeders out all summer.  I feel like I've been feeding every hummer in the county.  We've gone through at least 25 pounds of sugar so far.  

This feeder does not get the attention the other feeder gets and I don't know why.  Maybe it's because the other feeder is more in the open.

I've seen as many as eleven hummers trying to sip from this feeder at the same time.  They are like jets zooming around the patio and yard.  After filling up, they hang out in the tree until they need another shot of juice.

How many do you see in the tree?

Beulah

Beulah is a sweetie!  However she does have one flaw; her nose.  She is able to locate the nastiest things and bring them home.  Here is her latest "find."  Make no mistake, this is a prime goodie, and required major trickery to get it away from her.

Dove season has just started and bow hunting deer season is fixing to begin.  I suspect we will have more "surprises" coming our way soon!

A Pest

I am "all in" for our critter neighbors, but this guy has put me over the edge.  Besides digging 3-4 inch deep trenches all over the yard, he has decided to dig a burrow under one of our new baby trees!

 
Every morning, I get up and fill in his newly dug hole.  Our little tree's survival depends on practically perfect conditions and does not include a hole dug into its roots.

So the other day I filled in the hole again, then added a few bricks.  "Knock-on-wood" that he has given up on this location for his home!

Allergies

Rooster saw his doggie dermatologist last week due to continued skin allergy problems.  Since April, he has been on three rounds of antibiotic, a round of prednisone, multiple weekly baths, as well as his ongoing daily allergy regimen.  This spring and summers flare-up is due to our very wet spring which caused every possible weed and plant to bloom.  The doctor took a scraping of his scabby skin and sent it off to see what antibiotic could knock down the infections.  So we wait for the results...  BUT, he prescribed that we do daily bleach sponge baths.  Here he is dripping dry after his first bath.

Below is Rooster after his treatment this morning.  I am a little concerned that I may have gotten the bleach to water formulation screwed up.  Was it 3 oz of water to one gallon of bleach?  Or was it 3 oz of bleach to one gallon of water?

I am hoping this is just a temporary situation...  

Nighttime At The Deer Feeder

We head down to the deer feeder often to change out the cards in the Camera.  Beulah enjoys riding down, while Rooster usually runs out ahead of the Go Buggy.

When we get to the feeder, Beulah lays down in the buggy and naps while we change out the cards, etc.  Rooster runs around smelling/eating all the cattle poop.  Talk about BAD breath!
Looks like we captured on "film" a coyote and a raccoon.  I think the coyote was after a little coon for dinner.  Good thing the raccoon was inside the fence!

We have pictures of the deer at night also, however I think the pics of the deer during the day are better so have included them previously.  The night pictures are not the best, but the camera is working so we have a chance of catching some other visitors in the near future!

Wildlife Update

I try to post any wildlife pictures I have to document what's showing up around our little plot. Unfortunately "no one" is interested in waiting for me to get my camera especially if the doggies are barking like crazy.
Recently our skunk returned for a trot across the back porch.  He did not go unnoticed and the doggies barked "up a storm" until he took off.  Thankfully we were all inside!
Last week as I was finishing up my morning coffee, a bobcat appeared out of the hay grazer into the yard.  His appearance was very brief as the doggies cut loose with their territorial barking. Again, the viewing opportunity was short lived.
Then there are the funny little situations that occur...  In the evenings before bedtime, Rooster heads out the doggie door for a comfort stop.  Before he steps out, he sticks his head out to see what critters are around.  One huge toad is usually right on the step hunting bugs attracted by the sliver of light coming through the crack in the doggie door.  Another visitor is our local armadillo.  If either of these are on the porch or step, Rooster will not go out.  He will stand with his head out the door and watch and wait until I scare them away.

I will continue to work on getting pictures, but I'm not optimistic given our "watch doggies."