Tuesday, May 31, 2016

New Fencing

Finally there is work being done on the new fence!  One of the main excuses for no action has been the rain we've had for the last couple months.  Well, the dozer guy worked in the rain today!  Hmm, makes me wonder...



 gate at the back of the pens at the northwest corner

 looking south from pens along fence line
 pile to be burned then buried

 looking north toward west gate

pile

So lots of rain is forecasted for the rest of the week.  We'll see how it goes.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Wild Flowers

With all the rain we've had, the wild flowers are all over.  I am terrible with their names, but will try to label a few.

  Large Buttercup

 Indian Paintbrush

 Bull Nettle

 Sunflower


 Firewheel or Indian Blanket

Bluebonnet

 ??


 Brown-Eyed Susan

 Prickly Pear

 Texas Lantana

Mexican Hat

??
These are my best guesses.  Some are very obvious, others who knows...

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

More Wisdom

Yes I have another bit of wisdom to impart...  Peg and I went to our second cow auction last Saturday. What we thought was an oversight on everyone's part were two front center seats five feet from the arena.  Why would these great seats be empty?  We sat down and waited for the festivities to begin.
The first group of cows came into the small arena and kicked up all kinds of dirt, much of it landed in our laps.  Well do we get up?  Do we admit that we are surprised and so dumb that we made this terrible mistake and move?  Heck no!  We are "pros" and sat there just so we could experience the "ground game."  We stayed put and pretend to laugh off all of the "indignities" tossed our way for the next hour and a half.  Yes, and there were all kinds of stuff flung off and out of these cows at us!  So my bit of advice to novice cowpokes going to a cow auction; do not be tempted by the first row of empty seats!
Sorry no pictures... My phone was trapped in my pocket by mud and cow poop!

The Front Gate

Or should I say "the smashed front gate!"  The go-buggy was returned this morning and on the way out, the delivery guy got distracted by his phone and took out the front gate.




I am in communication with the go-buggy company and they say they have insurance.  Unfortunately I am the one who will end up being in charge of this mess!  I am not happy!

On a calmer more rational note, I would like to impart a little wisdom as I move forward on repairs. "Stay off your stupid phones! This time it was only a gate.  Next time it could be a child or a semi tractor trailer truck!"

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Mother's Day Fig Tree

Peg received a fig tree for Mother's Day from TJ.  He told her that the figs are a favorite of the deer. So we chose a site and have planted it.


It looks strong and happy in its new home.  There are even some baby figs on it so maybe we'll get the deer to come by for a snack.  It's not a tree we would choose but it has some interesting characteristics that make it very cool!

Harvest Time

Well I don't know if it is really a harvest time, but we are starting to gather from the garden things which are ready for consumption.  Peg took back to Dallas some cherry tomatoes today.  I picked a few more this afternoon and some banana peppers which were also ready.



The yellow squash has lots of little baby squashes.  I love this squash grilled.  So I am happy to see the abundance.

Then there is our bedraggled corn field...  Maybe 25 plants...  Yet, I have to give what is left some credit, it has baby corn cobs!  I see a meager meal in our future!


We think some of our problems are that there is not enough organic material in our beds.  Improving our planting area will be one of many off season jobs.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Snake Skin

Peg found this snake skin the other morning in the yard.  I am pretty sure it is not the skin of a poisonous snake.  I could be wrong but the shape of the head is that of a "friendly" snake.  The grand kids manhandled it prior to its picture being shot so I can't be completely certain.


I'm calling it a rat snake skin.  One reason we've had no mice in the house is these snakes are patrolling the yard on a regular basis.

Another Flat!

The Go-buggy has been back for about three weeks from getting a flat tire fixed/replaced.  I had to call the shop this morning because we have another flat!  The shop worker was shocked to hear from me and was especially surprised when I told him it was the same tire as before.


The only good news is, I am reasonably sure I am not the one who caused it.  Still, we do so much work with the buggy and loosing it for how ever long it takes to fix the tire will be hard.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Copperhead Snake

We've been very lucky that the poisonous snakes have been scarce around our plot.  We see rat snakes and grass snakes periodically.  Today I was going to fetch some old pots so I could begin to replant the baby trees and I saw this fellow where I was fixing to stick my hand!

I ran in the house to get the guide so I could make sure I was correct in assuming it was a copperhead. Yep, it was.  I thought I would try to get it to move away but it wanted to stay where it was.  It became very aggressive as I tried to move it.  I was happy for my long stick.  I really didn't want to kill it.  They are great at eating small things including mice.  However, the snake didn't want to move away, so I killed it.

It was about 18-20 inches long when I stretched it out.  Pretty scary when I think that Peg had been messing around this area this morning and the last time the grand kids were here, this was where they played!  So we'll remove the pots, etc. so there's no place for a snake to hide (or anything of interest for a grand kid to play with).


Future Tenants?

The purple martins usually come by a couple times a day to check out "The Castle."  Their calls and vocalizations seem very happy and pleasant.  However they appear to be just out looking.




I realize it is too late for any nesting to occur but I am hopeful that they'll keep the complex in mind next year.  Any good Realtor knows it's "location, location, location!"