Correction PLUS

 

I got it wrong!  Big Mama had a little girl, not a boy.  So we named her, Tres, because she has three white spots on her forehead.  Tres is growing and healthy.  She's becoming more independent (she will run around her mama and away from her mama) yet she still stays close when she's suppose to.

On the PLUS side of things, Blanca had a little boy today.  We named him Rorschach, Ror for short.  As you can see below, he has quite the facial pattern.  It's like he's part of the Rorschach Test.  This little guy was up and about moments after his birth.  Mama Blanca and Ror are doing great!!

Big Mama Is First

 

Big Mama has the prize for birthing the first baby of the new birthing season.  This little boy will be called, Mama's Boy.  The reason for the name, is Big Mama has dropped all of her usual activities like grazing regularly, leading the herd, and being first at the feed troughs, to care for her baby.  She's very smitten with this calf.  Mama's Boy is healthy and made his appearance yesterday afternoon.  It appears that Big Mama got pregnant in February when we had to put all the cows in with the bull because of water issues during the winter storms.  The "window" for this happening was very tight, but Big Mama and Valentino made the "best" of a bad situation.  I predict there are others who took advantage of that short February "window."  For now, we are just celebrating our new baby!!!!

Sweetie

 When we bought Sweetie as part of our original herd, she was the mama who was the babysitter for all the babies, hence her name Sweetie.  As time has past, we realized she had her horns "removed" in a very unpleasant procedure.  We think it tainted her personality in ways we can only imagine.  She is the most protective of her babies, more aggressive than the other mamas, and basically an all round b****.  

We separated the last of the babies for weening about six weeks ago and included Sweetie because she was limping badly.  The Vet was scheduled for the last baby shots and it was a good time to see what was causing Sweetie's gait problems.  Well there was nothing the Vet could see and we were noticing that Sweetie was slowly improving.  Last night, after feeding everyone, we decided to put Sweetie back with the herd.  We let her into "the trap" listening and watching as she galloped, snorting, and bellowing toward the rest of the herd. The rest of the herd ran towards her and everyone pushed and shoved their way toward the "in coming" Sweetie.  There was a lot of head butting, side swiping, and chasing as Sweetie rejoined her group.  We are unsure if they were happy to see her or just wanted her to know they were not going to put up with any of her S***!  

This morning all seems calm and serene as all the girls go about the day grazing.

Confused?

 After a dry August and early September, we've had about 6 inches of rain.  Our apple tree couldn't believe the bounty of moisture and has been blooming.  We are about 1-3 weeks away from a frost, so think the blossoms are doomed.  This poor tree was leafing out when the February winter storms hit.  It was covered in ice and a few of the more tender limbs died.  With the rains of late spring and warmth, it recovered. Now it feels like procreating....

Nature is tough...

Afternoon Naps and Cud Time

Warm afternoons are spent napping and chewing one's cud.  Here the girls are all spread out under the trees enjoying this special time of day.  

Even the babies find this time relaxing and often curl up next to their mamas.  Around 3:30 to 4:00 everyone gets up, walks over to the water trough for water, then head to a pasture to begin grazing again as temperatures fall and evening descends.  I love watching the slow sequence of their days.

Mowed

We got the Bad Boy back this past week.  I got right with the mowing and cleaning up of the grass and weeds.  I saw five snakes as I mowed.  They headed "for the hills" as I made passes mowing.  Snakes are always my biggest fear with an unkept yard.  BUT we are good now.  

Tho the sky looks like rain is coming, we got none.  It's been at least 6 weeks since any real measurable rain.  We are hoping that a "cold" front later this week will bring us some.  Mornings now are cool and pleasant and afternoon temperatures are in the low to mid 90s.  Hope the front brings lower temps!  Fall is in the air!

Goodbyes And What Happened?

Saying goodbye to five of our 2021 steers next week.  Always a sad time for us but we have given them a good chance for success and good early "calfhood."  Now they head into the economy.  

What happened to our yard?  Critters of all sorts have moved in!!!!!  Well, the Bad Boy Mower went belly up about seven weeks ago.  It has been very reliable for 6-7 years until it died.  We are scheduled to have it back tomorrow and I'll be cleaning up the lawn mess after that.  It's tough to sit and mow for three plus hours. yet will be a pleasure to get "control" again.

My Favorite Photos

 

My favorite pictures are the ones looking across the tank on a clear day!  The cows and babies are peacefully enjoying a beautiful day.

 The grass is green and abundant and life is good.  I just soak it all in as the next chapters unfold...

Goodbyes and Yikes!

Said goodbye to Stormy and Spring, our last two heifers from 2020.  They didn't sell for that much when compared with those we sold in May.  It' s a good way to keep us humble and working hard to improve.  

Valentino was in a "mood" the other morning and wreaked a gate that was in his way to fighting Romeo, the bull next door.  Approximately 2300 pounds of "very unhappy" is very scary!!!   

Electric Fencing

 Valentino loves the girls!!  He is surrounded by them and when an opportunity arises, he's front and center.  Unfortunately, he is ruining the fencing.  So we have installed electric fencing in the areas where he is doing the most damage.

double gate he has destroyed 

                                                 Hard to see wire he has spread apart

Power source

                                                                          

                                      

                                                                     the problem

BURRR......

We were checking out our game cams to get them ready for another year of service and we came across a bunch of pictures from February's storms.  I get chills just from looking at these images.  It was so cold for so long...

The temperatures were below freezing but not recorded correctly it appears.  

 The last three pictures record the temps (?) and activity leading up to the storms. Dealing with the summer heat has been easier since I have been reminded of those February days! 

Finally Our Final Baby For 202!!!

 Red finally had her baby a couple weeks ago.  A little heifer we named Tippy because of the little tips of white on her ears.  She's a real cutie and has made a nice adjustment to the herd.  

Red is a very good mama and Tippy has been a great baby so far.  She and the two babies (Stubbles and Splash) born in March are fast friends.  The "older" calves find the little ones tiresome.  Welcome Tippy!!!

Goodbye Girls

Said goodbye to three of the 2020 heifers this past weekend.  They were second to the last to be auctioned and brought the highest price of all the heifers.  We are pretty pumped!!!  

We found out from the rancher who bought last years heifers, three of the four have had babies and they are waiting on the last heifer to give birth.  They are very pleased.

Dot

Dos

Feather

We are dedicated to continuing the excellence we are creating.  Best wishes girls!

 

A Few Wildflowers

 Every year I am determined to learn the names of a few of the most common wild flowers I encounter.  This year is no different and even with a wildflower book, I struggle with identifying any of them.  

                                                                                ??

??

                                                          wild chocolate and yellow labs

                                                              pink evening primrose

wine cup

bluebonnet

yellow sorrel

Indian paintbrush

                                                                     broomweed

No matter how much time I spend trying to identify the flowers, I fall short.  Maybe if I keep at it, I'll get better.

Broomweed is the flower that causes all the allergies with everyone in the family.  When it is blooming, there isn't much chance we'll have any visitors.

Spring Is Springing!!!!

If you compare last months pictures with the top two pictures from today, you will see we have some spring springing.  None too soon for me!!!  We have accessed our losses from the storm and have concluded "it could have been a whole lot worse!"   We lost a calf, the tankless hot water heaters, the garden, and four baby trees.  The good news is the wild plumb trees, the apple tree, and all the oak trees that have been in the ground for several years survived.  The lemon tree, avacado tree, and both fig trees are dead.  That pretty much sums up our losses.

The hummingbirds and purple martins returned this last week.  The scissortail fly catchers have also returned.  I have not seen any bluebirds and very few cardinals since the storms.  We may have to wait a while before they reappear. 

 The muhly survived which I'm very happy about because it was so hard to find.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this little landscape item does.

lindheimer muhly

wild plumb

apple tree

avacado tree

fig tree

lemon tree

Happy spring!