I Have Confirmation

 About a month ago, I called Peg into the living room because I was watching a mama deer with three babies.  Of course, she missed out on seeing them at that time.  Finally, one evening last week, Peg was able to see that there were indeed three babies.  When I checked with our neighbors a couple days, they said they had seen the mama with the triplets and that they bedded down in the woods near them.  Yeah!!! Triplets are a first for us.  We've seen lots of deer with twins, but triplets are a first!!!  I will say they are about half the size of a regular fawn at this time of year.  I worry that their mama will have trouble keeping everyone fed.  So far, so good!!

Raquel had a little bull a couple days ago.  He's a cutie and we've named him Blaze.  Now we are waiting on Rosie.  She looks like she is going to pop, so it'll be anytime now.  Lance's first progeny are being weened.  They and their mamas are pretty noisy.  The neighbor texted me asking if there was a problem over here because they were making so much noise.  We're into day four and things have quieted down.  It's always pretty tough on "everybody" going through this process.

We've gotten 2.9 inches of rain in the last 4-5 days and we're suppose to get more.  It's in the eighties and everything is green!!!  Strange July weather!  Farmers are worried about corn still out in the fields!!!

A Summertime Cool Front

We had a cool front move through early this morning and the temps outside right now are glorious!!  Of course the line of showers that came through with it occurred as we were loading up a couple calves to go to the auction barn.  We're not made of sugar so we didn't melt but it made loading more interesting.

It will be a few more days before the swallows head south.  I'll not gross you out telling you how horrible the back porch is...

We only got a little wind with Beryl but large areas of Houston are still without electricity!  This is a government competency issue.  Once again, the government let down those who they are elected to protect and serve!!!

The farmers just started to harvest the corn.  For the next two to three weeks we will be encountering the big trucks and large farm equipment on the roads.  The good news is, as the corn is harvested, we'll have good views of the roads around curves and corners. 

Summertime Blues

The Little Bluestem Doggie Kennel and Spa has been booked solid since the end of May.  I'd like to say we're making a killing on fees and tips.  If such things are counted in kisses and tail wags, we ARE getting rich!!! The heifers up by the house are becoming tolerant of the barking, but I'm not fond of it because the barking blasts into the tranquillity of our morning quiet.  The birds even stop singing....

I lost the battle with the swallows and the porch is a mess.  The good news is we are days away from them migrating south.  How many days?  Who knows, but that's how I'm viewing it!!!

The baby hummers made their way to the feeder and it was great to see the little guys make their landings and find the portals of "juice."  

We got our second cutting of hay so we should be all set for winter feedings.  The cows left their shaded areas to watch the process.  They know it's all for them....

Peg is on cruise to Alaska and is briefly escaping the heat.  It'll be waiting for her when she returns!  I spend my days doing farm related chores (before 10:00) and trying to keep up with the political mess this country has created.  Both are fun and never ending...

Today I am waiting to see where hurricane Beryl is headed.  It may be a weather maker here.  

Summer's Beginnings

 It appears that summer has started.  We're experiencing heat indexes over 105.  It seems to be a combo of heated air and dew points.  The humidity is high because of all the rain we've gotten.  Bell Milam Falls water district has dropped all watering restrictions.  The lakes, rivers, ponds, etc. are all full.  Yeah... tho the down side is every bug is procreating as fast as it can.  With the ponds full, the frogs and toads are multiplying too, so maybe they'll start eating the bugs.

Vivian had her baby a week ago but the little guy didn't make it.  The Vet says it was probably a combo of the heat and humidity.  It is very sad as we were just getting to know the little guy, Paws.  Vivian is heartbroken and has been walking around crying.

The swallows have not given up on their nest making.  I continue to knock nests down.  One nest I missed, I can see 7 baby heads hanging over the lip of the nest.  Could be families are merging because of my nest activities. The purple martin families are well established and their cheerful calls make for happy early mornings. 

I hope to see the baby hummers come in to the feeder for the first time soon.  I love watching their debuts. They make Peanut's Woodstock look like a great flyer!

Friends have been giving us fresh produce.  It is wonderful but it's hard to deal with the surplus.  I wish we had gotten our garden going this year.  

It's been six months since my new years resolution to get pictures back on the blog.  So far I've done nothing!!

  

Birds, Snakes, Armadillos, Storms, Mud, Bugs, Etc.

 Ah spring with all its new life and daily challenges!  We've had over 7 inches of rain in the last two weeks.  It's come in 2-3 inches at a time which results in runoff and mud.  We have pools of water which are breeding the biggest hungry mosquitoes we've seen since before the drought.  Not pleasant to be outside!!!!  With the ground wet, the armadillos and snakes are on the prowl and digging everywhere.  We watched a rat snake try to catch a bird the other day.  The bird survived the hunt!

Speaking of birds, the purple martins returned a week or so ago.  It looks like 4-6 couples moved into the martin house.  I'm surprised as we were unable to make the yearly repairs.  It truly is a slum property!  The hummers are eating me out of house and home and the swallows can't build their nests fast enough.  I had been knocking down 6-8 nests every 2-3 days.  Now I'm knocking down only 2-3 every couple of days.  I'm hoping that they will give up and we can have the back porch for ourselves and not as a nursery for their babies.  Not to be outdone, there's a mockingbird couple that has built a nest in one of the baby live oaks.  To get under my skin, the daddy mockingbird sings all night long.  He also sings all day long!  I have enough trouble sleeping, so the continuous limited repertoire of songs really is aggravating!  

Raquel finally went to the vet to have her feet checked out as her limping was horrible.  She stayed a few days at the vet and now is back.  I can't see much improvement in her gait but hope she will mend in time.  Calfie and Red also went to the vet to have their elf hooves trimmed.  No one is sure what causes this condition.  It would be an interesting investigation to figure out this problem.

The hay fields look great and if the rain continues after the first cutting, we may get that second elusive cutting.  The local water district has lifted the water restrictions so I'll be able to water baby trees if I need to this summer.  I think I've said we've lost about 20% of the trees we planted due to the drought.  

More storms are due in this afternoon and evening.  Knock-on-wood, we are spared any sever weather!!!  We'll take the good stuff.....

 

RIP Maude

Despite our best efforts, Maude didn't survive!!  We miss her and know she is in heaven making all the creatures there smile.  

Finally we've had a little rain.  Two inches of the wet stuff fell earlier this week.  We managed to not be in the hail path so avoided the baseball size hail stones!!!  The hay pastures and the big pasture were fertilized a few days prior to the storms so we may benefit big time.  

Our niece and her husband visited from Baltimore to view the eclipse.  It was pretty cloudy as the moon progressed toward totality.  Then about two or three minutes before totality, the sky opened up and we had a wonderful view of the total eclipse (over two minutes long) with its ring of fire and diamond.  Also during totality, a star was in view.  Come to find out it wasn't a star but a comet!!!  A minute or two after totality the clouds returned.  The "darkness" was interesting tho all we noticed was a flock of birds fly over looking for a roust.  I've seen several partial eclipses but this was my first total eclipse.  The whole experience was very very cool!!!!  

Maude

One of our favorite cows, Maude, has been sick.  She normally is the "happy go lucky" girl who trotted to the feeding troughs, ears flapping, with a big "smile" on her face.  About a month ago our happy girl was slow to walk, not interested in eating, and had some very awful secretions.  The Vet was called and she was sent to the large animal clinic.  Diagnosis, oak tree toxicity probably from eating acorns.  That seemed dubious as no one else was in similar condition.  Cows move around eating together and when one finds something yummy, the rest are quick to be there to enjoy it.  Anyways after a couple weeks at the clinic (where her calf was born and died), she came back to the farm.  The Vet orders were to keep her away from Lance, the bull, and out of the pasture with the oak trees for at least 60 days.  She continued to decline under our care so the Vet was called out again and after a round of probiotics, antibiotics, and steroids, she seemed markedly better this morning.  I saw the trot, flappy ears, and smile when she showed up for breakfast this morning.  We are hopeful that Maude has turned a corner and is on the mend!

Friday, a week from now, we have annual vaccinations.  This is always a tense time for us as all the cows know what we are doing as we try to entice the herd up to the chute area for their shots.  We understand why they don't like being held in the chute as they get stuck a couple times, but its the only way we can accomplish our goal safely.  Also we will separate One-Two and Summer from their mamas so they can be weaned.  I can hear the unhappiness already...  At this time Dawn will rejoin the herd permanently.  She is Big Mama's baby born in November 2022.  She is also the daughter of Valentino.  Dawn is our first replacement heifer from our herd.  In theory, she will live out her life having babies here with us.

I got buzzed by my first Hummingbird a couple days ago so have put the feeder out for another year.  I haven't seen the Purple Martins yet this year.  I figure they think our housing situation is so bad, they probably will not show.  The barn swallows are back and trying to rebuild last years nests.  I am trying to remain vigilant knocking down their nests built on the back porch.  We'll see how I fair...

The farmers have seeded the fields with corn and the work has begun on getting the hay fields in shape.  It's the same sequence every year...