Mammal Sightings – Page 14 – The Hermits' Rest

Drew Goes to the Doctor

I think Drew, my new colt, is annoyed with me. He had to go to the vet today, and I don’t think it was his favorite experience so far. He is really glad to be home.

It took us forever to get to the vet, who was in Waco, because we were behind a wind turbine propeller. Wow, it was slow. Thankfully, it stopped for a minute and we got past it.

The vet place was nice, an all-equine practice. I was too busy paying attention and hoping Drew wouldn’t be too traumatized to take pictures, but I took a lot of notes! Here’s what I learned:

Drew is 14.1 hands high. That’s short, but he should end up about 15 hands, which is just fine. (A hand is 4 inches, and height is measured from the top of their shoulder, not their head.)
He is right at 3 years old, so I decided his birthday will be July 1.
Drew is not a red roan. He will be gray at adulthood. It will be so fun to watch him change!
He needs high-protein feed.
His facial features are a star on his forehead and a snip on his nose.
He is healthy as a…you know what.
He has a great face.

The people at the vet place were all so nice. A friendly old vet and a really helpful technician who gave me lots of helpful information. I sure appreciated it! Drew did not appreciate three shots, one nasal spray, and oral wormer. That’s why he’s pissed off.

I enjoyed talking to some folks when I checked out, then we headed back, making better time. We had a fun stop at the Rosebud Feed and Seed. It’s a cute place and has its own brand of feed! We also found the brand of high-protein feed the vet tech recommended there, too.

By the time we got home, we were all wiped out. Poor Drew didn’t want to leave the trailer until Chris cowboyed him out. Now he is very happy with both grass and space to run.

What about my other precious beloved equines? Well, now that Andrew is vaccinated and wormed, I can bring Apache and Fiona here! That excitement should commence tomorrow. Sara sure is glad, so the paddock can rest until Aragorn arrives.

Goldie is a Woman-Dog Now

This has fulfilled a prediction both Kathleen and I had made. You may remember that when Kathleen found out about Goldie, she was told Goldie was infertile, so of no use to the previous owners, who’d wanted to breed her. We don’t need puppies, so we were happy to take on a giant sweetie pie.

Bonus photo of Drew getting along with Vlassic just fine

Yesterday, I saw blood on the floor and thought yet another dog had cut itself on some random ranch hazard. But, later, Lee texted that “Goldie had started her period.” Oh my! She’s not infertile, she was just slow to mature, like a giant dog tends to be. That’s why we are giving her puppy food! It might also be that she was too thin to go into heat; who knows?

No more photos of blood! We’ve got it all under control, though, and we can get her spayed when this is over with (no, we do not want any giant hybrid puppies and are glad we know no intact make dogs). She’s being very clean, and all the other dogs are quite respectful of her.

In other news, it just keeps raining. We’re supposed to take Drew to the vet in Waco today, so I sure hope it calms down soon. Mud is being produced! The weather has been great for mushrooms, though!

At least yesterday wasn’t too rainy, so I got to spend good time with Drew. We walked around the field, and of course he pooped on the driveway. Ah horses. He matched my every step, so I tried running a bit, and he trotted daintily along beside me. His trot is so pretty. It was a really happy time for me.

We were very coordinated yesterday. He is always looking at a dog.

And in other good news, we should be able to bring Apache and Fiona over to where Andrew is, so they can make friends and try out the stalls. I’m very excited about that. Crossing my fingers about the rain issue, but hey, the rain brings out a lot of cool insects, like giant walking sticks!

Hoping you have a fun day, and that you like surprises. We may have more over here at the Hermits’ Rest!

Hay, How’s That New Horse?

Hungry. That’s how he is. Poor Andrew must have felt like he was in Heaven when he realized he was in a pen full of grass. As you can see in the photo below, he definitely mowed his pen quickly (photo was at 8:30 am).

A second makeshift pen was quickly created for him, so now he has more grass to nosh on. I’m gonna bring him a bale of hay in a bit, just in case he needs it.

He’s got to grow, so he needs food! He has his veterinarian appointment tomorrow, so we will ask them what kind of food would be best for him, and I’m sure Trixie will have some ideas, too, when she sees him next week.

I had an hour between meetings, and since he’s right near the house, I was able to groom him a little. I got the mud off his mane and tail, and most of his legs, using extra tools we had at Sara’s (and I told her all about Drew when we met this morning to move Apache and feed him). Grooming was more difficult than it could have been because of his new best friend, Goldie.

Goldie just thinks it’s cool to know a dog even bigger than herself, I think, and Drew is fine with her (he grew up with dogs). It’s just hard to groom with the dog running around.

So, we are all having fun and getting acclimated. Meanwhile, Barbara the hen is still sticking with us, and getting around pretty well. The other chickens seem fine with each other, too, so maybe I’ll have more eggs soon!

Have a good day, and remember to focus on what’s good in your life; that often lets you handle your challenges with much more grace.

A Colt Named Andrew

Now that we will be able to have horses at the Hermits’ Rest, Kathleen and I have been looking for horses. She has found one, and we get him Friday. More on that later. I wanted a sound, calm older horse that was not too pricey to take lessons on. I was not in a hurry, but looking around. But today, Kathleen saw an ad for a nice looking horse in Cuero.

He was in my price range and was not bad looking. So, my nephew the horse trader talked to the owner, who had owned the colt (age 3) since he was really little and trained him. The conversation went well, so I canceled my afternoon meetings and hopped in the truck, trailer in tow, to check the young horse out.

We met the owner and followed him deeper and deeper into the countryside. It really is one of the prettiest parts of Texas, with huge oaks, rolling hills, and fine ranches. However, the horse was not in a fancy place; more like a mud pit. He was obviously loved, but not fed enough. He is thin and narrow.

Poor baby. I’m lucky that the nephew trained horses in another life and knows what to look for. After he inspected the colt, he asked the owner to ride him. That’s always a good plan. That went well. So I got on him next.

Caution. Don’t ride without a helmet or where you can’t reach the stirrups.

I managed to get on without a riding block, which shows you he’s not very tall. Yay. And we had fun riding around, even though it was rather muddy. He was so easy to move and so responsive. Wow. I didn’t feel worried at all, even though I could not reach the stirrups. What a good boy.

To test his calm demeanor, a large pet pig wandered over to say hi. The horse paid attention to me and not the commotion. I was sold at that point.

So, after the mandatory country guy bonding and storytelling, we got the horse for less than advertised, and well within my budget. We let the horse, formerly called Blue, even though he is a red roan, eat as much grass as he wanted. He deserved it.

Finally I put my gaudy blue halter and lead on him, and declared him to be my colt, Andrew. Or Drew, which at least rhymes with Blue and will sound familiar. He’s named for my dad’s father, Andrew Kendall. (I once had a donkey named Oscar, after my mom’s father. Tradition. )

Into the trailer he went, and we wound our way out of the rural Cuero area (by the way, Drew lived on Kendall Road!), and headed back to the ranch. I’m sure grateful I had help with this! Horse buying is not for the faint of heart, and this feels like a rescue.

I resent that you stopped for snacks and didn’t give me anything.

I’m excited to work with Drew, get him to a healthy weight, and learn with him. And I’m glad Apache will have a friend to hang out with! Now I have a new buddy and can concentrate on developing a good relationship with him.

But first he goes to the veterinarian and gets checked out!

Goldie and the Gulf Coast Toad

Nearly all the toads you see in this area are Gulf Coast Toads. We always have a couple hanging around the house. You never know where one will be lurking, as we found out today.

Once again, a big downpour happened while the driveway was getting worked on. I was on the porch with the dogs, watching the rain.

So, there are a couple of places where Lee’s old drainage system broke, and that’s where water gushes out when it rains hard. Today, there was a second gusher. I didn’t recall that happening before. It was like something was blocking the first one. Until I heard a POP.

A dazed toad spurted out of the hole. That was the blockage! I laughed my head off, so I only got this blurry image before it hopped away.

Once the toad hopped, Goldie spotted it. She’d never seen such a thing!

I watched as she circled the toad. Every time it moved, she jumped back, often nearly knocking me over. At one point she got scared by and went way across the new path to circle from a distance. She just didn’t know what to think of that toad!

I knew enough not to let her lick it, but a couple of times she got pretty close.

It was a lot of fun watching Goldie learn. I think she got the idea not to bite or play with them. I wish I’d managed to teach Vlassic that before he got a mouthful of toad secretion and started foaming.

I Could Have Worked Harder Yesterday, But…

Now, I’m not referring to my paid employment, which did get it’s time in, but to my after-work job, helping with the pens and other jobs. It was an uncharacteristically pleasant day, so I can’t blame the heat. No, it’s my little buddy Vlassic who kept me sidelined for at least 45 minutes.

I went outside around 5 to water the chickens and check on progress, and I sat down to watch the hole-digging process in the stall area. Vlassic jumped in my lap.

He obviously needed some Mama love, because he only got down once for a minute until 6 pm, when I had to get out of the hard chair and help out. He snuggled, he licked, he cuddled, and he sighed from happiness. I love when the weather lets me hang out with my doggie dude.

Before digging holes. You can see one of the water troughs set up and markers for posts to divide the stalls.

Now that the dirt is all moved, the stalls can be completed. There will be four of them (thus limiting the number of horses that Kathleen and I can acquire). Each trough will be shared by two stalls. It will be cool.

The holes in the pens were easy to drill, but there were also three holes farther out, to support a water trough area for the cows.

The new posts are past the big gate. The water line has to go way out there.

The last hole was a doozy! The auger just wouldn’t go down. It just bounced and bounced about a foot down. It took at least half an hour to get that hole dug, and the soil had to be loosened, and the auger had to go sideways for a bit. But, once it got past the hard stuff, it happened. It turns out there are a few areas of really compacted soil right there. That’s interesting, because just a few feet away, there was no problem.

Looks like a normal hole, but it is not.

The good news is that all the poles are in their holes, to make a rhyme. And I DID get some work in. I filled in some of the holes, including a large and very wet hole where the water line got cut and had to be repaired. Let me tell you what, damp clay soil is heavy. My back reminded me of that!

It may look like an area with dirt and some random fencing stuff, but that used to be a big hole.

Of course, that was all a drop in the bucket, compared to all the work that has to be done on this project, but it’s nice to get some sweat equity into my project. By the way, Lee also filled in two holes. Nice, dry holes, I want to point out.

It looks like, at least for now, we have all the posts needed for the horse area. Now, to just fill everything in, finish burying the water line (ugh, a great deal of hand trenching is involved), set the troughs up with their floats and stuff, and add gates.

While the “getting the horse over here” part of the effort is coming close to an end, the project will go on and on, so I’ll keep chronicling it. Why? Mainly for me, I guess. It’s fun to look back on things once they are done. I sure enjoy the photos of building our house!

The container gets to be turned into a tack room and hay storage, while the second container, once it get here, gets to be other storage. Or something. Plans are fluid. Then, the great cattle fencing stage of the operation will begin. Our ranch will look very different, and there will be lots more space for rotating cattle and adding to the herd (which, to be clear, is NOT my area, but it’s fun to watch). Speaking of cattle, the new young heifers behind us want to not only be friends with Goldie, but also the chickens!

Pitching in to Get Apache His New House

After taking a few days off for other stuff, we’re back in the final stretches of finishing the new horse pens over at our covered shipping container at the Hermits’ Rest. While I haven’t done the heavy digging or lifting, I’ve contributed more than the dogs have.

Why work, when you can relax beside the new giant porch fan?

Humans have been quite busy, though. Yesterday the trench was dug (by hand!) and the water lines put in for the two horse troughs and a sink/horse washing station. Doesn’t that sound fancy? No, I will not wash the horse in a sink; those are two separate things.

My contribution was laying the water line in the trench.

Once the water lines were in, it was time to move some dirt. The idea is that the ground should slope away from the shipping container, so that no pools of water will form if it rains hard from the south, or an enthusiastic drinker splashes a lot. So, more dirt was needed. Where did it come from?

The dogs won’t have their hill to climb much longer.

There’s a reason for making that small pond up by our garage. We needed to move some dirt and add it to low spots, and this stuff does the job. It’s certainly pretty soil, but rather clay-filled. Maybe that way it will shed water.

Goldie helped, when not trying to make friends with cattle.

At one point there were three supervisors and one heavy equipment operator, though in my defense, I had done some piddly little helpful things. Nonetheless, it was fun to watch the attempts at smoothing out those clay clods. And it was cool to see nothing under that shelter for the first time in many years!

While this was going on, and while I wasn’t off horsing around, I did things that I could do. For one, I picked up a bunch of horse and donkey poop out of the pen where the equines currently spent much of their day, and brought it over to mix with some chicken poop compost to make some fine fertilizer for plants Kathleen is going to plant.

Bucket o’ poop, which was bigger before I drove it over. Apparently, it settled. Harvey did NOT help.

The other stuff I did was small, but saved some time for our tractor operator. I picked up a lot of the little pieces left over from the fencing rails. Some of it can be recycled into pieces of gates and such, and I have a feeling even the little things will be useful someday, somewhere. This was the second time I picked up scrap, and I brilliantly noted it was easier to put them in a wheelbarrow than to carry pieces in my hands. Guess what? That stuff gets hot in the sun.

And I picked up the larger pieces of rock and concrete that were hanging around the area, causing us to trip, or potentially bruising a horse hoof. They will be used in the planters, as well.

I was impressed my arms still worked after picking up all the hay on Sunday, but I was only a little sore. I even made my back feel better by riding Apache a bit, which was stalled by an unfortunate encounter with a moving utility vehicle. Apache thought it was Evil Personified. Sigh, all my fault, too. I’d forgotten there was someone down the race moving cattle. At least I enjoyed finding nature stuff to enjoy over by the new pens.

Mockingbird with bug in its mouth, photobombed by another bird (top right)

BUT. Through everything, through the rain, the heavy lifting, the horse challenges, and even some work shit that’s about to go down, I’m doing remarkably well. I did just knock on a wood product after typing that, though it was a piece of petrified wood.

Have a fun day. I plan to.

Making Friends for the World to See: Goldie

(Am I the only one who remembers that song?)

Well, I had a blast today watching Goldie and the cattle. Goldie is absolutely convinced that the cows want to play with her, especially one of them.

She spent a LOT of time today asking cattle to play. One of them really doesn’t like her, but Goldie interprets her butting as play.

I have to respect Goldie’s persistence and optimism. She kept coming back and trying different cows. And many of the times one butted at her, she joyfully backed up, turned and came back.

Obviously, Goldie doesn’t understand cow language. But I think her real name must be Goldie Goodheart. She is such a kind and gentle spirit. And she’s a friend to all!

Note that Alfred is bigger than his friend, Goldie.

I hope you enjoy checking out some of Goldie’s many attempts at making friends. They sure make me smile.

I Wish I Could Be One of My Dogs

Today, as I was wandering around looking at bugs, my faithful canine companions were right there with me, running, sniffing, and splashing in any water they encountered. They just have so much fun.

Most fun is seeing how Goldie fits right in with the gang who like to run and run. It’s just beautiful to see them chase and run with so much freedom.

They also no longer growl, even Penney, at least when they’re outside. They just play.

If you’re wondering where the other dogs are, well, Alfred went to lay down after swimming. Harvey was by the front door waiting to get out of the heat.

I just could watch them running all day.

Inside the house, there’s a lot of sleeping, but every so often, BAM! Play erupts.

I’m continually amazed at how gently Goldie plays with her new friends. She bounces and pounces, but doesn’t hurt anyone. Even Harvey is more gentle with her around.

No wonder my anxiety is lower lately. I can’t stop grinning at these sweet animals.

Then, after a bunch of playing and running like crazy, everyone zonks back out.

Yep. I’d like to be one of thee guys.

Goldie’s First Bark Box

Each month I get a box of dog toys and healthy dog treats from Bark Box. They are always cute as all heck, and they have a theme. Highly recommended.

They used to go to Vlassic in Austin, but since he stays at the ranch now, I bring them to the other dogs, who actually destroy them more slowly than V did. Don’t worry, V has dozens of toys in the RV.

His tail crinkles and the inner tube can be removed to be a separate toy.

This month’s theme was summer camp. The best toy is a beaver in a pool inner tube, but all are cute.

S’mores and campfire. All have interesting textures and sounds, so even if the dog is a terrier who insists on finding and removing the squeaker, they stay fun.

So, Goldie is new and hadn’t enjoyed the monthly toy infusion before. When I distributed the toys, Harvey and Carlton grabbed them and began squeaking them heartily. Goldie watched.

Later, as the others lay snoozing after playing for a while, Goldie walked over and gently picked up a toy with her teeth. She then jumped on the couch with it.

Did she squeak and shake it? Did she destroy it instantly? No. She delicately felt around it. She lightly tossed it into the air and delighted in watching it fall. Then she cuddled it. What a gentle soul.

As she was doing that, Lee pointed at his feet. There was Carlton, daintily “fleaing” Lee’s foot. He’s also very gentle for such an energetic dog.

It’s always a fine realization when I see how well life is with all these dogs. They entertain us, cheer us up, and comfort us. I never would have imagined having such a large pack, but it’s worth the effort and expense.