Mammal Sightings – Page 34 – The Hermits' Rest

Donkey Trouble!

Last week the farrier came, and Sara told us he found an abscess on Fiona the mini-donkey’s right rear hoof. He got as much out as he could, but it was large, and he said we’d need to clean it out and put Betadyne or something like that on her to help it heal.

I’d like to point out to you that this should be about ME, because I am pretty and want ALL the attention.

Sara was able to treat her on Monday, and she said it would be okay to wait to treat her until I got back. Unfortunately, I could not get to her until Friday. At that time she was limping on her front foot as well as the back, and Sara and I cleaned out both of her hooves and medicated them. She was very good, so we were hopeful.

Sara went riding Saturday (yesterday) morning while I was at Earth Day, and said Fiona was still limping, but was easy to medicate.

I headed over to check on Fiona and feed the chickens mid-afternoon. It was going to be a quick visit, so I could go to the grocery store, but I was surprised to find Fiona lying down, and not with the horses. That’s not typical for her. Tyler, who’d been mowing, said she’d been down for over an hour.

So, I started making phone calls. I talked to Sara, who said to try to get her up. Then I called Mandi, because she knows way more about equine issues than I do. Bless her, she came over as fast as she could.

Flowers and Zooming Dogs

Bonus post! Lee wanted me to get some pictures of the dogs out in the Texas paintbrush flowers, and I didn’t argue much. They didn’t mind the chill in the air!

Once again, Carlton imitates the Greyhound Bus logo.

It’s endlessly enjoyable to watch the dogs run, especially the speedy two. Vlassic and Carlton have so much fun, and the others join in when the tussling starts.

Today, Alfred was hanging out with Lee, but I got plenty of still shots, and even some video, of the others.
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I’m so glad to see how well our Pound Puppy Carlton has done. In a year he has grown and thrived. What a guy.

A year old and quite striking, isn’t he? Enjoy the flowers and the canines!

Busy Little Volunteer

Once again, I’ve over-volunteered, but I’m okay with it.

Dog Love

Last night I went to an organizatioinal meeting where a group of local animal lovers got together to figure out ways that we can support animals in need in Milam County. You may recall that almost a year ago I adopted our precious blue-eyed boy, Carlton, from the Cameron Pound, and while their staff is doing all they can to protect the lost/mistreated dogs in the city, we know there’s a wider need throughout the county.

Jean Schara tells us about the work she’s been doing to organize an animal support group in this area.

A few hard-working people took the initiative to look into forming a nonprofit organization to support all county-wide efforts to help animals, which led to the meeting. Jean Schara, who led the meeting, is a knowledgeable and organized person with a good head on her shoulders, which led me to agree to volunteer to serve on the board with her and four other energetic people.

Look forward to more on this organization when we have more to tell!

Activism Love

I also volunteered to host a group watching the campaign launch of a national political candidate. That’s brave in these days and times, I think. We had a lot of fun, though, and made new friends. My main triumph was managing to get the projector to work AND scanning the sign-in sheets to send off. At least so far, this former techie still has her skills.

LLLove

I hope I don’t screw this up. I’ve already delayed getting in touch with people who said they’d help me out! But I can do it!

Third, I’ve been working on a website and newsletter for the Friends of La Leche League, which is a group of people who want to support that organization. It’s nice, because those of us who went through some hard times there can get back together with friends and remember why we joined in the first place: to support each other on our parenting journeys. It’s been healing for me, so if you are one of my LLL friends from the past, please consider joining us.

Of course I still have my work for the Earth Day event for the Master Naturalists to get done, so I have a full volunteer plate!

Too Busy to Write!

I did so much over the weekend that I never got time to sit down, much less write about what I was doing!

A lot of my stuff was work-related, so I wrote about that over on the other blog. Much paint selecting, light fixture choosing, office rearranging and such. I’m actually quite surprised at how little my arms hurt after wrangling giant tables.

Fuzzy willow blossoms and a bit of the bluebonnet I was sniffing. They smell great.

Luckily, there was also some time to check out what’s blooming and flying overhead. I think the black willow flowers are really pretty, like fuzzy caterpillars.

And all over town, as I was driving between projects, I enjoyed hearing the gurgling sounds of the black-bellied whistling ducks as they flew over.

I was not at all upset to need to take our helper, Kim, home, because I knew I’d get closer looks at the ducks. They really have day-glo beaks and feet! I love their visits, especially when I can spot them in trees.

The cedar waxwings are still around, too, and their little chirps often surrounded me. Kim had to be very patient when I took a bunch of pictures. I had to!

Saturday night we spent a bit of time with this fellow. He’d spent two weeks in the rye field across the road. He finally figured out there is a big gap in the fencing and took a stroll. After much discussion it was determined he didn’t belong to any neighbors and got taken to a sale barn where they’ll try to find his owner. You’d think someone would miss a Charolais bull this handsome.

My final weekend fun was getting the poor horses all sweaty. We went all over the ranch and did brave things. Fiona kept dawdling, so Sara and Spice kept herding her. Once we just waited in the cool shade of a wooded area. When Fiona finally made it, we looked down to see the grass higher than her belly. She looked like she was a toy in an Easter basket. Wish I’d had my phone!

More later. I guess it’s good to be busy!

Something for the Dogs

First, thanks for all the kind thoughts yesterday. And those virtual hugs. Y’all are the best friends and readers.

Today let’s move on to something that not only cheers me up, but it makes a certain pair of weenie dogs (Vlassic and Pickle) very happy each month: the BarkBox shipment!

I’ve been getting these for a while now, and each month Anita and I are charmed by the effort this company goes through to make a quality product that is fun for both people and dogs (a very good marketing strategy).

Ranch Life. Not for Wimps

Yesterday I went to feed the horses but they would not come down to where we usually feed. They whinnied from the end of the narrow passage to their water trough.

I gathered their feed tubs and turned around to go get food. There I saw a very sad sight. A poor cow had died giving birth. Poor beautiful mama. I won’t share photos.

No wonder the horses would not come up. Even food didn’t convince them, so I took them their food.

Then I heard it’s harvest day for the sheep. Well, that’s their job and all, but sigh.

You really toughen up and remember life is hard when you live in the country.

But here are happy cows and green grass.

Riparian Knowledge Overload!

Here we are in Bandera looking at a slide show.

Now that I’ve slept, maybe I can share some of the depth and variety of the things I learned at the Bandera County Watersheds Riparian Training I attended on Wednesday, March 6. The event was held in Bandera (one of the most attractive small towns I ever saw and VERY consistent in its cowboy theme), and the weather improved enough that the outdoo parts were not unbearable. There were at least 30 participants, ranging from fellow Master Naturalists to water management professionals to interested landowners.

This young man was full of information. I’d love to hear him again.

Much of the day was spent indoors, however, as a team of water management experts from many different agencies shared their knowledge of managing the areas alongside rivers, creeks, and streams. These are called riparian areas, and they are a very important part of water management, but one that has been misunderstood a lot in the past.

Sadly, the beautifully manicured lawns and parkscapes we often see, where people walk up and down to admire the view, are not actually what our waterways need. The need a riparian buffer of plants that love water or theive near it and trees that are of various ages, so that when they die or fall into the water, there are future trees to replace them.

This root system washed up in the last floor. Look at the rocks embedded in there!

I Think They’re Following Me!

I chose to drive to Boerne, Texas today on the back roads. That rarely disappoints me! The hills and valleys to the west of Austin and San Antonio provide new surprises every time you take a corner or reach the top of a hill.

I passed many beautiful ranches, and saw many longhorns and exotic game. I even saw four axis deer NOT in a fenced area. I guess those guys are here to stay.

Yes, I just looked it up, and sure enough there are over 6,000 of them roaming free in Texas: rhttps://www.myewa.org/blog/what-you-may-not-know-about-the-axis-deer/

I also finally got to visit Kendall County, and Kendalia, where I fulfilled a dream of taking my picture by the sign.

Doing my chipmunk imitation. Kendall in Kendalia.

Everything on the back roads went well until I went to find the Hampton Inn. The Maps app didn’t realize it was on the OTHER side of the Interstate. I called for help, and the poor young woman who answered had just moved to Boerne and had to get help of her own. She gave me an extra water bottle, because I was nice about it.

Yep, it’s on THIS side of I-10. Construction confused my navigation app.

She was also impressed that I brought my own dozen roses with me, thanks to my annual gift from Freytag’s Florist.)

Traveling in style with roses and a fancy coffee in a rose cup.

After all that, I needed fresh air. I checked out the really pretty pool area behind the hotel. There’s a fun waterfall, so I sat in a lounge chair behind it (hey, it was over 50 degrees F!).

Suddenly, a familiar blurry shape descended. A Cooper’s hawk landed in a small tree on the other side of the pool. It was a male or juvenile, quite petite. I watched him checking things out around him, paying no attention to me.

I guess this is my season to be reminded of the vigilance and protectiveness of hawks.

Getting Ready for Earth Day

Happy Sunday! Yesterday I attended a committee meeting with our Master Naturalist group. Rather than write it up twice, I’m sharing my post on their blog.

I’d like to add that I saw a huge dead feral hog on the way in, and found some Indian paintbrush flowers on the roadside between Cameron and rural Rockdale!

Nature Along the El Camino Real

Yesterday, the Environment and Recycling Ad-hoc Committee’s Earth Day subcommittee met to continue to work out plans. I was glad I could finally attend a meeting, because it was fun to see the team at work. I was joined by Ann Collins, Linda Jo Conn, Joyce Conner, Catherine Johnson, Rosie Johnson (guest and helper), Larry Kocian, Kathy Lester, and Donna Lewis (the leader of the bunch).

Nandina and Texas mountain laurel added beauty and scent too the meetiing.

What’s going on with Earth Day?

The El Camino Real Master Naturalist Chapter’s biggest outreach project each year is to host an Earth Day event, to share ways to protect the planet with the community. This year it will be at:

Rockdale Community Center, 109 N. Main, on Saturday, April 20, 10 am – 2 pm.

We were excited to learn about all the planned activities and tables. Our team leader, Donna…

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Observing the Seasons

One of the things I really wanted to do with this blog is make note of the passing of the seasons, when things come into bloom, when birds arrive and depart, etc. Today has been a great day for that, because even with the unseasonable chill in the air, the plants and animals remind me it is spring!

Not my picture, but exactly what I saw, down to the pond and tall grass.

On my way to work today, I had to turn around and go back to my friend’s house, because she needed something. Only she didn’t. But I couldn’t be upset, because the second time I drove by the first property after Walker’s Creek, a deer went over the road. On the other side were six more, of varying sizes. I can’t tell you how happy that made me, since we used to have very few deer right around here. I know they lost a big daddy buck during deer season, so I am happy there are new ones coming up.

As I drove on up the hill, lovely native Mexican plum trees (Prunus mexicalis) were blooming. They are all over the wooded areas in this part of Texas. The photo you see here is from the one hiding in our woods, from last year. They are my favorite sign of early spring in this area.

I remembered to look down as I drove, and sure enough, the dewberries have started to bloom. Oh hooray! The bees will be even more happy to see them than I was, and we can look forward to more treats!

The redbuds that are native are also blooming away, which makes sense for March 1. My favorite month for flowers has begun!