Been wondering what’s going on at the chicken house? Well, now that the family is reunited at the ranch, we’re working on renovating the chicken coop area. Stage One is complete.
Work in progress
The Caso guys spent a lot of time on Thursday reconfiguring the space to be one big open coop. The pointy end is gone, which will make chicken wrangling easier. While we still have the same birds, it will all be open. That will give them room to roam while we shut them in for a week or two to remind them to lay their eggs in the nest boxes, not the garage.
There are limbs to sleep on and boxes to nest in.
The new nest box we made a few months ago is now attached to the coop, so it will be a safer place to roost and lay eggs. The run area got a frame up to hold a nice new roof for shade and protection, which will be phase 2.
It’s squared off! And has a frame.
We will have the water dispenser and food dishes fixed up soon, and it will be the envy of Greater Walker’s Creek Community, I’m sure. I know the chickens, the guinea, and I all appreciate the effort it takes!
Who needs a water dish when there are puddles? (Note chicken tracks)
Last night was absolutely magical, if also a bit scary for people on the roads. It’s one of those things that can’t help but inspire awe as you witness what Nature can do in the right circumstances. As a Blogmas gift to you all, I’ll showcase some photos from my Master Naturalist friends as I tell my story and share theirs, too.
This photo from Larry Kocian gives you an idea of what it looked like at my house as the foggy evening started out.
For me, the magic started when Vlassic and I were walking back from feeding the horses, right at sunset. I noticed a red stripe along the horizon, where there was a break in the rain clouds that had hung around all day (but not brought anywhere near enough rain).
Here’s the fog from in town in Cameron, from Martha.
I suddenly saw a sliver of sun peek out from under the clouds. I got a few photos of the sun as it slipped through the gap and disappeared behind the trees.
The sun right in the little gap between the clouds and the ridge.
Then I noticed the mist. I could actually see fog forming behind our house, above the pond, and across the field. I knew we were in a valley, and guessed it was probably clear on top of the hill where the cemetery is.
The clouds are getting lower, and you can see mist forming right above the ground over on the left.
Right after I went inside, Lee came back from the office and said he was scared to death driving along the creek bottom to get to our house. The fog had gotten so dense that he could not see the road. A while later, Chris came back from a trip to Rockdale with the same report. Deep, deep fog.
You can guess from this photo, looking toward our house from Pamela’s property, that it was darn foggy down at the creek.
About that time, Pamela texted me, “Are you living in a cloud?” I said I sure was, and she told me she’d sat behind her house and just watched the fog creep higher and higher from where I lived to the hill where she lived. This is what it looked like from her house as it came up.
Here comes the fog!
Here are two pictures of roughly the same view from her house, one taken on Thursday when I was there, and the other from last night, both around sunset.
Thursday
Friday
Same tree, different day. Photo at right by Pamela Neeley.
After Pamela sent me her photos, I started seeing more and more of them in my Facebook feed. Cindy Travis, who lives to the southeast of us, shared these beautiful images from her ranch.
The view from Middle Aged Spread Ranch is just spectacular , isn’t it? They got a much more interesting sunset than we did!
Another Master Naturalist friend, Phyllis, shared what the fog looked like from her vantage point. Another beautiful sight!
Foggy mystery, from Phyllis Shuffield.
Later on, I found some amazing images from another Master Naturalist friend, Larry Kocian.
This one, from when the fog was really deep, is spooky, but full of beauty.
He was on a bike ride through the fog right at sunset and really got some great images (he’s quite a skilled photographer). Here is how Larry described it:
…[T]his was taken at sunset on the Country Club golf course across the street from where I live. The fog started on the pond and it grew rapidly and enveloped the entire golf course, making it look like a Halloween theme setting. But then it felt like being in the clouds, experiencing absolute peace and happiness.
Me and my little girl Clarice, (in this photo), rode our bikes into this growing fog bank. It was a great nature experience, being at the right place, at the right time, under the right weather conditions.
There was 100s of birds (unknown species) all over this acreage, enjoying the fresh water from the rains earlier in the day. Also the saturated atmosphere here at the surface, the fog, was very refreshing. It was like refreshing lotion going into the skin. This fog hid everything on the acreage, except for these trees, making them look like they were floating in the clouds. And as you can see, the sidewalk the leads to the pond way down the way disappears into the clouds. We were floating in the clouds, enjoying this unique moment in Nature.
Thanks to Larry for sharing the photos and description! You almost feel like you were there, right along with him and Clarice. And here’s a special treat: he made a video of riding through the fog.
Well, if that doesn’t convince you that our planet is worth taking care of, I don’t know what will. Evenings like this are rare, but the memories will serve as a balm to our senses for a long time. No pandemic can take that away from us!
Once more, our Master Naturalist buddies made sure to preserve these memories. I’m grateful to Pamela, Phyllis, Cindy, and Larry for sharing with all of us, along with my dear friend, Martha.
Well, what more can you want besides all those things (figuratively)? What this all means is that the late afternoon and early evening were a fun and fulfilling time. I’m so glad to be back in familiar surroundings!
No wonder we’re having fun, we got to see a bottle tree!
What’s going on is that, since Apache has to stay in the small paddock while he heals up, we need to give him and Fiona hay every day. We’ve gone through most of the hay we got over at Cindy and Don’s ranch, so my friend Pamela had some square bales made for me last time her fields got hayed.
There’s the hay field beyond the fence.
Of course, all that happened while none of our family were at the ranch, so it took a while to actually go get our stuff. Yesterday, though, was the day! We knew a rare rain was scheduled for today, so we made time to head over to her house and pick it up.
Where old equipment goes to rest until a creative re-use is found.
We spent a lot of the time just enjoying the beauty of Pamela’s property, which isn’t far from ours, basically there’s our hill, and hers is the next one over, on the other side of the highway, with a river bottom in between. The views are just beautiful, so there was a lot of enjoyment and discussion of hayfield maintenance techniques.
Lots and lots of hay.
It turned out they hadn’t made that many actual square bales, but it was fun picking them up. Lee’s brother drove the truck from bale to bale, while the rest of us picked them up and loaded them. I actually got pretty good at the loading and had a lot of fun marching along the fields. It was a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
The hay we got from the field
We also got a bit of hay from a previous harvest, which we will use first, since we don’t want to give Apache any delicious fresh hay, due to his delicate constitution.
Ruby the hound enjoys all the space to run around (artsy photo, huh)
After we were finished, we had a great conversation about hay, art installations, and cattle grazing principles. It was great to be able to talk to Pamela in person, since we were outdoors and distanced.
Discussing cattle rotation principles
On the way home, I followed the guys back to the ranch. Naturally, a bale fell off. And, of course it fell smack dab in the middle of the bridge over Walker’s Creek, where a vehicle coming in either direction would hit it, in the dark. I was able to drag it off the bridge (it’s much harder to lift baling wire with no gloves) until the truck and trailer could come back to get it.
Just before we left, the sun in the trees was particularly beautiful.
As we were putting the hay away (especially one bale that had burst), we made a bit of noise with the pickup, which concerned Ralph. That way, we also got a chance to chat with him about wild hogs and the humane way of disposing of them. A fun evening was had by all, and we were darned tired when we got home!
One of the big highlights of coming back to the Hermits’ Rest has been enjoying the dogs. I had the best reunion with my precious Vlassic yesterday. We ran, we frolicked, we hugged, we took funny pictures. I miss that little guy so much, though I know he is doing a lot of good emotionally supporting Lee’s brother, Jim.
He still loves me!
I feel bad every time I take him with me to Austin, because Jim gets so sad. Vlassic is happy as long as he is warm, so I know he is okay. I just don’t have a snuggle buddy.
True love.
Alfred shows his love and devotion constantly, and he seems to be feeling better, because he’s been hauling himself up on the couch to sleep at night after his barking period is over. I wish that would end, but I sleep right through it now.
Yesterday he was stretched the entire length of the couch. I am glad it’s not shedding season at the moment.
Penney is still a strange little dog, but she will sleep on anyone with a lap or in a bed.
I’m aloof.
As for the rest of the animals, it’s pretty good. Apache was glad to see his food, and Fiona seemed glad to see me. They just like to eat. As for the chickens, it appears that Fancy Pants wandered off while I was gone. Jim, who was chicken caretaker, didn’t notice, so…not much I can do, but I sure do miss her hilarious running. Now the only one left of the first bunch I got last year is Bertie Lee. She is laying eggs in the garage. Sigh. But, today is the day the chicken coop gets fixed up, so we hope to change the egg-laying habits.
There are still four cows in the pasture, but from the looks of one of the big ones, there will be another one soon. And little Rip is growing just fine! The other calf is very fuzzy and round, quite cute. They are all very friendly now.
And that’s the animal report from the ranch. Hoping there’s more to come!
Just a quick note to say I’m finally back at the ranch. I wrote this yesterday, but there’s pretty much no internet at the ranch, so it’s late! Here’s a face of a boy who’s glad to see me.
I licked Mommy a lot.
All the dogs were happy to see me, but Alfred and Carlton were beside themselves. Penney didn’t pay me any heed until I finally sat down in my chair. Harvey just threw himself at me a couple of times but was more interested in something dead in the yard. Oh well.
I’m pretty tired, from a long work day and dealing with the sadness around things being canceled for the rest of the month for Master Naturalists. I hate having to enforce rules, but I also don’t want people getting sick. Sigh.
What’s that thing the flowers are on? It’s a cooler with ME and my chickens on it! What a great gift from Kathleen! The painting is by Audrey, baby Ryker’s other grandmother.
But Kathleen and I got some decorations up at the office, even though it’s still closed. It’s important to look cheerful, anyway!
It’s really weird to have not been at the ranch the entire month of November, especially since that’s usually a great month to be there (good weather, frisky pets, lots of time for walking). It didn’t help at all that I spent a good bit of time wandering around the area on Google Maps trying to figure out where those two people drowned. I think I got it located a bit further away from our property than I’d feared, but still adjacent. It makes me so sad.
In happier news, my one orchid that didn’t succumb to some evil scale has rewarded us with many blossoms.
I listened to a news report that said the victims had fallen out of their boat and got caught up in pond weeds. That’s exactly what I had feared. Even if you can swim, that stuff can get you. One guy had a young family and one was just 22, so young. They’re having a football game to raise money for their families. Traion Smith was just an amazing athlete in high school, and a nice young man. The news report showed the former Cameron coach breaking into tears at the thought of losing him. Life sure has its twists and turns.
Anyway, I ended up looking at what great quality the Google Maps images of our property are. I really liked how you could see each cow and all the cattle paths in the bottom pasture next to our house.
All the cows are at upper right, and you can see where they walk. The image can even get closer in! That’s Walker’s Creek and one of the streams that meets up with it.
I was disappointed that I could not see Apache or Fiona, nor the chickens. I guess the photo was taken just before we got the chicken house. So, you’re spared those images.
Sunset looking out by neighbor Ruth’s house. I love how the oak leaves are shining.
While I do miss the ranch (and its occupants, including my poor lonely quarantined husband!), I’m enjoying some time in Austin. We got to take a walk with our neighbor, Ruth, who regaled us with tales of trying to buy groceries at the H-E-B (we went a bit later ’cause I had to fill my prescription, and it wasn’t so bad). She went to the Randall’s store full of “old people” and it wasn’t crowded. That store is always full of old people! And, if you don’t live in Texas, we realize H-E-B is a weird name, but since it’s named after Mr. Butts, you can understand the choice.
Roses in my flower arrangement. They help me feel better.
And since I’m in Austin, we can have my son’s little family unit to eat out on the deck, to minimize germs and all, like we keep being told to do. It will be very small, but good.
Giant mum about to explode. This arrangement had such great autumn colors.
We will get through these challenging times. Sometimes it’s easier than other times, but I feel like all this practice of empathy, compassion, and forgiveness that’s come out of the pandemic, the election, and the personal issues of those around me will benefit me the rest of my life.
I don’t know what this flower is, but I love the way only part of it is in focus.
I hope you enjoy the photos of the flowers I got at the store and our sunset. I saw no sunsets in Utah, because the mountains were to the west. That’s okay, mountains are pretty, too. Share what’s keeping you happy and in the moment, if you want to!
Whew, yesterday was not fun. In fact, I’m really sad today, because while I was having a hard travel day, two people drowned while fishing in a pond on the next property over from the Hermits’ Rest/Wild Type Ranch property. Here’s a better article. It hit really close to home, because while I didn’t know either of them personally, one was a friend of Mandi’s family and the other was one of the most amazing high school football players I ever saw. I have screamed the name “Traion” many, many times with my friend Cathy at games. He was only 22, and the other guy was only 30. I just feel so bad for their families. It’s hard enough right now.
So, that put my day in perspective.
A mourning dove, for mourning
It was just a series of the kinds of things that always happen when you travel.
Things were fine as long as I was at the resort. I packed up all the leftover food and took it to the staff, which made Q the concierge very happy. I was glad to not waste food, and even let Q hug me (I was so over-dressed that no germs could possibly have gotten through, I tell myself).
To start, there were no normal Ubers available, so I had to take a fancy one, which cost more than upgrading to first class did (that was only $80 and got my bags free, so it was a nice part of the day). The driver was nice, and his Suburban was so clean. He said he had over 250,000 miles on it! The secret was maintaining it, apparently. The only thing that had gone out on it was the air conditioning. Wow.
I’d had to check out at 11, which was fine, of course, but that meant I was at the airport REALLY early for my 3:45 flight.
The new Salt Lake City airport is really pretty, but not convenient if you have baggage. You have to go upstairs to check in, then back downstairs to go through security. My awkward collection of bags nearly threw me down an escalator, and by the time I checked in, I was covered in sweat, thanks to having to wear my heavy clothing and snow shoes (would not fit in luggage). I managed to break a nail under the gel polish, even. I know, first-world problems. I’ll live.
My favorite part of the airport is this sculpture, The Falls, by Gordon Huether.
The other thing about the airport is they do NOT have trams or any transportation, so you have to walk 20 minutes to get to the gates. That was a true joy carrying my heavy bag (computer and makeup weighed it down) and n the dang down coat. The good news is I got my steps in. I probably also lost a pound of sweat.
Once I finally got to a seat and took off many layers (including replacing my soaked face mask), I just worked on my knitting and watched football. I also watched many, many children. I was actually shocked so many people were flying with children. But, maybe they were like me and had no choice but to fly. I’ll assume the best. Still, some very charming children and some annoying ones were there.
The first flight to Dallas/Fort Worth was fine. They even gave us a sandwich. Considering it would have cost around $10 in the airport, I figure I just about broke even on the first-class upgrade. That made up for the fancy Uber.
In Dallas, the trams were my friends, and I easily made it to the gate, only to find the flight was delayed. Get this, a plane had blown a tire on the runway, and it took them FIVE HOURS to clear the plane and debris off. The people sitting near me had flown to Austin, circled for an hour or so, then gone back to Dallas. They’d all been traveling since the wee hours of the morning from LA. I sure felt bad for them! We all shared plane horror stories, and enjoyed hearing about the Amazon Prime series one of the guys we met is acting in (which I can’t find, but will look for later).
Poor Anita. I kept updating what time our flight was. She must have been so confused. In the end, we weren’t too late leaving, after all, but then the 30-minute flight took 20 extra minutes, because we had to go all the way around Austin to land on the only available runway. That flight was pretty annoying, because it was crowded, and the woman next to me ate and coughed. If I get sick, she’s to blame (perfectly nice woman, just germy). At least I got to meet lots of interesting people, but wow, I was sure tired by the time my luggage showed up.
Back to work today! I’ll be less than cheery while I isolate over in Austin, since I know Cameron is reeling today.
Today was the last day for my second batch of visitors, but we decided to go have lunch before they left. We went back to the restaurant in Park City where I met the nice server who saved my phone, because Kathleen wanted to get a t-shirt for their Polygamy Stout.
I just pictured peace, quiet, and a raven while the drunken child went on and on.
They didn’t have any shirts the right size, but we did try the beer, and it was good. All the food was delicious, though the visit was marred by some rich, drunk kids yelling. They kept shushing the loudest one, and I swear it would have just been more fun to listen to him go on and on.
I mentioned that I’m almost out of yarn and would probably need to Uber to the local Michael’s to get something else to knit on (yes, I am capable of knitting with inexpensive yarn, if I must). Kathleen said they’d take me before they left, so off we went. Wow, the regular shopping center outside of town was hardly recognizable for the tweeness of the signs and mountain-y style. Best Buy looked its best, that’s for sure.
That’s the shopping center, off in the distance.
I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, but did get two contrasting colors to make the scarf pattern I found, but larger, as a wrap. Chris was really impressed by giant skeins of self-striping bulky yarn, and I saw a nice slip-stitch afghan pattern on the label, so I said I’d make him one if he selected the yarn. That would be a fun gift, right? I still have a thing to finish at home, so I need to get back in the groove and find some way to protect knitting from the dogs.
Inexpensive yarn for something to sit under and watch television.
As we were leaving, we realized that the Olympic Park from the 19th Winter Olympics was right across from the shopping center. So, since we happened to be there, we checked it out. The views were spectacular from the venue, and it was really fun to see where all the ski events took place.
ski jumps
bobsled track
Kathleen is queen of the mountains
Olympic Park, Park City, Uth
We didn’t have time to see the museums or anything, but the outsides were pretty.
Museum area
On our way back down, we passed lots of hiking trails just full of people, since the weather is well above freezing today. Then we saw dogs, lots of dogs. We just pulled over to the side of the road and watched at least a dozen very happy dogs on the leashless dog trail.
One dog was on the wrong side of the trail, but did not mind.
There was so much frolicking. They all seemed to get along well, and definitely loved the snow. They ran back and forth, play-bowed and leapt.
Running full speed
One black dog kept jumping into piles of snow and biting at the snow. That particular dog must have run a mile just while we were watching. It was pure joy. I kept picturing Carlton out there with them, except he’d be invisible.
Black dog in its snow pile.
What a great send-off for K. and C.! They decided to drive their rental car back, which meant I could give them some of the stuff I’ve bought, so I won’t have to try to pack it all. I feel like I may have dodged a bullet there. I will not be bringing home all the food they left for me, but I also will NOT need to buy any more restaurant food while I’m here. I’m all set for a week of working by day and relaxing in the evenings.
The weird Coke won’t be left over, however. Not bad.
And now that I figured out how to get my watch to track elliptical workouts, I will be able to keep the exercise up, no matter how bad the weather gets. Today, though, I’m gonna get more walking in.
Yep. Not fond of them. First of all, most are definitely NOT sporty. They are more like harder to drive and less convenient mini-vans, to me. I have always had trouble getting in and out of them.
Most of all, I can’t park the behemoth ones. That’s why I’m so glad Lee just bought one size down from the true behemoth, a Tahoe. I even encouraged him. What the heck?
Basically, I like the grill.
Well, his knees are aging, and it’s hard to watch him getting in and out of cars I like. Plus, we need to drive clients around, and this new behemoth lite is really spacious inside. I can get into the back and seat quite comfortably (being short helps).
Black. So practical in Texas.
Lee figures it’s his last new car (I would never say that, knowing my love of cars). I doubt I’ll drive it much, but it will tow a horse trailer, so that’s a motivation. His truck brought a trade-in better than most, and there are two others at the house. I think we will be okay.
So, while I said I’d never own one, I lied. Actually, Lee had a Range Rover for a while, but that was more of a luxury barge than an SUV.
He’s smiling.
I do feel excessive, acquisitive, and not real eco-friendly right now. Next I’ll get an electric truck or something.
When I got home from Austin, I found 9 eggs. They were all in one spot and all plain brown. The place where Fancy Pants lays was empty, and there were no pink or white eggs. Hmm.
Lee says he sees hens in weird places. Sure enough, I found two pink eggs in the far left corner of the garage.
Eggs were in there. Nice.
We looked in the rest of the garage, and there was Bertie Lee, sitting on a mop, in the far right corner of the garage.
Oh, Bertie.
I picked that egg up.
She makes big ones.
I still don’t see any Fancy Pants or Hedley eggs. Where can they be? Meanwhile, I found Sapphire on the mop. This is gonna be fun.
I give you nice egg boxes, but you lay eggs here??
Him reports that the brown hens are refusing to go in at night. They are in the white henhouse. Not good. It isn’t safe. I guess some chicken effort is needed! Hoping the family can help out!
The Hermits' Rest 