Ranch Life – Page 4 – The Hermits' Rest

Book Report: The Hare

I bought The Hare, by Chloe Dalton, at the Book People store in the Austin airport this morning. I then proceeded to read the entire book on the plane to Portland, Oregon. That’s pretty impressive, since I was also helping the woman on my row with her sweet little nonverbal 4-year-old boy. Wow that woman is a great mother.

I did love this little book, which is a loving memoir of the years Dalton spent raising an orphan baby hare, called a leveret (did you know that?).

I learned so much about hares (which are not rabbits) and how they live! And of course, I loved Dalton’s descriptions of the English countryside where she lives.

Dalton, who is a political consultant, is a wonderful writer. She has a very apt way of describing the behaviors of her hare friend that sounds authentic yet fantastic at the same time. I hope she writes more books—I truly enjoyed her prose.

Her attitude toward the wild animal in her care impressed me greatly, and even when she gets into her sincere entreaties to take care of the native animals of England and provide them with the environment they need to thrive.

I loved The Hare enough to read it again later. These wonderful animals are fascinating, and Dalton’s gentle observations of them endear you to hares without pressure or stridency. You end up fond of both the author and her subjects.

The Best Thing about Today

Oh, it’s probably a tie for best thing about today. I enjoyed watching a cottontail standing very still while a juvenile bald eagle flew over. That was pretty special.

Just as good was the fact that I did a good job on today’s meeting for my new assignment while only letting my annoyance come through once during difficult meetings with my own department. You know it’s bad when you need multiple debriefs and still come out with no idea what to do next. But I got through it!

I rewarded myself by smelling the incredible scented white petunias.

Many of you will have been in situations like the one I’m in, where multiple people think they’re the decision makers, topped by workers who refuse to do what the deciders ask. All my cohorts and I can do is explain the consequences and listen. We aren’t the deciders. We’re the facilitators once we know what to facilitate. Guess that’s why we make the big(-ish) bucks.

Second reward: finding winecups in the front of the house.

Other hard decisions were made on other topics, so my brain is ready to shut down. I pulled together outfits for a trip to Oregon next week, but still have to pack for camping this weekend. I hope to have fun between all the driving and flying. I get to see favorite camping friends and coworkers I like, so that bodes well.

I feel confident I can deal with all the challenges and that remembering what’s good will be of great assistance. Ow I’ll make a wish for success in the next week!

The Triumphant Return

Today had a big highlight. The day was fine, and I took a lunch break in the early afternoon between meetings. It was beautiful.

I took a little walk down the road to see if there were any new wildflowers popping up. I’m happy to report a few old friends have returned.

As I was pondering how pretty it will look when all the gaillardia is blooming, I spotted something vaguely familiar inside the horse pasture. I went to investigate and damn, there it was, one of Apache’s lost boots from last year, which disappeared after a hard April rain.

I went through the pasture over and over last year, and finally guessed the boots had washed away in flooding. Nope. I just missed it. So I picked it up and headed back home through the pasture, looking at water in the arroyo and admiring pink evening primroses.

I looked over toward the pond and something black caught my eye. Damn! It was the other boot! Now, I know I’d driven and walked by this part of the pasture many times. But today was my lucky day. I found them both.

They’re a bit worse for wear, but still usable. one had a wasp nest in it (small and empty).

I headed toward the pens to put away the boots, and saw all the horses had been napping in there. Drew spotted me and headed right over. The two paints took their time joining him, then Mabel and Dusty wandered over. Everyone was very interested in the boots, but headed off to eat that nice grass that came up.

That was certainly a nice lunch break. The mystery of the disappearance of the boots has been solved!

Who would I be?

If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?

Great question. I knew my answer pretty quickly. If I could be a character in a book or movie, I’d be Kya from Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. It’s my second favorite book, as I said in my book report.

Sure, Kya has lots of challenges. But she gets to spend lots and lots of time by herself looking at plants and classifying them. And she gets to be a famous author but not have to deal too much with the annoying parts of being famous. Mostly I just love the life she leads, the peace she finds in nature, and her acceptance of who she is, even though she’s not “standard.”

Yep, I could live in her world happily. Since it’s not possible, I’ll just have to re-read the book soon. I liked the movie fine, but I can slowly savor Owens’s words if I’m reading. She writes like I think. That’s a magical feeling.

I’ll write more ranch tales later.

Best and Worst Pets?

What animals make the best/worst pets?

Dang, I wish I had more time to answer this one, but I’ve got a very early meeting tomorrow, so I’ll have to be brief.

Nota bene: the best and worst pets will differ depending on the person’s age, living situation, and personality. Thus, I’ll answer for myself.

Best: for me, I want a pet who likes me back, who communicates well, and who fits in with my life. That’s going to be a dog. Dogs are great companions, aren’t too expensive (unless you have five and one’s on liver medicine), are affectionate, and you can talk to them and they kind of listen.

Cats are okay, but I’m not sure they really like people all that much. Horses are great, but they have to live outside and are expensive, especially when you have five and one’s on metabolism medicine. I enjoy fish and birds, but I feel like they’d rather be outside. I do not want to confine an animal who doesn’t like being with humans.

Worst: for me the worst pet is a wild animal, especially the really smart ones who deserve to make their own choices. I also don’t like pets you can’t interact with. No pet insects for me.

Medium; pets like poultry, cattle, sheep, and goats are ok. I’m not going to eat a pet, though. I have to admit it’s fun to watch these domesticated animals, and some of them are pretty friendly. If you have space and funds to care for them, they’re fine, so I’m glad I can enjoy my chickens and turkeys.

Off to sleep. Enjoy whatever pets you have.

Rainy Day Visitor

Yes! It finally rained more than a few drops today!I’ve grown weary of the crunchy dead stuff underfoot (though as a bonus, most of the crunch was bur clover that never formed seeds!). Lee, the dogs, and I enjoyed sitting on the porch and listening to the welcome raindrops.

Morning coffee and rain are a fine combination, though we’re hoping the predictions of more rain come true; only ,75” doesn’t raise the ponds/tanks at all.

Carlton spent much of his morning “fleaing” Lee, the ottoman, and me.

By mid afternoon the rain had stopped, and it honestly seemed like the fields were already greener.

The sun had peeked back out and I was talking to my colleague when the dog alarm went off. It was the UPS truck, featuring the dogs’ favorite visitor, the Treat Man, who also happens to hand Suna boxes before doling out the treats.

The dogs were poised to dash out the door and bark frantically for the Treat Man to get out of the truck, but they stumbled over another humble visitor who was scratching at the door.

Most of the dogs jumped over the turtle, but Alfred was torn. Should he investigate the intruder like a good guard dog or go get his treat? To my relief, he chose the treats. I was able to get back to the door, pick up the displeased reptile, who seemed intent on going in the house, and deposit it on the other side of the dog fence, pointing the way it was headed.

My guess is that the rain got the usually sedate pond turtles in the mood to switch ponds. This one was heading towards the back pond, but the house blocked the most direct path. I hope my visitor made it to the destination and is now enjoying new insects and such behind the house. I hope to see it sunning itself on the tree limbs in the middle of the pond soon!

I hope your weather is the kind you need right now!

Hanging Out

My throat is still annoying and my nose is runny but I didn’t feel too awful today. I was able to go for a pretty good walk this morning and found some new wildflowers have popped up.

I also enjoyed lots of butterflies, even though our fields that are usually covered with a variety of flowers are heavy on the false dandelions.

I enjoyed spotting interesting things on the roadside other than trash that I picked up. There were some bursts of color and hidden beauty.

The horses are searching for green grass, bless their hearts. It’s way early for the soil to start cracking, but it is.

But HA! The skeet shooters didn’t stop the bluebonnets from blooming when they mowed the field. Yay!

Most of the day I relaxed and crocheted (a whole row of the wool blanket!) while chatting with Kathleen. We told stories, watched weird television shows, and spent time talking to the horses. Both our husbands were off working (Lee is in a writing groove upstairs and hasn’t been coming down much), so we filled the afternoon with conversation. It was a pleasant and stress-free interval of hanging out and recuperating! The big thrill was getting into her car and visiting the latest KCC Construction project and enjoying a Dairy Queen treat. That’s the best we could do for excitement, but it was good enough and kept our spirits up.

I’m sure these ladies were jealous of our fun.

My hope is that I’ve built enough strength to get my paid and volunteer work done next week and Kathleen has enough strength for all her doctor visits. It may be a challenging week.

I’m the Source of My Own Problems

Still feeling sick, but I was able to take care of animals and sit in the sun a bit. Kathleen and I took a slow walk this afternoon to just get out of the house. I didn’t get to go to marches with my friends, which I really regret. But my energy is awfully low.

This pretty Texas star was a surprise on my walk by the front pond today.

Right now I don’t want to drive anywhere, anyway, thanks to wars and such. Grumble.

Grumpy is a good word for me, because I’ve not been taking NyQuil or anything, so my snoring and loud breathing issues keep waking me up all night. I must have sounded awful last night, but I didn’t bother Lee with his earbuds on.

Tonight I have Chloraseptic for my throat and will sleep with my head raised. I’ve had enough of this irritating minor illness.

I need to do some writing and other things that require an alert mental state, so wish me the best! And I know there are many friends out there dealing with MUCH more serious concerns. They have my thoughts, and they help me remember to focus on what’s good in life, which there is plenty of.

For example, the chickens are back to laying in their usual nest box! Woo hoo! Plus I found a new plant!

This plant with cool seed pods is wild tantan (*Desmanthus acuminatus)*, the second sighting on iNat in our county!

There’s Always Time for a Story or Two

I broke my blogging streak yesterday, but I just didn’t have the brain power to do it. My brain was too feeble to put together even my usual simple sentences. I’m still dealing with this virus today, but I have more energy, so I’m gonna say I’m on the mend. (Yes, I know there’s a new COVID strain, and yes, I will get the booster because I’m at risk due to my advanced age.)

This is my picture from yesterday when I felt sickly.

It’s story time, nature observation time, life update time, or whatever. First, I’m cheered every time I go outside these days, because some of my favorite sounds are back, Barn Swallows and White-eyed Vireos. I’ll be tired of them eventually, but right now, those songs convince me it’s spring.

White eyes! Photo by Brad Imhoff. These guys hide in trees, so I rarely see them.

I’m looking forward to seeing hummingbirds soon, because our red yucca are starting to bloom. These are good signs when all the grass is brown and crunchy.

This stuff is nice and green, but the Bermuda grass beside it should be green, too.

Second is another tale of rural living. Yesterday I didn’t feed the horses their supplements, and neither did Kathleen due to recovering from her recent issue. Today I felt up to it, and marched into the tack room (which smells good because it’s the WOMEN’S room and we can turn on the Scentsy diffuser. I digress.

It came time to give Dusty his two scoops of bran powder, and when I reached into the bin, the bran moved. I guess the lid on this bin needs to be very securely attached. Yep. A mouse. One of the little ones. I tried to scoop it out and that’s when the whole dang bin began to move. More than one mouse. They started to try to fling themselves out, as they do. I did not want them in the tack room!

I did NOT take pictures today, so here’s the henhouse mouse.

So I bravely dragged the bin outside, grateful that the bran stuff isn’t very heavy. I did my best to encourage exiting by angling the bin downward, but of course the rodents tried to climb up or bury themselves in the bran. My goal was for zero mice to crawl up my arms. I succeeded! In the end, SIX mice scampered away. I hope something eats them.

Maybe they went over to chicken world where there is corn.

How did six of them get in the bin? There’s not any mouse poop around since Kathleen cleaned the room. Maybe they were in there when the bran was put in? Mystery. Even AI can’t solve that one. I do assure you, though, that I put the lid back on very tightly.

Lids must stay secure or critters will get in. Stock photo.

Later, Kathleen helpfully offered up the theory that if they’d kept eating the bran they’d have gotten all swollen and died. Eww. Now that’s in my head.

Boom! Note mouse has 3 tails. Quality AI.

So, to change the subject, I want to share how happy I am with a work development. Today I was meeting with a colleague on my new project and we got to talking about our previous lives. And talking. And laughing. And blathering away in geeky grad student language about our original fields of study, linguistics and folklore. At some point we were practically giddy about how much we have in common. And some of it is pretty niche far left cultural stuff that you usually don’t get to talk to random coworkers about.

I didn’t mention crafts to her, but hey, five rows of my blanket!

Then she told me the other woman running the project I’ve been brought in on is secretly a cultural anthropologist. I’d never have guessed.

I’m quite thrilled to have gotten to know someone just as weird as me who speaks the same quasi-intellectual language I used to speak. Sometimes I do miss aspects of my earlier years, and learning is one of them. My new friend and I both admitted we could stay in grad school the rest of our lives. I’d just keep getting Master’s degrees to go with all my interests!

I guess today was not all bad. It was quite interesting and satisfying. Hope yours was, too.

Book Report: The Age of Deer

It seems that I’m fascinated by the animals that surround me. I wonder I snapped this book, The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, by Erika Howsare (2024), the minute I saw it in the bookstore.

I’ve always enjoyed sharing space with deer, from childhood. There were deer in Florida when I was young, only fewer than there are today. Illinois had them roaming to cornfield borders, too. They’re everywhere in North America. And in Texas, whoa, the suburbs I lived in were full of them, too full in some places.

I learned a lot more about deer when I took my Master Naturalist classes and did more reading on North American and world history. I realized deer have been around humans pretty much throughout our histories. Deer have nourished us (and other animals) all this time, yet still survived. And they’ve inspired humans with their beauty and courage, as well.

Howsare began the book not really knowing why she wrote it and ended up feeling a complicated kinship with the white-tails. Truth be told, complex is one of the best words to describe the human/deer relationship. We both love them and kill them. We create habitat for them just so they can look better when they lose their lives to us. They can kill us, too, by making a poor choice of when to cross the road. Complicated.

Like the beavers, deer were extirpated in many parts of North America when their skins became popular for clothing in Europe. When it was just Native Americans using their hides, horns, and sinews, there were enough to go around. But those dang Europeans never realized when they were taking too much until it was too late.

I also learned a lot about the US hunting culture, much more than I knew before, even though I’m surrounded by hunters and benefit from meat they share. I didn’t realize that the trophy antler hunters of farmed deer are looked down on by the wild deer hunters who hunt for sport and food , nor that the culture of crowd hunting is another separate group who hunt to eat.

By the time you finish this book (if you can…it’s not for the squeamish in some parts), you’ll have a much greater understanding of issues surrounding dear, the resilience of the species, and how interdependent we are. If you didn’t already admire deer, you will. You’ll also gain respect for many people who care about them.

(All photos by me)