Ranch Life – Page 88 – The Hermits' Rest

How about Those Tornado Warnings?

Yikes, last night was not a lot of fun for anyone in the vicinity of central Texas. It was our turn for one of those giant gatherings of storm clouds to come through and send tornadoes off hither and thither. None of us were in the least amused.

Remnants of the storm (wide-angle shot – the telephone pole doesn’t actually lean).

My son and I both have some PTSD leftover from some tornado experiences when we were younger, so I know he wasn’t thrilled to be instructed to come over to our house where the storm shelter is, just in case. But when the warning happens, not a watch, I go into protective mode. We didn’t build that storm room for nothing!

The storm room is also the butler’s pantry and dog feeding station. But on the left is the cool thing: the steel doors we can slide shut to protect us.

As I shared yesterday, I’d battened down the hatches outdoors, so by the time the weather got bad, I was cooking dinner and watching the three or four straight hours of weather coverage on the television. I know someone in nearly every place that tornadoes were threatening, so that was nerve wracking. Even the cows were unhappy. They all crowded into the woods, mooing and bawling, which is what I guess they do when they feel a storm coming. The dogs liked THAT.

Dogs and cows discuss barometric pressure and how it affects them.

We were in the middle, as shown by the purple dots.

Cameron and Walker’s Creek (also known as Silver City, another non-existent town) lucked out and were squeezed between the paths of two potential tornadoes. It was so interesting and a little terrifying to look at how very close we were to danger, but it never quite got to us. We just got strong winds and lots of thunder and lightning.

On the other hand, the path was right over where we train horses, so we spent a lot of time worrying about everyone in Milano. And I have many elderly Master Naturalist friends in the Gause area, too, which had me concerned. At last the warnings ended, I heard that Tarrin and her family were all right, and I let the young folks go home.

But after we went to bed, yet another round of storms came and that’s when we got the rain…close to three inches, which we truly needed. Now all the ponds are full, and Walker’s Creek can once again be seen from the house as it does its best to pretend to be a temporary river.

The horses are enjoying the water in the arroyo and the chickens seemed fine this morning. The dogs survived, but were not thrilled, to say the least. We heard lots of news of damage to places in Round Rock, near where we used to live. Many friends got storm damage, especially coworkers at Dell. And we worry about the towns between here and Temple, which also got it bad.

I’ll be driving by some of the places that were hit tomorrow, and I hope not to see the amount of devastation we saw last time a tornado came through. These weren’t too big, though, thankfully. The storms did take down the main weather radar we use for a while, though. It’s like they wanted to be incognito.

Spring in Texas, wow. From the perfect day to a perfectly awful storm in 24 hours!

Weather is always changing here, but it brings us flowers and crops, too. It’s all fine.

Here’s a quote from the KMIL website (I’d link to it, but it’s not a permanent link):

(CENTRAL TEXAS) Mother Nature reared its ugly head Monday afternoon as a severe storms and tornadoes ripped through much of Texas.
Tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings were the order of the day Monday afternoon and evening for a wide swath of Central Texas. Multiple tornadoes are thought to have touched down, including several in Central Texas. Milam County Sheriff Mike Clore reported damage in the 5000 block of FM1915, the 6000 block of FM1916, and the 6000 block of FM908. Damage included a barn, a residence, metal buildings, and a roof that was blown off. There were also multiple reports of power lines down. Much of Thorndale was without power this morning because of downed lines. Sheriff Clore also indicated that a trio of roads are closed to traffic this morning. Those closures include CR442, CR445, and FM486 at Brushy Creek. The National Weather Service has since confirmed a tornado touched down in southern Milam County. Funnel clouds were also spotted near Rosebud.
http://kmil.com/news.php

And here is a link showing the damage south of us.

Welcome Rain, Unwelcome Wind

It’s been drier that usual the past couple of months, so we are happy to see a reasonable amount of rain today. One of the cool things about the ranch house is that there’s always a porch you can sit on when it rains.

Goldie is looking for that darned pool robot, her enemy.

Rain doesn’t stop the wildlife action, though. I went out in the drizzle to get the mail and heard a sound. I looked up to see one of those huge flocks of starlings going over.

And who doesn’t love a rainy wildflower, even an annoying one?

The crows are in full murderous activity, too. They’ve been trying out all their caw variations and flying back and forth, as if on a mission.

That’s where they are, but not at the photo time. I’m glad to see the cleared area growing some cover.

It’s funny. The minute the crows stop, the songbirds start up. Cheerio cheerio! Peep peep! Chirp chirp! Cardinals, sparrows of various kinds, and the little chickadees enjoy breaks in the rain to get some food.

The wind keeps whipping up and making waves and waterfall splashes in the pool. I foresee spillover. But at least so far the new plants are holding down the outdoor rug. Suna triumphs over nature! So, that was at lunch…

Time Marches On

I went back in and tried to work. It’s gotten windier and windier, and sure enough, we are now under a tornado watch. Of course, I’m alone. So, I hefted all the patio furniture up close to the house and tried to make everything as heavy as possible. Usually things up against the house make it in our heavy wind periods. I think the horses will be fine all lined up in their shelter.

If there’s a tornado, well, I just wasted a lot of money on plants.

Nope, that’s not gonna help in a tornado, but it does keep them from blowing all over the yard in a gale.

I’m sure all will be well, and if not, I’ll get to try to herd the dogs into the storm shelter. Let’s hope all is well, ok?

Close to Perfect Welcome to Spring

Sure, everything is delayed and there’s lots of brown grass here, but the first day of spring dawned to remind me what a good life I have.

Blue water and blue skies as far as a dog can see.

We spent most of the day outside messing around with our projects. Lee worked on his pond project, while I decided to put some plants up around the pool and try again for some vegetables.

New plants and knitting project progress

The kids came and sat with us on the patio for a while this morning to soak up the rare total quiet out here (no barking, mooing, or crowing). That’s so special. I doubt they have any clue how much I appreciate family time. It was just so wonderful.

I got some nice plants and planters for two reasons. One, I need something to keep our killer winds from repeatedly messing up my outdoor rug. Two, we finally will be able to enjoy our back patio all summer. So flowers and plants will be able to be cared for better. I can jump in that dang pool any time I get hot.

I got marigolds to perk up my tomatoes and peppers, but they also add color to my red plants, whatever they are. I’m better with wildflowers.

Trying again. This year I’ll move them before the farmer sprays herbicides.

It was just a good day. I have the kids a bunch of pepper plants for their garden, too. Nice to see them growing stuff! That will be fun for them. As for me, while I did run around a lot and plant things, I also got to relax with Lee, spend quality time with the horses and chickens, and watch the dogs run and play.

Vlassic stopped running to sniff the spring air. Hi

Wishing you a pleasant Ostara, full of peace and hope.

Getting Grounded

Today I was a fluttering, unfocused mess all morning. I dropped things. I didn’t plan things well and had to deal with the consequences. My stomach was all upset. Yuck. Anxiety said howdy to me.

But, even as I continually annoyed my spouse and horses, I continued on and made it to Apache and Drew’s training sessions this morning. It was just what we all needed.

The minute I started concentrating on the lessons, I was fine. Putting my mind in one task, helping the horses and me become better partners, I could focus. Apache and I practiced side passing and I started working on getting him to trot or jump over obstacles. He is a walker.

But the best part was the trail “experiment” Tarrin did to figure out why Apache gets more anxious coming back than heading out. Is it not being able to see other horses? Or what?

Basically, I had a blast going on the trails and didn’t care about anything but the beauty and being with Apache and Tarrin away from stress. But we did figure out how to keep him calmer and settle down when he started to feel anxious. And how to turn right a lot and use my left leg. All good. I was proud of how nothing that happened made me scared.

I’m testing and testing because I know I have an audience. I want the other young horses to learn my tricks!

With Drew, I got good lessons in keeping him out of my space and not letting him use me as a lever or something. I got lots of good info on that, which will make us both happier.

I got good input on how to get him trotting with me on the lead line. I got tired, but we got better. Maybe the next show we will be better!

By the way, Peeper can now crow. He’s a man chicken now.

Drew didn’t want to load into the trailer, and I think it was my fault for not realizing his trailer tie was too short and he could get to the hay I’d worked so hard to get for him. I fixed it, and my penance is all the poop I have to scrape out of Tillie the Trailer now.

This is the first Saturday in a long time that I’ve had any time at home, so I took advantage of the chance to see the new calf in the herd our family cares for and to meet Sully, the beauty who belongs to Trixie and we hope will have a foal for Sara next year.

It was also good to visit my son and “offspring-in-love” at the cabin, where they are making a garden! Good for them. All this walking and seeing animals has finally gotten me feeling grounded. Time to shovel some poop.

Tack Room, Not Tacky at All

Today our renovation crew had a day off from Anita’s house, so they worked on fixing up a shipping container and a portable shed to be the new Hermits’ Rest hay loft and tack room.

It wasn’t the easiest task in the world, but by gosh, the team got it done! Leveling the portable building we’d brought over from our church building wasn’t too bad. With enough concrete blocks and shims, it ended up looking great. And they made me a step to get into it.

Getting the container level was an ordeal. At first not even the backhoe could lift it. So the team had to take all the dang bags of concrete back out, the ones you faithful readers might remember were a problem a while back. Then the backhoe could raise it up.

Everything is way up in the air, at least on one end. That will encourage drainage, since it’s all on a slope. The plan is to add some siding to make it look better. But to me it looks great.

Once they got it all level, they started to insulate it, beginning with the ceiling. I guess they had some insulation left over from another project. They also began to put the old ceiling tiles from the church over the insulation, but it’s rather fragile.

Tiny mom brag: my kid did a good job cutting all the pieces up! The future will probably include inexpensive paneling on the walls. It will look rustic.

All cleaned up and ready for the next phase.

It’s sure looking better, and I feel much closer to tack and hay storage! The tack room will have air conditioning and a little refrigerator for medicine and drinks, plus lights and lots of shelving. Of course there will be saddle racks, hangers for other tack, and a desk. Plenty of space for feed and supplements, too. For me, there will be a chair.

Scenic back of hay loft. Hopefully we will paint our containers to match the tack room.

None of the activity bothered the horses at all. Drew and Apache got their feet trimmed with no problems. Both just enjoyed the attention.

Vlassic enjoyed hoof trimmings. Apache has such good feet now. So thankful for Trixie!

I’m grateful for all the hard work of our team. I’m grateful to be here, enjoying the beauty of spring, listening to the swallows, and loving my family. Peace.

There’s Still Life in the Old Guy

I had a little extra horse time today, so I decided to groom Dusty, the Buckskin Buddy that Kathleen rode the most. He’d been looking lonely. Plus they are all shedding.

We groomed a long time. He is much lighter now, and his mane and tail are all shiny. He is even growing some forelock back in after it was just a nub for a while. I could tell he enjoy it.

Just for fun, we went on a walk and into the round pen. He immediately picked up a nice trot and kept going until I asked him to stop. Then he went the other way, also just fine.

To my surprise, when I encouraged him, he picked up an easy canter, not the uncontrolled one I sometimes get from Drew. It was fun to watch him looking so good and enjoying himself. I think he likes his current rations.

After I put him away, Drew came out to play. His mane is so pretty. More important, so is his behavior. His jumps looked great, and he stopped when I stopped, then trotted when I jogged. Yep. He’s great at home. Even sidepassed both ways.

When we were done practicing things, we went for a nice, relaxing walk around the property. I let him have a grazing break near the arroyo and just enjoyed his shiny hair above his hooves. The walk back was just great. We had a great time.

Apache was thrilled not to have to go trotting in circles again today, so we were all happy!

Flower love. Did you know our florist grows flowers for other florists? No wonder these seem so fresh.

In spring news, the swallows are back, swooping around. And I’ve never seen or heard so many cardinals. So pretty.

And to end the day, here are some pretty flowers Dusty and his friends sent yesterday, just to brighten your evening or day.

Enjoy whatever is on the side of your road.

Hail Drops Keep Falling on My Head

What a day! I’ve experienced laughter, surprise and true joy today. Where to start?

Let’s start with surprise, shall we? I got a voicemail from the local florist saying I had flowers and I’d better hurry over before they closed. I’d been in a long meeting, so we went over just in time to get the flowers, all the while wondering what the occasion was.

Well what a surprise to find out that these beautiful spring flowers were sent to me by the four horses I’ve been caring for since my niece has been dealing with health issues. I guess they really appreciate the magnesium supplements?

I’m just glad they are okay! It what a sweet surprise. I was really touched. Now let’s talk about laughter.

The dogs were going on and on this morning while I was trying to concentrate. There was also much mooing. It turns out that the young cattle next door wanted to play and were actually mooing to get the dogs’ attention.

Lee and I got a good chuckle watching the dogs and calves run and play with each other.

Speaking of laughing, I’m laughing because we actually managed to get most of the skunk smell out of the house! The stuff we used worked! Even Alfred is ok. Go Angry Orange stuff!

But what about the pure joy? It has to do with the hail drops in the title of this post. It was getting stormy tonight, so I enjoyed taking some cloud photos.

I ran out to put the chickens in and let the horses out after dinner as raindrops began to fall.

After dinner I took a few photos, because it was cool how it looked clear to the south and very stormy to the north.

By the time I could get out to the hot tub to try to soothe my back, drops of rain were falling. Poor Lee really needed the hot tub after falling yesterday. We both made it in as the rain started falling harder.

There was lightning and constant thunder, sounding like machinery. Now, I know you should get out of the water when lightning is happening. But I thought what the heck. I’ve achieved all my life goals. Let’s enjoy the show.

While I didn’t care about me, I didn’t want to damage my phone, so there are no photos of my joy. But wow, it was beautiful to sit in the hot water with cold rain falling and making beautiful patterns on the water.

Then, ooh, little sharp pains hit my face and ears. Hail was falling! There were tiny ice cubes all over the patio. It was so much fun to sit there and experience Nature in her fury.

Horses on their way to hide. I knew all was well when they came back out of their shelter!

Soon the storm passed. I was so full of joy. I was also lucky. Apparently the storm picked up strength and is bringing bad hail to the east of us. I’m glad giant ice rocks didn’t fall on my head!

Skunk-tastic Day of Chores

Honest, I was so proud of myself for all the chores I’d accomplished today. House, tack room, trailer, and garage floor, all clean. Horses all fed. I sad down to eat some cereal in mid afternoon. The dogs went nuts. And one of them foolishly went after a skunk.

I started the day enjoying my horses’ love of hay. Don’t these guys look happy?

I had on gloves so I could lift the hay bales after Sara brought them to me when she returned the trailer. Then, when the hay was out and everyone was chomping, I patted Apache. I guess I’ll be grooming away later.

This will be fun to clean. Maybe I’ll just soak it in skunk juice.

Lee and I went to Tractor Supply to get Apache food and more food for the other four, who are really looking better after I started giving them senior food and a magnesium supplement. I got a shovel for horse poop in the trailer and wanted a little wagon but couldn’t find one.

Then I cleaned. The trailer looks good now, even after Drew’s copious output yesterday. Then off I went to load up that food and clean the current tack room. I’d been waiting to clean it until the new one was ready, but I couldn’t take it anymore. At least most of the remnants of the rat invasion are gone and some debris is out.

Isn’t the garbage can Kathleen’s friend painted for her cute? It’s full of senior feed!

The room needs lots more work. Someone just tossed some boxes in there and now they are a mess. I think some may be my knitting stuff. That room would make a cool craft room, after it’s next use.

Meanwhile, Lee moved the new tack room closer to its final destination. Part is even on a block. That is probably what caused the skunk issue.

The occupant of the shipping container was not amused.

I got finished and just sat down to eat some weird healthy cereal when the dogs went nuts. Lee went out to check, and the two big dogs were running around foaming at the mouth. One or both had gone after a skunk in the side yard. Oh great.

We think it was the one who lived over by the horse pens. It’s smelled skunky there for months, and we’d each seen one. I’d hoped to live peacefully, but once it came into the yard during the day, its hours were numbered.

It’s been disposed of. That was also stinky. I’ve sprayed the dogs with Angry Orange stuff and Febreeze. It’s still bad. We sealed off the bedroom and my office.

What a day. We will wash the washable dogs with Dawn dishwashing detergent. That works better for us than tomato products. Thanks in advance for not telling us what to do. We are handling it!

Lucky for me, I unpacked more wine from the Austin house. When I looked at my Cabernet Sauvignon section, I saw I have three of one of my favorites! This is so good. I now have two, and also a 2016 and 2018. I think I drank 2019 already, but it may still be in stores.

And I’d thought today would be lonely and boring! Ha!

Horse Show Live! Drew Lives!

Today we went to our first live horse show. All of us lived. We each have things to work on, but hey, that’s the idea! I enjoyed putting on my fancy, if unflattering, outfit and showing off Drew’s cuteness.

Sara and I enjoyed taking out Tillie the Trailer out for her first spin. It went great. The facility was gorgeous. There was a beautiful covered arena and actual bathrooms.

Drew and I did two tests, functionality and trail. He did well on the first, though I messed up some. On the second one, he would not trot. That messed up our score, but it was good to not keep pressuring him.

Here we are not trotting to pick up the jug.

He was sweet, though, and was not phased by all the new sights, sounds, and people. He seemed to be having fun. How about that? He liked the fancy stall I rented for him lot, too. Mostly he liked all the food.

Sara and Aragorn did really well, too, and won their group. There were some ups and downs, but I was impressed with their performance. And Sara looked really good!

I learned a lot from the other competitors, too. Some of the folks from last week were also there today. I found them smart and brave, especially the ones who put their horses’ needs first.

I’m fine with how we did, though I know we could have done better. But now we have an idea of what we need to work on. I sort of feel silly having a bunch of ribbons even though I’m the only one in my category at the moment.

But, hey, I did well. I could have chickened out and not gone, because it was cold. Or I could have messed up so much I’d have disqualified! So, I won. And so did Drew.

We are lucky to have had the opportunity. Tarrin and her family sure worked hard on the show. And the host was very kind.

They got banners. But they were ready to go home and not cooperating!

I have to say my favorite part of the whole day was spending time with Drew, watching the others, and bonding. It feels so good to be with his sweet spirit. I think I’ll do another show at some point.

It does feel like we have a clue when we are in such a nice spot.

By the way, I never won a ribbon for anything before. Probably that’s because of never entering contests. You gotta enter to win. Ha.

Scared, Worried, Relieved, Irritated: Twelve Hours in a Horse Owner’s Life

Yow! I’ve had a whirlwind of horse stuff since I got home from my Master Naturalist meeting last night! Everything is fine now, but there sure were a lot of emotional peaks and valleys.

Apache Drama

I got home from the meeting and shut the door to the chicken coop. I heard some noises from the horses, so I went upstairs and asked Lee if he’d let Apache and Fiona out from the pens like I’d asked him before I left. He said he’d forgotten, so I went out with the teeny tiny flashlight to take care of it. I hate going out at night, since our skunk friend is always out there, too. I could smell the evidence of that.

Fiona was letting me know she was trapped, quite vocally, so I let her out, but then I noticed a distinct lack of spotted horse in the other pen. It was clear that Apache had barged his way out, thanks to the pen he was in having a short chain that’s hard to fasten. He enjoys chains.

I appreciate all that love and kindness last night.

I thought that it would be fine to just let him out with the other horses overnight, since they have the same grass and hay as in his pasture. But, I kept hearing a noise. So, I reluctantly set across the poop minefield known as the pasture to look for the source of the sound. It was coughing, I was sure.

As I walked, the usual suspects came up to see what I was doing. The Buckskin Buddies always want to know. Neither of them liked the flashlight, however. They were not coughing. Mabel floated by in the distance. I was relieved that she was not sick (though she is finally putting on weight and looking better other than all the places she’s been nipped by the other horses).

Way near the back of the pasture I saw a ghostly shape and a pair of glowing eyes, so I knew where Apache and T were. I plodded toward them, all the while hearing a great deal of coughing. When I got there, T was guarding Apache, who was not only coughing but farting vigorously with each cough. If I hadn’t been so worried, I’d have laughed. There was evidence of a fresh and healthy bowel movement right behind him, which made me feel a little better. But he sure looked miserable.

Evidence that everything ended up all right. WHEW. Obviously, I got no photos in the middle of the night with just a teeny flashlight to help me.

I texted Sara to see if he’d ever done it before or if she had any ideas, but she was equally baffled. So, I decided to try to get him back to the pens where I could see marginally better before asking Tarrin the trainer questions at 9 pm. I was concerned that I’d have a hard time getting to go with him, but happily, all that training walking beside me at liberty came in handy. I clucked to him and held his neck for a moment, and Apache calmly followed me to the pens, stopping only to cough.

My heart was breaking. What a good, sick boy he was! When we got to the pens, I told him to get a drink of water, and he did. Or he just did it on his own. My thought was that maybe he had a piece of hay stuck in his throat. He drank for a while, then came over to be petted. I stood with him and stroked his neck for the next ten minutes.

I realized that he had not coughed since he had the water! I’m glad I brought him to the trough, because that seems to have done the trick. I heard no more coughing as I walked carefully back to the house, vowing to check on him as soon as I got up. I handled it myself with only ONE panicked text. Not bad!

And Now for the Rest of the Horses

This morning I got up and went out into the drizzle and cold to check on Apache. I did spot his spotted self in the pasture and breathed a sigh of relief.

That didn’t last long. I looked over at the chickens and lo and behold, there were four horses also looking at the chickens. They had exited the pasture.

Blondie says hi to her horse friends who make that nice poop she enjoys pecking at.

Argh. I saw that the small gate out of their pens was open. No doubt I’d forgotten to shut it after the Apache adventure last night, though I swear I remember doing it. Maybe I just didn’t latch it well in my worried state.

I had to go to a meeting, so Lee went out and parked the Tahoe at the end of the driveway just in case they headed over there and wanted to take a stroll. Our gate has stopped working again, so it is no help at all.

There was no need to worry about the horses heading out, because they were way too interested in the green grass near the garage and whatever is interesting to a horse inside the garage. When my meeting was over, they were all at the fence leading to the house, saying hi.

I think there may be some food in that barn for cars, says Remington. Suna wants to point out the nice, new tires on Tillie the Trailer, ready to go somewhere tomorrow.

They did seem very pleased with themselves. Luckily, I knew that one thing would make them go back into their area and that would be food. I went into the tack room and got a bucket of their feed. I waved it under the nose of Dusty, and that’s all it took. He wanted that food, and so did everyone else. They all followed me quite briskly over to the pen area. Mabel even glided over to get in front, but was thwarted. No food until inside!

Apache says he’d like some food, too, after all, he is convalescing.

They were thrilled to get an extra portion of food and I was happy to have only lost ten minutes of my day to horse wrangling. That was enough, though! I hope the rest of the day is less crazy.

I plan to be indoors working and watching the temperatures go down, down, down. I will wear many clothes to my outdoor event tomorrow.