The Hermits' Rest

The Dogs and Cattle Are So Happy

Today I spent much of the morning watching new fencing going up. Since I was there to keep an eye on them, I was able to take the dogs with me.

There was all sorts of fun stuff to explore, like puddles that were revealed when the future Apache pasture was mown very short.

All the dogs frolicked in it, but one in particular was in ecstasy. Harvey was absolutely hilarious. He’d plop himself in a puddle, then jump up and stick his head in the water, shaking vigorously.

He must have done this ten minutes, running from puddle to puddle. That’s a lot of play for our most sedentary fellow. Carlton and Gracie joined in and got almost as muddy as Harvey, but he looked like a chocolate covered dog at one point.

I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt.

Meanwhile, the cattle were having their own fun. Haggard the young bull has joined the happy mini-herd, and he’s fit right in. He and the black cow have been “having fun” but not really figuring it out. They’ve certainly been trying. I’ll spare you images of cattle sex, however.

Perhaps the issue is that the cow is bigger than the bull?

To be honest, they were as interested in the fencing operation as the dogs were. They had to go up and sniff all the new material.

Moo! This fencing material is fascinating! Let’s lick it!

The fancy white heifers currently behind us were quite jealous and wanted to join in the fun. They played with the dogs and the black cows as much as they could, and mooed at Haggard.

All in all, everyone had a good time. I did, too! I sure missed dog and cattle fun when I was gone!

I even got to have some quiet time with Vlassic today, and it was hreat, except he deposited mud on all my clothes.

Next, I’ll share fascinating fence facts.

My First Horse Show

That’s right. I’d never been to a horse show until yesterday, when Sara and I returned to the beautiful McClennan Community College Highlander Ranch for a working equitation competition. Fun was had by us, and we sure learned a lot!

Amazingly beautiful grounds with immense oaks.

It was hard not to drool at all the gorgeous gaited horses, Gypsy vanners, and giant warmbloods. but, thanks to the very welcoming people at Heart of Texas Working Equitation, we did learn what was going on, what the goals of the dressage and obstacle competitions were aiming at. What fun.

Here are Pam and Jed in the dressage part of the competition. They won!

We lucked out in that two really experienced women were sitting near us, and they were nice about explaining what made a good horse, what made a good rider, and the history of some of the competitors. That made it lots of fun.

Our favorite of the many great stories we heard during the day was about Pam and her gray paint/something fancy Jed. It turned out he had a year like Apache did last year, only worse. His feet were so bad that they recommended he be put down, but they managed to nurse him back to health. This was their first time in the arena since 2019 (well, they didn’t compete last year anyway, but he wouldn’t have been there).

This is BEFORE she got the overall best rosette! We were all so happy for her.

He is such a great horse that I see why she didn’t want to lose him. He basically slept between his events, breathing so heavily on Pam that her shirt was wet. Then, when she put his bridle on, he perked up, went out, and won the obstacle course, too!

I just cut the nice lady’s head off, because all I cared about was her horse. It’s the family pet, raised by them, and with an incredibly laid-back disposition. He also aced every move and won the more advanced class.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was very happy to get to see my first Gypsy vanner horses in person. These are small but robust horses that were used to pull wagons, but also had to be very tame, because they were always around children. They are a perfect “Suna size” horse. And of course, there is the hair. The glorious hair. Brush, brush, wash wash, braid braid. Sounds like a good retirement hobby to me.

This one is their stallion, doing the gate opening activity. The judge is behind them. Can you see how long the braid is that’s keeping his mane out of the way?

Naturally, these are really expensive horses, so I will admire them from afar. But, they are living My Little Ponies!

See how short they are compared to the thoroughbred on the left

It was also fascinating to watch all the gaited horses, which have a different, smoother “trot” than quarter horses and most other horses. The horse looks quite busy when gaiting, but the rider is smooth as if they are sitting on a couch. I am really tempted to get one of those, since Apache has a really rough trot (one of the horses in the show did, too, and its rider was bouncing around at both trot and canter). I’m afraid I was too enthralled with the warmbloods and hair horses, so I didn’t get any photos.

I did enjoy one little quarter horse, mainly because she was such a great size. This is the one where Sara asked if she was a former brood mare, and her owner said no, she was a nightmare. But, she did pretty well considering her history of not doing much until she was older, and was a very friendly girl

It was exciting to watch the experience riders, who were on Lusitano and Andalusian horses. Those are the big ones. They are able to do all sorts of collection moves, fancy walks, snazzy trots, and things I will never do in my entire life, but are fun to watch.

This lady had TWO giants, this one and a gray

The final part of the day was where they ran the course as fast as they could. That was a lot of fun. Two of the most fun were when Doreen, the woman who did yesterday’s clinic, didn’t go fast, but did the whole course as smoothly and with as few extra steps as possible. She wasn’t getting scored, because her gaucho pants had knocked over something and disqualified her in the obstacle course. She was a great example of taking one’s mistakes with grace, and showed that even the experts have mishaps.

But the most fun one to watch was a woman who raises Australian stock horses. She and her horse ran that thing like a race, and it was a hoot to watch. And in this part you are allowed to cheer. It was a great way to end the day!

I look forward to doing some of these obstacle things with Apache, if I can ever ride again, and to taking some lessons to become a better rider, even if I’d never get past the first level of this stuff!

Thanks for bearing with my horse love. I am moving on to another topic soon, I promise!

I’m TIRED but Happy

Today Sara and I went back up near Temple to watch a working equitation show. Fun? Yes. Nice people? Yes. Pretty horses? Drool. Yes. I’m just going to share two pictures of two beautiful horses. I’ll write more tomorrow.

Buy me a Gypsy Vanner, please?

An Equitation Educational Event

Today Sara and I went and did something together! What? Yes! We ranch ladies went off and did a horse thing somewhere near Waco. We hadn’t done anything together since last year!

We went to a beautiful facility and audited a working equitation class. The clinician was really nice and let us stand close enough to hear her. It was tons of fun learning all the things horses and riders do in this relatively new sport in the US.

The hay thing simulates a cattle chute. the barrels and sticks you do a turning pattern through.

The idea is that working equitation includes aspects of cattle working from European, US, Mexican, and South American traditions. There are dressage elements (fancy horse steps), cattle working elements, finesse, and speed.

There were lots of different horse types and riders.

Another cool thing about it is that riders wear apparel from their own tradition. So you see all kinds of saddles, tack, and riding outfits. Some horses are big Andalusians, others are gaited horses with fancy walks and runs, while you also see quarter horses, too. Sara and I sure enjoyed all the beautiful animals and skilled riders!

This rider on a deep brown gaited horse is working the barrels.

My favorite of the things the students learned was picking up a pole in a barrel, snagging a ring on it and depositing it in another barrel. the gate opening task was fun, too.

That’s the pretend gate you have to open and close without “letting the cows out.”

I can see why Sara is interested in this sport! We learned all the patterns and figured out some of the skills we’d need to learn (me way more than Sara). Now we just need horses that are healthy and can learn with us. I still have faith in Apache.

Tomorrow we’re going to watch a show, which also will have dressage. This is all new to us cowgirls, but everyone was so nice to us, supportive of each other, and eager to learn. The horses all seemed to be having fun, and most of them were sweet animals, too.

I had to take this, because the flowers will get mowed soon.

In other news, there were more floods and rain today, but some fence work did get done. And I got to play with Vlassic much of the morning.

Another fun thing this morning was watching how curious the cows are about all the fence work. They are compelled to explore each new piece.

And the little steer has been so cute and friendly. He kept coming up and licking my hand with his rough, black tongue. I can’t wait until Haggard joins the friendly cattle (hoping that will be tomorrow, since he is officially cleared).

Anyway, despite the rain and more rain, it was a fun and educational day. Hope yours was, too.

Very Brief Knitting Update

I thought it would be a good idea to briefly share how my current shawl is going. I’m really enjoying the border, because it’s simple as heck. It does amuse me that I still occasionally mess up, which just goes to show you that paying attention to your pattern by actually LOOKING at it occasionally is a good idea.

You can see that I’m a few inches into the border now.

The good thing is I’m not being graded for this, and it’s not my knitting mastery project or anything. I’m never going to be THAT good. But, I have fun! The idea here is to use almost all of the second ball of yarn for the border, leaving just enough to bind off. Kate Atherley, the woman who wrote the pattern handily tells you about how much yarn you’ll need. It’s a well written pattern, for sure.

I like how hefty the shawl has become, though it’s too big to stretch out and get a photo of what the whole thing looks like. It’s going to be pretty, assuming I get more time to work on it.

I will today, anyway, since I’m going to Waco with Sara to do something. Wow. Going somewhere with a friend! To do something! I’m still not planning on any crowded indoor events any time soon, but it’s a huge relief to feel safe enough to do outdoor things.

Not much, but enough to delay the morning horse maintenance plans

And yes, it rained again. We smartly put the bags of Sakrete in the garage, so the fence project won’t get ruined. I put my car outside, but it still looks like the Dustmobile after sitting for so long while I was gone. I’m waiting for things to dry up a wee bit more before getting it washed. One of our friends is doing it for some of us now! Job creation!

Gonna Have a Fence Soon

Two good things happened today, both thanks to drier weather. First, Jim was able to mow the “yard” (non-pasture land around the house). I sure feel more comfortable walking around now that I could see any snakes in the grass. He’s been wanting to do it, but this was the first dry day in a while.

The second good thing is it was dry enough to work on all the bracing for the new horse fencing. We need to get Apache and Fiona over to the Hermits’ Rest as soon as possible, but the rain didn’t cooperate. Now, though, things are coming together!

When you work alone, your tractor is your best helper

I got to watch work being done on a big h-brace. There is a lot of straightening and measuring involved. I can’t imagine how long it must take to learn to do all that cutting and welding!

There’s a plumb bob in there to help keep things straight. There was also a cool magnetic level.

I had to go to a meeting in town, and when I got back, these had appeared. They are things that go with gates. I’ll understand it better when it’s all set up.

We have three new gates ready to install, plus some to re-use. By the time all the pens are constructed, there will be multiple uses, entrances, and exits. And then, finally, the cattle and dog fencing can start, along with the tack room and hay storage. It’s a LOT of work, and I am not much help besides watching and appreciating!

I’ll also have a round pen set up, since I bought the portable round pen sections that have been temporarily creating cattle pens. It will be pretty nice!

Way in the distance are the braces for the two horse pens. They are long and narrow.

Apache will have two pens to rotate between. Right now the grass has been mowed down once, but it will be again before he moves. We have to keep him on very little grass thanks to his metabolism. my guess is we won’t have much more rain until the dry season starts, the grass turns crunchy, and it will be okay for him.

But I’m happy to report that I was watching him this afternoon, and he was walking pretty well. Whew. I wonder what it’s like to have a normal horse? Well, Sara says there’s no such thing as a problem-free horse.

I Grow Weary of Horses’ Feet

I actually grow weary of just ONE horse’s feet, and that’s my buddy, Apache. It’s always something with that dude and his feet! It’s because he has a metabolic disorder that makes him prone to foot issues, no matter how hard we try to manage his food and environment.

To cheer things up, here’s a picture of baby Bess, who loves to hide under the cattle chute.

The latest episode started a week ago, when Sara texted me that he was lame and had thrush. I wasn’t surprised that he’d get a yeast infection, considering that it had been raining so much. She put the green coppery anti-thrush stuff on his feet for me.

When I got time to inspect Apache thoroughly on Monday, I looked at his feet, and they didn’t look thrushy to me, and in fact, they didn’t to Sara, either. But I slathered the stuff on anyway. It is smelly stuff, all right.

Next, Sara spotted some redness on his hoof, which made her think his lameness was due to an abscess, not thrush. The poor boy kept picking up his foot to show us, as if to say, “Help, this hurts.” Nothing we were doing was making him feel better, so we went into overdrive. Yesterday, I gave him some pain medicine, which seemed to help, and I called one of the local vets. He couldn’t come out, but he told me to go get “drawing salve” (icthamol) and put it on Apache’s feet to draw out the pus.

He said to have the farrier look at him, but I couldn’t get in touch with Trixie.

So, the second I had a break at work this morning, I ran over to the farm and ranch store, hoping they would have the stuff. Miraculously, they did, though the helper guy had never heard of it. Then, as I was at the grocery store to pick up applesauce to worm Ace, the other Problem Metabolism Child at the ranch, it occurred to me that today was Thursday! It still is!

That matters, because the other vet we use, Dr. Amy, is in town on Thursdays. I dropped by her mobile clinic, and there was no one else there, so I was able to ask her what she thought we should do, or whether she should come look at him herself. She said we were doing the right stuff, but gave some other ideas and prescribed antibiotics, too. So, I left there with that and some iodine, in case he needed to soak his feet to draw out the abscess.

By the time I got home, Sara had found the abscess had burst of its own accord. That sounds bad, but it means immediate pain relief. Apache was walking a bit better and seemed perkier. With Sara helping, I got to work putting the salve on his hoof, which didn’t seem to hurt too much or anything. We bandaged it all up, and he seemed happy to get all the attention.

Then, I made him a medicine-enriched feed bowl, and was a bit worried he wouldn’t eat it. But, the antibiotics smell GREAT, and he seemed to love them, even with Liver Flush (which he does NOT like) in there. (I have no idea what Liver Flush does, but apparently Trixie said to give it to him last time she was here).

Fiona kept trying to “help” Apache eat, and he really preferred HER tiny bowl of plain low-calorie horse food, but eventually, I got him to eat it all.

Fiona was so hungry that she blurred my photo!

Next, we went to deal with flushing out Spice’s wound from her cancer surgery, and give Ace all his wormer. This was easier said than done, because a steer got all wound up and got between Sara and the horses and the gate out. No idea what’s up with the steer. He should have a talk with Haggard, who is still sweet as pie and loves to eat his cattle cubes from my hand.

I’m so happy that Suna had to censor my picture.

By the time it was all over with, I was a MESS. It’s a good thing the only meeting I had left in the day was with a coworker who also lives out in the country. He just laughed along with me, especially when I tried to put my headphones on over my cowboy hat.

Let’s hope Apache’s back on the road to hoof happiness, at least for a little while! We’ll see what tomorrow brings!

Treats and Surprises

For darned sure, the Universe is trying its best to teach me to expect the unexpected and examine how I deal with changes. I’ll just sidestep some of the bigger changes and just talk about some of the other surprises I got between yesterday and today.

One of my coworkers lost a family member recently, and two of us got together to send him some flowers today, to bring some cheer into his home. I thought, hey, I could use some cheer, so I made myself a little arrangement to look at while I work. There are meadow pinks, thistles, Indian blankets, black-eyed Susans and a few Indian paintbrush that are still hanging around, plus another couple random flowers.

I’d found a conjoined twin Mexican hat flower yesterday when walking back from feeding horses (yay, it was dry enough to walk). Not only does it have two seed heads, the petals are extra curvy. Nature is always there to surprise me in a good way!

The other surprise I got yesterday, was more of a shocking one. I went to pick up eggs from the coop, and discovered an uninvited guest had already helped themselves to the eggs for the day.

They sure know how to find eggs! I handled this pretty well. Said “eek” and slammed the door down, then calmly picked it up to look at the snake. It was almost as tall as me when it was removed (not by me). I hope it enjoyed the digestion.

That was enough for icky surprises. I spent some more time out looking at the flowers behind our house and had to take more photos. I found yet another type of fly I’d never seen! It has interesting stripes, and I sure wish I’d gotten a better photo. I also found something I’d never seen before, which turned out to be a wheel bug nymph. That’s interesting (to me).

blurry, yes, but interesting! Apparently it is a Schizophoran fly.

My ten minutes of break are over, but maybe I’ll have time for more later. We have to deal with Apache’s feet, apparently. Sigh.

Respite: Happy Flowers and Bugs

The rain has managed to fill up the tanks (ponds) at last. It really has been dribbling in, but we finally got a day with a whole inch, and that seems to have done the trick.

Black scarab beetle enjoying delicious pollen from a Texas thistle flower.

There was a bit of a respite this morning, and things dried out a little. I took advantage of the only hour I had without meetings today to go out and see what’s going on with the ranch plants and their friends. I’m glad I did it then, because it’s been raining and thundering again for the past two hours, which makes for some unhappy dogs.

I had set out to find invasive species, only to realize I missed the entire 2021 iNaturalist Texas invasive species survey time, because I was in South Carolina. That’s okay, though, because I enjoyed seeing what’s blooming in late spring. There’s a lot of Indian blanket, and horsemint out there, and you can tell they are native, because there are so many kinds of insects pollinating them. The fields are literally abuzz with activity. Bzzzz.

I got to see a few new-to-me insects, including two types of potter’s wasps (not exactly sure what they are), and these beautiful tachinid flies, Archytas apicifer. They are huge (for flies), have big, black hairs, and feature shiny green abdomens and bright red eyes. I often saw multiples on one black-eyed Susan flower.

And then there were butterflies! Yes, I’ve seen common buckeyes before, along with the perky little fiery skippers and the red admirals, but the pearl crescent butterfly was new to me, and wow, it’s pretty. The little white checkered skipper looks like lace from a distance, too. In addition to the ones I photographed, I also saw orange sulphurs and gray hairstreaks. That’s a lot of butterflies!

The other thing I saw were bees, ranging from honey bees to tiny ones to bumblebees. They were zipping around, so no photos. And I found a katydid and lots of jumpy grasshoppers. This was a great way to spend some of my volunteer time at work!

I hope this provides some cheer if you’re living in a dreary place right now. I’d love to know what kinds of flowers are blooming where you live. I know the irises are in full swing in the northwestern US, and I believe I’ve spotted some peony photos from elsewhere. I love it when people share their local flowers, native or not!

Soggy and Soggier

It’s still raining today. There were brief respites, but we’ve had at least an inch. Whew. The good news is we have a lot of mushrooms to enjoy.

I tried to go check out what was going on at the fence project. But it started raining real hard, so we went off to see a horse that we may board over here to keep Apache company. It’s all alone, and belongs to some folks who live near our office.

He needs a Coggins test and stuff, but if he came here, his owner says we can ride him. That would be fun. At least he’s small, and he’s named after my dad. This isn’t a done deal, but a possibility. In any case, I got to meet a friendly horse.

It then rained more. But, not before I went out to take some pictures of the Black-eyed Susans. I lucked out and Penney joined me. I got some lovely photos of her looking romantic.

She sure blends in well with scenery.

This is just so beautiful. I love the storm clouds.

Being with the dogs makes you notice so many things! I didn’t even get mad at Vlassic when he jumped up and got my entire outfit muddy.

But even muddy weather has its good points. There’s always beautiful nature to enjoy. Like, why were there so many mud daubers on sunflower leaves? And why is Mr. Toad living in this trough?

All in all, it’s good to be back in the swing of things. I got work done and caught up with my Master Naturalist blogging. It’s volunteer week at work, so it was authorized. What fun! I’ll try to get more fascinating tomorrow. I’m still wiped out.