This was such a pretty day. It started out cool and barely got to 70°F. I had hoped to spend most of the day outdoors, and I got a good start in the morning by taking a long walk, then guarding two escaped calves until the owner could move them back inside. Only one truck was going fast enough to hurt them but I slowed it down. They’re valuable livestock!
EscapeesFun?This calf was judging themMy first sight of them
Then I spent time with the chickens trying to figure out why bees are all over their food. I still don’t know, but Clint assures me they are delicious. Extra protein!
Check out the bees! Tasty little snacksI like them, too.
Bonus bee, rooster and turkey video. Hear the buzz and gobbles.
Back at the house, I tried to finish January on the temperature blanket but got sleepy, which is odd, because I slept great last night. I went upstairs and collapsed into a deep sleep that I had a hard time waking up from. It was a weird feeling. I thought I was sick or something but maybe I should have eaten more.
Like this fellow, I just collapsed.
I made myself get up and go outside once I could move around. I took some photos with the telephoto lens but haven’t downloaded them yet. It wasn’t such a great bird day anyway.
I saw a formation of planes, three white, three black. They went north then came back.
I’d intended to ride Apache but was feeling lightheaded so I just exercised him. I’m sure he’s thrilled. Tomorrow he has no choice.
Random horse pictures
I did get January all done. It needs blocking, but does look like a calendar! I like the border. It’s perky.
Our annual cold spell is here. It’s been windy, too, so you’ve got to be hardy or foolish to do outdoor activities. But that’s me. Both of those things.
Icy!
Yesterday was honestly sort of nice. I enjoyed the weather other than the wind. The chickens would just go inside the hen house where the heat lamp is when they got cold. Connie just hunkers down. She’s so warm around her neck and loves her hugs and petting.
The horses love their shelter, especially Dusty. He’s coping fine with all his fuzz. Apache is fuzzier and seems to love getting his exercise and not sweating. Yesterday he was really perky and cantering around, though today at lessons he was a bit creaky. Still, he’s doing great.
Cold partners.
I managed two horse lessons in the deep chill. I had my thermal shirt, extra warm riding pants and my huge ranch coat. I look like Queen Elizabeth all hunched over in her English riding outfit.
I love this view over Drew’s burs.
Drew did well today, and even let me get three quarters of his made de-burred! He was lots calmer and did very well with Tarrin riding him. We came up with some ideas to help him, and I hope we can.
Channeling the Queen as I longe my horse
Not much else is happening other than work. We are having the vet come check on Goldie and Harvey. Neither seems to be improving. At least they are having as good a life as possible.
Sure, my relationships with many people have had a positive impact on me. But I don’t know how well I’d be doing right now if I didn’t have my relationships with animals.
Many humans have forged strong positive bonds with their dogs and cats, as have I. Our animal companions give as well as take love and more. Just being with our pack and seeing them interact makes me happy.
Goldie’s relationship with us is very special.
And the horses also have had a huge positive effect on me, as well as leading to some angst and doubt. But no relationship is 100% positive! I’m just glad to have the chance to be a part of the lives of these very different animals.
They sure have different personalities!
I think I was under the impression that humans didn’t really have relationships with birds, at least for much of my life. Birds were (and wild birds still are) for observing and keeping my distance.
Don’t get too close!
After getting chickens, I began to see their distinct personalities and let myself get attached to them, which is why losing all my flock but Bianca was so hard. I really was attached to Bertie Lee and her friends.
Sniff.
I’m enjoying Bianca’s new friends, especially Clint, who is the friendliest of the current chickens.
Photo by Heather Westmoreland
But I’m trying to not let myself get smitten by our newest bird, Connie 182 Gobbler. She’s a turkey, a white meat turkey. 182 was one of a dozen turkeys my friend Heather’s son raised for FFA this fall. She was always very friendly and cuddly, even as a chick (poult).
182 the snuggler as a little turk.
I told Heather I’d take her when show season was over, since she was too small to show, but so sweet.
What a face. photo by Heather.
Today was the day of delivery, which had to be very confusing for 182. She had never left the barn before, never seen grass, etc. then she rode in the back of a truck! Then she was in a weird place where people kept trying to make her eat and drink.
I’m not sure about this green stuff.
We wanted to be sure she was okay. Um, and pet her.
Heather explains that she will like it here. Connie is dubious. She ate some of her special green turkey food. She didn’t want her electrolyte water. Thought about eating her food. Thought about the best boxesTaking a goodbye selfieThe selfieConnie’s first day
After doting on 182 and telling her that her name was now Connie (in honor of my friend whose mother said her face looked like a turkey egg when she had the measles), we left her alone. The first time I checked she was still in the coop, but walking around and eating chicken seed.
Hey, you put seeds down thereOoh, more seedsI need to rest. My selfie is hilarious
When I went to feed the horses I looked over and saw something large and white in the chicken run. It was Connie! She was walking in the part that used to have a bunch of plants in it when we only had Bianca and she was outside. That turkey was taste testing everything. She discovered millet on the stalk, wild melons, and burs. It was so much fun seeing her act like a wild turkey.
Seeds! Melons! So many things to peck. Ooh. I think I like fancy chicken feed. I’m Queen. Suna didn’t forget us. We got a pear. Getting acclimated
The chickens aren’t acting too upset, but they stay on whatever side of the pen Connie is not pecking away in. I’ll be interested to see if they develop their own positive relationship.
Detente.
I’m completely charmed by Connie, myself. She’s so soft and warm, and she has such big eyes. I hope she sticks around!
It’s probably a luxury and sign of my privileged status that I’m able to ponder upon what to do in the near future to protect my more distant future. Still, people my age tend to be pondering about many age-related potential occurrences.
Sometimes I feel like an empty seed head, like I’ve fulfilled my purpose and am done now.
Do we work for pay every day until we die? Can we retire and finance our needs ourselves? Will we need help from children or other relatives as we age and decline in health? What’s the best strategy that will give us a comfortable old age?
Anita plans to get her advice from Goldie. She’s wise for her age.
Heck if I know. I thought we had things set up in one way, but things unexpectedly changed, and we have to pivot. Our neighbor, Sara, who I do my horse stuff with, is escaping Texas to start a regenerative farm business in Wisconsin with members of her family. This is exciting for them!
Apache will miss his lesson and show buddy.
But that’s meant we’ve had little choice but to sell the vast majority of the ranch, which we owned together. And the very nice people we are selling to also wanted some of the property we owned outright. With times being what they are, Lee wants to liquidate assets, so this is all going to happen.
Bye, land. I get to keep the pond.
If you’re wondering why my anxiety is high and I’m sad, well, this is part of it. I won’t own any of the creek or woods any longer. My plans for a consternation [hilarious typo; I meant conservation] easement are no longer possible. We could not afford to buy out the other half of the ranch to do that; we’d hoped to do it later.
We’d hoped for a few more years of Aragorn in Christmas tack.
The fact that we will soon only have a “ranchette” (not popular with the locals) does give us more options. So we have to ponder them. The agreement we made not to fence in the acres right behind the house means I can’t put in another pasture for the horses. It’s hard to support four horses on what we have.
It better support one attractive rooster!
So, lots to ponder, lots to keep me up at night, and that’s not even bringing in the unknown of the next four years and how it will affect us, right as we would need to start relying on Social Security and Medicare, which we’ve paid into since we were teenagers.
Don’t fight change, Mockingbirds!
Change is inevitable; we all know that. I can deal with it in small doses with time to prepare. This stuff? I’ll remind myself to put one foot in front of the other and notice the good, the beauty, and the inspiration that occurs every day. Right?
Since I’ve had a rough day emotionally, I’ll share something somewhat fun today. Of course, I’m good at many things, less good at others, like we all are. That’s one thing that makes people so interesting!
Lee and Penney are very good at relaxing together.
Here are the requested five things I’m good at.
One. I’m good at empathy. That’s both a positive and a negative. Today I truly felt someone’s pain over a loss. That wasn’t fun, but I’m glad I can do it. Empathy is probably why I’m so good at reading tarot cards. Combine empathy with a mind that treasures metaphors and insights keep a-coming.
Empathy can trap you in a beautiful web, like these spider eggs. They know how to escape.
Two. I can name animals well. I enjoy my human-like names. Since I’m on the letter C in chicken names, the new rooster is now Clint White. Get it?
He’s fit in like a champ.
Three. I’m a reasonably good writer. I’m not polished or brilliant, but I love expressing myself in writing. I have done it my whole life!
Another chicken picture, since all my journals are downstairs.
Four. I’m good at knitting and crocheting. I used to be very good, but now I just do it yo relax, not show how fancy I can be. My favorite thing is teaching others these skills, to bring a lifetime of never being bored.
Working on one of the many blankets I made for friends and family a while back.
Five. I’m good at using my peripheral vision. That’s how I can spot birds and animals so well. I detect movement practically as well as the ever-vigilant Apache. We are both easily attracted to movement when we are working together. No wonder we get along.
Buddies.
What are you good at? Since I love how people differ, I’m interested!
PS: sorry if the red text is hard to read. I designed it for the blog interface.
I didn’t look it up, so I’m not sure what the official gift is. But, according to my friends Tarrin and Teddy, the gift is a nice rooster ( as opposed to a mean one).
As-yet unnamed rooster.
The rooster magically appeared on their property, where he tried to fit in, but was chased by cattle, horses, dogs, and the roosters who already live there. He was too nice to just dispose of, so I volunteered to take him, since I still miss Bruce, our previous very nice fellow.
I’m suddenly feeling maternal.
I put him in the roost with Bianca, figuring they’ll sleep together and be more likely to get along. Maybe he will encourage the Cochins Cathy and Cindy to sleep indoors. I hope so, since it’s cooled off and rain is forecast.
More fowl news to come soon, so stay tuned.
In addition to a horse lesson and chicken pickup, I spent a little while with my friends Pamela and Linda Jo, doing a BioBlitz across the road from Pamela, where the landowner intends to clear all the plants to create a pasture. We recorded all we found, including a variety of native trees.
Pecan I think Cedar elmTed oakTexas ashEastern red cedar Gum BumeliaPossumhawCarolina ash ir maybe Texas ashHoney locustCoral berry, not a tree.
We found 78 species, which shows the diversity hiding in our Milam County landscape.
There may be more observations uploaded to our iNaturalist project, which I look forward to. I’m finding a bit more peace being around people who are good friends and love our plants and animals.
In my frazzled state of late, I’m not only being clumsy and forgetful, I’m not noticing things. That’s not at all helpful. And my powers of investigation aren’t their strongest.
I’m invisible.
For example, this morning I got up and couldn’t find Goldie. Oh no! Something happened to her! Oh, maybe she’s outside. No. Not in my office. Hmm. It took me ten minutes to figure out that she was in the other bedroom. Duh.
Take a flower break. These Mexican petunias look like they should be a painting, not a plant living in the middle of the driveway!
I got through a hectic and confusing work day fairly well, though our team meeting was moved to the afternoon and ran long, making me unable to groom the horses. I rushed out and easily got Droodles.
I’m a good boy, but I don’t pay attention either. I sorta missed the goal of standing beside the mounting block and just plowed over it. I’m so cute.
Apache was another story. It’s as if he knew we were running late. He ran and ran, galloping hither and yon, but eventually went into a pen. That was very strange. I hurriedly put on his halter and marched him into the trailer. Drew followed nicely. He was an a good mood from eating good grass.
We got to Tarrin’s and quickly tied the horses to the trailer. I saddled Apache on his left side (this matters) then we walked to the lesson area. I began lunging him over the little hill. When I turned him to go the other way, Tarrin stopped me. Look at his eye!
Well shoot. Neither of us had looked closely at this right side. His eye was full of goop and all swollen. I could have paid a bit more attention when I was rushing to get to lessons. Tarrin hadn’t noticed when taking him out of the trailer for me either. We felt bad. But we are both barely coping. Give us a break!
Swollen eye after being cleaned.
So, Tarrin ran and got a wet cloth and a shot of Banamine to reduce the swelling. None of that went over very well with Apache, but it did give me time to remove his burs. Tarrin said I should ride him some to get the meds in his system. I said that was fine and put my helmet on.
I did not pay attention.
Sigh. I put it on backwards. That at least gave us a laugh and a funny photo. And Apache did very well. He even side passed vaguely correctly. Good boy. And me.
Believe it or not, this is a huge improvement.
Drew’s lesson was pretty good once he lined up right so I could mount him. I did a good job dealing with some reluctance on his part to hold himself straight, too. I was proud of us both.
Back at the trailer we decided Apache should wear a fly mask to go home, to protect his eye. This began an adventure as none of Tarrin’s spare ones fit Apache’s rather bulky head (hard to believe he’s part Arabian).
I liked this one best because it made him look like Batman’s horse.
We all laughed through this, especially at how curious Drew was about the mysterious headgear.
I’d like to chew that, please.
He kept breathing down Tarrin’s neck as she was trying to fit the masks. Once she left, Apache told him to get back.
This is embarrassing, Drew.
We did make it home safely. But I wasn’t finished being inattentive. You see it was dusk by the time I was heading to the house. I went over to shut the henhouse door. Then I looked in on the chickens. I saw this.
Oh look, Cindy and Cathy are roosting! They found the branch I put in there.
But, someone was missing. Where was Bianca?
Turn the light off! I’m trying to sleep!
Well look at that! She was in the coop! She does remember how to get in! See, I’d never checked them this late before. I feel a bit better about how they are settling in. I just needed to pay attention.
I paid attention to my birthday flowers and they’ve made it to October! It’s a first for me. This ranch is hard on decorative plants.
Tomorrow is another day. Hope Apache is better. Otherwise, off to the dang vet.
Neither Lee nor I were feeling our best in the mental health department today. All the illness around us gets to us sometimes, and we’re worried about people in addition to dogs.
This Giant Swallowtail did make me smile.
We ended up not doing much other than going to get horse and hen supplies and watching comedy shows. Sometimes you need a mindless day.
Every day is mindless for these guys, who are getting along fine and enjoying their grubs.
It’s still really hot, though I honored the equinox by creating a splashy weird nail look. It’s either cool and graphic or it makes my nails look dirty. You be the judge.
I also still can’t get used to long hair. Closeup.
There were no animal hijinks or injuries today other than birds and butterflies to amuse me. I saw two Wilson’s Warblers today, a first here at the ranch. I enjoy the migratory visitors, especially when they have cute little caps.
Lots of animal news today. They keep me on my toes!
It’s our job.
Goldie
Lee and I were up early to get Goldie to the specialty veterinarian by 9. She was so damned good. It’s just a shame she had to have her life shortened by bone cancer.
I go wherever you tell me.
However, the staff at the vet were great and quite encouraging. They see a lot more of this stuff than we do. The oncologist explained the options to us and stressed that since Goldie is basically healthy other than the tumor, is young, and is at a good weight, she is an excellent candidate for amputation. Another good factor is that she is already mostly walking on three legs.
Here Goldie is enthralled by the oncologist discussing her treatment plan.
Our hopes are that this procedure ($$$) will buy her many months of pain-free life. She can’t get worked on until Wednesday, so in the meantime we have good pain medicine that will also keep her calmer and less likely to try to run.
Just don’t make me step on that scale.
She is worth it to us. We might decide differently with a different dog in different circumstances.
She already leans more on her right side.
Apache
So, later today, I braved the heat to go work with the horses. I fed them and all seemed well until I realized Apache hadn’t come over to eat. I went up to him and saw he was covered in sweat and breathing really hard. If he were a dog, he’d have been panting. I got worried that he had colic or was overheated.
I’m hot.
So I brought him over to the tack room and hosed him off. As soon as I started hosing, he started chowing down on the long grass the lawn mower misses. When I called Tarrin to make sure I was doing the right thing, she said he wouldn’t be eating like crazy if he were colicking. I dread having a horse colic (intestinal issues).
Mmm. Long grass.
At least I dodged another pet sickness. I hosed him down a second time after he ate for a while, and he happily walked off to graze.
Move over! I’m eating! I feel better.
The Chickens
Finally, good news. Since I got Cindy and Cathy Cochin they’ve been sort of huddling together looking scared. They had not figured out that they could go into the coop. I soon noticed they weren’t alone, though. Bianca was spending a lot of time hanging out on the other side of the pen from them.
That was perfect! This let them get to know each other without any chicken fights. Now I just had to get Bianca in the chicken run with the Cochins. And I did!
Eek! There’s another hen in here!
Today I fed the hens late, since I was out with Goldie all morning. I noticed that Bianca was in the jungle half of the run, where it’s shady. She realized I’d filled the water trough for the other hens and ran out to stand next to the door. She wanted some. I seized the moment while the black hens were keeping as far from me as possible and opened the door. It only took a little chicken wrangling to get Bianca to go in there and start pecking away at the food. Soon they were all eating together. Yay.
Let’s be friends.
My hope is that Bianca will show Cathy and Cindy how to get into the roosting area. They will be happier sleeping there and laying eggs in the boxes.
I pretty much spent my whole day engaged in bird activities. There was a horse hour or two and a trip to buy dog food, but the rest of the day was for the birds. I do enjoy them, probably because I don’t understand them too well.
I got no bird photos, so enjoy a wildflower, marsh fleabane.
This morning I headed out early (for me on a Saturday) and went to the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary we are working on. Ann and Phyllis joined me as I did my monthly bird count.
They were quite coordinated.
We had lots of eyes, ears, and binoculars, which made finding 25 birds not all that hard. Most of the hummingbird feeders were covered in bees, which annoyed the plentiful Ruby-throated hummingbirds.
There are many new songbird feeders, too.
We practiced our Forest Walking, but didn’t immerse ourselves in it, because we were busy identifying birds and plants. The wooded area was lots of fun, but I got into something itchy.
Late bonesetCedar elm leaves were fallingPastoral beauty Velvet ant. Not an ant. A wingless wasp.
When we were getting ready to leave, Cindy and Gene Rek brought a big box over to me. It contained two black Cochin hens. These are the big fluffy kind with pretty feathered feet. What a lovely gift!
Ann approves of my chicken.
I hope they end up liking the new housing situation. Cindy and Cathy (the hens, not people) got a bit stressed out by their day and got pretty pale and hot. They have lots of water and food now, and Lee made them new stairs to climb to get into the coop. I hope they figure it out.
Shiny girls looking stressed.
Getting them settled was hard because one got out when I was unboxing them. She went under the RV and would not leave even when Lee squirted her with water. I’m thinking that actually felt good. I got her out with my official chicken net that is really a fishing net.
Feeling better, but suspicious of the water dish. They have a bigger water trough but I worried they couldn’t find it.
As if that wasn’t enough bird action, I then spent the evening blogging about the morning and making a list of all birds that have been seen in Milam County on iNaturalist and eBird. Ann wants to have a checklist people can use. I’ll be working on that for a while, but it feels good to contribute!
This friend walked by while I was doing my morning sit. It just grunted a greeting and kept going.
Birding activity was a good way to take my mind off dogs and such.
The Hermits' Rest 