dogs – The Hermits' Rest

Enjoying Potential Dangers

Not much went on today, since it’s my busy work day and we had a reasonable amount of rain. Wish it were a bit more.

The colors are so vivid after the browns of winter.

There’s been a bit of danger this week. Harvey got bitten by a snake and swelled up. Then when he was all numb and swollen he managed to bite through his lip. As if having a bad liver, going deaf, and dealing with stroke after effects wasn’t enough! He is healing though.

And today when we were walking my horses (we alternate between Kathleen’s and mine, apparently), I was trying to convince Apache that cantering in mud isn’t smart, when Drew erupted and started jumping and acting afraid. Apparently it was his first snake encounter, because he was really scared. Kathleen did a great job holding on and settling him back down, but that was enough danger for us. You’d think Drew would have seen snakes in the pasture or pens before. I certainly have.

It was a beautiful day to make a hasty retreat (Kathleen IS in the photo, but the bulky gelding is blocking her).

Still, it is always good to see that we can help the horses out, and as a bonus Kathleen didn’t get bitten. Maybe the tide has turned and she’s not a magnet for venomous creatures anymore!

It was raining all around us, and thundering. More danger!

Need proof that we had enough rain to make mud? Look no further than Muddy Mabel. She was gleaming and clean yesterday.

I hope she rolls in some dewy grass tomorrow and cleans some of her mane.

Other excitement of the non dangerous type? Today was Lee’s birthday. We are the same age again, whew. I hate those 6 days when we’re a year apart. He got mini Bundt cakes and a banana pudding cake, which we all enjoyed. I still like lemon the best.

Well, off to see what happens tomorrow.

Funny? Weird? Fun? Today Was All That

Where to start? First, I laughed SO hard yesterday at my dear cousin, who was kind enough to call and wish me happy birthday. The problem was that she wished me a happy 67th birthday. No, I correct, I’m 68. You can’t be, she exclaimed, because I’m older than you and will be 68 in November. No, you turned 68 last November. Now, we have known each other since infancy and can’t figure out how old we are. Finally I brought up an age calculator and asked it how old I was. It said 68. My cousin wailed that she had lost a year. That was so dang funny.

Also funny. The hopeful looks on these two faces as Dusty’s morning food was being prepared. They can’t believe he eats and they don’t (we have a new fattening up Dusty campaign and he eats feed twice a day)

Now for the weird. Kathleen spent all day today cleaning the tack room as only a Kathleen who’s feeling better can clean. When she has energy, she really has it. There’s a distinct lack of mouse and rat poop in the room now.

But, she discovered weird/icky things in her deep cleaning. First, Tipper has created a litter box area under a chair, sans litter box. So, suckers that we are, we’re getting the cat a litter box. And food. And water.

The tack area also sparkles. I wanted to take the ribbons down because they remind me of Tarrin, but Kathleen said I worked hard for them and should keep them out. Okay.

But what was weird was what she found under the desk. It was someone else’s poop! Our best guess is a raccoon, which it kind of resembles. But we aren’t sure. Guesses?

Maybe Vlassic? But why? He has many acres to poop in.

Another weird thing happened at work. My colleague and I were trying out all the possible voices to use in a web-based training I’m making (so they won’t have to rely on my voice after I’m gone). We found one that sounds quite real. It’s so real that I think it’s Captain Ake from Star Fleet Academy (Holly Hunter). Of course we chose her so I can chuckle as I hear Ake talking about project management software.

Now for the fun part. My friend, Melanie invited me to share wine and a cheese board with her after work. We had fun picking out cheese from Wisconsin, “the cheese capital of the US.” Then we got a lesson in the use of cheese utensils from the shop owner, who plans to give classes. It all made us laugh.

The “interesting” wrapper of one cheese.

It was lots of fun sipping prosecco and munching on snacks. I learned a lot about the history of this county (in sum, everyone really IS related) and got to chat with a few other women who were there. It was a great way to end my extended birthday, and everyone else got barbecue for dinner, so they didn’t miss me at all!

I will now snuggle into my side of the bed just like my sleeping partner (Lee has Penney in his sleeping chair)

Spring Friends

It’s starting to warm up again, and I think this time it’s for good. I’m starting to spot all my tiny flower friends in the fields, and they make for quite a perky carpet in the horse playground.

A new one for the ranch! Broadpod whitlow grass *Tomostima platycarpa*

Another friend showed up today, too! Now you can see how Tipper got its name. Look at the tiny tail tip! Kitty had been surveying its domain from atop the hay bales.

And before I keel over from my long workday, I’ll share Harvey, who was fixated on my empty dinner plate. He likes salmon.

Little Bits

Something I read on social media reminded me of how much I dislike being told to smile. My response to the person writing about it was that I’m not a dog performing tricks on command. I guess that makes me a disobedient bitch. Ha ha.

I ordered Pampered Chef stuff, because my ground beef masher broke and I wanted another baking dish. It helped Kathleen and I got stuff I wanted that will last a long time. My off-brand masher thing only lasted two years. Not good.

I’m enjoying my new afghan’s colors. I’m happy to have numerous projects again.

I’m missing one finished color. Two more to crochet

There had been an old television in my office for a very long time. My son took it away! Space!

I’m still figuring out work stuff, but my great attitude is making it easier. Yes. I have a great attitude. See, I’ve matured.

Not smiling but not getting upset at change.

I still don’t understand the appeal of crotch clutching in musical performances. I accept that the popular culture bus has driven off and left me.

But his heart was in the right place. Wish he’d clutched that.

Cozy Cocoon

The cold front arrived and we got down to 16°F, with a high of only 24° so my blanket square for today will be all purple! That and getting to watch this hawk on my big stump were the big highlights for my day.

We missed most of the snow, so it was more of an ice festival than winter wonderland outside.

With our fairly rough expectations in previous arctic blasts, our local family were all pleased we had heat (only got down to 64° downstairs and upstairs kept normal 67°). We were very relieved to find that the turkeys DID use their hut last night and most of today. I put water inside the chicken coop so they only had to go out to eat. It was kind of fun watching them skate around to get to food.

This animal was thrilled with the weather once the sleet stopped.

The horses spent a lot of time in their shelter, and had water, because Spice broke the ice with her hooves. She’s an equine survivalist. Tomorrow it should get above freezing and we will pry the food dishes out of the ice and they will be happier. They ate food off the ice just fine, though.

I spent most of the day bundled up under my 2025 blanket working on another hat with gray ombré yarn. I’ll add a red tassel! Oh, and there was football to watch and more people to talk to on phone, Zoom, and otherwise (young people next door came here for warm showers). That’s not bad for a cozy shut-in day!

I did want to say one thing about current events: if you do not feel safe expressing yourself in front of other people, you’re not being unsupportive; you’re protecting yourself. Do whatever you can, as much as you can, but don’t let peer pressure bring on guilt. Some of us have safety in numbers and the means to do more than others. The goal is for most of us in this country to make it through this difficult time and emerge safe, strong, and ready to rebuild broken relationships and institutions.

Other countries have done it. Image from Jetpack image library.

I sound so optimistic. But it’s good to have hope.

The Calm before…

Oh you know the phrase. Yes, everyone in the southeast of the USA knows a storm is coming. We’ve all bought bread, milk (ok, not me), flashlight batteries, and foods that don’t need refrigeration, so we can keep the doors shut if the Texas power grid fails again.

I don’t think the mistletoe will have problems with the weather unless the branch it’s on breaks.

Animals are safe, too. Got food and shelter. And Carlton is healing well. Relief.

My plans are to stay home and inside other than feeding equines and fowl. I have appropriate clothing for that.

Our winter red-stem storksbill will probably be fine, too.

Tomorrow I have lots of work to keep me busy and this weekend I have crafts (making a hat), reading, and talking to friends to occupy my time.

And I’m feeling better, thanks to my extended community. I’m so grateful.

The Day DID Get Better

No kidding, today started out like nothing was going to go right. My first sight, when I went out to check the exciting .04” of rain we got, was an unpleasant unalive mammal. An hour or so later I stepped in gross septic water because it was draining near the chicken pens.

They do have a new entrance ramp, though.

Next I sprayed cold water all over myself trying to fix the automatic waterer without turning off the water. Bright. I did fix it, and my offspring the handyman built a temporary brace to stop big, clumsy Darryl Junior from stomping on the water hose and loosening the connection. Yay.

There is now another piece of concrete and some wood where my foot is here, to stabilize the hose. Yes that’s my wet shoe. And the other thing is what I put their grit in, and it’s a pig (someone always asks).

Then I dropped stuff and nearly failed in putting mice traps in the tack room (sorry, don’t want to die of hanta virus). I got stuff all over me.

At least I had a good interlude when my Precious Stepsister called and she listened to my anxiety stuff. That’s because I gave her a rock.

Not the rock I gave her, but my message to you!

And finally, I sat down to enjoy Facebook at lunch only to discover this article, detailing how the homophobia in Texas is so bad that a children’s book author whose in-laws I’ve known for decades can be prevented from talking about his charming nonfiction books (I’ve read many of them) in elementary schools because there is one sentence in one book that acknowledges LGBTQIA+ people exist. How low can this place go? Rhetorical question.

Read all about Chris Barton and consider buying a young friend (or yourself) one of his books. As a matter of fact, I bought a copy of every book he’s written for children and sent them to my unofficial granddaughter.

And our US Senator has once again left the state when bad weather is coming. Coincidence, I’m sure.

I was pretty mad at the world much of the day, especially when the dogs found something I won’t mention and brought it into the house to fight over. While Penney tried to kill Carlton (she kept going when he stopped at Lee’s command, so Carlton lost), Harvey ate the contested item. All I can say is I’m glad I was feeding horses then. It sounded pretty yucky.

You can sorta see a scrape under his chin, but his leg is worse; he’s favoring it (but it’s not broken).

After all those small things built up, I was about to go crawl under the covers, but then I had a second good phone call of the day that cheered me up about possible not horrible developments in my life!

See, there’s always good among the nauseating events. You just have to be patient and not spend all day hiding under the covers.

Hey, Reader-folk

How did my weekend off go? Well, it featured some lovely conversations with dear friends and family. It always feels good to keep in touch, and I look forward to more of that. I guess that’s my current mission, to reach out and connect with people I care about, while I still can.

The governor of the state where I live has given our voting records to the national government. This will allow them to see which primary people voted in, since you have to declare which party’s ballot you want. Oddly, many people I know vote in the Republican primary because no one dares run as a Democrat, so many races are decided then. So maybe some of us wouldn’t be targeted if it comes to that.

Oh look. My outdoor plants joined the Christmas cactus to create a cheerful display while it’s cold.

Yeah, I’m not feeling any better. This whole deal where half the US lived in one version of reality and the other half lived in a completely different world only worked when there were checks and balances. The government now parrots the words of an evil regime and has their own scary police force with no incentive to follow legal process.

But gee, we still have birds and flowers. Yay!

As I mentioned last week, there has been a Black Phoebe here. It’s stayed for days now, and I’ve managed to see it three times.

I was very doubtful that Merlin was accurate on this one, because it’s not usually found here. But, I know what the Eastern Phoebe looks like (ours are medium gray with pale yellow breasts), and the bird I’ve seen is very dark with a very white belly, like above.

Range, which does not come close to my house.

The app also registered a Say’s Phoebe, which at least has a closer range, and I kind of believe since my friend Michelle had one show up in Merlin at her house.

I now feel more confident, since remembered that part of the Merlin app is a feature where it will show you all the birds you’re likely to see on any day. Here are the ones I’m most likely to have seen today in Cameron, Texas. Note the Eastern Phoebe among my good bird buddies.

But hey, look what comes up when I type in Phoebe! If I’m going to see the two western phoebes, this would be the week!

The blackbird is there because I only searched for “phoe”

So, this has been fun to observe! It’s been really cold (for here), but the birds have been out, especially the sparrows and wrens. Other than the incredibly windy Saturday, I’ve been out enjoying them every day, along with the horses.

Funny horse story. When it got so windy and cold, I figured I should put Dusty’s new blanket on him, since he’s so thin, though fuzzy. I didn’t think it through, though, and when I brought the blanket out to show him, Dusty was scared to death! He shook and ran as far away as he could in his pen. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. I felt like I betrayed him.

On the other hand, Apache thought the blanket was cute.

I’ve left the blanket hanging on Dusty’s gate, and I put his food dish near it. He’s still not happy. I guess the old cow horse never needed a blanket before and doesn’t want one now.

Anybody need a gummy bear-themed blanket for a small horse?

Thank you for reading, for being kind to others, and for cherishing your life.

The Dead of Winter Is Not Dead

I had the loveliest day of bird and plant watching here at Lake Corpus Christi State Park! This is a great place in southern Texas, where many plants and animals native to northern Mexico mingle with organisms from farther north. This makes for fun observations!

An example of the beauty here. Pink cenizo (Texas sage) with gorgeous shrubby blue sage, both native to Texas and northern Mexico.

On my morning hike through a shrubby woodland I was delighted to see many blooming plants and others with interesting seed pods. It even smelled nice to walk through the misty woods listening to the “exotic” Great Kiskadees and Green Jays (plus an Audubon’s Oriole).

I even left some out. It was fun to see what grows down here, like palm trees and giant reed. I enjoyed the winter scenery.

After my long walk I came back so Lee and I could get vital supplies (coffee creamer and blackberry cobbler). We enjoyed looking at the town of Alice, Texas, then came back just in time for some rain showers. When they were over, I went out to the other part of the trail to enjoy the sunshine.

I looked at the very nice birding setup they have here, then made it to the CCC Rectory on the lake. It’s one of their nicest structures.

I discovered the volunteer who leads the bird walks waiting for someone to take out, so I said I’d go. Then a French-Canadian woman bicycled up and joined us. It was a challenge teaching her bird names in English, but she liked the Green Jays and shiny Great-tailed Grackles. I showed her some plants, then headed back to our campsite.

As if that wasn’t enough for one day, I had my monthly tarot group this evening. It was interesting, as always.

No tarot photo, so here a butterfly on dog poop (Vesta crescent)

Tomorrow I’ll get out the good cameras and maybe get some better photos. If I can rouse myself.

Let’s Enjoy Late Autumn

My thoughts on deep subjects will have to wait until tomorrow. Work was quite interesting today but tired my brain out. I was also still a bit tired from being around people at the Master Naturalist holiday meeting. It was very pleasant, but I got peopled out.

Today was beautiful if you like fog. I certainly do. I run around taking pictures of spiderwebs and trees.

The weather forecast said it would be sunny and warmer, and it did get quite pleasant in the afternoon, but I could look directly at the sun.

It was very nice for doing animal chores and watching the birds. The light made autumn leaves especially bright to my eyes.

I even ate my evening meal out in the birding area. I was rewarded by visits from all the sparrows and two pairs of owls, Great Horned and Barred, trying to out-hoot each other. That shut the hawks and crows up! Sunset, a chill in the air, and an owl chorus make for an unforgettable late autumn respite!