Nearly all the toads you see in this area are Gulf Coast Toads. We always have a couple hanging around the house. You never know where one will be lurking, as we found out today.
A lurking toad.
Once again, a big downpour happened while the driveway was getting worked on. I was on the porch with the dogs, watching the rain.
Testing the new drain arrangement.
So, there are a couple of places where Lee’s old drainage system broke, and that’s where water gushes out when it rains hard. Today, there was a second gusher. I didn’t recall that happening before. It was like something was blocking the first one. Until I heard a POP.
What’s that?
A dazed toad spurted out of the hole. That was the blockage! I laughed my head off, so I only got this blurry image before it hopped away.
Where am I?
Once the toad hopped, Goldie spotted it. She’d never seen such a thing!
What’s that?
I watched as she circled the toad. Every time it moved, she jumped back, often nearly knocking me over. At one point she got scared by and went way across the new path to circle from a distance. She just didn’t know what to think of that toad!
I was scared!
I knew enough not to let her lick it, but a couple of times she got pretty close.
That thing keeps jumping!
It was a lot of fun watching Goldie learn. I think she got the idea not to bite or play with them. I wish I’d managed to teach Vlassic that before he got a mouthful of toad secretion and started foaming.
Now, I’m not referring to my paid employment, which did get it’s time in, but to my after-work job, helping with the pens and other jobs. It was an uncharacteristically pleasant day, so I can’t blame the heat. No, it’s my little buddy Vlassic who kept me sidelined for at least 45 minutes.
I deserve attention.
I went outside around 5 to water the chickens and check on progress, and I sat down to watch the hole-digging process in the stall area. Vlassic jumped in my lap.
We are fascinated.
He obviously needed some Mama love, because he only got down once for a minute until 6 pm, when I had to get out of the hard chair and help out. He snuggled, he licked, he cuddled, and he sighed from happiness. I love when the weather lets me hang out with my doggie dude.
Before digging holes. You can see one of the water troughs set up and markers for posts to divide the stalls.
Now that the dirt is all moved, the stalls can be completed. There will be four of them (thus limiting the number of horses that Kathleen and I can acquire). Each trough will be shared by two stalls. It will be cool.
Goldie likes to be involved.
The holes in the pens were easy to drill, but there were also three holes farther out, to support a water trough area for the cows.
The new posts are past the big gate. The water line has to go way out there.
The last hole was a doozy! The auger just wouldn’t go down. It just bounced and bounced about a foot down. It took at least half an hour to get that hole dug, and the soil had to be loosened, and the auger had to go sideways for a bit. But, once it got past the hard stuff, it happened. It turns out there are a few areas of really compacted soil right there. That’s interesting, because just a few feet away, there was no problem.
Looks like a normal hole, but it is not.
The good news is that all the poles are in their holes, to make a rhyme. And I DID get some work in. I filled in some of the holes, including a large and very wet hole where the water line got cut and had to be repaired. Let me tell you what, damp clay soil is heavy. My back reminded me of that!
It may look like an area with dirt and some random fencing stuff, but that used to be a big hole.
Of course, that was all a drop in the bucket, compared to all the work that has to be done on this project, but it’s nice to get some sweat equity into my project. By the way, Lee also filled in two holes. Nice, dry holes, I want to point out.
Look at those fine poles.
It looks like, at least for now, we have all the posts needed for the horse area. Now, to just fill everything in, finish burying the water line (ugh, a great deal of hand trenching is involved), set the troughs up with their floats and stuff, and add gates.
While the “getting the horse over here” part of the effort is coming close to an end, the project will go on and on, so I’ll keep chronicling it. Why? Mainly for me, I guess. It’s fun to look back on things once they are done. I sure enjoy the photos of building our house!
The container gets to be turned into a tack room and hay storage, while the second container, once it get here, gets to be other storage. Or something. Plans are fluid. Then, the great cattle fencing stage of the operation will begin. Our ranch will look very different, and there will be lots more space for rotating cattle and adding to the herd (which, to be clear, is NOT my area, but it’s fun to watch). Speaking of cattle, the new young heifers behind us want to not only be friends with Goldie, but also the chickens!
Well, I had a blast today watching Goldie and the cattle. Goldie is absolutely convinced that the cows want to play with her, especially one of them.
Hi, friend!
She spent a LOT of time today asking cattle to play. One of them really doesn’t like her, but Goldie interprets her butting as play.
Goldie play bows to the cow. Cow charges and Goldie runs
I have to respect Goldie’s persistence and optimism. She kept coming back and trying different cows. And many of the times one butted at her, she joyfully backed up, turned and came back.
Ooh, that was fun!
Obviously, Goldie doesn’t understand cow language. But I think her real name must be Goldie Goodheart. She is such a kind and gentle spirit. And she’s a friend to all!
Note that Alfred is bigger than his friend, Goldie.
I hope you enjoy checking out some of Goldie’s many attempts at making friends. They sure make me smile.
Today, as I was wandering around looking at bugs, my faithful canine companions were right there with me, running, sniffing, and splashing in any water they encountered. They just have so much fun.
The fast four
Most fun is seeing how Goldie fits right in with the gang who like to run and run. It’s just beautiful to see them chase and run with so much freedom.
Off we go!
They also no longer growl, even Penney, at least when they’re outside. They just play.
Buddies
If you’re wondering where the other dogs are, well, Alfred went to lay down after swimming. Harvey was by the front door waiting to get out of the heat.
I’m hiding.
I just could watch them running all day.
We love our life
Inside the house, there’s a lot of sleeping, but every so often, BAM! Play erupts.
Harvey plays when he’s not hot.
I’m continually amazed at how gently Goldie plays with her new friends. She bounces and pounces, but doesn’t hurt anyone. Even Harvey is more gentle with her around.
Tongue flipping fun
No wonder my anxiety is lower lately. I can’t stop grinning at these sweet animals.
Action!
This was very loud.
Then, after a bunch of playing and running like crazy, everyone zonks back out.
Well, I’m back where I was a few months ago, but with a healthy horse to ride. Sara isn’t here for a few days, but I wanted Apache to keep getting the exercise he’d been getting lately, so he will have more muscle and less fat.
I have no pictures of me riding, so here is a picture of the big dogs swimming.
So, this evening I went out to release Apache from the dry pen and took his beautiful groomed self out in the round pen for a lot of trotting. That’s also good for his muscle building.
Yep. That fencing is moving right along.
Then, well, I got on, even though I hadn’t done so since the winter, when we had our last scary ride. Luckily, this ride went pretty well. He did his thing where he tried to turn around, but not too many times. After that, it was a nice ride.
We have the pretty yellow flowers of the water primrose again around the pond.
Apache and I even walked by the two younger cattle dogs and a bunny with no issues. It’s so good to have him feeling good and focusing on what we are doing. Maybe I do have a future learning more with him.
Hey. We’re still here.
Also, for your information, Fiona is also being a superstar. I no longer have to go get her and halter her when we’re done riding or exercising. I call her, and she meanders my way. I stick my hand out with a treat in it, and she happily follows me. My stress levels are so low now with these guys.
And that’s really how I’m back in the saddle again. Just having fun with my animal buddies.
Each month I get a box of dog toys and healthy dog treats from Bark Box. They are always cute as all heck, and they have a theme. Highly recommended.
A box. It doesn’t bark.
They used to go to Vlassic in Austin, but since he stays at the ranch now, I bring them to the other dogs, who actually destroy them more slowly than V did. Don’t worry, V has dozens of toys in the RV.
His tail crinkles and the inner tube can be removed to be a separate toy.
This month’s theme was summer camp. The best toy is a beaver in a pool inner tube, but all are cute.
S’mores and campfire. All have interesting textures and sounds, so even if the dog is a terrier who insists on finding and removing the squeaker, they stay fun.
So, Goldie is new and hadn’t enjoyed the monthly toy infusion before. When I distributed the toys, Harvey and Carlton grabbed them and began squeaking them heartily. Goldie watched.
Later, as the others lay snoozing after playing for a while, Goldie walked over and gently picked up a toy with her teeth. She then jumped on the couch with it.
She has a toy here
Did she squeak and shake it? Did she destroy it instantly? No. She delicately felt around it. She lightly tossed it into the air and delighted in watching it fall. Then she cuddled it. What a gentle soul.
Thanks for the toys
As she was doing that, Lee pointed at his feet. There was Carlton, daintily “fleaing” Lee’s foot. He’s also very gentle for such an energetic dog.
I’ll groom you!
It’s always a fine realization when I see how well life is with all these dogs. They entertain us, cheer us up, and comfort us. I never would have imagined having such a large pack, but it’s worth the effort and expense.
Hey, here’s a quick update on the things going on here at the Hermits’ Rest. For one thing, a lot of mowing has been going on and a lot of shredding. The appeal of using the shredder on really high grass is that it can be done in the air-conditioned tractor. It’s good to report that all along the sides of the road and the area on the other side of the arroyo is now shredded.
We should have baled it, huh!
Two benefits to that are 1) you can see if cars are coming from the left as you leave the driveway, and 2) the ragweed has been cut down, eliminating some distress for the resident humans.
We can see clearly now!
Everything is very neat and smooth now that the wildflowers set seed and were mowed.
Well, there are still a few flowers to enjoy. Yay.
The front-end loader, who’d been grounded for a while due to a giant hole in her ancient battery, is back and huffing and puffing again, with shiny new batteries. That will make moving fencing supplies a lot easier. It was sort of rough with the little tractor.
This should keep the old guy chugging a little longer.
And, look! We have the beginnings of the horizontal rods in the pen fencing. That is really exciting! The end is near!
A finished section.
It’s cool to see how the tool to hold them evenly spaced works. How clever!
Gracie thinks the hanging spacer thing is cool, too.
I’ll be out killing more grass and supervising fencing later today after work. These long summer days are GREAT.
I’m happy it’s summer and I have a pond.
A much more exciting post should be out later today, I hope. Happy summer to all.
Compare and contrast! The smallest dog and the biggest dog.
Today I ended up not doing much after riding Apache in the morning. Partly that’s because I got a shingles vaccine yesterday, and I was tired (fell asleep for a while after lunch).
My Lego creation.
And then my evening activities with Kathleen and some Hearts Homes and Hands staff got canceled because one of the buildings on the ghost tour was on fire. Oops. So, I decided to break out the Lego kits I recently ordered.
I love all the people and their hair
I’d ordered to colorful one when someone at work shared it for Pride week. It is so cheerful! A lot of us got it and have been building them. I may put mine in my office, but I may like it too much to leave it in Austin.
Lego perpetual calendar.
The other thing I made is this cute perpetual calendar. It was on sale, but put my order high enough to get free shipping. So, it was free. I’m glad, because it was missing a red calendar face and had an extra gray one. So the color scheme is wonky, but it still works. Plus, the business dude in the middle makes me smile.
Obviously, the dogs also rested.
Goldie, who’s been here a week today, has not stopped swimming since she got here. Today she was in the deepest part of the little pond and completely submerged other than her head! It was great fun until a bullfrog jumped in and startled her!
She’s just a head.
One other lazy highlight of the day was feeding the chickens some leftover cucumber and apple. I sure love the smell of cucumber, even when it’s past its prime.
This stuff is good.
Since I’d tried apples with the new chickens when they first arrived, and they didn’t touch them, I hadn’t been giving them fruit and veg since. But, today I decided to give it a try again.
Hey, Babette, this cucumber is tasty! Yes, Betsy, the apple is also delicious.
I guess being in the pen with grass and bugs has taught them to try new foods. Next time I’ll give them more, and maybe some watermelon! I’m delighted at how well these new girls are adapting and thriving.
Now to relax some more. I’m out of Lego projects! I hope to be less puny tomorrow. If not, I’ll have more ibuprofen.
Wow. It’s been the most pleasant evening I can remember. Once the sun went behind clouds, a breeze came up, and the stifling heat dissipated.
Awesome.
I took lots of pictures today, and when I went back to look at them, I realized it’s been a beautiful day!
The horizontal pipes are going up!
And yes, a lot of work got done on the horse pens. It’s really moving along! After work and my Friends of LLL meeting, I got to watch the process for making the tools to set the vertical bars that are next. These hooks were made from straight pieces of metal.
Hooks, tape measure, torch.
The hooks were shaped on this piece of pipe, which made cool smoke when the metal got hot.
This will ensure the hooks hang from the vertical pipe.
It’s fascinating to watch the tools being made. Such craftsmanship!
Making stuff
Meanwhile, I watered the chickens (Buttercup loves the hose spray), watched the dogs playing happily, and then saw what I thought was Vlassic chasing the cows. When I got up to yell at him, I realized it was a little too big of a fast, black animal to be him. It was our cute little calf, Baby Blue, who is just about the most playful calf I ever saw.
Racing back to the herd.
She ran around her mom and two others, then tore off like a racing cow, if there was such a thing, then ran all the way to the edge of the pasture. She then zoomed back up to her mama for a refreshing drink. I could NOT stop grinning.
I‘m tired now.
Really, who needs television? It’s darned entertaining around here. And I couldn’t even drag myself back into the house, because clouds beckoned.
It’s just beautiful.
I hadn’t seen a nice sunset in a long time. It was too rainy for a long time, then it’s been so blazingly hot I didn’t go out to look, though Lee reported at least one good one. Tonight? Glorious.
Dog, clouds, rain shower
You just don’t get many days this pleasant, that’s for sure. And even though I got a lot of work done, Goldie “made” me take a nap.
A nap for two.
Treasure your good days. Let them fill your heart with joy.
