Hogmanay

We've had some very nice weather. Several record highs were set in many areas. We had two days that it was 82°-84° here at the ranch. Beautiful days. Today the cooler weather has returned, but at least we are getting some moisture. It's very close to freezing but so it has been a mix of rain and ice. It is needed very much. After those very warm days I though we may have to water the shrubs around the house or they would completely dry out. I tried to get a photo of the ice in the Spanish Oak just below the ridge. (photo on right-double click on it to enlarge) It looks pretty in the view and gives us a different look. It is amazing how the same view will change with the weather, leaf growth, how the sun hits the mountains and trees.

Still using the stealth cam. All the photos are of deer, raccoons, squirrels, and crows. I'm going to only start save the unique ones. Here's a link to photos of about a 24-hour period. This was New years day and night.

http://picasaweb.google.com/RayLMcDonald/StealthCam12091231PM#

The county wide burn ban is still on, but maybe we'll get enough rain that they will take it off for a while. We've had about .66 today although it is really very dry overall. The tank is dry and the live oaks have dropped some leaves early.

Unusual Observation: As it was New Years I of course made a big pot of Black Eyed Peas. I had soaked a lot of peas and only used about half. I took the remaining peas down to the goats at feeding time as I thought they would love them. NO didn't care for them and goats eat about everything, and Annie wouldn't eat them either . Since I had them in the bucket they got mixed with the deer corn. The deer didn't seem to care for them as the feeder wasn't empty as usual. I finally scooped them out and scattered them on the ground. Something eventually ate them. What is it with the peas that the animals didn't like? Especially the goats. I didn't find any specific information about black eyed peas as feed so I wonder if anyone knows why?