Bad Raccoon

I made a deal with the raccoons long ago when we came here. If they leave me alone then I will leave them alone. I actually enjoy watching them and they were very curious about me when I was in the cabin early on at the ranch. I haven't had too many problems with raccoons, perhaps every few years. I don't mind when they eat the deer corn or even attempt to get the bird feeders, but when they start getting too close to the house or into the Gator that's when they are going too far. For about a week something has been getting into the bed of the Gator and dumping the feed buckets and bird seed buckets. There is usually very little feed, if any, in them as they are empty other than when taking feed down to the goats. There will be bird seed or oats on occasion. I saw a cat there last week but I really suspected raccoons. I didn't really want an 'all out' war or culling of raccoons, I just wanted the guilty ones, so I thought I would set an old fashioned steel trap. The DW asked me to wait until she left town so last night was my first opportunity. After feeding the goats and parking the Gator in its usually spot I set the steel trap in the back of the Gator. I covered it and most of the bed with a sheet of newspaper and placed empty buckets around to hold down the paper. I knew the buckets would also serve as my alarm. I also knew it would take a lucky step to catch the varmint. I had my doubts. I then went inside the house and went about my business.

I was on the computer about 10:15 when I heard the noise of empty buckets moving about. I hadn't even thought about the trap since setting it, but I knew immediately what had happened. Sure enough I've trapped a raccoon. At least I know this one is guilty. There was plenty of corn on the ground so he wasn't hungry he was up to no good. Scratch one raccoon. This was actually the first one I have trapped. I've had to shoot them with either the rifle, pistol, or shotgun and that's different. I've caught coyotes in snares and then dispatched them, but this was somewhat a first. I learned some lessons and will do it a bit different next time. I haven't decided if I'll put the trap out tonight or just assume this one was the only varmint getting into trouble.

The weather has been pleasant. Cool nights and then a high about 72°. Very nice. We did get .4 inches of rain overnight one night this week. Everything is now budding so it's a full spring. Also getting a nice crop of weeds. The Prairie Verbena is looking nice.

The bottle babies have adjusted to one bottle a day. They are eating the dry feed at will now as well. They are not following the herd up the mountain though. It will be time to start cutting back the amount of the daily bottle soon.

Cooler & Rain

We had a trace of rain on Tuesday, but on Wednesday we had a cold front come through and a nice rain. We had about half an inch of rain and the temperature dropped to 48°. It was back in the mid 70° today. The rain will help the wild flowers. Everything now seems to be budding except the honeysuckle.

I saw the first Hummingbird of the season this morning. It was actually drinking at the fountain in the courtyard. I knew it was about time for the hummers and I did put up two feeders on Friday since we were having guests. One at the cabin and my large one next to the screened porch. Didn't see any activity on the feeders though. I added another out back and will add some in the courtyard as well. It has been very windy and I have given up using squirrel baffles on the three bird feeders on the bluff. The wind catches them like a sail and they blow down the feeder or actually break the metal support rods. There is just too much wind. It's the chinook effect being located right at the bluff. (I learned weather and wind effects at the University of Oklahoma in Professor Harry E. Hoy's Physical Geography class) The baffled feeders below the mountain or in the back of the house are fine. We are really going through bird seed, but I do have eleven bird feeders. I did add a new one out front so that I can see it from my office window. I need to get a larger feeder for that location though.

Today is the day we begin feeding the bottle babies only one bottle per day. We will feed them a bottle only at evening feeding time now and hopefully soon they will accompany the rest of the goats to pasture during the day.

First Day of Spring

The four bottle babies, with Zulu and Annie watching.

The weather has continued to be very nice. We prepared for guests so we did some cleaning and little chores around the house and ranch in order to get ready for them this past week. Our guests came in Thursday evening and we cooked out that evening and the following evening as well. It is nice to have a fire and to cook out on the coals. The teens helped feed the bottle babies and with the extra help I really tried to introduce the babies to the mountain pasture and to feed. They have to learn to be goats sometime. The ten pasture babies and their nannies are all doing well, they are a little larger than the bottle babies and already eating grass and goat feed.

We took a mini tour of the Norse area and enjoyed just 'hanging' at the ranch. It was a fun weekend and our guests seemed to enjoy the ranch.

More Live Oaks are losing their leaves. More Spanish Oaks are budding and growing leaves. Interesting transition and it makes for many different colors of green in the trees. Check the photos in the link below. The shrubs are starting to bud. Just beginning to see growth on the jasmine. The 'Prairie Verbena' is starting to bloom on the ranch and I did see some bluebonnets on the highway between Cranfills Gap and Meridian. The next two weeks will bring a lot of change. I hope we get some more rain to help the growth along.

It's nice to have a photographer as a guest. I can use the photos as future reference. Here is a link to some fantastic photos taken this weekend: http://www.isgrenphoto.com/g/twisted_oak

Great Day at the Ranch

It started off cloudy and there was rain just south of us, but it held off here. I wanted to get an early start in burning a brush pile I had that was in a wooded area and not in the open. It has to be burned when it is somewhat wet as not to damage surrounding trees. It was also near to an area that I really have been wanted to work as it would create a walking trail from the back of the house to the bluff on our north fence line. It wasn't easy getting the fire started and it burned slow, but that was exactly what I wanted at first anyway until I could clear some more brush and cedar that would be close to the fire. I haven't really worked the chain saw for several months so it was good to get back on it. I cleared a nice little trail and burned the brush as I went in the burn pile. There were old stumps as well so we soon had a 'hot' fire and burned as fast as I could clear. That's much easier than having to haul your debris and cuttings. The sun came out in the afternoon and that was welcome. Actually got a lot done. I had started a pot of beans in the morning so I was able to eat out on the nice cleaned bluff by evening and watch the fire and the sun set. We have a nice view to the west from this spot and now a better trail to reach it.

We also moved the bottle babies down to the pasture and introduced them to their cousins, aunties, daddy, and Annie. They will be pasture goats from now on although they will be getting their bottle for a while longer. Sometime in the next week I'll drop them down to just one bottle. Since they are now away from the house I dismantled their pen and Terry cleaned up the gator port and back porch. We'll have to re-stack rock and do some painting to get everything back in order. It's amazing what four baby goats can get into around the house. Hopefully the shrubs will survive. I don't know how long until the four bottle babies are accepted into the herd. It was interesting watching them interact today. I hope Annie protects them, there's always a danger that predators will get the bottle babies since they don't have a nanny to watch them.

It was amazing to watch the grass green-up today. As the sun came out it seemed to do it in a matter of hours. More trees budding and more live oaks losing leaves. The birds weren't that active today, don't know why. I did fill all their feeders yesterday and did get another 100 lbs of seed.