November 2010

I can't believe it's mid-November. We were away from the ranch from 1 November for 11 days. Thanks to the neighbor kids who fed the animals. By being away we were able to notice things we may not have noticed had we been here every day. First, the deer are much darker in color than when we left. I don't think I have noticed that before. Then again we have the one group that stays so close, I'm getting a very good look at them and recognize them as individual deer. In the past I may have just thought it was different deer. It is amazing that they are so much darker. I wonder if it has to do with the loss of daylight? Second, the Spanish Oaks are turning a nice fall color. Very pretty actually. We drove to Stephenville to shop and the countryside looked good with the fall colors.

It is cooler. About 72°- 48° temperature range.

We still have grass. We did have at least an inch of rain while we were gone as there was almost that in the gauge and the pool was full. We needed the rain.

Animals are all well.

Beautiful October Weather

October is my favorite month and this has been a very beautiful month for weather. Really making up for last years October weather. The weather actually got very warm with highs around 88° and only cooling down to 70's. Today it is 87° at lunch time and supposed to reach 91°, that will be a new record high for this date. We did have a cold front come through on Saturday and it was only 68° with cloudy skies. They had rain, thunderstorms, and a few tornados in the surrounding counties, but only had a few sprinkles. So it is very dry. We really could use some rain, but the grass still looks pretty good.

We really did a lot of clearing and cleaning of cedars the past ten days. This time we are working behind the house expanding towards the bluff and north fence line. I had already cleared the bluff itself over the past few years as it has a nice view to the west and at this time of year the sun sets directly on the fence row and property line (due east/west) so at sunset you can see rays of sun go through the woods and up the mountain. What we are trying to do is clear the area between the bluff and the cleared area behind the house. We can now walk from the house to the bluff without having to take a trail. We had two good burn fires going and I did scorch a few more cedars than I originally intended, but they will probably go out in the next stage of clearing anyway. The area does look good and you can now see the house from the bluff. It still has a lot of cedar, but we have burned all the 1930's CCC debris on the ground and cut as many dead branches as I can reach. We leave the larger cedar and take out the crooked and damaged trees. We have a lot more to do, but it will look good and it is much safer in case of a fire. It will also be a lot harder for a mountain lion to sneak up on us as well. The area that we just cleared is where I lost a big bob cat about five years ago. I know I shot him as went three feet into the air when I hit him, but he got into the brush and escaped.

I mentioned that we need a new name for what we called the lower pasture, it's really not big enough anyway. It's also been improved so much it's really not a pasture even though it is basically native pasture grass. We have removed the stumps, the cactus, and now cut the grass so it's really a landscaped area now. Last night a herd of deer were enjoying it. Some possible names: lower yard, lower lawn, or lower park. I like lower park, but I have to think on that for a while.

The goats are well. The kids are getting big and they are at the stage that they are getting hung up the the field fencing. When their horns get bigger they just can't get into the places they used to be able to so they get hung up. I took two out last night. If I don't find them, the coyotes will get them for sure.

Hummingbirds are gone. Not a lot of birds on the feeders right now. There are a lot more doves than I usually see though.

Love the weather so the usual Ranch chores are getting done: equipment repairs, trimming and maintaining trails and the road, fence repairs, etc. Pepino has returned from Mexico so he was able to work a couple of days too.

Don't usually mention personal stuff, but I will say that have really enjoyed following the Texas Rangers this year. I have watched every game on TV from opening day (except when away) and the two playoff series were very good. I will enjoy the World Series. Good Luck Rangers.

Clearing Again!

It has been beautiful weather all week. Warm in the day, but cool at night. I guess it's considered warm for this time of year, but we'll take it as long as it cools of at night. It has gone from 88° to 55° during the day.

We did some work in the lower pasture this week. (we really need to get better name for this area). We have been working on it off and on for over a year. We cut cedar, burned stumps, cleared briars, and general clearing. We had two fires going to burn debris so we were making good progress. This area is viewed from the big house directly below where the ranch road goes up the mountain. It does look good from the house. The deer have already been there and seem to approve.

The water temperature in the pool is 74-75° very tempting after working outside and used it to cool off, but didn't really swim.

Goats are happy, still lots of grass and I took them some good tree tops including some shumate and live oak tops. Those are their favorites.

Great Fall Weather

The weather is wonderful. Cooling off at night into the 60's and the highs are now in the 80's. The A/C will be off soon.

DW hopefully cut the grass today for the last time this season, but we thought that the last two times. The rains have been very good for the grass. The new area planted has covered so we only have one more area to establish next spring and we will have grass planted all around the house. This year we had a lot of pasture grass that invaded the planted bermuda areas. I'm not sure of the variety, but it is really growing well and fast. Good for the pasture but not so much in the lawn areas we are trying to establish. The goats are very happy.

I worked on removing stumps down in the lower pasture. So we had our first small fire of the season. When we were clearing we had 3-4 big fires a day going, but now that's probably only going to be a weekly thing this fall.

Did the pool thing for probably the last time this past weekend. Water temp was 77-78° I've been leaving the pool sweep in the pool so it's getting the frog eggs. Looks like that has now slowed down, haven't seen any for a few days. Hope so.

Deer should be happy. Cooler weather, lots of acorns, lots of grass, and corn in the feeder. The group of four rarely leave the area around the house. I've seen a lot of fawns in the mountain pasture.

All is well on Rattlesnake Mountain.

First Day of Fall

We have been away from the ranch for a while on a couple of Cruises and a California holiday (read my cruise blog if interested). My aunt and cousin again minded the ranch while we were gone. They enjoy the wildlife and like to come down so we are very lucky that they volunteer.

We had a nice rain the first week we were gone, but the second week brought Tropical Storm Hermine and we had ten inches of rain over two days. I was told it came down well and not all at once. The ranch roads were not near as bad as I thought they would be when we returned. The rain did bring out the grass. More than enough for the goats since we culled the herd before we left. There is a lot of grass. After a few days of rest we got to work repairing the roads and culverts. I hauled a lot of material from the gravel pit and filled in the road as needed. Pepino is in Mexico and he would have mowed but a safety switch on the JD tractor mower malfunctioned. After repairing the mower, actually by passing the switch ;-), it took several days to get all the grass cut. The trees are having a banner year.

Weather has been very nice. Still about 92-95° as a high, but cooling off at night.

There are a lot of acorns on the ground right now. Good for the deer. Also a lot of fall blooming plants. I still see a few Hummingbirds so they are here a little late. Cardinals and the usual are still around.

We do have something new we have have never had to deal with before: frog eggs. I thought this was a spring thing, but the frogs are depositing their eggs in the swimming pool. I've been scooping them out and putting them in the wildlife tank for the fish to eat. They look like caviar. I sat out on the patio last night during sunset and seven frogs gathered around the pool as it got dark, no telling how many frogs we have. Amazing. The frogs do like to make noise although I do find the croaking to be a nice country sound.

Lazy Days of Summer

We finally got some relief from the August heat. We had had 25 consecutive days of over 100° weather, but yesterday we got a cold front that broke that string. We had very high winds in advance and it blew down some bird feeders, native vines growing on the back of the pavilion, and my rain gauge so I'm not sure exactly how much rain we had. We later had .5 inch so I'm guessing we had about an inch overall. Not enough rain to gully the road, but a welcome amount for sure. Pepino had cut a lot of dead tree branches with the pole saw just recently, but the winds helped bring down some more. Even with the heat we have received enough rain that the trees continue to look very good.

Thanks to the neighbors I had a mini round up and took some goats to market. All the males and an older nanny. The closest commission sale is now in Hamilton and the sale is on Mondays so Sunday is a good day to haul. It's 33 miles so that's not too bad. It seems two of the new little bucks may have gone missing. The count didn't seem right.

My newly planted grass is looking good. So are the front yards. I also had one of my highest water bills since we have been here at 50,000 gallons. (20,000 is average)

Each year seems to be different as far as the number of critters we see. This year is the year of the Lizard. They are everywhere and the Roadrunners love it. We have only seen one fox this summer and I thought we would see more considering that we watched that one den grow up this spring. I have found it very unusual that I have not seen many raccoons. Usually they are a nuisance, but very few this year. The big buck deer is still making himself at home. The fawns are big now and they too are coming up to feed.

There seems to be a few fewer frogs. We put out some rubber snakes, but I'm not sure that was the cause, more likely a real snake got a few.

There are lots of butterflies and hummingbirds feeding on the blooming Lantana.

Hopefully fall is around the corner.

Screech Owl

Tonight we were entertained by a Screech Owl that landed in the courtyard fountain. It stayed on the edge of the top bowl then dropped down into the bowl itself. Most of the water drains down from the small top bowl so there was some to drink, but I think the owl enjoyed the cool spot. Since the back yard lights were turned on I was surprised it stayed as long as it did. I was able to get very close and watch. I bet he returns.

Buck on a Hot Day

Just shot this picture out the back window. This particular buck is around ALL the time. We don't seem to spook him either. He doesn't run even if we are on the patio or walking close to the house. He's very comfortable here and why shouldn't he? This is getting closer than usual as he stays back at the tree line most of the time.

Notice that the grass is still green. It is going dormant now though. We are watering the front, but not the back. Also I see a hummingbird on the feeder. It's the 13th consecutive day over 100°.

Hot, but Good Week

It has been hot, reaching 100° nine consecutive days now. Clouded up a few times and even very slight shower (.10) but generally just hot summer weather. Typical for this time of year though. Good news is that the grass has survived so far. I did start watering the front yard today. I'll let the rest go dormant and it usually already has by this time of year. I again over seeded the area along the bluff where I'm trying to establish new grass and did water it over the week. I also added some fescue seed to the bermuda just to get a mixture and something established. It is coming up. The small area between the pool and the established lawn that we started in the spring has completely filled with bermuda grass. It looks good.

Very productive week on the ranch. Pepino worked four days so we got a lot done. He applied a new coat of stain on the cabin, porch and railings. It looks great. I ordered new parts for the JD lawn tractor including a new front bumper. It's looking good as new and has new filters, etc.

The Lantana that we planted early in the year is now starting to look very good. The flowers really attract the hummingbirds too. Not pleased with the Begonias we planted. The asian jasmine we planted for ground cover is taking off in the two circle. We have kept the motion water alarms active in the two circle so that the deer would not eat the plants. It has worked well, seems to keep the rabbits away as well. As mentioned several times the trees look great. New growth on all the Texas Live Oaks. I measured one that we cleared cedar away from when we built the house and it has grown at least seven feet in about six years.

We are very pleased with the pool and new deck. We have had two frogs all year, but more have arrived and tonight we had nine around the pool. I don't mind a few, but that's too many so I'll have to deal with that.

Swimmin' Hole

Starting to get more typical late July-August weather--HOT. The new Swimmin' Hole is getting very good use. We did have a rain shower early this week though. Another half inch. That's very good for this time of year. The grass is still green and it has usually gone dormant by now. The trees all look great. I've decide to try and establish some bermuda grass on the new bluff area. This is the new area built out with the dirt, rock and debris from the pool construction. I've run a water hose to the area and have seeded it three times so hopefully we will have that area in grass soon. I have finished the cedar screen in front of the pool equipment and it really blends well with the view. All is well on the ranch.