Two or three months ago a tabby cat and her two kittens took up residence in the enclosure. The kittens are now at least half grown. We decided to feed them in hopes of being able to catch and neuter them. There are also the usual suspects roaming around the place. Our cat got into a scuffle with another tom and was stove up for over a week. One day I caught site of the tom I think most likely to be the culprit strolling down the lane without a care in the world. I was able to slip up to within range with my shooter without him knowing I was there. It was a long shot but I managed to nail him and haven’t seen him around since. There is another cat that looks like our cat hanging around. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to run him off so I think I’m going to start trapping cats and see to it they don’t reproduce, one way or another.
We spent a pleasant week in Garland. Arriving Christmas afternoon, we dove right into the hilarity. A delicious dinner was provided and gifts were exchanged. The weather was pleasant for most of the week but rain and cooler weather settled in toward the end. I, for one, ate too much, especially of the dessert nature, slept late and spent a lot of time just starring into space. Jill, Joyce and I broke bread with the Thorntons plus Devon one morning at their favorite breakfast spot. I even met an old friend and colleague I hadn’t seen going on 30 years for chat over coffee so maybe we weren’t completely indolent, just close.
Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Zbindens at 1911 and exchanged gifts. It was nice to have Abigail among us. The day before she helped me cut up some firewood which we put to good use during our celebration. While we were in Garland Abigail and Rebecca kept up with the livestock. Rebecca helped Joyce and me decorate for Christmas and helped us take down and stow away the decorations after we got back from Garland. She was a big help.
As for SA, I didn’t record any moisture during December. We ended up the year well above our average over the last 11 years (18.70) at 27.34 in spite of the dry spell from mid-June through September. I nearly got the mowing finished, just lacking the southeast quarter. There are weeds to pull there and I may not bother mowing that section till I have to start mowing in the spring. There really isn’t much to mow and if I get the weeds pulled I should be able to wait on the mowing. I’m still collecting leaves and piling them on the edge of the caliche mound. I can fill my trailer, pull it up on the mounds with the mower and dump them down the side. I’ve managed to trim the prostrate junipers which need to be controlled so they don’t prostrate too much. The junipers around the perimeter could stand a trim to keep them out of the mowing area and to encourage denser foliage. There is always plenty to do and it won’t be easy to motivate myself to get back to doing it after two weeks of high living and sloth.
That two week winter break also included the Bluff where, when I left it, there was mesquite to collect in the dumpster. Spring will be here soon and I’ll be busy with mowing, trimming and spraying. Can’t wait.