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.
Category: 2019
Chupacabra
On two occasions early this month while walking Tino, Chris has seen an animal that to him looked like a hyena but given the dearth of hyenas here in the Texas Panhandle was probably a Chupacabra. He’s only caught glimpses of it as it disappeared under the junipers and bounded over the fence. So far we haven’t noticed any cats missing. There are a number of homeless ones in addition to one authorized on the place. Here’s hoping Chris and Tino don’t turn up missing. They go out after dark so that is a possibility. A week or so after the first sighting, Joyce and Rebecca were looking for a dead possum Chris reported seeing in the lane when they heard a rustle of leaves and saw a coyote trotting away down the lane while casting frequent glances over its shoulder to make sure it wasn’t being pursued. Since then there have been no sightings but I think we can safely say our Chupacabra was in fact a coyote.
Speaking of cats, a mother cat and her kittens showed up in the enclosure a few weeks ago. Joyce has been feeding them in the hopes of catching and neutering them. We don’t have the heart to turn them over to the tender mercies of the pound. They have gotten fairly tame , and demanding. We can’t touch them, nor do we want to, but they come running when they see us, epecially around breakfast or dinner.
For November, it has been moist. I’ve emptied nearly an inch total out of the gauge where the November average for the last decade is .36 inches. By catching a decent day here and there I’m gradually getting the place mowed. My goal was to have that done by Thanksgiving but the weather this month hasn’t given me the chance. Nor has it allowed me to spray weeds much. There have been a few days over 60°, which I think is as about as cool as it can be to spray broadleaf weed killer. Trouble is, because the weeds are growing so slowly in the mostly cool weather we are having they don’t show the effects of spraying. I’m simply having to spray on faith, spray and pray if you will.
The Wylies arrived the Sunday before Thanksgiving and we’ve had lots of family time this week, most of it indoors. Joyce and I decorated for Christmas the Saturday before Thanksgiving because the weather was decent. It isn’t today, which is when we would have decorated if we had followed our past practice of waiting til after Thanksgiving. One day this week there was a major blow which rearranged some of the outdoor lights but it was nice to have the job done in advance of the Wylies coming. Everyone enjoyed seeing them. Thanksgiving dinner was outstanding , as usual. It was the first time Abigail was home since she left in September. She had been sorely missed and thus was much appreciated. The weather early in the week was nice enough to take a nice hike at Wildcat Bluff. It was good that we got out when we did because the weather deteriorated as the week went along.
To remember
At long last we are getting rain. Not a brief shower but a rainy spell. When we got back from Garland Monday the rain gauge was empty except for bird poop. Luckily Joyce cleaned it out because it started raining in the night and is still doing so this morning (Wednesday). Yesterday I emptied 1.39 inches out of the gauge and this morning there was another 1.76 inches in it. I’m so happy.
Continue reading “To remember”Dog days
Abigail spent her last day of SA employment down on her knees chopping weeds in the pasture with a sharpshooter. For the past month she and I have spent the first hour of the day with me chopping the weeds and her collecting them in the wheelbarrow and piling them up on the dirt mounds for us to haul off to the dump later. There were easier tasks she could have done on her last day. Apparently she figured that was the best way to help me, which shows the kind of hand she’s been all summer: willing, bright and taking initiative. Over the years I’ve observed and supervised people enough to know those qualities are not as common as they should be.
Continue reading “Dog days”Red River, etc.
It was raining when we arrived in Red River, the first they’d had for a while. It was more than an afternoon mountain shower and I was concerned there would be more during our stay. Fortunately, the days were clear until we left on Friday. It is the last time Kaylee and Rebecca will be able to fish in the 12-and-under pond but they seemed to get enough on Tuesday. Sophia and Vivian fished Tuesday and Wednesday and, while they had nibbles, Vivian caught the only two. One of them was the biggest (over 15 inches) fish I’ve seen in that pond while the second one was the size (less than 10 inches) we normally catch. With the big one, there was enough fish for anyone who wanted it on Thursday evening. Aside from the big fish, it was an uneventful week, just the way we like it. Abigail was Aaron’s guest when his folks took them to the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs to celebrate Aaron’s graduation. She wanted to reciprocate so Aaron came with us to Red River but had to stay in the old folks condo. There was plenty of room and he claimed to have had a good time, even sent us thankyou note for letting come along, but Abigail took a big chance subjecting him to me for four days.
SA was as hot and dry as we left it when we got home Friday. The weekend held the possibility of rain but the latest radar showed the storm missing Amarillo Friday night. It was wrong. It started raining about 10 o’clock that evening, continued through the night and noon Saturday for a total of 1.71 inches plus another .03 Saturday night. It was mostly a slow soaker, just what we needed. The powers that be called a rain-out for our 4th of July get- together on SA and moved it to the San Jacinto academy cafeteria. Terry Lopez works there and pulled some strings. As it turned out, we probably could have managed on SA because the sun was shinning all afternoon.
Continue reading “Red River, etc.”