Baymule’s Farm

[baymule]

@Carol Dee she is a very pretty girl, but I sure understand the headache she causes! My trio of little monsters are outside for the morning. I’ll feed them after I finish my coffee. I make them stay outside until just before they die of heat exhaustion. I let them back inside, they are grateful to be back in the AC, go to their crates and pass out. BWAHAHAHA!

 

[baymule]

Monday my DD and family came in around 8 PM. I was worried all day about my baby birds. I was afraid they would leave the nest and fall to the ground, making new toys for the dogs. So every time they went outside, so did I.

Monday afternoon I was out there with the dogs, when one of them flew away! No fluttering, no nose diving to the ground, but really flew! It flew to the top of the chicken coop. The parent birds were flying all around their baby, encouraging it. It then flew to the property line fence, then to the brush beyond.

One by one, they all flew away. I sure enjoyed watching them hatch, open wide their mouths for the insects their parents brought and ultimately fly away. Hope the parent birds come back next year!

 

[baymule]

My DD and family came in Monday night and left Tuesday morning, taking their dogs with them. I sure was glad to see the dogs go home! Carson hid behind my recliner for another day, then finally decided the coast was clear, the invaders were finally gone.

General consensus on BYH is that the baby birds are Eastern Phoebe’s.

Tuesday I went to a Texas Parks and Wildlife presentation at the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=10

It is 11,000 acres dedicated to wildlife and the environment. It has a lot of unique areas like the bogs, where there are pitcher plants, a carnivorous plant that attracts insects, then traps them inside and digests them. Some of the insects actually flew away when we cut open the plants!

We wandered on a sandy hill, a brittle environment with little nutrients in the soil. The oak trees looked small to me, but were estimated to be 100-150 years old. Grasses were Little Bluestem, a clumping grass and various others. We drove on roads, stopping to look at the micro environments. It was truly a look back in time before bahia and bermuda grasses took over east Texas.

They are restoring turkeys, both Rio Grande and Eastern wild turkeys. They are also restoring the wild Bob White quail. Bob White calls are but a memory of my childhood, when they were everywhere. Bahia and Bermuda grasses both form a tight sod, Bob White quail need clumping grasses with the bare spots in between, runways for them. The babies are the size of a quarter with tiny toothpick legs, there is no way they can struggle in the tight sod of introduced grasses. Then add in fire ants, quail are ground nesting birds. They get attacked by fire ants. Toss in hundreds if not thousands of feral hogs and you have the perfect storm of disaster for quail. Over 700 hogs have been trapped in this wildlife area so far this year.

I saw a nest of red ants and pointed them out to the biologist. I told him and the other attendees that I felt like celebrating that nest of native red ants because they weren't FIRE ANTS.

It was HOT. Texas, scorching, unforgiving HOT. I was dripping sweat, soaked in sweat and not even a breeze was stirring. We all brought our lunches and after lunch, there was a slide presentation and more information about the management area. It is named after a biologist that was murdered by poachers in 1950. Land was bought in parcels as it came up for sale. It is fenced in barbed wire, which doesn't keep out the hogs.

It was an interesting day, I was glad that I went.

This morning I’m picking up my son at the Tyler airport. 2 hours away. Much better than fighting the insanity at the Houston airport or Dallas/Fort Worth! He moved his camper to New Mexico yesterday, about an hour east of Albuquerque. He has to be back for work July 9, and will fly back July 8. He is working on a crew putting up wind turbines.

 

[Carol Dee]

My DD and family came in Monday night and left Tuesday morning, taking their dogs with them. I sure was glad to see the dogs go home! Carson hid behind my recliner for another day, then finally decided the coast was clear, the invaders were finally gone.

General consensus on BYH is that the baby birds are Eastern Phoebe’s.

Tuesday I went to a Texas Parks and Wildlife presentation at the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=10

It is 11,000 acres dedicated to wildlife and the environment. It has a lot of unique areas like the bogs, where there are pitcher plants, a carnivorous plant that attracts insects, then traps them inside and digests them. Some of the insects actually flew away when we cut open the plants!

View attachment 75844

View attachment 75845

View attachment 75846

We wandered on a sandy hill, a brittle environment with little nutrients in the soil. The oak trees looked small to me, but were estimated to be 100-150 years old. Grasses were Little Bluestem, a clumping grass and various others. We drove on roads, stopping to look at the micro environments. It was truly a look back in time before bahia and bermuda grasses took over east Texas.

They are restoring turkeys, both Rio Grande and Eastern wild turkeys. They are also restoring the wild Bob White quail. Bob White calls are but a memory of my childhood, when they were everywhere. Bahia and Bermuda grasses both form a tight sod, Bob White quail need clumping grasses with the bare spots in between, runways for them. The babies are the size of a quarter with tiny toothpick legs, there is no way they can struggle in the tight sod of introduced grasses. Then add in fire ants, quail are ground nesting birds. They get attacked by fire ants. Toss in hundreds if not thousands of feral hogs and you have the perfect storm of disaster for quail. Over 700 hogs have been trapped in this wildlife area so far this year.

I saw a nest of red ants and pointed them out to the biologist. I told him and the other attendees that I felt like celebrating that nest of native red ants because they weren't FIRE ANTS.

It was HOT. Texas, scorching, unforgiving HOT. I was dripping sweat, soaked in sweat and not even a breeze was stirring. We all brought our lunches and after lunch, there was a slide presentation and more information about the management area. It is named after a biologist that was murdered by poachers in 1950. Land was bought in parcels as it came up for sale. It is fenced in barbed wire, which doesn't keep out the hogs.

It was an interesting day, I was glad that I went.

This morning I’m picking up my son at the Tyler airport. 2 hours away. Much better than fighting the insanity at the Houston airport or Dallas/Fort Worth! He moved his camper to New Mexico yesterday, about an hour east of Albuquerque. He has to be back for work July 9, and will fly back July 8. He is working on a crew putting up wind turbines.

That sounds like a very interesting day. But way to hot! Enjoy the week with your son.

 

[digitS']

The only phoebe that I knew that I was looking at was ..

. a girlfriend of my brother's . She was the only person with that name that I have ever known. Birds — my Roger Tory Peterson guide says that some species may be found in southern Oregon and south but, otherwise, they are only east of the Rockies.

Bobwhite quail. Despite the names being common, I have yet to meet a person whose parents had the poor judgment to name their kid Robert White. Birds — they are not native here either. The California quail fills the nitche. I did arrive at my distant garden one morning to find a "covey" of bobwhite on the neighbors' lawn. They didn't spook when I parked, altho I was not more than 20 feet away. No flight when I climbed out and headed off to the garden.

They migrated past the pickup while I was out there and were doing some calling through the morning. By lunchtime, they were gone and never seen again. Obviously, someone had purchased them from a hatchery and they escaped or were turned loose. Probably, the same neighbor a short distance away who had domestic rabbits in the yard and a flock of pigeons for awhile.

Texas always seemed a little wild to me. I hope room can be retained/regained for the natives.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

we used to see bobwhites here and also the pheasants but once they started farming the field to the south of us again and also hunting reduced them to a once in a while visitor. now i don't hear them calling at all any more. i'm hoping once the field to the south of us fills in some more that they will return.

 

[baymule]

A little neighborly help this morning. Courtney texted the shot I heard was her shooting a raccoon that was after her chickens. Anatolians were raising cane, looking in her direction. Then she called, only wounded the coon, it ran off, meanwhile she had to go get her toddler, could I come shoot it?

Her dogs had it cornered it in high weeds on side of road, under the fence. A 38 slug mortally wounded it, second slug, dead. My Anatolians quit barking, like they knew the threat was eliminated. Courtney’s dogs were no longer interested in it.

It was a young raccoon, good for the dogs, an old boar would have attacked them. I told her this one has siblings, be on the lookout.

She has a toddler and due soon with another baby. She will be tied down for awhile, I completely understand. I told her call me anytime, I’ve got her back. That’s what neighbors do.

 

[baymule]

Daughter called me this morning. Sadly, Pepper is going to be put down tomorrow. Her bone structure is bad, shoulders, hips and her spine is bowed up. She falls a lot. She has been on medication for some time for the pain and seemed to be doing good. Yesterday she attacked the UPS guy with my daughter standing right there. She is suffering and there’s nothing that can be done for her.

 

[baymule]

Thursday afternoon Teresa (Mike CHS) called when I was halfway through with evening chores. I sat in the shade to talk with her, thanks for that call, I was HOT and DRENCHED. I had been working outside in the heat and humidity until noon, when exhaustion and heat drove me inside. Just evening chores had me dripping sweat and I was worn out. I finished up, only had to water. I carried water to a pen of ewe lambs that I weaned and found 2 idiot ewes, BOTH had their heads stuck through ONE 6” square in a cow panel, trying to get to the pan of feed in the weaned lambs pen. I tried to pull one out. Do y’all know that when you try to untangle stupidity, it only makes them push in HARDER? Nothing I did was working. Panic set in. I thought I was going to have get the bolt cutters to cut the wire to get them free.

Y’all have to realize that by this time, I was utterly exhausted, sweat drenched for the hundredth time and I just broke in half like a bucking wild horse on those two damned stupid sheep. I took a 5 gallon bucket and commenced to lambasting their heads, screeching all kinds of obscenities at them, just having an utter and complete meltdown. Well guess what? They jerked their stupidass heads out. I should’ve done that FIRST.

 

[baymule]

I weaned ewe lambs in the front field yesterday morning. I have to do so much prep work to move the ewes across the driveway. First, don’t let ewes out in the middle field, keep them in the night pen. Otherwise they hang around and get into everything. I have opposite gates that make a runway across the driveway except they don’t reach all the way across the driveway. I block off the openings with half or whole hog panels. I feed the front field ewes in the small night pen and close them up. Then I unroll horse wire over to the small night pen so they have nowhere else to go but across the driveway. I put feed in the working chute and shriek SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP! This sets off ALL the sheep and they are screaming. I open the small night pen gate and it’s Devil take the hindmost as they race to the feed pan. I close the chute gate. By this time the 97% humidity has me saturated with sweat and dripping like a leaky faucet. I take a break, ice water and sit on the porch to cool off.
I have to do this every time I work sheep in the front field.

Yesterday, to separate the lambs into the holding pen, I had to catch them, put a loop around their neck, run the loose end around their belly, behind their front legs, then through the neck loop. This made a sort of harness so I didn’t choke the little darlings to death. Then i dragged them through the race way, which caused ewes to run ahead of me and pack themselves at the gate I needed to shove/drag the lamb through. I had to hold tight to the rope, grab ewes by the head, turn them around and push them out of my way. Then I could raise the chute gate and push the lamb through. Untie the lead rope contraption, open last gate and traumatized lamb shot through. Go get another one. I weaned six.

Take another heat exhausted break.

Roll the horse wire back up so ewes could run through night pen out to the front field. Go put feed in front field, just outside of the bigger night pen so I could close the ewes out on the field. Shriek SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP! Open gate on chute and screaming ewes charged to the small night pen. Nope. I shook a bucket through the gap into the front field, they ran to the feed and I closed them in the front field.

Then I ran the lambs into the big night pen. They were screaming for mom. I opened the half cow panel gate to the pen I had 4 lambs in that I weaned a few days ago, and put out feed for them. I cut a wide circle and walked the new arrivals into the weaning pen and closed the gate, tied with hay string.

I took an ice water break and cooled off.

Needed to set a bale of hay for the weaned ewes. I cranked up son’s 100 HP Kubota, stabbed a round bale and trundled from back field to front field night pen. I cut the wrap off, climbed back on the behemoth and set the bale. Success! Took behemoth back to the back field and parked it.

Took apart the hog panel, gate, runway across the driveway and closed gates. Watered sheep.

Took another break.

Got on my little 23 HP Kubota to mow strip of grass down middle of driveway, plus some goat weed and Carolina horse weed on the sides. Did that. Mowed around end of driveway, found end of culvert and dropped tractor wheel off in the hole. Great. Just great. Tractor was kinda sorta tilted at an angle with opposite wheels spinning in the air. Shut bush hog off, turned tractor off, put gear in neutral and got off. Walked to back field, cranked up the Behemoth, got a chain and went to the little tractor and chained her up. Behemoth snatched her right outa there! Unchained, drove Behemoth to back field, shut it down, walled back to little tractor, cranked up, called it done and put it away.

Took another break. Dripping like I fell in a pond.

By this time it was high noon, sun was trying to kill me, and I went inside. Took off soggy clothes, got tall glass of iced tea and took a nap.

This morning I have to sort out some ewes for Rocky. So repeat all the above minus the tractors. Maybe Thursday I’ll start mowing goat weed in middle field. Maybe not.