Goodness Snakes!

This was on our back porch this morning:

It was a baby rattlesnake. (The way I cropped the picture sort of makes it look larger than it was.)

I heard the dog yelp and went to see what it was. They cat was smelling the snake. Robby got a shovel and took care of it. The poor cat didn't have a clue what it was and kept trying to play with it after Robby cut off the head. I should have laid it over the fence belly up; that is supposed to bring rain.

Thankfully we saw it before all the kids were here to play today. The little ones are what scare me, you sometimes don't hear them. Some people say their venom is more concentrated and therefore worse if you get bitten. I hope we don't find out. We're on high alert today, there's a mama to that baby around here somewhere.

What I did today (so far)...

Today has been a fun day for me. Robby and the kids went to play golf, so I have gotten to do the following:

1. Visit Nonnie (my grandmother) uninterrupted and even share lunch.
2. Transplant my tomato (20), broccoli (4) and jalapeno pepper(4) plants.
3. Search for and find a sprinkler that works and start the water on some dry spots in the yard.
4. Work on Bible school stuff.
5. Put the cages on the tomato plants (note to self: 20 cages=40 posts to hammer in; maybe make sure Robby is around for that next year)

I enjoyed my time in the garden--listening to birds, a Bob White quail, and thunder in the distance. The day is still young and there is still much to do. I believe I'll go sit on the porch, watch the sprinkler and listen to the thunder.

Everything else can wait.

Look what came in our house last night...

Every time I think I need to remove the large wooden door between the kitchen and dining room (we rarely close it and it takes up space) something like this happens:

Robby stepped outside last night to see what Petunia was barking at, I looked up to see this lovely mud swallow perched on the curtain rod. By the time I got my camera, it perched on the picture--for those of you who recognize the frame, rest assured, the picture was not harmed. Anyway, it took Robby quite a while to take care of the situation. AsI stood holding the front door open, I tried not to laugh.

Mud swallows have been the bane of my grandmother's existence for as long as I can remember. Now that we live in her house, I am a little more understanding. They like to build their nests in the most inconvenient places. And, they make a huge mess under them. The awning at our back door still has measuring spoons and remnants of plastic bags hanging from it--all attempts by my grandmother to ward off the birds.

I remember once when one got in, it wouldn't go out--you'd have to know my Nonnie to appreciate the site of her chasing it around the kitchen with a broom. Needless to say, that swallow didn't make it out alive.

I looked up some information about mud swallows, supposedly they eat thousands of insects, most notably, mosquitoes a day. Based on my mosquito bites, I'd say these guys around our house aren't doing the job. I also found this interesting site that offers animal and bird control. For a small fee they'll come to your house to help with anything from rats to alligators and birds to coyotes. They'll even give you help over the phone for a nominal fee--maybe that should be my next job: professional animal control.

I guess for now we'll just keep the door between the kitchen and dining room.

What a Difference a Week (and 2 inches of rain) Makes

The kids and I went on a grand adventure in the pastures this evening. We saw some really cool things--more on that after I do some research. Remember the pictures from this post and how dry we were?

Here are some pictures of the draw in the east pasture looking west that we took today:

This is in the pasture by the house:

I realize there is still brown grass, but the native grass (Buffalo) has really greened up. The brown grass you see is taller grass that wasn't eaten off by cattle.

Greener Everyday

Between taking chickens to school for Sadie to show first grade and working on earning points for Mother of the Year, I haven't had time to go back out into the pasture to take pictures. I did take these from our house yesterday. The plan is to head to the pasture for tomorrow evening's adventure. But, we are getting greener.

Playa Lakes

Every morning since our big rain I have been fortunate enough to look out my east window and see the sun coming up over a lake in our pasture. We have several playa lakes around here. To make a long story short, they are lakes (pond might be a better term) that appear after rain and hold water for a short period of time. If we keep getting moisture, we might have them all summer. Or, we may just have them few weeks. Either way, they are fascinating as they create their own ecosystem.

Playa lakes are very important to birds--especially migratory ones. I noticed a pair of ducks on one the other day. Some people think they are important recharge areas for the Ogallala Aquifer--our underground water source (others question how much recharge they contribute because of their clay bottoms that help hold water.)

You can read more about playa lakes here and here.

My picutres are not the best--please note in the first one, the green you see is wheat. We had to disaster it already because of our dryness during the growing season. I'll post pictures of our pasture when it greens up.

Bad Hair

These guys give a whole new meaning to the term, "bad hair day":

The chicks are growing--but they are still in that in-between-place where they are losing the fuzz and the feathers aren't in good yet.

Easter Morning Fog

We woke up Easter morning to fog. We were blessed this weekend with over an inch of rain. We are so thankful for the moisture.

Happy Easter!!

The boys and I made cupcakes today. (more pictures here)

Planting Potatoes

The kids raced down the newly made rows.

My great-grandmother always said to plant potatoes on Good Friday, so this year we actually did that. After we planted them we put hay on top of the rows. Hopefully it will hold moisture in (we are having to water right now because it is so dry) and keep weeds down.

Our seed beds look really big because we make them with the same implement you would use in a regular-sized field. When it is time to water, we have a cool pipe with holes drilled to fit the spacing of the rows so we can water four at a time. A bolt fits in the hole to stop it up if one row gets soaked before the rest is out. I'm afraid we are going to have to pre-water this year, so pictures of that eventually.

Our seed potatoes: Red Lasoda and White Kennebec

Recipe of the Week: Goo

It is windy again today. I decided to make goo for Sadie's class Easter party. I'm going to put it in individual bags and into plastic Easter eggs to use as BINGO prizes. I got this recipe out of a book called "Family Fun's Crafts." This recipe is easy and it entertains the kids for quite a while. I generally have all of the ingredients handy.

Goo
8 ounces white glue
food coloring (optional)
1 cup water
20 Mule Team Borax

Combine glue, food coloring and 3/4 cup water in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining water and 1 Tbsp. borax. Add the borax mixture to the glue and stir. It will immediately make a blob.

At this point I add a small amount of water to the container I mixed the borax in (because there will be a little bit of borax still in the cup) and then add that to the goo. You'll want to continue working the "blob" until it is no longer soupy--the best way to do this is with both hands.

When it is all together, you're done. I divided it among the kids and let them get busy.

Notes:

• I dump the bottle of glue (I use Elmer's--it isn't quite an 8 oz. bottle anymore) into the bowl, then pour the 3/4 cup water into the bottle and shake it up to get all of the glue out.
• The recipe says that food coloring is optional--but what's the fun in plain goo?
• This recipe is really fool-proof as near as I can tell.
• This keeps quite a while in a sealed container.
• It will take the shape of whatever container you put it in. If you make it into a ball, it will eventually flatten back out.
• The more gentle you are, the more things you can get it to do.
  

I can nearly guarantee hours (at least large blocks of minutes) of fun with this stuff. Adults are even taken with it. Try it and let me know how much fun you had! Go here to see more pictures of the boys playing with it.

Texas Bluebonnets

These were taken over spring break in the Brenham/Washington on the Brazos Area.

Reminds me of Hobart and Anna Mae--their front yard used to be full of bluebonnets each spring. They'd invite all of the elementary kids over for a treat and a lesson in pioneer games. Remember walking on stilts made of cans and string and blowing bubbles through wooden thread spools? I think we even rolled a hoop using a stick a time or two also.

I need to check into planting some.

More Snow Pictures

We had a little more snow overnight. By noon, there were already bare spots and now all that is left are the drifts. We had some really cool drifts in our pens and in the corner of our fence line. The kids had fun in the snow. You can see more pictures of them here. You can also click on these images to make them larger.

It is kind of strange to think we were experiencing a blizzard yesterday and the temps are in the high 40s today. The wind is still blowing, so I am sure there is a wind chill. We learned we are going to have to do some upgrading to the chicken house so we'll be ready if we ever have a "real" winter.

I'm sure this may be overkill on the pictures, but I really thought the drifts and their shapes were cool. I also liked Robby and T.S.'s shadows. Poor T.S. had serious mitten problems this morning.

The Day in Pictures

A blizzard has been blowing through our area today. We've been fortunate to be on the edge of most of it. The following pictures chronicle the day from sun-up to about 5:00pm. I tried to take the windmill from our front porch throughout the day for a reference.

It was interesting around 5:00, we had drifts and bare spots. The ground temperature is warm enough that it was slushy. The wind blew it off of unprotected places. We had bands of snow blow through throughout the day and are expecting a little more this evening. North of us it is much worse.

UPDATE: The story and caption contest are open until Sunday--be brave and enter!

Spring Break

This year we travelled to my sister's in Magnolia. We had a ball with the kids and even planned a great adventure for one day (that's another post). In the end, we found out that the kids were content to make their own adventures on their own time.

The highlight of the week for the kids may have been playing in the sprinkler and then having manicures and pedicures as well as makeovers when the very talented neighbor came to stay so the adults could take a trip to College Station. The best part of the week for me?

• Seeing my sister and her family
• NO responsibilities--the harsh reality of real life hit me like a brick today
• Going to College Station and hanging out with adults--remembering good college times and making new memories as well

More to come--just haven't had time to upload pictures or organize my thoughts (don't hold your breath on the last one)

Signs of Spring

The weather here has been unseasonably warm. Although we have enjoyed it, it also means that the trees, elm in particular, are budding. This explains my allergies lately. This is the time of year when you start itching to plant in the garden. A week of warm weather like this makes you want to go ahead and do it. Unfortunately, we've still got lots of opportunities for cold weather. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic. In the next few months we'll have to trek down in the pasture to check the mesquite tree. We won't be clear of frost until it buds.

Here's Talley under the trampoline while the kids were jumping. The cats and chickens have enjoyed roaming in this weather. The cats don't realize they aren't really supposed to hang out with the chickens. I'm working on getting a picture of that.