2011 - Day Eighty Nine; Wednesday...

Be careful, this is expected to be another brief entry... I had a wonderful talk this afternoon with our friend Melody in Connecticut. She works wildlife rehab there, mostly reptiles, but she knew the answer to my question about the Owl. Ever since last week when we found the Owlet in the yard and took it to rescue, we had not seen the Owl, and we were concerned that something might have happened to it. Melody said if they don't have eggs in the nest or there are no other Owlets in the nest, they have no reason to stay in the nest. They might roost somewhere close-by, but the nest is only for laying and raising young. Makes perfect sense to me now that it has been 'spalined!

Okay, the chickens have demanded equal time, so this is a shot of the girls. They are really WAY AHEAD in the 'face-time' in this journal, but the calves are hands-down winners in the 'peoples-choice' for cutest things they have seen in the last couple of weeks. The girls are getting into their pens later and later as the days get longer and longer, and there may be a time when they will be needing to feed me and put me to bed. I have been accused of going-to-bed-with-the-chickens, but these girls are going to have to start going to bed earlier if they want me to feed them.

Here is another photo of the calf that was born on Monday. This calf is about 55-hours old, and it is just incredible how much it has grown. Oh, and we can forget about the 'it' part, this beautiful calf is a bull calf. Man I am just awed by how pretty this calf is. He will be a beautiful Bull, if we don't nip it in the bud! Not sure what to name him, but this picture is him with his mama Moo Unit. You can see the other black and white cow behind them, her name is Doodle Bug.

I met with the Chevrolet engineers this afternoon (they still have the car), and they said my car is the only one that has ever experienced this issue, but they know how they can prevent it from happening. The car is programmed with certain 'tolerances' to certain conditions, and they can raise the programmed 'tolerance' level, which will make the car go into its' 'safe-mode' after a higher level the event. Make sense? Well, it kind of does to me, and if you really want to know about it, I will try to explain more. It is kind of like a smoke detector might be programmed to sound after a little bit of smoke or a little bit more smoke. Which would you prefer? In the case of this car, do you want your power steering (an electric function, no longer a hydraulic function) to go out after a little bit of vibration or after a lot of vibration? Who knows?

Deeds, Actions, Changes, JEALOUS CHICKENS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Eight; Tuesday...

Okay, as the old saying goes, another day - another dollar. In this case it is another day - another calf. I got home from the office this afternoon and Jody and I got into the Mule and headed out to go check on yesterdays Cow and calf. As we were getting closer to the pasture, I told Jody that it looked like Mimi was in the far pasture with ANOTHER new calf, and sure enough she was. Moo Unit was doing wonderfully well (her retained placenta was gone, good job!) and her new calf (remember, just a day old) was doing wonderfully well also.

But there in the far pasture was Mimi with another new calf, just maybe an hour old, and still not properly cleaned up. Really, really shaky, but doing well. Mama was really nervous with us being as close as we were, and I did not want her to charge me, so we decided that discretion was the better part of valor, so we backed up and let her have some room with her calf. As we were leaving, she was paying less attention to us, and more attention to her calf, so I am comfortable. We got back to the house, and I took the binoculars out with me and went beyond the pool where I could spy on both Mamas and calves, and the newest one was still shaky but it looked like it was nursing (or at least trying to) and Mama Mimi was being patient with her. The country is a happy place to live.

On the way into the office this morning there was a little bit of traffic, but nothing really terrible. There was this instance of 'twinkly lights' which could possibly remind some of us of life back in the late '60's. Really, that was all such a long time ago, all it really reminds me of right now is more traffic congestion. There is really nothing recreational about it, just more time spent listening to my books on CD's.

Have you ever had one of those moments? Our 'Administrative Goddess' Karla had one of those moments today. She was getting one of her frozen lunch entrees out of the freezer today at lunch time and discovered a very stylish pair of children's sunglasses in the bag with the entree. She had sworn that she purchased the sunglasses but she had no idea what had happened to them. I do stuff like that all the time, but it usually has to do with putting the water measuring container for the coffee pot in the refrigerator, and putting the coffee in the cabinet. OR I will find the keys to the car in the refrigerator or something else stupid like that. It was really interesting to see (and mainly hear) Karla's reaction when she found the sunglasses in the freezer! Fun!

Tomorrow I go and drop my car off again at the dealership. I got a call today to tell me that the loaner car would not be the Volt, but a Chevy Cruze. That is okay with me, since both cars are 'built on the same platform', which to me means they share the same chassis. AND, since I complained about the gas usage with the last loaner, I was told I will not be responsible for refilling the car when I return it. GOOD DEAL! So, I will be stopping to put gas in the Volt tomorrow on the way, since the cheapest gas in the area is in Taylor (HEB and WalMart are right across the street from each other), so I always try to get gas there. On my current tank of gas, I have gone over 750 miles, and I am averaging OVER 100 MILES PER GALLON. I expect that by the time I get gas tomorrow, I will be averaging 102 miles per gallon, my best showing yet. That is really pretty cool to me.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, ANOTHER CALF, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Seven; Monday...

Well, this entry had intended to be about chickens and their growing orneryness since the time has changed and the days are getting longer BUT I will save that for another day.

I got home kind of early this afternoon, and immediately sat down in front of the tv to watch Jeopardy with Jody. And that generally puts me into nap-mode, which it did today. Once I regained consciousness, Jody and I watched some of the news (until I determined I had had enough), and I got up to check my e-mail. There were five chickens on the porch looking in the door, so I thought I would see if they could be lured into their pen with some food, but that was a no-go. I came back in and looked out the back window towards the pastures, and I saw what looked like a smaller and whiter speck back there than what I am used to seeing. I asked Jody if I had time before dinner and he said I did, so I bundled up (it is in the 60's here today, kind of chilly) and headed toward the back pasture.

Sure enough along the way I counted twelve cattle instead of the eleven that I counted yesterday. It seems my note of the 'waxy-residue' and 'big bags' was true, and Moo Unit (daughter of Mimi's Moonbeam) had a calf just a few hours ago. Not sure if it is a bull or heifer calf (hoping for a heifer) but I will tell you this; IT SHORE IS PURTY! Almost solid white and just beautiful. There is nothing whiter than the white of a new calf, just beautiful. I hope you enjoy these two photos, and tomorrow we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NEW CALF, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Six; Sunday...

Waiter, what is that mouse doing in my pool? The backstroke? Well, not really, it was more like the Australian crawl, and there is no telling how long he had been in there struggling for his life. I scooped him out, and he was totally exhausted. He rested in the flower beds for several hours, then he decided the better part of continuing to breathe would be to skeedaddle under the gazebo deck. Pretty much the same scenario when we rescued a skunk out of the pool (except I used a net and not a strainer, and there was no poking involved). We had a bit more organized day today, no emergency runs about anything (if you don't count Dairy Queen).

We got almost all the gazebo stained, some of the decking stained, and we will finish it up next week. I swear I stained the same piece of lattice for about five hours today. I know I was actually making progress, but it seemed like I was the lattice would never end. I was occasionally cursing the person that invented lattice, and at the same time I was amazed at the kind of slapped together construction of the gazebo and deck. That is what happens when you pay attention to the details of something while you are painting. I was somewhat concerned while we were actually painting, but the stain dried very nicely and very evenly, so my primary concerns were not necessary.

In the middle of everything, we did go to Georgetown for a spoiler, and it was a quick trip because I really just needed to sit down for a while. After we got back, I watered all the trees that can't be easily reached with hoses. The water tank and trailer are working out very nicely, but I think I want to get a longer piece of hose for that. I an connecting a couple pieces of PVC pipe into the hose to actually get the trees watered, but a longer piece of two inch hose will work much better. The chickens were not loosed until about 3 o'clock this afternoon, because I did not want them tracking redwood stain all across the pool deck. So far, the plan went well. We did get five eggs from the girls today, and they all seem to be pretty content. I am considering getting four more chicks, something exotic, but I am not sure what I will do. We shall see...

Got the cattle fed today, and took a fresh bale of hay out to them. WARNING - If you are offended by graphic descriptions of farm animals you should skip directly to the beginning of the next paragraph! You have been warned... I keep expecting new calves but so far it is all just in my imagination. BUT, at least two of the cows (Minnie and her daughter) have that obvious waxy residue on their teets (spell check says teets is not a word) and their bags are really getting big. I told you you should have gone to the next paragraph. Don't blame me! Anyway, that is supposed to be a sign that somebody is about to drop a calf. I will let you know. This is a picture of Orchid and her bull calf Cool Breeze.

That is just about it for today. There was lots of other stuff done, but mainly I am just achy. Jody said it is because I have used muscles I have not used for a while today, and I responded that I DO NOT HAVE ANY MUSCLES, but he said I was just being pishy (spell check says pishy is not a word, but I know for sure I can be pishy) , and go lay down. Whatever. The wildflowers are starting to bloom a bit more, and we are getting more Iris blooms, and I have always liked primrose. They are just about the prettiest and most delicate things you can imagine, and they take hold in the harshest of climates.

I hope you all have a nice week!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PRIMROSE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Five; Saturday...

Okay, I hope you are all settled in and comfy, this entry has all the earmarks of being a double-issue. If you know how chatty I get when I say I am going to be brief, I would beware since I am already making a disclaimer.

Actually, nothing much went as planned today. I am always pretty pleased that I can be flexible, but it was a little bit crazy today. Yesterday my friend Konrad (who owns Round Rock Honey Company) called and said he would be by this morning and we would work the hives. We got five of them worked, and I only got stung three times, which is not even close to a record number of stings for me in one day. I have to tell you, those hives were not happy, and it was not even the hive that we dropped. Anyway, we took a look at four of the hives, and there were no major issues with any of them, so that is a really good thing. This is a picture of me holding one of the frames from one of the haves, and it is COVERED with honey. I think Konrad actually took this frame to have the honey tested, and he will report back when he gets the word from A&M.

As we were working the hives, I had to go back to the barn for something, and I saw on the ground what I thought was a partially eaten opossum corpse, but it turned out to be an Owlet. So, that kind of changed my plans for the day in a big way. While Konrad and I were wrapping up the hives, I asked Jody to see if he could find a raptor rescue in the phone book. Well, the phone books do not really provide as much information as we would like (or have been trained to require lately) so once I had a chance to settle, I looked on the Internet and found a rescue guy, and called him and we had a nice talk. At that time, I had not really studied the Owlet, because I did not really want to disturb it. Anyway, I was directed to go back and get more information, including a more accurate estimate of its' size. I did all that, and picked it up to see if it was relatively healthy. I really thought it was a young bird, maybe just a day or two old. I sent the guy an e-mail with four photos, and we talked again on the phone.

Well, the next thing you know, Jody and I are both in the car with the Owlet in a shoe box. The rehab place (the guys home in Cedar Park) was about 35 miles away from us, but when we got there, we found out that this little one was most likely about four weeks old. The guy met us at the door with his wife and two dogs. Once inside, he weighed the Owlet, and offered it some 'diced mice' with a really long pair of industrial tweezers. Well, that brought some life into the little one, and we all breathed a sign of relief. We talked for a while, and made plans to communicate back and forth, and keep up with the progress of the Owlet. They need to get it somewhere there is another owl, so it will not 'imprint' with humans; an Owl that is not afraid of humans is a danger to itself.

SO, after we left there, I stopped at a nearby Target to see if I could find one particular thing (I could not, and Jody stayed in the car to listen to 'Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me), but I did run into Keith, the manager of the Dairy Queen in Georgetown. He was there with his daughter, and we talked for a few minutes, and I told him of our adventures so far that day. It was about 10:30 by this time, and I told him that we were on our way to Dairy Queen.

When we got to Dairy Queen, we found out that Keith had called ahead and the hot fudge sundae I had and the Mint Oreo Blizzard that Jody ordered were 'on the house'. It is nice to have friends at ice cream places!

While we were driving to the rehab place, I got a call from the service manager at the Chevrolet dealer where I purchased the car. It seems they are STILL talking to engineers in Detroit, and that they are taking 'several parts' off the assembly lines in Detroit, flying three engineers into Austin, and I have an appointment to leave my car with them for a few days starting Wednesday of this week. AND, instead of a gas guzzler, I will be given their other VOLT as a loaner while mine is in the shop. I told they guy that I intended to do some bonding with the engineers and would like to spend two or three hours with them, and he said that would be fine. So I think that is pretty cool. I will let you know how that goes.

Once we got home, we both went down for naps, and I finally got up and went out and checked the pool. In our haste, the pool woman had been here but we had to leave to go to the rehab place. When we got back the pool was doing really well, and I went out and started cleaning off the deck so it can be cleaned and stained tomorrow. My goal for today had been to scrape the cedar columns in front of the house and seal them with a latex polyurethane, but all I managed to get done was the scraping part. Tomorrow is another day.

We did get six eggs from the girls today, and we will keep them in their pen tomorrow while we are staining the decks. They will not be happy about that. While I was scraping the last of the columns, Jody and the dog went for a ride. Jody and the dog go for a ride just about every day, and Jody has found that it is much easier for the dog to get in and out of the car with the help of an ottoman. I am not saying anything here, but I think this is really cute. We know some other folks who have stories about their pets, but I think this one is really cute. They do not go anywhere, but they just kind of go around the block...and out here that means about a six or seven mile drive. It usually takes them about twenty minutes, and when it is all over, the dog gets a nice dog biscuit. I think this whole thing started when Jody took the dog with him to the drive-thru, and the dog trained Jody that it would be a good thing to take him for a ride every day.

The next thing on the list was to go into Austin and attend the Elks Lodge 2011-2012 Installation of Lodge Officers. One of our agents (Pat) was installed today at the Esteemed Loyal Knight of the Lodge, and my business partner (Carrie) was installed as the Lodge Inner Guard. They have both worked really hard on behalf of the Lodge, and it was really fun and interesting to see them Installed, and to listen to all the tradition and ceremony behind the Installation. Congratulations to both of them. This is a photo of Pat and Carrie after the Installation.

On the way home, clouds were developing, and I took this photo just to remind myself of how much I really enjoy clouds. Seeing these clouds reminds me that it has been a while since we have seen any clouds, let alone seen any rain. BUT, I have faith in the sage that is blooming up by the road. We really need some rain.

SO, that is about it for today. Tomorrow I will get some work done. Or not; I can be flexible.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, OWLETS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Four; Friday...

Today was a most wonderful day. A very god and productive meeting in the morning, an office luncheon mid-day celebrating (I think) four spring birthdays for our crew, a nice bit of accomplishments in the afternoon, than coming home, going out to dinner, having a glass (or two) of wine out on the front porch while I product this entry AND the UPS guy just delivered my honey jars. SO, I am pretty much ready to go. This is a photo of the lunch crowd, starting with Tom in the pink shirt and going clock-wise; Tom, Toni, Sytha, Chris, Margaret, Ed, Pat, Carrie, Karla and me.

Konrad (the Round Rock Honey guy) called me this morning to ask if he could bring a class out to the farm tomorrow morning, which I was all in favor of. He called back later and asked if I could just take a couple honey frames over to his warehouse in the morning to show his class. That was not going to work because I am scheduled to be scraping and painting the front columns of the house about that time. SO, Konrad is now scheduled to be here in the morning about 7:30 to pull a couple of frames of honey to take and show his class.

I took home a to-go box from the luncheon today, and I brought back a to-go box from dinner tonight. I have no issues with left-overs, as you will know if you are long time readers of this journal. Left-overs are very good, and I don't understand folks who refuse to eat left-overs. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

This is a picture of our Owl. If you look at the horizon in the photo (kind of where the weather vane is pointing, that is the Owl in a picture I took last night. Jody had a close encounter with the Owl this morning; he was probably 25 feet away from the Owl when it flew up in a tree while he was watering, and then the Owl was dive-bombed by a couple Mocking Birds. Interesting the things that go on out here on the edge of nowhere.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HONEY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Eighty Three; Thursday...

Today really just confirmed a few things that I was already aware of, but not always conscious of. I am the luckiest man in the world. I have a wonderful partner, significant other, soul-mate, whatever label you would like to put on him, feel free. I am also surrounded by wonderful and caring people in my office no matter if it is staff or colleagues, they are all the best. Not second best, or third best, they are ALL the BEST. They make my life easy, and make me feel important. I hope they think I make them feel appreciated, because they are all very much appreciated. I would be nothing without all the people that I have surrounded myself with, and i hope they are all aware.
I had a few calls today from my Chevrolet dealer (they are very nice). The first call said that they had continued the conversations with Detroit, and that Detroit (they entire city, obviously) had decided to replace the electric power steering motor in my car. BUT, there are no spare parts for these cars, and it would be just a couple weeks before we would schedule that appointment. No problem. The next call I had said that the engineers of the car from Detroit will be driving down to Texas with the part and that they will be personally replacing the part on my car. So, I think I will be there for the installation, and to use this as a bonding experience with the engineers from General Motors. I actually think that is pretty cool, and I will let you know how this whole thing works out. I also told the service man at the dealership that I was really not in the mood to pay for gasoline in a 'guzzler' loaner, and that I think Chevrolet needs to rethink that. I purchased the car (and took on a car payment for the first time in MANY years) so I would not have to put hundreds of dollars worth of fossil fuels in my vehicle of choice on a regular basis. That is my story and I am stickin' to it.

This is a photo of the wisteria plant that I found up by the road yesterday. Interestingly neither Jody or I were aware that the plant was there, but now that we know it, we will do our best to nurture it. We have big plans for this plant over the weekend, and I will provide you with photographic documentation of the proceedings in the Saturday edition of this journal.

Last night while Jody and I were sitting out on the porch, we had several fun observations of our Owl that is nesting in one of the trees between the house and the road. Once he/she (we still imagine that it is a female) went and caught some sort of varmint in the neighbors pasture, and then he/she came down for water in one of the troughs I have out for the bees. Really beautiful, and we are very pleased that she is comfortable around us and know that we are not interested in harming her.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, WISTERIA, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!~