Just a few...

Misc. photos from the last few days...

 One of our setting hens hatched out some chicks...2 made it!

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 It's a weed...but then again it has a bloom so it is a wildflower too!

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Chile Pequin bloom 

Pequin (or Piquin) pepper (pronunciation: pee/puh-KEEN) is a hot chile pepper, also known as "bird pepper", that is commonly used as a spice. (I misspell this one all the time)...the are tiny little peppers and they are HOT!! My father in law use to make hot sauce with them. Not sure who I'll pick them for now. I found two new plants in the back yard.

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 A rose for my Mother...Her and I planted this rose bush out by the back porch. Michael wanted white roses so we obliged him. It's doing well.

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 Another one from my flower gardens...

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 Fred has a problem...This tomato plant has gone berserk and is growing everywhere...We put it in a tomato cage and we staked the cage with wooden stakes and now it's even bigger and pulled the whole mess over...Fred was asking for help and I was taking photos, lol...

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 1/4 of the garden...cucumbers, green beans, green peppers, cantaloupe and tomatoes...

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 Yikes it's attack of the Killer tomatoes...Fred is being eaten alive!! Ekkkk!

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 Teeny Tiny Carrots...I was thinning them out, Julie loves these!

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 I'm not sure what type of Cantaloupe these are but they are HUGE!!

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 This morning first thing I spotted the Summer Tanager in the tree, he flew off and a North American Cardinal came in...

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 Good Morning Peeps!

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 They're cute when they are little but then they grow up, argh!!

I have another hen setting and we put 12 eggs under her, we'll see how she does!

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 Mourning dove in a field I just mowed...

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The wind was awful today...hopefully tomorrow it will calm down a bit!!

Weekend is almost here, hope y'all have a great one!



Busy little bee...

I've been a wee bit busy...I took this yesterday evening. Spent all day shredding/mowing the pasture in front of the house. It sure looks nice but we've spotted Feral hogs so not sure how long it will look nice...Today my allergies were acting up and I felt awful so I took a break...Hopefully I will be able to do some more tomorrow! This pasture is approx. 30 acres and I probably have another 30 acres to go...and if we get some rain I get to start over again, but the rain chances are slim, sigh!

What's happening around here...

I shredded/mowed the back pasture at the property and finished, finally, whew!!

 Before I started at about 11:15am

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After I finished at about 1pm

Such a good feeling when you accomplish something for the day! It was Hot today too and I did take a 15 minute break and went and took a dip in the pool.

Tonight Michael and I went down and picked up the tractor and I brought it up to the house so I can start shredding/mowing up here at the house. Hopefully we'll get some rain this weekend and the grass will grow.

 Fred's truck...it's Muddy!! He cleaned off the headlights but that was it, what a mess. He was driving some back country roads down around Cotulla Texas and said they were awful. Puddles almost as wide as our house and he said you'd get in the middle of them and the truck would drop another 2 feet, ekk. Glad I don't have to clean that truck, I'd rather mow!

 Lydia brought me a present last night and I ran for the house, glad I did...This is what I found this morning, ugh! A dead headless snake, the chickens thought it was delicious!

The baby chicks this morning, they seem to be doing well.

We have another hen that is setting and I am getting her some fertile eggs to sit on. Maybe we'll have some more babies?

I saw this spider hanging from her web this morning. There sure are a lot of spiders around right now. Not too fond of walking around the yard at night or early morning, it seems I am always walking into a web...nothing like doing a little web dance!

Hope y'all had a great day!

What's outside my front window this morning...

As I was sitting here drinking my tea I glanced out the front window and noticed I had visitors...

 This is the same buck I took a photo of yesterday evening lying down...

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 They've spotted something over by the stock trailer...

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 Pretty girl...

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 And older doe who is definitely pregnant...

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 Uh Oh, I've been spotted...a young yearling

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 The beans on the Huisache tree are delicious...

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 Buck eating the Huisache beans...

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And they are moving off...



The latest project at the property...Shade!!

Our latest project at the property is almost finished...

We now have shade down there and this baby is not going to blow away...We used 16 foot-4x6 treated post and buried them 5ft in the ground. Then we put 2x10 treated boards across and bolted those with 1/2 inch carriage bolts. The 2x4's on top are anchored with hurricane brackets, 6 brackets per board. Fred, Michael and I all worked on it. I put most of the 2/4's on top as Fred got called out of town and I wanted to get it done. Michael helped me with the braces on the West side and he also helped me put up the trellis. I need to get the braces up on the East side but Michael isn't strong enough or tall enough to help me so I'm waiting on Fred. I also put a piece of 3/4 inch plywood on the NW corner on top, it's my viewing platform (it's a great view of the property from up there and perfect for photos), lol. Fred was shaking his head and asked me just how do you plan to get up there, well of course I'm going to build a ladder, sheesh! So building a ladder is on my to do list, along with a million other things...It's so nice to have shade though. Saturday while I was shredding/mowing I loved being able to get out of the hot sun for awhile and take a break and cool off...of course taking a dip in the pool felt refreshing too!

Michael took this photo of me, lovely...He's turning into a little photo bug but he loves taking photos of people, not me I prefer bugs :o) I need to teach him to get a photo of a persons good side and not me looking like a fat toad, lol.

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Fred already has the next project in mind, sigh...In the meantime I am attempting to clean up (brush, fence rows and rotten trees is never ending) and do a bit of landscaping around the pool. I know what I'd like to do but I am shocked at the price of different items (like paver stones, ekk) so that may take a long while to do until funds become available...A little here and there and it's all good!



The movie "Battleship" - Digital scrapbook layout

Michael and I went to see Battleship Friday after School, Wow!!

It was awesome and we both really really enjoyed it!!



My day in photos...

Saturday I started shredding/mowing the property...I got 3/4's of it done and hope to finish the rest tomorrow (Then I get to start on my landlords 150 acres, yeah). I hated to do it but the wildflowers had pretty much gone to seed and the whitetail does are starting to have their fawns (Michael and I saw an itty bitty fawn with his/her Mom on our main road Friday). I don't like to mow when the fawns are born as they lay in the tall grass and won't move when your shredding and that means disaster to me and death to the fawns, so not good...

 -Before-

 I started shredding at 10am...bye bye wildflowers :o(

 -After-

 I finished this part of the field at about 1pm...Hopefully we'll get some rain and the grasses will start growing, it's pretty dry.

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When I got home Saturday evening we had a surprise...

 The setting hen had finally hatched out some baby chicks...

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 Nap time...hatching is hard work!

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 Jake considers the chickens his herd. He was so excited to have baby chicks and did not want to leave them. He's actually been very annoying as he whines to go out frequently so he can go check the chicks...Jake would have been a good Momma.

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 I put 18 eggs under her and we ended up with 3 chicks, one didn't make it. Not very good odds but this is her second time setting on eggs and the first time she hatched out 3 and lost all of them hours after they hatched. So far the 2 little chicks are doing well and I think they will make it.

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 Lydia, (oh so sweet Lydia, NOT), has taken over Jake's bed...I'm not sure she needs an XL dog bed but it seems she is sure she needs it, poor Jake...She looks mighty comfy!

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 I didn't completely get rid of all the wildflowers...I just couldn't. These are by the pool and I love seeing them and all the butterflies too.

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 Michael has been sick most of the weekend and not in the best of moods. He doesn't always smile and here he is threatening to throw the goggles at me if I don't stop taking photos, ekk...grouch!!

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 Fred has been out of town working and made it back home tonight just in time to weed the garden. I'm such a slave driver ;o)

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 Yes it was 97 degrees today in the shade...and actually an hour before I took this photo it said 101. Welcome to South Texas...and it's only going to get hotter, yeehaw!

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 It was so hot the painted bunting was hiding in the shade under the transformer singing...

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This evening I spotted two bucks, with budding antlers, lying together in the shade.

It was a beautiful weekend and I stayed busy all weekend but happy I managed a few photos!

Hope y'all have a great week!