The latest pano shot. Hay just cut, rolled and hauled.
This area has been under water most of the summer as we have had lots of rain. Extreme north end of the "lake". Hasn't rained much lately so the shallow fringes are receding. Cristina still hasn't seen a snake in the wild, so we often drive around on the Mule looking for snakes. You can just see the Mule in the background here. Mopsy was with us here (not pictured) and was having a good time exploring. Moments after this picture she began sniffing under the edge of some pushed over reeds. Then her head snapped back real fast. I figured she had found a snake. I stupidly reached down and pulled the reeds back and revealed the back half of a copperhead. He didn't strike at me, and Cristina got to see a snake. Why don't I carry a gun on the Mule? A question I keep asking myself.
This is a "Wolf" spider.
They get fairly big. Cousin to a tarantula. Cristina was putting on her shoes and socks a few days ago (we leave our work shoes on the porch), and she couldn't get one foot inside her shoe; something was blocking her toes. She dumped a big one of these out on the porch. Stomped it and it looked like somebody had dropped a raw egg on the floor. They have short fangs, so I guess it couldn't bite her through her sock.
Big fuzzy ant.
Finally, cute, no teeth or stinger, non-poisonous.
This is what the puppies do when they escape the pen.
Girly (puppy mom), is still providing. Fresh deer leg. Where did she get it? How did it get in the pen?
New okra plants are producing.
What happens when you don't harvest okra for 2 days. Cristina was picking every day, sometimes twice a day. She picked Monday. Tuesday I drove her to Dallas to catch her flight to Bay Area. She is temping again at her old work for the next 10~ weeks. Thursday AM I picked this box of overgrown okra. Crazy. I feel like I'm becoming the Forest Gump of okra; fried okra, okra chips, sauteed corn bacon and okra, pickled okra, gumbo, okra pudding, okra ice cream...
What is this? Here you can see the path the Mule makes through the field up to the deer trail road. I drive this once a day to feed deer (and feral hogs/birds). About a week ago I was running late and drove up here well after dark. The Mule has good lights on it now, but I wasn't using them. When I walked to the barn to get the mule I had snakes on my mind, so I put on my headlamp (very handy: keeps your hands free for working and always pointed where you are looking). As I drive across this field I could see hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of pretty blueish/greenish reflections in the grass, like dew drops. Hmmm. The grass is bone dry, so what is it? I keep my light/eyes on one of the sparkles as the mule approaches. When I pull up next to it I can see it is a big wolf spider. Yeesh!
Then I get to the feed drop area and pull into a pack of feral hogs. They panic and run all around the Mule. Very exciting for everyone involved. Why don't I carry a gun on the Mule?
Nick joined the Cub Scouts a couple of weeks ago. Flag ceremony.
He got his uniform
Upsetting anti gun-control image below.
If you lean Statist, you may not want to look.
You have been warned.
Downer of the day. Sorry.
