Circle of Life is a Big Meanie

Too tired & full to blog last night after a fairly busy day & a wonderful dinner with friends & family.

It is cold & windy so none of us are too anxious about running around outside.  The gray water pipe still needs to be attached, but is not a huge emergency.  I guess we'll get that done when it gets done.  We need to work the commercial cattle again on Friday.  I'm hoping we can entice them up as they are way out back.  With this weather, they are probably holed up in the trees & won't be easy to find nor coax out into the wind.  Will have to get them set up with troughs full of range cubes & maybe some good Kansas alfalfa hay.  Wish us luck!!

My title today brings about another topic.  Mr & Mrs Black Buck are no longer.  Not sure if a predator predated upon them, but Mr Buck is definitely dead as buzzards were circling his carcass yesterday & we have yet to see Mrs Buck.  She is either dead somewhere in the pasture or was carried away.  Those were the last two we had of the small herd we received a few years ago.  Very sad as I did love watching them roam around - they are beautiful animals.  The only positive from it is that we can open that pasture up to the cattle now & we can shoot at the backstop close to the house instead of 2 miles away in the back back back pasture.  Still, I'm sorry that they are gone.

That also brings about today's chore.  Daddy wants to have Mr. Buck's horns mounted.  I called a friend who has a taxidermy business &, I guess I knew this was coming but kind of creeped me out anyway, when he said to bring in the head.  How else are we going to get the mount done?  BUT...that means we have to go chop Mr B's head off & run it in to town.  I guess I'll know how strong my stomach is today.  I'll either be able to help or I'll be behind a tree puking my guts up!  He died Tuesday night, we think, so he ain't smelling too fresh plus the gore of it all.  Uck Uck Uck!!!  Not looking forward to this task today at all!!!  Will soldier up & get it done though.  Not sure if I'll take pictures or not.  Seems a little gore gratuitous.  I'll probably wait until we have the mount.  That will be nice & neat & not ucky in any way!!  If we can handle it, maybe we get his hide too as he sure was handsome.  We'll see how it goes & what I'd have to do to get the hide.  May not be worth my nausea!

Stand by & I'll tell you all about it tonight.  Hope all have a great day.

Pepe

My little mule Pepe. He's a cutie!!

It Rained!

Killer cool storm last night.  I had to stand in the carport & just watch it pour down & check out the super cool lightening storm.  I love night time rain.  The world is squeaky clean when you wake up - the air is fresh & crisp, the grass is perky & ,my nephew's favorite part, all the cattle are clean.  He was so funny this summer - very upset that they had poop on their hind ends.  I tried to explain that they don't really care & don't have access to toilets or toilet paper!  A 6 year old mind just can't comprehend that concept, I guess.

WB & I got some good stuff done today.  Messed around in the pasture this morning just making sure everyone made it through the storm all right & that we didn't have any trees hit by lightening.  Drove to the Polaris dealership to pick up my little mule, Pepe (reference to Romancing The Stone).  Once home with it, he got a good bath & I had fun riding around on it.  A little chilly, but fun anyway.  We replaced the rain gauge since our old one was cracked & didn't hold water.  Some neighbors stopped by for a visit while I was fixing supper.  They are a sweet couple & I'm glad they popped in for a few.

Tomorrow is going to be a little slower.  We now have the coupling to fix the gray water drain pipe & my uncle is coming out for a visit with some friends.  Best part about that is that he makes wonderful cocktails & I won't have to cook supper nor clean the kitchen.

Will post a picture of the my little "get around" mobile - Pepe.  He is dressed in camo so he may be hard to see!!  :-)

Hit the ground running today.  Cattle not too cooperative since it seemed like it might rain so they were not up to their usual routine this morning.  Easy enough to entice them all in to the pens with some range cubes once we discovered their hideyhole.
Meanwhile, the gray water pipe from the wash house & my shower was crushed & needed to be dug up, cut off & a new pipe attached.  Added bonus was a flat on the Kubota.  I plugged the hole in the tire & we were back in business.
Managed to get all the front Brahman herd in the pens & start getting those big babies off their mommies.  Poor ladies & babies are still up there bawling their brains out.  Some are already sounding hoarse from all their hollering.
After a bit of lunch, WB & I dragged a long water line from out back to be used in place of the rigid drain pipe.  Now to find a coupling that will join the two different pipes together - not as simple as one might think.
A quick trip in to town & keeping up with RSVPs for WBs birthday party has been the rest of my day.  Am totally tired & amazed that it is only 8pm!!  Must stay awake for at least another hour before allowing myself to crawl in the bed.
Tomorrow should be an easy day.  We are, hopefully, going to go pick up my 4-wheeler!!  Will have to post pix.

Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cows.