Winter Camp took place at the Wheeler Ranch with Maddie and Gianna staying here for a long weekend. The first day had such pleasant weather! Jason and Raya came over to visit and work with the cows. I walked out onto the front porch and this is what I saw.

While we were waiting for our hay bales to arrive, Charlie bought some alfalfa which the cows really like! He and Jason decided to give the herd a treat this morning so Raya and Gianna could help take care of the cows.

While Gianna was very comfortable working with the cows, Raya decided that she needed to stay in the back of the side by side.

Raya was very curious about the herd until Mama Cow came to visit!

Gianna learned what a ‘cow stick’ is and how to use one this weekend. We may have a future veterinarian on our hands!

I think Shadow and Genesis are curious about each other because they are about the same size. Although, Genesis is quickly outgrowing Shadow! They get close to each other…but not TOO close!

Genesis the calf was very curious about the empty mineral bucket that day. She nosed it and nudged it until she turned it on its side and she could roll it around. After all of the exercise, she needed a nap on the hay.

Maddie wasn’t as interested in the cows this trip. Instead, she wanted to explore the creek and she wanted Kimmie to hike and explore with her. The weather on Day 2 of Winter Weekend Camp was not as pleasant as Day 1. In fact, it was completely brutal!

We bundled up and headed to the creek. Gianna went on the adventure with us also – sporting another one of our UH beanies! The bright red makes it easy for me to spot the grandkids when they are out roaming! Shadow was not going to be left behind!

She loves when the grandkids come to visit! I cannot even begin to say how many layers of clothes that I had on! I felt like the blueberry kid in Willy Wonka or the little brother in Christmas Story!

It is pretty easy to make it down the creek since most of the foliage has lost its leaves. Unfortunately, thorns do not fall off of branches in the winter!

There is a rope bridge that the girls discovered last summer. They didn’t need it to cross the creek during the summer, but it certainly helped with water in the creek!

We found the spot where Maddie and Emory buried a Barbie in the creek bed. Well, she thinks we found it. The creek was pretty dry during the summer when they buried their treasure. She thinks this is the spot of the ‘buried treasure.’ Maybe Maddie and Emory can check it out this summer.

As we crossed the creek, we found another treasure – the herd!

They seemed to be very curious as to why we would be crossing THEIR creek! Gianna and I walked over to ‘talk’ with ‘the ladies.’ We were having a very informative talk about bovines. Of course, Shadow was with us! Then it was time for more creek exploration.

I’m not sure what this made this burrow in the creek bed, but we quickly walked by.

And then it was time for some competition between the girls. Who would come to the end of the tree line at the creek first?

Maddie and I continue to hike down the creek but Gianna went to Grandad who had come to check on us. I think she was recruiting him for her team! She crossed the creek and brought him back to us. Maddie kept forging ahead until she broke the tree line. She was so proud of herself and wanted me to take a victory shot of her!

When it was time to head back to the house, the cows followed us home! Notice Charlie’s layered clothing. It was seriously wet and cold that day! As we started back, we noticed the calf was left behind at the creek. Charlie, Gianna, and Shadow went to check on her. Charlie showed Gianna how to split up and each of them walk Genesis back toward the front of the pasture. The calf made it to the road and trotted away from them. Shadow took over then and drove her back to the rest of the

herd. I wonder what the cows were thinking. They were not bothered at all with all of the commotion. Maybe Mama Cow was telling Genesis that’s what happens when you don’t stay close to me!

Maddie wasn’t wild about feeding the cows mineral cubes so I had her be our photographer. I’m not sure why she doesn’t like having minerals mixed with cow slobber all over her hands! Gianna certainly doesn’t mind cow drool, cow snot, and methane gas. I think I look like a giant raspberry – but the cows don’t seem to mind as long as I share ‘cow candy’ and rub their foreheads!

It was an extremely cold weekend. We’re all getting tire of wearing rain boots and walking on mushy ground. Spring must be around the corner though. The robins have flown north and the daffodils and narcissus in the pastures are in full bloom.

Maddie’s Gallery

I gave Maddie my camera for part of our hike to take photos and she did a really good job! Here are some of her photos.

While there are many things that need to be taken care on the ranch, it is simply too hot outside. I guess you could say we are in the maintenance state – mowing the grass around the house and tending the small garden early in the morning. Our list of things to do is growing but Fall will be here soon and it will be more conducive to cleaning fence lines, trimming trees, working in the pastures, renovating the chicken coop, and painting the fence.

We have been keeping busy though with other activities that we can relegate when we want to inside and outside Here are our top 10 dog day summer activities:

1. Buy a Truck: Charlie needed a ranch truck. When we moved to the country, we sold my cute little sporty coupe. She just wasn’t going to do well on these caliche rock roads. We’ve been a one car (truck) family since the middle of April. This wasn’t such a big deal until we started having separate activities in town. Charlie started looking for a used, well-taken care of ranch truck.He and Jason looked through a multitude of social media sites and Charlie finally found one in Karnack, Texas. It’s a nice Ford F-350 already with a diesel tank in the bed of the truck! We had to drive several hours to get there to check it out but what we found made it worth the trip. Low mileage, excellent condition, and formerly used as a truck to check on dozer jobs the owner had going. Jason came and helped Charlie put a filter on the diesel tank and then they went and filled it up – 100 gallons of diesel! Finally, we’re a two-vehicle family again.
2. Kimmie’s Cow Candy: It is our goal to have cows and heifers that are accustomed to being around us to make it easier when we need to handle them. We began by having hay on the side by side when we would go check out the pasture and we’d drop some hay off for them. Then, we began holding the hay and they would eat it out of our hands. Next step was to train them with candy. No, not real candy but that’s what I like to call it. It’s actually mineral cubes that I put in a small tin bucket that I have. We go out on the porch and if they are close I holler “Hello girls” and they all perk up their ears and start watching us. Then we walk over to the fence and give them some candy. Again, at first, we dropped it on the ground so they knew what it was. Now, most of “the girls” will eat it out of our hands.
3. Day Trips: Charlie and I have taken two days trips into East Texas so far to explore our new surroundings and landmarks. The first trip we drove up to Lindale (The Cannery Entertainment Center with the Love and War Music Arena which have ties with Miranda Lambert and East Texas Country Music) and back through Tyler (the Rose Garden, of course) and Rusk. The Heritage Museum in Rusk was closed so we walked down to the Mexican Restaurant on the Town Square and had lunch. On the way home we stopped at the Caddo Mounds and explored the sites there.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   The second trip we drove up to Caddo Lakes Wildlife Refuge at Karnack to see the lake and swamps (no wildlife). It was an interesting place since it had originally been a privately-owned facility that made TNT for the Army. The next stop heading back to Lovelady was the Train Depot and Museum in Marshall. In Carthage we stopped at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and then drove through Nacogdoches to head home. We have put lots of miles on the truck for these two trips but it’s been great learning more about this part of Texas.

4. Fruit Trees & Preserves: After the blueberries were gone, the figs ripened and we picked several batches of them. Some Charlie ate fresh from the tree and the others I tried my hand at making strawberry fig jelly. The first batch was really messy – well, I was really messy. It was fun though so I tried a second batch after I bought a new canning pot with all of the canning utensils that I needed (and more.) After having fun with fig preserves, I decided to try pear preserves.
   

   

   

   

   

   Charlie picked some pears for me and I made one batch of pear preserves with pears, sugar and fresh lemons. After I found another recipe, I went out and picked some more pears. This recipe had LOTS of sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. Basically, these are spiced pears! I’ve even been looking at a local nursery to see about planting some peach, plum, and maybe cherry trees in the Fall. Just an idea…

5. Gardening: I couldn’t resist putting in a small (very small) garden this year. It was late April so I was limited in what I could plant. The soil here is sandy and something that I’ve never experienced before. We have always had clay soil where we lived – gumbo as it is called. Even though it was late in the season, I put in a few tomatoes and peppers but didn’t keep up with my watering as well as I needed to so they didn’t do vey well and I finally let them go. The okra seeds however have sprouted and are beginning to produce nicely. My goal is to have enough to pickle but so far we’ve only have a few pods to harvest.

Now let’s talk about the melon patch! I’ve never really had luck with watermelons before but with lots of space and sandy soil (which they like), I decided to experiment. I chose three varieties of melons to plant and two varieties of cantaloupes. This has really worked out well since the watermelons have been ready to harvest at different time. The Klondikes (the large oval striped ones) still have a way to go since they were the last to fruit and are larger to grow. The smaller round ones (striped and solid green) have been harvested with more on the vine. The cantaloupes had lots of flowers but are just now really producing fruit. There is one that is so close to harvest time that I can hardly wait. So far, the melons we have harvested have been so sweet. There is such a feeling of accomplishment for me to know that I planted those tiny seeds, took care of them when they sprouted, tended them as they flowered and fruited, and then harvest and eat them.

6. Camp Kimmie and GranDad: We’ve been able to have all of the grandkids over at different times this summer. We’ve had birthday parties, family dinners, and family coming in to visit.

   

   

   

   We even had two of the younger ones spend the night with us and they (we) did great!

   

   

   

   Benjamin helped Charlie drive the tractor, feed the cows and drive the ‘truck’ (which is what he calls the side by side). Scarlett and GranDad were up a little later than Benjamin and I one morning, so they had to wait on the porch while Benjamin and I were driving around in our PJs! After bath time, they sat on the front porch with us eating pop tarts!

   

   

   

   The big girls were able to spend about a week here also and we had lots of fun.

   

   

   

   

   

   

7. Cattle Schools: Learn more about our herd and building it in size. We attended the Cattle Short Course at Texas A&M again. It was a little different for us this year. Last year almost everything was new to us. Our experience with cattle was limited to being around those that were on our property from the fellow leasing the pastures. It’s different now that we have five head of our own. Some of the information from the professors from TAMU was the same as last year but it had a more personal meaning this year. We had questions based on what we doing and what we needed to do that we can ask the presenters. We also had a better feel of which sessions to attend and were probably a bit more judgmental of the skills of the presenters. The focus on the last day of the Short Course is always on hands on demonstrations. Last year, we watched how to handle and move cattle, give shots, brand, and castrate. This year we went to the carcass demonstration. Yes, carcass! We watched videos of four different cattle and graded them on their appearance and potential beef yield. Then they brought the carcasses into the classroom! The next part of the presentation was a cow that had been butchered. The professor had a skeleton of a cow and would place each cut of meat on the skeleton as he described how it was cut, where it came from AND how to cook it. Very interesting. We have also been attending local workshops put on by the Houston County Extension Office. These sessions have been on forage of the pastures, feeding and caring for the cattle, feral hogs, and pond management.
8. Nightly Wildlife Checks: Each night we go out and check for wildlife. You can always hear birds singing, but now we hear the cicadas and frogs making noise. We still have evidence of an armadillo or two but we’re not seeing them as much. Occasionally we see cottontails in the early evening or morning. We had a single boar a few weeks ago that was rutting around. Jason brought his rifle with a new night vision scope on it and now we do not have a boar under the pear trees. Instead, we have deer. The deer have been more active lately. Sometimes we see two big bucks and other times we see a group of does and fawns together. One night this week the entire herd was in the pasture close to the house. They tend to come close in the evening and then again in the early morning. Several nights ago when I went out with the spotlight, I found two does bedded down under one of the trees right next to the fence close to the house and some of the others under the pear trees eating the pears that had fallen to the ground. We may have to put some corn out for them so they will stay close enough for us to see them every evening and morning. Last night Charlie spotted two hogs close to the pear trees. It may be hog hunting time tonight!
9. Train the Animals: Mia Bella is getting up in years and has always been an inside cat. In the city, she might go out to sit on the patio and chase a lizard to two. At first, she would come out to the back porch while we sitting having our morning coffee but then go right back in the house. Then she started going to the front porch to sit with us. Now she runs to the front door after breakfast and dinner so she can go out to the front porch, down the steps, and chase crickets and grasshoppers in the grass. She has also discovered Shadow’s hiding spot in the cool dirt underneath the front porch. Their new game is for Shadow to sit on the porch at the top of the stairs and Mia Bella to sit two steps down after they have finished playing. I will go to the porch to call for them and they just sit there and look at me…and won’t come in! They are just like spoiled little kids sometimes!
10. Movie Nights: At the end of a long, hot day we enjoy sitting in our recliners and watching a good movie on TV. The dog is on the couch and the cat is usually in a lap. It feels so relaxing and we realize that this is our new home and right where we want to be.

    

When we first purchased the property, there were two fenced sections which I like to call the “Back 50” and the “Lower 25.” Having a small herd of cattle on the “Lower 25” (which is where the trailer is) was entertaining until the cows became too familiar with us, the trailer and deck, and our vehicles. Let’s not even discuss the presents that they left behind for us close to the truck, trailer and deck!

It was time to build a fence that would keep the cows off of where our homestead will be. Jason and Charlie also wanted to move the gate in from the road so there would be room to pull up and open the gate  off of the road. Plans were made where to place the fences and it was determined that Jason would build the main fence and gates and the rest would be t-posts and barb wire. Jason original set the posts before his surgery in February.

For the next step in the process, he and another welder worked for several days adding the top row to the posts and starting the smaller rods below. Unfortunately, they were hindered by heavy winds and rain several days but they made up for lost time by working twice as hard!

As the work on the fence continued, Charlie decided to go and help out (aka supervise). While Jason finished the metal fence, Charlie set all 55 of the t-posts himself that will lead from the driveway to our house. He and Jason then ran the barb wire through the posts.  This area will be our “yard” where the chickens and other small animals will be. (We’re still discussing what this menagerie will consist of.)

Although Charlie sent me lots of photos during the week, I wanted to see the new fence for myself. The work was very impressive! With these fences up now, it is easier to visualize where our house will be placed. The plans are to place it to the left of the fence in this photo and facing the creek.  Things are beginning to move more quickly as we prepare for Charlie’s retirement and our move to Lovelady.

After working so hard, Charlie and Jason enjoyed some much deserved free time on Friday and Saturday. Natalie and Audie came over to spend the night with us and let the babies have cousin time.

Charlie and Jason had a very productive week followed by some great family time.

The cows are not happy with the new fence and their loss of freedom. They are spending lots of time close to the fence line! They definitely didn’t want to be fenced in!

The place is really shaping up to look like what a ranch should look like! The next big question: What color will we paint the fence? Suggestions?

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo weekend in the country and it was muy bien. No big fiesta- just mainly siestas and relaxing. The Sam Houston statue on I-45 symbolizes to us that we are leaving Houston aka The Big City and headed into The Country since our turn off the freeway to Lovelady is right past Sam. Charlie says that he always feels a sense of relief as we pass the statue so I’ve started a silly tradition of waving and saying “Hello Sam” when we drive by. I begin feeling that way when we turn off of the highway and travel down the two lane road that leads to our county road.

We made it to Lovelady and realized that the cows had been down in the lower pasture…by the gate and the trailer. They left us many gifts on the ground along with knocking down the solar lights that I put beside the steps leading up to the deck. I’m not sure why they like those solar lights so much!

After we were all settled in, we decided to walk down the road to the upper pasture and the pond. We checked on some of the plants along the way. The blueberries are now blue – but not dark enough not soft enough to pick. The pears are growing but still tiny. The dewberries are in varying stages – some red and some ready to eat. The fig bushes are tall and full of fruit. The cows seem to enjoy standing under the bridge that the two bushes create. They don’t seem interested in eating the leaves or figs – which I am grateful for since they have already cleaned the leaves off of both of the Confederate Rose bushes. Some of them even like to nibble the little rose bush!

After a pizza dinner with Jason, Danielle, and Raya we came back to the trailer to sit on the deck to listen to the sounds of the country and look for wildlife in the night. After a good night’s sleep, we were awakened by the alarm clock of the country – not a rooster but a herd of cows mooing at our bedroom window! We both jumped out of bed knowing that they were right by the trailer which meant they were right by the truck! They didn’t seem to mind our presence at all when we walked outside. In fact, they seemed to think that we should be feeding them! They were quite vocal and quite loud! One of the cows that I’ve nicknamed “Bette Davis” was intrigued by her reflection in the shiny bumper of the truck. Charlie had to shoo her away from the bumper. She moved down to the driver’s door and once again found herself in the reflection of the truck. Another one decided that she liked nosing the door and door handle until, once again, she was encouraged to move on. They laughed at Charlie when he took the truck to the car wash. They asked what he got into – and he told them it was cow slobber!

Even though these heifers belong to someone else that is running them on our property, the girls (Melissa, Danielle, and Natalie) and I have decided to name them. Maybe not all of them, but some. Jason said one of the cows looked like the Blue Bell cow – so we named her Blue Bell. The one I call Bette Davis  has a black patch around one of her eyes which looks like dark eyeliner, she seems to like to look at her reflection, noisy and extremely bossy to the other cows! (Blame it on watching “Feud” recently.) This small herd definitely has some distinct personalities in it.

Charlie and Jason picked up two deer feeders and a hog trap after our breakfast with the cows. We may need the hog trap now since we found several instances of where they had been on the property. They can really do a lot damage! We enjoyed a dinner of beans and sausage finished off with a lemon meringue pie that Danielle brought. Then it was time for another evening sitting outside under the almost full moon and listening to the sounds of the countryside. It was so quite that you could hear our neighbor yelling at her dogs to quiet down – and she’s about half a mile down the road and across two tree lines and a creek!

Sunday morning started with coffee with the cows again before we headed to church in Crockett. After lunch, Charlie and Jason finally had time to sit back and relax and fish in the pond. We weren’t sure if there were fish or what kind they might be but they found out! They caught three large-mouth bass but let the turtle that kept cutting Jason’s line get away! Charlie put together a bench for me to sit on at the pond. Next trip I’ll take a turn at fishing from the bench!

After a very stressful week or two at home, this was a relaxing trip – that was the main goal! After the weekend was over though, Jason and a friend and fellow welder, started working again on the fence on the property that will lead from the road to the house (when it’s finally there.) It will be a pipe fence rather than a barb wire fence. Jason said that it would look nicer as an entrance to the property and I agreed. Once he and Cameron finish the pipe fence, it will need to be painted. We’re still debating what color to paint it.

Maybe we’ll plan a paint party and invite everyone to come in Tom Sawyer fashion to the Wheeler Country Road!