Congratulations, Graduate!

Last weekend ended with a very special BBQ celebrating the high school graduation of our grandson, Myles Vinson.  Myles and a number of his family and friends gathered at our house to play games,t

visit, and enjoy John's excellent pork ribs, chicken and sausage.

complemented by scrumptious sides,

and, of course, cake and ice cream.  Congratulations, Myles.  We are proud of you and wish   you every success at Texas State University and beyond!

Farm Dog Fun

Last weekend was a busy one.  On Saturday, Colt, Rue and I spent the day at Destiny Farms in Bertram, TX, helping out at the Texas Herding Association's THA Farm Dog Certified Event and Instinct Testing.  The event started with one of the judges explaining the course and objectives.

We enjoyed our time with good friends and their dogs on a breezy, beautiful day in the country.  Our job was for Colt or Rue to be the "distraction dog" for the dogs working to earn their AKC Farm Dog Certificate.  Much of the time we hung out in the shade, but every 5 or 10 minutes we entered the course to walk past a dog that was required to sit or stand quietly while we did so.

Brandy, the young Briard, did a good job of keeping her cool.

The dogs came in all shapes, sizes, breeds and colors.

I was able to take photos of many of the participants as they worked their way around the course.  The requirements included walking past unfamiliar objects and pieces of equipment that would be found on a farm or ranch, 

passing through a gate politely, walking calmly past strange people making loud noises and the earsplitting racket of a running tractor.   

Orange cones marked the course, and this Belgian shepherd thought they looked a lot like toys.

The dogs also had to approach a pen full of sheep.  Brandy was calm and collected when she did so, but then really didn't understand why she couldn't stay and herd them.

You could almost hear her saying, "But...but...but...those are sheep; 

surely we aren't going to leave without working them!"

She did, however, sit quietly while Connie fed the sheep a bit or corn,

And was very excited when she received a passing score...or maybe it was the treat she was anticipating when she returned to her crate.

The last thing the dogs needed to do was to stand quietly while their handlers checked them over for burrs.  We all agreed the Briards with their heavy coats presented the biggest challenge.

The other activity going on at the event was instinct testing.  In this exercise, the dogs were taken into a pen with sheep to see if they displayed the proper level of interest and desire to herd.  I didn't spend much time at that venue, because Colt, Rue and I were busy on the FDC course.  I did get a couple of shots, though, of the sheep and dogs working them.

We had a great time, and the only disappointment for Colt and Rue was that they didn't get any real "sheep time."  That will have to wait for another day.

Just Chillin'

The rain didn't stop with the downpours on April 24; we have had intermittent showers every couple of days since then.  Some were even accompanied by thunder and lightening, which forced Kota to ask for her thunder shirt,

 or at the very least to take shelter in the laundry basket until the storm passed.

Inclement weather hasn't been all bad, however.  Jimmy and Nine paid us a visit in Volente, and the four of us had a good time just chillin' and enjoying a good visit.

Among our more ambitious activities was lunch at Lucy's Chicken on Hwy 620 overlooking Lake Travis.  (My favorite was the "lizard basket" made up of fried chicken livers and gizzards, but it was all good.)  

We had planned a sunset happy hour at The Oasis, but the weather didn't cooperate.
Never mind, though, we had fun just hanging out with the dogs on our patio between showers.

A Gathering of Long-time (notice I didn't say Old) Friends

April went by in a flash, and I just realized I’m way behind in my blog posts.  It isn’t that we’ve been sitting around eating bon-bons.  Quite the contrary; we’ve been busy every minute.  The spring has been beautiful, and we have spent much of our time at the farm catching up on chores and in general enjoying ourselves.

As we often do, we had an evening of good food and even better conversation with cousins Kathy and Eric Vanderbeck, who have a home between Cranfills Gap and Clifton.

And on the way home, we had a great view of the sun setting behind St. Olafs Kirke (known locally as The Rock Church).  

Built in 1886, mostly by volunteer laborers from the congregation, the church has neither running water nor electricity.  What it does have is a huge wood stove for heat, and a rare Vocalion Reed Pump Organ, which has been recently restored.  The congregation built a new church in Cranfills Gap, but The Rock Church is still used for special services and an occasional wedding or funeral.  It is open to the public, and well worth a visit if you're in the area.

The Bagley Pack enjoyed their time at the farm, and were nice enough to pose for their annual portrait in the bluebonnets. 

We have eggs or baby birds in several of our nest boxes this year.  I think these are tufted titmouse babies...but ugly also comes to mind. 

Several nests are usually filled with baby eastern bluebirds, but this has been an unusual year for birds.  We haven't seen a bluebird since winter, and I don't think any are using our nest boxes.  Hopefully they will be back next year.  

There are plenty of turkeys, though.  These two large toms are regular visitors to the pasture below the house, strutting their stuff in hopes of attracting the attention of one of the hens that also visit regularly.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a very special treat.  Good friends Jimmy Joe and Danine Jacks came to spend a few days at the farm with us.  You may remember from prior posts that JJ and Nine have lived in Cambodia for a number of years, and usually don't get home to Texas but every couple of years.  That makes us treasure the times when we are able to get together.  (Check out my blog posts from January of 2012 and 2013 to see some of the adventures we had when we visited them in Phnom Penh.)

JJ tried his luck in our upper stock pond and hooked a couple of nice bass.

Since we didn't have a fishing net to land them, John did the honors.  

They would have been good eating, but since it's spring and the fish are spawning, we let them go in anticipation of their making even more bass.

On Wednesday, April 24, we invited members of my Hamilton High School class to come out for BBQ.  We refer to each other as long-time (not old!) friends.  I have known many of these folks since first or second grade, and all of them since at least high school.  Jimmy Joe and I trace our shared school experiences back to third grade, I think, and the group of us can tell more tales than one afternoon can accommodate.  We remember painting our class graduation year on various abandoned grain elevators; we remember a couple of guys who built a stink bomb in high school and got a visit from the Texas Rangers; we remember Travis Cozby's hay rides, rides on band and basketball buses, and on and on.  Maybe next gathering we'll write down some of them...or maybe not.

The weather that day was less than ideal.  Intermittent showers kept us on the porch and inside for the most part, and Kota had to wear her thunder shirt, but the rain didn't dampen our enthusiasm.  And it didn't keep us from chowing down on John's excellent BBQ or the desserts and sides folks contributed.  And, oh yes, there were a few beers consumed as well.  

 

The party started before noon, and when the last folks left we were amazed to see that it was 8:00 p.m.  What a great time!  Can't wait to do it again.

We enjoyed seeing everyone, and especially appreciate the beautiful pecan wood "Texas Solitaire" game that Dennis Taylor brought us.  Dennis and his wife Cathy live nearby, in Gatesville (home of our former high school football rival).  He makes these neat sets, which have a Tic-Tac-Toe game on the reverse side, and are accompanied by really unique and beautiful marbles which are made in West Virginia.

After everyone left, I tried my hand at Texas solitaire.  The goal is to place marbles in all the holes but one, then "jump" and remove marbles until only one remains.  Well, I tried...and tried...and tried.  I had begun to think Dennis was a mean, cruel, sadistic person, but then finally I succeeded.  Only one marble remained!  I was pretty proud of myself, so I decided to do it again.  Well, I couldn't remember (as George Bush would say) the strategerie I used when I won.  I'm sure there's a secret to winning every time, but I'll have to ask Dennis the next time I see him.  

A good time was had by all, and we're looking forward to getting together again soon.