Memorial Day was behind us and summer still a couple of weeks away, but the weather didn’t reflect late spring. It got HOT in a hurry, and still no rain at the farm! We still enjoyed our walks with the dogs, but were happy to join them in the shade to cool off.
As the temperatures rose past the 100 degree mark and kept on going, we began to long for the 90s. That didn’t stop dog work, though. A couple of weeks ago, after attending “practice” at Allen and Kay Mills’ place, Cody, Bo and I followed Charly Kronberger home for some more dog-and-sheep fun at her farm outside Richland Springs.
It houses their chickens, and provides a roost for a small flock of guineas that peeked out suspiciously when we looked in.
Charly had several volunteers when she went out to sort sheep, but only one was needed.
I worked both dogs for a bit on Tuesday afternoon.
Then we were up and out by 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
The morning was lovely, and we worked in the big field on some of Charly’s Dorper replacement ewes.
Then, I took Bo into the round pen for some balance work, closely supervised by one of Charly’s livestock guardian dogs.
It was a great opportunity to spend time with a good friend doing what we both love.
Last weekend John and I had a good visit with our son, daughter-in-law and two of our three grandkids, Mallory's husband and Gage's friend.
We celebrated Debi’s 50th birthday with dinner at Oma Leen’s in nearby Walnut Springs. As usual, the food was excellent. We understand that the restaurant will be moving to Hico this fall. Fortunately, that's even a little closer for us, so the move won't be an inconvenience.
On Saturday, several of us braved the sweltering temperatures for some target practice. We are lucky that our shooting range is in the shade most of the day, so the hottest thing around was the spent cartridges.
Gage and Daniel exercised the long gun, while Gabby tried her hand with the 22 pistol. She proved to be a crack shot, and the “ping” of rounds hitting the orange targets were frequent.
On Saturday evening, cousins Cathy and Eric came for supper, and sweet Annie spent some time with the Bagley cousins, Huey and Zelda, Gabby’s and Gage’s dogs. Huey was quite taken with her!
John outdid himself. Both pits were smoking, and the brisket, ribs and chickens we chowed down on were excellent. John doesn’t often smoke a brisket, but after last weekend I think they will be on the menu a lot! We also found time for a great walk on Sunday morning with Gage, Gabby and the dogs.
Fortunately, we didn’t see Mama Feral Pig and her dozen or so half-a-football-size piglets. We had surprised them on our walk a couple of days before. When they hustled across the road 50 yards or so ahead of us (below our lower stock pond near our east fence line), Rue and Kota just ignored them. Cody and Bo didn’t see them, but when Bo ranged into the cedars a couple of minutes later, we discovered that the pigs hadn’t kept moving after crossing the road. Bo let out a couple of warning barks, and Mama Pig came charging out of the brush, snorting and grunting a warning. Bo responded immediately to my call-back, thank goodness, and Mama Pig turned and went back to her piglets. That’s my second up-close-and-almost-personal encounter with feral swine, and I hope it’s my last.
After a good walk and a dip in our very muddy stock tank, Zelda earned herself a visit to the dog wash while Huey looked smugly on. Then the four of them were off to Austin. We can't wait for our next family get-together.
