A Walk in the Woods

Who wouldn’t enjoy a walk in the woods,  right?  We do, and so do the dogs.  The last couple of days we have been in the woods…BIG woods.  Yesterday, we arrived at Indian Cave State Park, near Shubert, Nebraska, early in the afternoon.  This lovely park is less than 100 miles from Rock Creek COE Park, so it was a short trip.  It was mid-week, so there weren't many RVs in camp, and we had our choice of camping sites.  

We have been here before, but it has been a while.  In checking our trip logs, i found that we visited on August 18-20 of 2010.  Our canine companions at the time were Lucky Dog, Nickie and Feathers, all of whom have now passed.  The interesting thing is that back in 2020 we again had the park almost to ourselves.  At that time there were only us and five other campers in the whole park.  Here are photos from that trip.  

Looks familiar, doesn’t it?  The dogs in the pictures above are Nickie and Feathers, but otherwise everything looks pretty much the same.  It should.  We didn’t know it when we picked out our site yesterday, but we chose the same one we had in 2010, Site # 86.  It is beautiful, with a large, grassy lawn and lots of room for dogs to stretch and play.  Cody and Bo did ready-gos until their tongues were hanging out, and Rue chased as many balls as John would throw.

And woods...behind our campsite are woods so dense even Kota doesn't venture in very far.

I wish we had planned a longer stay here.  There are miles and miles of hiking trails through the woods, and we took full advantage of them today.  

The dogs accompanied us to see Indian Cave, for which the park is named.

It overlooks the mighty Missouri River, flowing strong and fast.

Then we hiked several of the park’s trails through beautiful woods and along ridges with views of the river.

Perhaps the day’s biggest surprise was Kota.  Our “geriatric” 12 1/2-going-on-13-year-old dog led the pack most of the way.  She also flushed some ducks from the reeds beside the river, and almost didn’t come back when we called.  (I'm sure she as thinking of the 18-pound turkey tom and the three wild pheasants she caught and killed in her younger days.)  I’m glad the ducks flew instead of going into the Missouri; I think she might have gone in after them.  Of course, she didn’t carry water like the rest of the dogs; she just wore a vest with a handle in case we had to help her on the trail.  Clearly, she didn’t need any help.

The Missouri was swift and muddy, and looked treacherous.  I can’t imagine what it must have been like for early settlers to cross as they made their way west.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through this area in July of 1804.  This spot overlooks the site of a terrible storm which came up suddenly and almost swamped the expedition’s boats.  

As Clark recalled, "...at half past Seven, the atmisphr became Suddenly darkened by a black and dismal looking Cloud....  The Storm which passed over an open Plain from the N.E. Struck...our boat on the Starbd. quarter, and would have thrown her up on the Sand Island dashed to pieces by an Instant, had not the party leeped out on the Leward Side and kept her off with assistance of the ancker & Cable."

There is a lot of history at Indian Cave, and I wish we had planned a few more days here.  Next time......

On the Road 2022

We are officially ON THE ROAD!  We left early Sunday morning, trying to beat the heat out of Texas.  We crossed the Red River got out of Texas, but not out of the heat. 

Our first night at Roadrunner RV Park in Oklahoma City, was blistering.  The park is a good one-nighter, with concrete pads and grassy yards.  There is even a nice area where the dogs could stretch and do a few ready-gos.  

When we parked, though, it was mid-afternoon and the temperature was well over 100.  More important, the rig was a suffocating 98 degrees inside.  We turned on both A/C units and loaded the dogs in the car for a Walmart run.  It was the closest we could get to being cool, and we were looking for something quick and easy for supper.  

On the way back to the RV park, we were concentrating on finding our way.  The dogs were crowded in the back with the groceries, and I could hear Rue growl a couple of times.  That’s what she does when one of the other dogs crowds her.  Then, first Kota, then Cody, put their paws on the console between us and appeared very agitated, panting and nudging us with their noses.  Silly me, I thought they had smelled the rotisserie chicken and were encouraging us to get home so they could have supper.  I scolded them and told them to get back.  Then we heard it…the faint crinkle of cellophane.  When I turned around to check, I saw Rue standing over the pizza.  When I scolded her, she stepped carefully over it and sat down, gazing out the window as if she knew nothing.  But Kota and Cody knew...and they had tried their best to tell us.  I'm ashamed that I didn't pay more attention.

When we got home, this is what we found.

How Rue managed to open the cardboard box, extract the pizza, unwrap it and eat most of the cheese and all but one pepperoni…all in the space of less than 10 minutes and without making a sound, I’ll never know.  But she did. And she was and remains, unrepentant.

Fortunately our second and third days on the road have been much more pleasant.  Up I-35 to Wichita, then east to just past Topeka, Kansas, we were blessed to have clouds most of the way.  I took my turn at driving.  

And, now I know where all that rain we needed has been going…everything up here is lush, with plenty of hay and grass up to the cows’ bellies in many pastures.  

When we arrived yesterday at Rock Creek Corps of Engineers Park on Perry Lake, it was 73 degrees with a brisk wind blowing across the lake.  Last night, we slept with the windows open for the first time in months.  We have a great site, No. C69, out on the peninsula.

When I took the dogs out early this morning, this is what I saw. 

This is a beautiful park, as is Perry State Park next door.  This doe and her twins had the state park almost to themselves.

We have stayed at Rock Creek before, and will do so again.  Here are a few more pics from our short visit.

We even saw wildflowers!  That's a big change from this year at the farm; we haven't seen any.

It was a great short visit and we look forward to our next visit.

Glory!

Members of our church family shared our joy as we were baptized in the faith and joined First Baptist Church Cranfills Gap on Sunday, July 17.  Because the baptistry is currently undergoing renovation, Pastor Brian Barrett utilized the parsonage's above-ground pool for the baptism service.  

Thanks to Pastor Brian, his wife Katrina, and to our brothers and sisters in Christ for their love, support and friendship.  We look forward to joining them for in-person worship when we return from vacation.  In the meantime, we will be virtual participants in services. Glory!  God is good!

Drought and Destocking

I have mentioned before that last fall and this year so far have been exceptionally dry…with temperatures higher than normal.  The average rainfall here is about 31 inches per year, but that is not the total most years.  Our precipitation varies widely…or maybe I should say wildly.  We found data dating back to 1992 for the area where our farm is located.  Those records show that in 1992 the area received 39 inches.  The next 6 years were mostly above average, but in 1999 only 21 inches fell.  Several  above average years followed, topping out at 54 inches in 2004.  Two years of drought followed, with rainfall of less than 25 inches.  This is how our upper tank looked in May of 2006. The water was low, but that didn't keep the many turtles from making their way up the bank to dig their nests.

In September of 2006 the lower pond had shrunk to just a puddle, and we had someone come in and clean it out.

It was just in time.  In 2010 about 45 inches fell and filled up the creeks and ponds.  Then the pendulum swung again.  I believe the driest year we have recorded is 2011, when the charts say we received 15-20 inches.  That is when our lower stock pond dried up completely and the upper tank was only a puddle.  So far, it appears we are headed for another such year.

The upper tank is getting very low.  You can see it is down significantly from its normal level, 

and our lower pond is almost dry; Kota walked across the shallow end this morning.  

Our own observations have been written down since 1994, shortly after my parents deeded the property to my brother and me.  There are the weather service records, and then there are what we have collected in the rain gauge here in the upper end of Stanford Valley.  And so here is the bad news.  Beginning in July of last year and through December 2021, we recorded 7.6 inches.  Beginning in January and through today, we have recorded 5.8 inches.  That is…if I wrote it all down.  (We get very excited any time it rains, so I think my totals are pretty accurate.)  So, from the first of July, 2021 through July 16, 2022, Goat Hill has received a grand total of 13.4 inches.  That’s not enough.  Not enough to keep the creek flowing; not enough to keep the stock ponds even half full; not enough to make a hay crop and hardly enough to produce any grass.  

This year, for the first time I can remember, we had no bluebonnets, prairie verbena or Indian paintbrush in our pastures.  There are no blackfoot daisies or Texas bluebells.  Many of the weeds haven’t bloomed or produced seeds…no broom weed, no speargrass, no beggar lice.  I have been filling our bird feeders and hummingbird feeders every couple of days.  I would put out sugar water for the bees, but we have seen very few.  I don’t know what they are eating.  

We didn’t bale hay from our coastal Bermuda field this year, but instead are using that pasture for grazing.  We have enough hay put aside to last us for two normal years, but it may only feed our stock for one if we have to begin supplemental feeding early.

Because of the lack of grass and our concern with the water situation, (At least we have a good well!) we have sold some of our cattle.  In June, we said goodbye to two of our older cows and three weaned calves.  This week we sold three more cows and their 3-4 month old calves.  We hope this will allow us to keep our remaining stock in good condition through the winter, even if we don’t get significant rain.  These heifers aren't suffering.  They graze in the early mornings and late afternoons.  During the day, they make cow puddles under the trees and chew their cuds.

Fluctuating temperatures and rainfall are part of life in the country.  Many who spend their days in offices and high-rise condos don’t experience the intimate relationship with nature that we do.  It has its ups and downs, but we wouldn’t trade it.  Rain will come again, and at some point we will walk through pastures running with water and won’t be able to cross the creek.  Then I can post more pictures like these from years past.

Yesterday, a little cool front moved through.  We didn't get any rain, but it did cool us off a bit.  Perhaps by the next time I post I can report something in the rain gauge, and next year we're hoping for bluebonnets.