Sizzling Summertime

Spring was wonderful, and now summer is upon us.  That means many things.  For one, it’s warmer…much warmer…and for a the next several weeks, it continues to be humid.  The wildflowers have disappeared, and the beggar-lice (hedge-parsley, also called beggar burs, beggar’s ticks and by other four-letter names) matured a month or so ago.  They look like tiny (pin-head size) cockleburs, covered with coarse bristles with hooks at the tips.  They stick to everything…socks, pants (and underwear if you do laundry without de-burring your socks).  

They are deceptively lovely in the spring, with lacy leaves and tiny, delicate flowers.  Growing from 6 to 18 inches tall, they are the perfect height to completely cover a dog with burs.  About the third week of June, we began to take defensive action.  We put shirts on our dogs so that at least some of the beggar-lice will attach to the fabric and not to the dog.  

With the shirt-tails tied up out of the way, the dogs don’t mind at all and it saves hours of de-burring after our walks.  Here is what one of the shirts looks like after a morning walk through the pasture and a dip in the creek or stock tank.  It catches a lot of burs, but there are still plenty on the dog.

Normally by mid-July, we have packed the RV and are on our way to cooler climes.  When asked where we are traveling, John always says “to 5,000 feet.”  That’s where it starts to cool off to our liking.  This year, we had planned to spend a week in Santa Fe, a month in Buffalo, WY, and several weeks in Custer, SD.  Unfortunately, even though the western states have had fewer cases of the virus than other areas, we are still reluctant to travel this year.  We will miss the friends we visit on the road, but will plan to spend our time in Texas this summer, going back and forth between Volente and the farm.  

When we travel west, we like to stop in Laramie, WY, for a few days at the Albany County Fairgrounds.  There is a wonderful indoor shooting range there, and the opportunity to spend time polishing our handgun skills under the excellent tutelage of Range Master Roy Kern.  We do have a small outdoor range set up at the farm, and hope we don’t get too rusty before we go back to Laramie.  A couple of weeks ago, John and I shot our (very old) 20 gauge “snake gun” that we sometimes carry with us in the ‘Gator in case we need to dispatch a rattlesnake.  

I also got a lesson firing a rifle in case one of the feral hogs shows up close to the house. If they’re within 40 yards, they will be pork chops!

Except for the one that charged Rue several weeks ago, we usually see them on the game camera, but mostly they like to visit in the wee small hours of the morning when we are sound asleep.  

There hasn't been a lot of excitement here at the farm the past month, but we did come across this beautiful female red-eared slider turtle busily digging a hole for her eggs.  

She had urinated to make digging easier, but when she saw us she changed her mind and moved on to another nest site.  It's a good thing, the first place she chose was under a live oak tree where the cattle hang out, a good 200 yards from any water.  

So far, it has been dry both in Hamilton and in Volente.  Temperatures have been typical…most days in the 90s, with several days in a row in the mid-100s.  

Here is our red-neck outdoor cooling system at the farm.  

The dogs have a swimming pool, but John and I make do with a fan and a sprinkler, and hope the breeze doesn’t feel like it’s coming from a blast furnace.  We'll be back and forth between Volente and the farm and will keep you posted on our adventures.  Stay tuned, stay cool and stay safe.