Sheep, Skunks and Chain Saws

A week after my cataract surgery, Dr. Henderson released me to resume normal activities.  Rue and I immediately began preparations for the Texas Herding Association trial scheduled for February 28, March 1 and 2.  We worked several times a week with our herding instructor, Sheryl McDonald of Shertom Kennels in Leander.  We had a lot of work to do.  Rue has only been working sheep since November, and we were in Port Aransas for the entire month of January.   And, although I did herding with Nickie for several years, I am by no means yet an accomplished handler.  Sheryl said we were ready, though, so I entered her in the trial.  Here is a photo of Rue demonstrating what a “walk-up” is supposed to look like.  

I can’t say our runs were pretty, but we got through them.  Rue earned her Pre-trial Test title and took two blue ribbons in AKC Course A Started Sheep.  That means she needs only one more leg (or qualifying run) to advance to the Intermediate class.  We would have had our third leg, but unfortunately “handler error” caused us to NQ (or have a non-qualifying score).  We managed to get through the course, but at the end I penned the dog along with the sheep, which is a big no-no in the sport of herding.  I’ll try to do better next time, Rue!  (Rue likes herding sheep...or cattle...a lot better than she likes posing!)

The first two days of the trial we had good weather.  Since Rue and I did not compete until Saturday, I took some photos of our friends and their dogs herding ducks.  

On Sunday a strong cold front blew in just as the trial was getting underway.  Most of us were under-dressed because the weather guessers had said the front wouldn’t arrive until mid-afternoon, and that the really cold weather would come later in the day.  That’s the last time I’ll believe those guys!  Another down side to the cold weather was wardrobe-related.  In all the putting on and taking off hats, hoodies, ear-muffs, etc., I lost one of the diamond earrings John gave me several years ago.  I found the earring back, but unfortunately the earring is still awol.  We continue to look.......

Sunday wasn’t the only cold day, though.  On Monday morning the trees in our yard were sporting a sparkling coat of ice and the wind was still bitter.  

Fortunately, the ice wasn’t heavy enough to break branches and it melted by mid-morning.

We have lots to do here at the farm, and are planning to spend March here catching up on chores.  Even though the weather is colder than usual (and still very dry) we’ve made a good start.  Last weekend Brian came up for a couple of days to cut wood and help us widen the walking trail across the top of the mountain to the east and south.  Here are photos of him and John making some progress on that project.  

We hope to soon have the trail widened enough so we can get the 'gator to the top of the hill and all the away across so we can do fence maintenance and haul equipment to the back side of the property.  

The dogs have had a wonderful time.  Every morning when we go out, Kota grabs a stick and races madly around the yard to signal "It's time for a walk."  

She learned "the ritual of sticks" from Nickie, and sees it as her job to announce our daily walks with flair.  Of course, it's an extra special day when we are joined on our walk by Cousin Molly, my brother's Brittany Spaniel.

The Bagley dogs have a long-standing hunting tradition, encompassing everything from fine, fat rats to bunnies, squirrels, a turkey tom, a feral hog and a whitetail deer.  On Saturday the three of them teamed up to catch this unwary squirrel.

Though we didn’t see who killed it, Kota emerged with the trophy.  On the way back to the house she slipped away, and returned without it.  I don’t think she had time to eat it, so we assume she buried it somewhere close by.  I hope she forgets where!

That wasn’t the end of the hunting, though.  On Monday Colt showed he is a hunter as well.  He found a mouse nest in the yard and both he and Kota had a mouse snack.  Colt was very proud.

Not to be outdone, on Tuesday Kota tried for a skunk with predictable results.  Fortunately she didn’t fully engage the skunk and only got a face-full of “skunk juice.”  After a good scrubbing and treatment with Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover, she only exudes a faint skunk odor.  

We'll be here for another couple of weeks, and look forward to more adventures, but hopefully not more skunk encounters.

The Eyes Have It

We must be having a lot of fun because February seemed to fly by.  After returning home from Port Aransas, we quickly unpacked the RV and made a quick trip to the farm to check on the cows.  I’m happy to report that all are fat and happy, but show no signs of calving in the near future. 

Back in Austin again, on February 11, I reported for cataract surgery on my right eye.  Dr. Thomas Henderson of Eye Clinic of Austin implanted a lens that gives me good distance vision in that eye.  Once the eye has healed completely and my vision returned to normal, I expect to have a similar surgery on my left eye.  That lens will be one that corrects my near vision and should give me the ability to function without reading glasses.  Now, one month after the first surgery, the eye appears to be reacting normally and I am looking forward to having the vision in my left eye corrected as well. 

Fun, Food and Belt Sander Races

As our month in Port A neared its end, we naturally tried to finish all the things on our “bucket list” for the trip.  It's a great little town, and does its best to live up to this sign (versions of which were posted in many shops and restaurants). 

We didn't get to do any fishing, but we did eat a lot of it.  We also took the local garden club’s tour of homes and were inspired to go back to Austin and begin work on our own place.  Unfortunately, photos were not permitted, so I can’t show you any of the lovely homes we toured.

Of course, we continued our almost-daily visits to the dog park.  The Bagley Dogs enjoyed playing with their many new friends, but especially lively was the day seven representatives of the herding breeds showed up at one time.  In addition to our three (and Kota’s credentials as a herding dog are suspect) there was another Border Collie, an Australian Shepherd and these two magnificent Old English Sheep Dogs.  Too bad there weren’t any sheep!

After attending the belt sander races a couple of weeks, ago, we also wanted to get front-row seats to watch the last races of the month.  

We arrived at The Gaff in time to meet one of the stars of “Chicken Bingo” which is held on alternate Saturdays with the belt sander events.  (We’ll put that on our list for next year when we return.) 

The bar was filled with the usual cast of colorful characters, including this ginger-haired woman and her matching bright-eyed friend.  

The action got underway promptly at 3:00 p.m. with the singing of our National Anthem.  

The stands were full, and the track stretched some 30 or so feet to the finish line, where a judge was poised to determine the winner of each heat.

There were a number of belt sanders entered.  In addition to Pepe le Pew (the belt sander with balls), 

contestants included Mustang Island Express, Purple Passion, Turbo Trout, Low Life 

 and an unnamed belt sander entered by “Team Horny Goat.”  

I never got the name of the captain of Team Horny Goat, but the team mascot was Bruce, whose white coat had been tinted orange to match the team colors.  He was a great favorite with the crowd.

We watched the teams preparing their belt sanders, 

then lining them up for the race.  

When the “Christmas tree” lights came on, the sanders were off in a flash, trailing their power cords behind. 

Winners of the heats took a victory lap to slap high fives accompanied by the raucous cheers of the crowd (fueled I’m sure by the pints and bottles of beer in everyone’s hands).  

The beer came from the bar inside, as well as from the spigots sported by this lovely mermaid on the patio.

It was an afternoon filled with fun, fellowship, and of course, beer!

On Monday evening before we headed back to Austin, we sampled food from a number of Port A’s restaurants in the annual “Dine Around Port Aransas.”  

We can argue about which had the best food, but one highlight was certainly the gumbo from Castaways.  

Our last couple of days were filled with sunshine, thank goodness!  We enjoyed the beach and a last excursion to Rockport to stock up on oysters and grouper filets.  Then, on February 1, we said goodbye to Gulf Waters RV Resort, loaded up and came back to Reality.  

It was a great trip.

For the Birds

The weather here continues to be unseasonably cold and very windy.  However, there was one glorious day between last week’s frigid Friday and this week’s miserable conditions.  Sunday was sunny, brisk and not too breezy, a great day to go to Rockport and take the Skimmer out to photograph Whooping Cranes and other birds.  While Captain Tommy identified the birds for us, David set up on the lower deck and I opted for a spot upstairs.  

The Skimmer carries a maximum of 32 passengers, and on this early-morning trip most of us were either birders or photographers.  I didn't immediately recognize some of the smaller shore birds, but am slowly getting better at identifying them.  It's not hard to recognize a Whooping Crane, though.  Standing up to five feet tall, with a wingspan of over seven feet, they have brilliant white plumage and black wingtips (visible during flight).  Their heads have a red crown, and their bills are long, dark and pointed.  Along with the Sandhill Crane, whoopers are the only crane species found in North America.

A Whooping Crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild.  They are an endangered species.  By 1941, there were just 15-21 wild birds and two in captivity.  Since then, they have had a limited recovery.  In 2013, the International Crane Foundation estimated there were around 599 birds world-wide.  The flock that winters near Rockport in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge has been estimated at near 250 birds.  It is the only wild, naturally-migrating flock in the world.  Each April, these birds fly north to the Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada.  They return to ANWR each November.  There is quite a controversy over the actual number of cranes in this flock.  It seems the individual who for a number of years had been responsible for the annual crane count retired, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has changed the way it estimates the population.  There is concern that their methods do not give an accurate count.

We saw a number of whoopers on Sunday.  Unfortunately, most of them were faaaarrrr away, like this crane couple who gave us a brief preview of their mating dance.

There was one bird we called Pink Knees that was more accommodating.  He (or she) was fishing close to the shore, accompanied by a number of friends.  (I've tried to identify the "friends" to the best of my ability.)

Whooper and Willet

Whooper and Great Blue Heron

Whooper and Reddish Egret

Although blue crabs are the favorite food of the Whooping Crane, this one only came up with a small fish for lunch.  

The Reddish Egret and Great Blue Heron were lurking close by, presumably hoping to steal something for their own meal.  

We searched for more whoopers, but unfortunately found none close enough to photograph.  We did locate a number of Roseate Spoonbills feeding close to shore.  The ones with the more brilliant feathers are getting their breeding plumage.  I was also happy that one of them gave me a chance to photograph it in flight.  (And, I was thrilled the shots turned out so well as I was manually focusing the camera instead of using its autofocus feature.)

Captain Tommy brought us close to a number of other birds, including the American Oystercatcher shown below, some Brown Pelicans and more Great Blue Herons.  

I learned something new, too.  The Reddish Egret, shown below, has a "white morph," or white phase.
  

Though they don't at first look alike, this one is also a Reddish Egret.  You can recognize it by its thick, dark bill, and its green legs.  Who knew?

It was a productive trip.  We got some nice photos and had a great time!