YESTERDAY FIRST DAY OF MONSOON, TODAY OUR FIRST RAIN

 Checking out the courtyard & my tomatoes...!!

We had clouds this morning & a few minutes ago we got the first rain of the monsoon season.  It lasted about 5 minutes & was enough to "connect the dots" on the courtyard, but that's about all.  Heard from Patti & our son, they live on opposite sides of Tucson & both were getting hail.  Glad we didn't get any.  

When I was a kid in west Texas we had the mother of all hail storms one summer.  When I hear people talk about softball size hail, I know what they are talking about.  Talk about destructive........!!!!!   Cars, roofs, windows, you name it got destroyed.  My stepmother had a big old Chrysler New Yorker, & she drove it to a gas station with an awning, which saved it from getting dimples all over it.  

At that time my Dad had his own sign company.  For the next few months he was so busy he couldn't keep up, & of course couldn't find enough people willing to work.  He did a lot of neon signs, which were quite popular then.  Of course the hail destroyed probably every neon sign in Odessa, Texas & the businesses wanted theirs fixed, NOW.........!!! 

When it was all over Daddy decided he didn't want to do signs anymore & went into commercial painting, hospitals, businesses, shopping centers, which he did until he retired.  Still stayed busy, but people didn't get so excited about walls as they did about signs, which was a good thing.  

Have a call in to a wild life rehabilitator.   Patti sent me info about feeding baby squirrels & one of the first things is, DON'T FEED THEM COW'S MILK, or nuts & seeds.  We haven't been doing nuts & seeds, but I am feeding him cow's milk.  I guess too little calcium is a big problem with these little guys.  I've never heard of Esbilac powder before, but I guess that is the primary replacement food for baby squirrels.  That & monkey chow, who would think that...!!!

Our son is racing tonight, so we won't be here, unless she calls soon.  I'm getting ready to go out & feed, but I'll check the messages before I leave.  I was trying to figure out how to take Skeeke (I won the naming contest), but will feed him before we leave, & when we get home. 

WATERMELON ANYONE?

John said one of rock squirrel's favorite foods is new mesquite shoots.  This one seems to really enjoy watermelon.  This is the first thing I've tried him (yes, him) on besides milk & water.  He seemed to think it was just fine, & managed to eat a pretty good sized piece before he keeled over in a dead sleep.  He seems lethargic to me, although I have no idea how little rock squirrels normally behave, maybe all they do is eat & sleep.  If so, he is being very typical.  

Yesterday afternoon we managed to get everyone fed, Mocha & Tucker loaded & got on the road at 4:10........!!!!  We were shooting for 4:00, so that was pretty good.  In all our planning we did forget about the one hour ahead in New Mexico, so instead of getting in around 8, it was about 9:30 their time.  They were anxiously waiting for us, we unloaded Tucker & Mocha, they were headed to their pens & the geese started honking.  Mocha decided she didn't need to go any further & planted her feet.  Of course she planted her feet, guess what Tucker did?  We cajoled, we pushed, we tried bribery.  Just about the time Mocha would decide, to maybe move a foot, one of the geese would honk..........Grrrrr......!!  Finally Tucker got a little antsy about just standing there, showed a little interest in moving.  Claude & I literally dragged him into the pen, with Mocha not far behind.  Whew!  Usually they are right in your hip pocket, I wonder what they thought of the geese this morning in the light of day?  LOL  They will be sharing a fence with the geese, so they better get use to them. 

We said our good-byes & headed home.  I had taken the squirrel with us, so I could feed him.  On the way home I got a brilliant idea.  I've heard of people putting little critters in their bras to keep them warm.  He didn't seem to care for the air conditioning in the truck, so I took him out of his cage & plopped him in between my boobs.  He snuggled right down & except for the tiny little claws it wasn't as weird as I thought it would be.   I read about a woman one time that literally hatched some type of bird by carrying the eggs around in her bra.  Now THAT is dedication, can't imagine how she kept from breaking the eggs.  

Haven't heard from January yet today, about how Mocha & Tucker are doing,  I would imagine she's too busy playing with them.  She already had friends lined up to come a see them, so maybe they are having a party.......!!!!  LOL  Should be a great home for them, & I'm thrilled they could stay together & grow up together, since Mocha was only 26 months old when Tucker was born. 

Didn't take the camera since I knew it would be dark when we got there, but hopefully January will take some pictures & send them to me.

NOTHING LIKE COMPLICATING MY LIFE....!!

Yesterday morning I noticed Julius, one of the outdoor cats was stalking something in the back yard.  I went out, yelled, "no birds", I don't bother to see if that is in fact what they are after.  I just teach all cats to run like hell when I yell "no birds".  

Anyway went out & there was a little baby rock squirrel by the back wall.  It was very lethargic, growled a little but other than that just laid there.  I yelled for John to bring a cage.  Put it in the cage, came back in the house & when I checked on him, he was gone.  Guess the openings in the cage were larger than we thought, or he was smaller.  

Looked out & Julius is after something on the porch........guess who?  I picked him up, no growl this time.  I got a syringe of water & he latched onto that like he was really thirsty.  

Right now he is living in a small hav-a-heart trap, on a towel, in our bathroom.  Our house has an open floor plan & 4 cats...............do you see a problem?  I had him with me at the computer yesterday afternoon until Moogee "discovered" him. 

He prefers cow's milk with karo over kitten formula, & has fleas.  Ugh!  John went to town yesterday & when he called asked if I wanted him to get some flea powder?  John is a wonderful person in a lot of ways, but sometimes his animal knowledge gets short circuited.  Of course my knowledge is rather dated sometimes, they might have a flea powder now you can use on "nestlings", but I don't know of any.  So far I've "captured" 3, & haven't seen any "cavorting" since yesterday afternoon.  Maybe they are gone, I hope so, I hate fleas.  

Over the last few days we had found 2 other little guys.  Lysa found one out by the pens & I put it down a squirrrel hole, close to where she found it.  The other one John found dead about 60 feet from where the other one was.  

We're thinking the mother probably got killed, (snake?)  & they were close enough to coming out of the nest to make the effort.  Wish I had known when Lysa found the first one, I would have fed it too.  

Have no idea how long he'll have to be fed.  We'll be hauling Mocha & Tucker to Las Cruces this afternoon, I guess he'll be going with us, so I can feed him every couple of hours or so. 

John wants to name him Pascagula, have no idea how to spell it & neither does my spell checker.  Anyway Ray Stevens sang a song about the Mississippi Squirrel Revival, in Pascagula, Mississippi a LONG time ago.  I told John if we name it that, it will have to have a nickname, Pasca or Gula.  I'm not going to try to say the whole thing on a regular basis. 

I copied this information from a message on the Donkey Group.  Having worked with ex-roping donkeys over the years, I know from personal experience how horribly scarred both mentally & physically these gentle loveable creatures become after such horrible treatment.  Please take a moment to express your thoughts with Van Horn, & also share this information with your e-mail list.  This cruelty needs to stop, before the next generation is indoctrinated into this type of "entertainment".

Take a moment to contact the Van Horn Chamber of Commerce with your nicely worded ( not nasty) thoughts. The phone number is (432) 283-2043, Monday - Friday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. On their website the email address is- patriciagolden@vanhorntexas.org

The City website shows their contact info as:

Mailing Address:

Town of Van Horn
PO Box 488
Van Horn, TX 79855

Phone Number:

866-4-A-HOWDY (424-6939)

eMail :

info@vanhorntexas.org

JENNY HAS AN "AROUND THE CLOCK" BOYFRIEND......!!

Simmons is Jenny's slave, he goes where she goes & does what she does.  If she wants to move he moves, if she wants to stand all afternoon under a tree, he'll stand out in the sun if necessary, as long as he is close to her.  Doesn't seem to matter what the other donkeys are doing including his "bud" for the last couple of years, Pancho.    Pancho is still trying to find a new buddy I guess.  He was following BlackJack this afternoon, which probably isn't going to work.  BlackJack's opinion of most other donkeys isn't very favorable.  He tolerates them, but he seems to think he's on a higher plain than they are, & doesn't appreciate them trying to ingratiate themselves.

We are still keeping Jenny's hoof bandage & will be for the foreseeable future.  It seems to be doing good.  I called the vet clinic & they said to keep doing whatever we are doing.  Putting on about 8 or 9 different layers of things like diapers, Elasticon, duct tape & of course the fashionable brown gauze, gets old in a hurry.  I had ordered a hoof wrap awhile back with the idea of using it on her foot.   When it arrived, I was so disappointed.  It looked flimsy & had all these velcro straps that had to go in order.  So I put it aside & continued on with the wrapping.  As it has gotten warmer, all the material is making her foot sweat.  So I decided to "try" the boot if I could figure out how to put it on.

It's really not that bad once you figure it out, although because of the bandage on her foot I can't get it to fit nicely.  But by some miracle it does stay on & we are getting by with just one layer of duct tape, actually Gorilla Tape with a layer of Elasticon.  Of course there is still the brown gauze & diaper, but they help with the sweating I'm sure.

She kept it on for 5 days straight last week, which is great.  It has a pad in it that stands up to the rocks & sand very well.  We tried going 7 days last bandage change & her foot looked just fine, so we are now on a weekly schedule.

It only weighs something like 4.3 ounces, so it's lightweight.  She has lost it twice, but I think the problem is with the bandaging her foot is larger than a "normal" foot would be.  Also I have to rough up the vel-cro with a brush, to make sure it is as sticky as possible.

I've also ordered 2 more boots.  They advertise them to be good for a few days.  She's been wearing this one over 10 days & it still looks pretty good, no tears or wear spots.  But I really don't want to be without one, if I can help it.

John & I cored the new hay today & I'll send the sample off to Equi-Analytical tomorrow when we go into town to vote.  If it's low in sugar & starch maybe we won't have to soak Gus & Buddy's hay anymore. It's not that much of a problem, but it does add a few extra steps to the feeding routine.

The hay truck got here an hour early this morning which makes for a panic attack, since we were still involved in morning chores.  But it worked out OK, well except for the 1st squeeze of 62-64 bales coming apart & having to be restacked, so the squeeze could pick it all up at once.  The other 7 stayed together & it really didn't take the guys too long to get it all in the barn, safe & sound.  

Of course all this time the donkeys were watching all that was going on & letting us know if they were out, they could help with the hay. 

They got to go out as soon as the hay barn was secured.  Of course there was hay everywhere up & down the driveway, which kept them busy, once the mesquite branches were picked clean.  John had to do some trimming along the driveway, so the big truck could get thru without picking up a lot of "Arizona pinstriping".

 Tucker had to leave the mesquite eating "party" to visit with me.  I didn't realize he was in the picture when I was taking it or I would have made him "prettier".   He just looks like a little blob. 

Simmons & Pancho got to go out for the 1st time today.  I figured with all the excitement going on, if anyone did want to act silly, they'd be too busy to pay attention to the new guys.  I forgot about Jenny & Tula.  Jenny is a rather casual "slut".  If they are in the neighborhood, she'll do her dance for awhile.  Then she wanders off.  Tula seemed to keep Simmons attention most of the day, along with BlackJack, Boaz & Buddy Brat.  Silly boys........at least they weren't doing anything except squabbling amongst themselves for the most part & trailing behind Tula just in case.

When it was time to go into their pens tonight, Pancho went in like he knew what he was doing.  Simmons had no clue where to go,  except to stay with Tula.  Tula will NOT go into her pen if someone is following her.  Simmons was like glue, which really irritated her, which really irritated us, since they were the last two out.  It took both of us to finally get him separated & headed away from her long enough, for her to run in her pen.  Then he went in his pen like a good boy.

Got Mocha & Tucker's health certificates today, so they are good to go to their new home in Las Cruces.  The plan is we will feed early Thursday afternoon & hopefully get on the road by 4pm.  It will be cooler than hauling them during the day.   If everything goes OK, we should get home about 1am.  Like John says , it will be like when we go to the races, although it's usually a lot later than 1am by the time we "drag" in.  Have to go eat & do some "bench racing", so even if the races get over at a decent time, we still drag in late.

HAY DAY..........!!

The driver just called that he's on our road.  John just went out to meet him.  John had it figured pretty close, we had 3 bales of hay left......

Took Mocha & Tucker to the vet this morning to get their blood tests & health certificates.  As soon as the results for the Coggins test gets back, we'll make arrangements to haul them to their new home.  Tucker is 9 months old today & we sure are going to miss him.  No matter what he's doing, he always comes up to the fence to greet you, if you are in the neighborhood.  Before this morning I had never seen him kick.  But he did NOT appreciate having his temperature taken & gave one of the "frustrated baby" kicks they do when they can't control what's going on.  Ruger is about 1 1/2 years old & he still does it.  

Buddy Brat got  a complete blood work-up for Thyroid & also Glucose & Insulin.  I know he is insulin resistant, want to find out how much.  Poor little guy has always had a weight problem & he loves to eat. 

In the "musical" pen dance, he ended up without a pen, & Honcho & BlackJack are sharing a pen with the hay bunk down the middle.  We dump their hay into the bunk & they can both eat from their respective sides.  Well, they would be able to except BJ has decide Honcho doesn't need to eat.  He makes ugly faces at Honcho & Honcho respects BJ's space, although their space is separated by the bunk.......Sigh........!!  I guess Honcho's run-in's with Boaz have made a believer out of him.

Buddy hates not having a pen, so we tried putting a corral panel across the side of the feed room to give him a feeling of being in a pen.  Not good enough, so John is out in the heat of the day, building another pen for Honcho, so he doesn't have to put up with "nasty" BJ.  BJ so loves to have someone that actually takes him serious.  And he's going to put up a "real" pen for Buddy, so he will be comfortable in "his" space.  

This is Simmons on the left & Pancho on the right.  They came in yesterday morning & have already met everyone thru the corral panels.  We'll keep them in for a couple of days to get acclimated without having everyone in their face at one time.  Boaz looked them over pretty good last night, daring them to challenge his authority I guess.  They just kind of looked at him like, " whatever", so I don't think there will be any fireworks like there was with Honcho.  Honcho by the way has been staying out of Boaz's space & everything is nice & quiet.  

Jenny of course came by & did her "slut" walk for them last night.  Poor little Pancho got so excited he jumped on Simmons.  I don't think Simmons appreciated the experience, he seemed to think he should be the guy.  Jenny meets & greets every guy that comes on the property & always has.  She's still got Buddy's attention, he loves to follow her around. 

GROWING PAINS.......??????

Looks like our little family will be growing by two, before Mocha & Tucker go to their new home..............!!!  So the "pen shuffle"  starts all over again.  Wouldn't be so bad, but hay is suppose to be delivered Friday, which means BlackJack has to be moved out of the hay barn.  We think we have it figured out, stay tuned......!!

Friday we went over to Las Cruces, N.M. to do a home study for Mocha & Tucker.  It was an all day trip, I think John said 497 miles, got home late for chores.  When this happens a lot of them wander off to feed themselves.  The ones that insist on being fed on time, are usually standing in close proximity to the driveway with a judgmental attitude.  It usually doesn't take long to get everyone rounded up & where they belong under these circumstances, thank goodness.  

I think Mocha & Tucker will have a wonderful loving home, they'll have a large fenced area that includes the back of the house.  So they will be able to look in the windows & let the people know when it's time to pay attention to them, which I'm sure they will learn real quick.  

This Wednesday they have an appointment to get their Coggins blood test & health certificates to go across the state line.  That usually doesn't take but a few days, so we'll probably be hauling them the next week. I hope it cools off we don't like to haul in hot weather.


Yesterday Bijou got his teeth done.  Stacy had noticed he had some hooks & she was having her dentist come out & do some of her horses.  I got there too late to see how he did, but they said he was a little gentleman.  He sure looks good with his feet trimmed up, & body clipped, as Stacy said he looks like a little show horse.

Thanks for the picture Stacy

He's still not wearing his boots & is doing really well.  Stacy said he is a little "ouchy" out of the soft pen area, but he's been in boots for almost 6 months.  I remember how it use to be when I started going barefooted in the summer, the first few days till my feet toughened up were pretty tough.  

While I was there I took a picture of the little 24 inch mini horse.  She's happy & friendly, but so deformed.

CINNAMON

The idea that people would breed these little guys for profit just turns my stomach.  Even if people are willing to pay big bucks to have one they can keep in their apartment or whatever stupid reason they have, how many people would be willing to furnish the care these little creatures will need for their whole lives?  

LOOK AT THAT LEFT FRONT FOOT

I don't know what they call the little horses, in donkeys they call them Micros.  There's a place in Texas called Golden's Point that has a little 26 inch jack named Tiny Ticket.  His stud fee is $1000, so there's money in it that's for sure.