Our birthday celebration was a big success. Everyone had too much food, did serious damage to the margarita mix and I only stuck myself with a shish-ka-bob stick once! Ha! It was a beautiful sunny day and all the grands and everyone else went swimming. Some of us swam twice, once before dinner and then again after. The grands were thrilled to swim after dark with the pool light on.

Later, upon getting out of the pool, we had another wild visitor. Buddy and Penny alerted us to another snake in the yard. This time it was not a rattlesnake. It was a good sized King snake all black and shiny! The older girls tried to trap him to remove him from the yard but ended up just chasing him out. We didn't want the dogs to hurt him. He slithered safely out of the yard to the rock garden by the garage. Hope he catches some of the kangaroo rats out there or keeps any rattlesnakes away.

After the snake went away, we watched bats swoop and dive after moths under our security light. They are like the swallows of the night. The grandkids were awed and not scared. The light shone through the bats' wings outlining their bodies and legs. I can't imagine how many bugs there would be if it weren't for the bats and the birds.

On a sad note, I went to let the chickens out yesterday morning and found our only chick had died overnight. I don't know what happened. Maybe one of the big chickens didn't like her or something. I will be glad once we move the chickens to their own place and get some new ones. We are only getting a few eggs from these hens and not very regularly at that. But they are too old to make a good dinner so I'll just keep taking care of them in their old age. They were good layers at one time. I once got 2 dozen eggs in one week. I was selling eggs to get rid of them. I don't think I bought any store bought eggs for 4 years! So I don't mind keeping the old hens. They have been good to us.

It is nice and cool this morning, about 66 degrees. The weatherman said it would only get down to 77 in Tucson. So maybe we will only hit 96 degrees today instead of 106 predicted for Tucson.

The hummingbirds are going crazy around the feeders this morning. Trying to count them could make one insane. They never stop moving and they all look pretty much alike. I try to count them in groups but even then I am never sure. I think there may have been about 15 of them here this morning.

Buddy is still not over the snake incident. I had to provide another bucket of water for him away from where the snake was. He seemed to rest OK last night and he is himself this morning except for not going near the old water bucket. It must've been a very close all for him. I didn't see the snake the first time either. They blend in pretty well with the rocks and the terrain around here. Steve did get the rattle last night while I was doing the dishes.

Today we are celebrating our oldest daughter's birthday. I still have to get a few things at the grocery store. Last night I cut up chicken and beef into chucks to put on shish-ka-bob sticks. I soaked them over night in a mixture of soy sauce and pineapple juice. Today we will put the meat on skewers along with vegetables like peppers, mushrooms and pearl onions and pineapple chunks. I will cook up some wild rice and make a fruit salad. I also bought a tub of margarita mix. It should be a good time!

Last night was not a very restful night. My little red dog, Penny, barked to go outside about an hour after I went to bed. I got up and waited for her to do her thing, trying not to nod off, cuz I didn't want her to bark again and wake up the baby or mi esposo. We stumbled back to bed about 10 minutes later. An hour or so after that, my Livestock Guardian Dog, Buddy, started a racket just under our bedroom window. I got up again and yelled at him out the window. He just looked at me then proceeded to bark even more and more hysterically. That's when I noticed the big rattlesnake between Buddy and his water bucket. "Oh! Sh-t", I said, "It's a damn snake!" Steve says, "A snake?" and rolls right over to go back to sleep.

So I stuffed my feet in my sandals and headed out the back door. I wanted to get the big flat shovel but the snake was between me and the garage. Just as I stepped out the door, Buddy startled the snake and it slithered very quickly into the corner by his water bucket. Nice! NOT! "LEAVE IT, BUD!" I ordered the dog. He went off to the front yard but not very far. He kept his eye on that snake , his head low, but at a distance. Good dog!

So I managed to get the shovel out of the garage. What to do next? I tried to chop the head off a couple of times but the snake was quick and in striking mode now. There is a big flat tile by the water bucket so I just pinned the snake down with the shovel so that it couldn't go anywhere or bite me or Buddy. "Steve!!!" I yelled. I heard a muffled,"Yeah?" "I need your help, NOW!" "Just a minute ," he says. A minute or so later, the front porch light comes on and mi esposo comes out in his robe and sandals. He got in the garage and got the hoe. While I held the snake with the shovel, he managed to sever it's dangerous head from it's body with two swift blows. What a relief! So I put the dead snake in a bucket by the trash cans. Steve wants the rattle as a souvenir but we didn't want to worry about that in the middle of the night. It will stink to high heaven by the time he gets home from work and cuts it off today. But, hey, I'm sure not going to do it!

Buddy wouldn't go near his water bucket the rest of the night. I had to put another bucket out front for him. He was pretty nervous and jumpy for awhile. Thank the Lord, he did not get bit! That is a really good command to teach a dog, "Leave It!"

It was the first snake we've had this year and I hope it is the last. We usually can expect two or more snakes to show up in the spring and then another 2 in the fall. Yet another sign to me that things are not normal this year. It is not fall yet. It is a weird time to have a snake looking for cover. Or maybe it was looking for a meal. I found one of those big Sonoran Desert Taods trying to bury itself in one of my flower pots this morning. Penny alerted me to that. Dogs are great!

The Storm did some damage to the gas station down the road. Instead of "GAS" the sign now says "G S". We are missing some roof tiles from the garage but mostly just got soaked.

I cleaned out the barn yesterday. I decided I can use some of my old dog crates for chicken nest boxes. I moved some of them to the pasture where I will put the new chickens when we get them. I got some good ideas while I was working which I wrote down in my "Farm Log."

Steve removed a large cholla cactus from the goat pasture. I thought he had removed all the cactus from that field when we fenced it in. I noticed a piece of cactus hanging on the front of Little Buck and another on Mouth's side. We started to remove the cactus from the goats yesterday too. But a storm directly above us started flashing lightening and thundering so we decided to wait. I will try to take care of that again today. Cactus cannot do anything but make trouble on unsuspecting little goats.

The fields and hills around us are actually turning slightly green. It is very late in the summer for this to be happening. Usually things green up at the beginning of July when the monsoon hits. This year that didn't happen. Usually by this time everyone is grumbling about how tall the weeds are in their yards. Not this year. There aren't any weeds. It's kinda scarey. It means we haven't had enough rain. I worry about the fire season next month. I guess worrying never accomplished anything. We'll just have to take things as they come.

I'd say the monsoon is back with a vengence. Yesterday about 2pm, we got slammed with heavy rain and wind. The wind was very scarey. It sounded like a tornado or a train going through. After that let up we had rain on and off throughout the night. Everything is soggy now. We still have a good cloud cover this morning. Maybe there is more rain to come.

The two little bucks and Mouth got pretty wet. They have a shelter but the rain was slanting in the front of the shelter so they hid behind the shelter. There is no roof in that direction. I'd like to get or design more substantial shelters or just have a way for everyone to stay in the barn when the weather is so bad. The alpacas shelter works pretty well for them. They were dry and so was the inside of their shelter. Little Bones, Caramel and Falkor have very good shelter if they want to use it. Little Bones got pretty wet but Caramel and Falkor are dry. At least it is still warm so I don't worry about them too much.

Today I need to refill the hummingbird feeders. With so many hummers using them, the feeders empty in about 2 days. I was buying commercial sugar water but it is more convenient and easy to make my own. The birds seem happy either way.

After waiting for 6 weeks to hear from the guy I ordered fence panels from, I canceled my order this week. I think some people think that because you order a small amount of something or you are not a big farm you aren't worth their time and effort. Oh well, his loss.

We lost one of the baby chicks this week too. He got injured somehow and then I think Falkor stepped on him. I think the one that is still well is a female, which is good. Yet another reason for chickens to have their own pen instead of being in with bigger animals.

The mesquite trees have been loaded down with some weird beetles lately. The beetles are big and heavy. They are very unusual looking and I wish I could get a picture for you. Someone said they might be Palo Verde beetles, but I haven't a clue what they are.

The monsoon seems to be back. I hear thunder now and yesterday we got a nice little rain. We need more rain , lots more.

We got the three young males moved to the pasture by the barn yesterday without incident. Thank goodness! They seem perfectly happy in their new surroundings.

I thought we were going to lose one of our dogs on Saturday night. My daughter's dog, Luxie, is a border collie mix. She is a black, brindle color and mostly a good dog. Anyway, on Saturday night, Buddy started barking and Luxie was whining and running around in circles. Sara found a Sonoran Desert toad near the two dogs. Apparently, Luxie was trying to play with or eat the ugly frog and Buddy was trying to keep her away from it. Buddy knows about those wicked frogs! They taste awful and make him foam at the mouth. He learned long ago not to touch them. Luxie is new to farm life though. She must've gotten right on the toad. She looked like Wiley Coyote in the cartoons after getting blown up! She could not focus her eyes, her legs were all splayed out as if she were sliding on ice, her tongue was all red and hanging to the ground. She was not in a good way. We made her drink lots of water and some milk. We took her back outside and hosed off her feet and her face. We looked up the toad on the internet. We had actually done all that we could do for her short of taking her to the vet. The website about the toads said that they carry a neurotoxin in glands by their ears that can be fatal to dogs. It said to wash out the dog's mouth with water and take it to the vet. Luxie seemed to be recovering so we did not take her to the vet. She is fine now.

Last night there was another Sonoran Desert toad in the yard. Both dogs barked at it but nobody touched it this time. Sara removed the toad to the end of the driveway. No harm done and one border collie a lot wiser about farm life here in the desert.

It rained all day today. It was like tropical weather. We need the rain and it cooled things off. I do hate the wet sloppy ground. All the animals get soaked, the pellets disinigrate and the hay turns to green mash. It takes forever for everything to dry out when we've had 1 to 2 inches of rain in a day. I hope none of the goats get pneumonia. I don't know why they get all wet. They all have a perfectly dry shelter to stay in.

I am on my last gallon of goat milk for Little Bones and Little Buck. They are only getting a bottle in the morning now. So when this gallon is gone, that's it, the end of bottle feeding this year! Thank goodness! If I get any more does, I hope they will be able to feed their kids themselves. I'll have to get tried and true does. It would be nice to get a couple of bred does so that if they had girl kids, I could eventually breed them all back to Falkor. I haven't decided if I will breed Falkor and Caramel again. I have plenty of time to decide. The breeding season for goats is from September through December. If I do breed Caramel again I know I will have to bottle feed the kids.

The thing is if you raise and bottle feed kids, it is difficult to let them go to new homes. And waiting for kids to be born, well, that about kills me too. Anyway, like I said, I don't have to decide yet.

The size of my goat herd has been drastically reduced as of yesterday. Mr. P. who purchased 3 does from me last August, yes, a year ago, finally came and picked up 5 goats. Valentino, Silverado, Butterfly, Snowy and Bold-Fresh all went to their new home yesterday. I would not let Mr. P take the only buck, The Donald, at the same time. I did not want any hanky-panky going on in the vehicle! Mr. P will have to come back when he has a separate pen for The Donald. The good Lord only knows when that will be! Ha!

Originally I had sold Jenny, Bobbin and Lucy to Mr. P. As he continued to procrastinate, I began to see that it would not be a good idea to sell those wild, untouchable goats to someone else, especially someone who is new to goats. So after Jenny had Bold-Fresh and Mouth, I sold her at auction. The same happened to Bobbin, the mother of Snowy and The Donald. Of course, all of Lucy's kids were born dead. The kids are all hand raised and friendly so Mr. P should be happy with all of them. Butterfly was the hardest to catch. She did not want to go in that truck. Like Mother, like Daughter. Jenny, Butterfly's mom was also my wildest, wiliest doe.

I decided to keep Mouth as a companion to Little Buck. He is my only pygora goat now. All the others are pure angora. I still need to register them and change the ownership on Falkor and Caramel. I hope to do that soon. It is not expensive so I really have no reason to procrastinate.

It is weird not to see Valentino, Silverado and Butterfly in their pasture this morning. I will miss Valentino especially because he was my first bottle-fed kid and because he was my only black goat.

Steve and I will move Mouth, Little Buck and The Donald to Valentino's old pasture. It is closer to the barn and easier for me to feed all of the goats at once. Then we will clean up the pasture in the front of the house. We want to get some new chickens to put in that pasture. I plan on replacing the roof on the goat shelter and putting some nest boxes in there. Then we will get some Delawares, a heritage breed. They are supposed to be big calm chickens good for eggs and meat.

Wow, wow, wow!! We have been invaded by hummingbirds! I have never seen so many in one place and it is our place! Ha! I have 3 feeders hanging on the front patio. I have seen as many as 6 birds at a feeder at once with others darting about the other two feeders. It is almost impossible to count the little suckers. They are hardly ever still and, boy, are they fast! They are like little helicopters waiting in line to take off. They charge each other to get their time at the feeder. Of course, I was only able to get pictures of one at a time. I am surprised I got the pictures I did. They are different colors and patterns. Some are brown or grayish. Others have a solid dark head. And I did see one with a ruby iridescent throat. It is a real blast to watch them and hear the noise they make, chirping,as well as the whirrrrrrrrrrrr of their wings. Awesome!

I also got a few pictures of my white hen and her chicks and our big rooster.

We are about to get slammed with a big noisy storm so I will post more later.

The weatherman says the monsoon is disappearing. It is too early and we haven't had enough rain. This morning seems cooler than usual. Could fall be coming already?

I am a little disappointed because a loan we were hoping for has been turned down. There is still a chance that another lender will approve one, but I am wondering if maybe it is just not the time to get into more debt. I have to get busy and start my business officially. I keep hoping for a big windfall but maybe that isn't what I should be hoping for. I think I should learn to find victory in small accomplishments.

The goats are crying out for their breakfast. Falkor was trying to climb the fence for mesquite leaves this morning. The alpacas were the only ones who seemed relaxed. They were lounging in their shelter chewing their cuds. Buddy is especially enjoying the cool morning. He is especially frisky and I had to keep telling him not to jump on me! He's pretty good about backing off and running across the yard instead. I can tell he'd really like to just land his big feet on my shoulders and give me a big wet doggy kiss. He weighs as much as I do though and I'd probably end up flat on my back screaming, "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up"! Not a pretty picture, funny ,maybe, but not pretty.

The hummingbirds have been very active too. I've seen several at the feeders lately. They should be getting ready to migrate soon. So should the swallows. I will know that fall is really here once the hummingbirds and the swallows are gone. I saw several bats last night. We have a big "security" light in the back yard between the house and the barn. I could see bats darting in and out of the light catching moths and other flying critters. Sometimes bats like to feast at the hummingbird feeders too. I think bigger fruit bats do that. Once they discover the hummingbird feeders, they can empty a feeder in one night. They also splatter the red sugar water all over the side of the house and spill lots on the ground. I haven't noticed that happening yet this year. I just refilled the feeders and so far none has been emptied in one night.

It is 7am. I usually get everyone fed by this time so I'd better get it in gear. Lots to do today!

I moved Little Buck only a week ago. He had blood on his horns again this morning but it doesn't seem serious. Maybe just toughening them up. Mr. P is supposed to come pick up his kids this weekend. That will solve the problem of the bucks fighting.

Liz and Dennis arrived safely at their new home. Liz called on Sunday to let me know. Thanks Liz.

I heard coyotes howling, well not howling, more like yipping, this morning on the ridge behind us. They seemed fairly close and made all the neighborhood dogs go nuts. Haven't seen many rabbits lately and I haven't seen Shadow, my gray cat, for quite some time. Coyotes have to eat too. It seems a little early to be hearing them so close by though. Usually it is late September before I really notice their cries. Maybe we are going to have a rough winter this year or maybe we just haven't had enough rain.

I bought some "Static Guard" at the store today. It is supposed to make carding the fleece easier. So I hope to get some work done on that soon.

The baby chicks are doing well and getting bigger every day. They are still yellow and white but not puff balls any more. I will try to post some pictures of them soon.