Thursday, June 30, 2011

Our little bird did not last the second night.  I was sorry it died but wasn't really expecting it to live as long as it did.  It was just too young and still needed its mother.  We enjoyed its presence while we could.

One little black cloud.  Two little black clouds.  Three little black clouds rushing together to make one big thunder cloud right over our little hill.  The Monsoon it finally here!  Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Yippee! The whole sky to the south and east of us eventually turned dark and nasty with lots of rumbling and sparks of lightening.  We watched and "ooohed and awwwed." It is great to have the moisture again!


While we were watching the storm, a creepy critter close to the ground caught our eyes.  The first tarantula of the season.  She didn't like us coming close to take her picture.  She arched her back and raised her front feelers high in the air as if to say "Back Off!"  We did and she hurried under a nearby rock.


As the storm got closer and the sun faded we headed inside.  Just as the door was about to close behind me, Buddy started barking loudly and insistently.  I turned in the doorway and could hear the loudest rattling I have ever heard!  Yikes!  "We have a rattlesnake!"  I yelled to Steve and Sara.  Buddy was at the gate pacing and barking.  I didn't dare let him out.  I looked toward the pool but couldn't see anything.  I could hear him though, loud and clear.  Then I saw our cat, Mikie, jump away from the big agave by the pool.  And that rattling kept on going.  I grabbed a long handled rake from the garage.  Steve came out with the rifle and Sara with the big flashlight.  We crouched down searching the agave, the tree trunks and the cactus where the unique sound of danger continued.  Finally, Sara and I could see the distinct diamond pattern that gives the diamond back rattler its name. The body we could see was as thick as my forearm. But no head!  Where the devil is the head?  Then low to the ground, tongue flicking we saw it in the center of the beam from the flashlight.  Steve got the gun ready but said he couldn't see the head.  Sara, lower to the ground said, "I'll do it!  I can see it!"  Steve handed over the gun.  Sara tried to balance herself but got the giggles for a minute so she shifted and took aim.  "POP!"  A single shot. A perfect hit.  The rattling stopped and the snake slid into the hole it was poking its ugly head out of two seconds before.  What a relief!  We couldn't see any more because it was completely dark now and the thunder storm was getting ominously closer.  We vowed we would find the snake in the morning.


This morning we searched for the snake.  We found the hole and figured he was dead down there under the agave somewhere.  That is probably a good thing as the smell will be hidden under all that dirt.  Funny how big the snake has gotten with the retelling of the story though.  Steve told Shawna today that, "We only saw the thing because it was so big it was trying to eat my truck!"
 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

The fires seem to be almost under control.  It is a relief but we still must be vigilant until the rains come.   The weather has been extremely hot, over 100 degrees every day this week.  I noticed the wind had changed this morning when I was out feeding the animals.  It has been coming from the north or southwest for this whole dry time.  This morning it was coming gently from the southeast.  That is usually a sign that moisture and the monsoon rains are coming.  July isn't far away.  I hope the weather people are wrong and the rain comes at the usual time on the 4th of July instead of waiting two weeks into the month as they are predicting.  Many cities have canceled their fireworks because of the extreme fire danger.  That is just fine with me.

I sold another fleece at the Farmer's Market yesterday.  This time it was a fleece from one of my little angora goats.  It was the first sheering from one of them.  I got $20 for it, so a profit this time since it only cost $10 to have him sheered.  I also sold some rolags that I had made from some white alpaca fleece.  That was one ounce of fleece for $5.  Many people are stopping to talk about alpacas or the fleece.  My business cards are being asked for and given out.  All of this is a good thing for my business.  I also found a company that I can order alpaca products from wholesale.  They are having a special sale if I order by July 19.  Then I will have hats and gloves, scarves, socks and toys available for sale in the fall.  I am telling people that too.  This week I hope to have time to make a couple more aprons and maybe some Fourth of July pillows for sale next week.


The girls went to another Steampunk event.  They looked great as you can see by the pictures.  The grands and I played in Steve's pickup while the girls got ready to go.


Steve and Logan found the tiniest baby bird I have ever seen in the yard yesterday.  I was at the Farmer's Market and they texted me a message that one of the turkey eggs had hatched!  Ha!  I knew as soon as I saw that tiny thing that it was not a turkey!  I put a quarter next to it so you can get an idea how big it isn't!  I think it is a quail baby.  We have lots of Gambrell quail running wild around our property.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It is still extremely hot but the winds have died down significantly.  I did not see any large plumes of smoke anywhere when I looked over the landscape this morning.  However, people were still being evacuated today.  The firefighters started a back fire in the Huachuca Mountains to try to keep the Monument fire away from population centers and the Army base.  It is still a dangerous situation.  

I got our important papers together today and placed them in a metal box.  My alpaca halters arrived and I bought two leads for them.  I looked online and found a place in Tucson that sells livestock trailers.  Steve and I will go on Saturday after the Farmers' Market and see if we can get a good trailer.  We may not ever have to use it but I will feel better having it available just in case.

We celebrated our granddaughter Eden's 4th birthday on Sunday, along with Steve's birthday and Father's Day.  I made Korean barbecued steak and chicken on sticks.  Shawna made a beautiful cowgirl boot cake for her daughter. And both birthday kids got lots of gifts.  It was a fun day.

On the front porch, we have a new swallows' nest.  Looks like they hatched the first batch of new babies this year.  I can see 3 baby birds in the nest but was not able to get all 3 in a picture.

It has been at least 100 degrees everyday and we have been in the pool every day.  It was much nicer today without the blasted wind.  Steve and grandson Logan have seen one rattlesnake so far.  No one else has seen one on our property this year so far...knock on wood.  The one they saw went off down the hill so I hope it stays away.  

The ground is so dry it fairly crackles when I walk across the yard.  Whenever we do get rain, it will probably not soak in because of the months of dry.  We will probably get catastrophic flash floods at first.  We are on a big hill so mostly it will run off our property.  We may have trouble getting across the arroyo at the bottom of our hill.  At this point, I wouldn't really care.  I would welcome any rain that comes our way.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Fire! Fire! Fire!  It is to the east and to the south of us.  The fire in the south, called the "Monument" fire started 4 days ago and has already burned 5700 acres.  It is very close to Sierra Vista and has burned 40 homes in Hereford, AZ.  Steve was contacted last night to see if he had any empty rooms at the base that could be used for evacuees.  The Cochise County sheriff believes the fire was started by illegals crossing the border in the night.  It is an extremely fast moving blaze and very scary.  Fire crews were taken from the huge Wallow fire to the north and east of us to battle this new blaze because it threatens so many homes.  It has been especially hard on animals, pets and livestock.  The news showed several horses who had been burned but are safe and recovering now.  One horse rescue organization lost a whole pasture and had to rescue all of their horses again. 


Personally, I am extremely worried.  I do not remember a fire season this bad in the 7 years we have lived here.  They are too close, too fast and it is way too dry.  I ordered new halters for all the alpacas.  I am looking for a horse trailer in case I have to move all the animals.  I am praying that we will be spared from this disaster.  

The other fire that we can see every day is to the east.  We can see it's billowing smoke just above the Cochise Stronghold and the Texas Canyon.  It is farther way but it is also huge, over 170 thousand acres.  It is called the Horseshoe 2 and it is near Portal, AZ.

Our temperature reached a high for this year, 105 degrees.  The wind continues to blast away every afternoon.  The weather people say the fires will burn and there may be many more before the monsoon rains come.  Usually we have dry thunderstorms for a week or so before the rainstorms come.  This will start more fires.  Monsoon usually starts about the 4th of July but this year it is predicted to be two weeks late. Scary! Scary! Scary!

Monday, June 13, 2011

It has been awhile since I wrote and I apologize.  Seems like I am apologizing a lot lately but never mind.  It seems like it has been terribly windy every day forever!  This morning it was very calm so I was able to hang clothes out to dry.  Of course, by the time I brought them in, the wind was blasting again!  While the rest of the country suffers from record rainfall and tornadoes, here in Arizona we are either baking in 100 degree heat or frying in the largest wildfires the state has ever known.  It is dustier than dirt and with 3% humidity, well, it is damn dry!  

I have started attending the local farmer's market with my alpaca fleece and mohair for sale.  It is only 3 hours on Saturday mornings, 9-12.  I have met some nice people and actually sold 3 fleeces and an apron.  One lady brought me two of her own aprons.  She wants me to add pockets and the waterproof lining to them that I have on my aprons.  The apron that sold is the one with the chickens hanging on the fence.  I plan on making at least one more apron this week and finishing the ones for the lady.  I found a book in one of my farm magazines that teaches how to make rugs by hand from your own fleece.  I think I will use some of the money I made at the market to purchase that.  I really hate having all that fleece in my barn just sitting there.

My grandson, Jake, had surgery done to correct his short heel cords.  Both of his legs are in casts for 8 weeks.  He decided his casts would be black.  Kids get to pick things like that these days.  His mom bought silver and gold markers so we could all autograph the casts.  He seems to be doing fine but hasn't learned to use the crutches yet.  He really isn't supposed to be using his legs at all yet so there is plenty of time.  He'll be out of the casts before there is time to worry anyway.

Sunday morning I had two dead chickens.  I sort of expected one to die.  She was my little wild escape artist.  She got out of the front pasture and was trying to get back in.  I found her all crouched down with her head just under the fence.  I guess Buddy probably scared her to death, although, to his credit, there were no signs that he had touched her at all.  The other hen that died was very surprising.  I have no clue what happened to her.  I found her on her side in her nest box.  Her head was bent at a weird angle as if she was in attack mode.  The garbage person does not come until Wednesday so to avoid the stench of death and attracting lots of insects, I put both hens in a plastic garbage bag and placed them in the freezer.

I still have had no phone calls about the alpacas or the turkeys.  Someone did ask me how much I wanted for the alpacas at the Farmer's market.  It was kind of a shock, but I realized that I am not that anxious to sell them.  They are all getting along fine and are no problem.  Sometimes it doesn't seem like much of a farm when there aren't any new babies being born.  I certainly have no shortage of eggs however.  The frig is full of them.  I guess I should take some over to the feed store or the local food bank.