Catastrophe at Tres Colinas

"Cat"astrophe at Tres Colinas

I guess it is a matter of perspective but from ours it was at least a disappointment if not a catastrophe.  You may recall that Matt and Lilly produced six kittens and a neighbor took two of them.  We decided we had enough cats and had Lilly spayed.  Of the four kittens still around, three were males and one was a female.  We figured the males would grow up and wander off and we'd let the female have a litter next year to keep us in barn cats.  It didn't cross my mind that having Lilly spayed would be Matt's signal to leave and never come back.  It also didn't occur to us that Audra (the female kitten would meet a violet death one night behind the barn.  I'm not sure what killed her but it didn't attempt to eat her and it looked like two culprits were involved (I won't go into the grisly details but just leave it that forensic evidence pointed to two murderers).  My first thought was to accuse Shane and Maddie (our dogs) but they seem to ignore the cats and when close to each other there is never any animosity.  I learned in the fifth grade not to accuse some one on circumstantial evidence (an embarrassing incident with a missing American Flag that turned up after I publically identified the supposed thief).  So, I set up a trail camera for a week or so and no further evidence was found.  So, we thought we will at least have Lilly when her three sons decide to start "catting around".  Once again we were outsmarted.  A few days later Lilly disappeared.  She was always there at daylight when I let the chickens out and feed the cats and dogs.  After the second day we had to face the reality that something must have killed her.  Now, we've got three young male cats and no reproductive options.  The lesson I've learned is first, don't think I'm in control of what happens in the barnyard at night and second, don't waste money having a barn cat spayed.  From now on I'll let the natural order play out and deal with the consequences. 

 

White Leghorn, Silver Wyandotte, 2 Black Sex-linked, 5
Ameracaunas and a Buff Orpington free ranging.

The chickens are almost grown and should start producing eggs any day.  I let them free range every day for a couple of hours before sundown.  The beauty of this is I just leave the coop door open and they all march in about fifteen minutes after the sun sets.  I don't think they'll ever learn to shut the door behind them but (similar to men putting the lid down and women turning off lights when they leave a room) you can't have everything and should be more satisfied with what you do have.  I don't trust the dogs with the chickens although they ignore them, at least from behind the fence (maybe that's their MO with cats and chickens).

 

 

 

You can also see that the cats generally ignore the chickens.  They will occasionally act like they are stalking one but at least to this point there has been no violence.  Both enjoy chasing grasshoppers, of which there is no shortage.  Fortunately, they haven't done too much damage to our crops.  We had great watermelons and cantaloupes this year.  I raised red and yellow seedless watermelons and they were outstanding.  I ate one every day for at least a month.  We actually had two crops of cantaloupes from the same vines.  Based on comments from neighbors, that is unusual.   We still have peanuts and sweet potatoes that should be ready to dig at the end of September.

 

 We took a week off from the farm and drove to Padre Island in South Texas.  It's only four hours away and is a beautiful beach.  Robert, Nicole, Ava, Josh, Holly and Cora accompanied us.  It gave us a chance to stop in La Grange for some BBQ at Prause's , a fourth generation Meat Market.  They don't make sandwiches (a sign on the wall states so) but will give you the bread and meat for you to do with as you will.  La Grange is also famous for The Chicken Ranch.  If you want to know more about that you can watch the movie with Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.

 

As you can see the weather and beach were great except for the occasional group of weirdo's who think they are still High School Cheerleaders.   

We got everyone up early (about 5am) one morning and went to the Park Station to see a turtle release.  They had about a hundred hatched sea turtles that they released into the Gulf.  They turn them loose about fifty yards short of the water and let them walk in.  Amazingly, this imprints that location and the turtles that survive will return to that same area when they are ready to lay eggs.  That doesn't happen for about ten years and the harsh reality is about 1 in 500 make it to reproductive age.  They have a lot of predators in the water until they get bigger (guess the one at the top knows that and has decided to stay on dry land).

 

 

When we got back to the farm it was time to celebrate my _0th birthday.  I've never had birthdays with a 0 on them bother me much and this one didn't either but I'm beginning to face the fact that I am getting old if not already there.  We invited about twenty friends and family over for a BBQ (what else would you do for a birthday in Texas?) and Josh served as the BBQ master.  He cooked two briskets (he basting them on the left) and a pork butt on a grill that he made.

 

 

 

I'm pretty impressed with the design and building of this BBQ pit.  The steel fire box is on the lower right with both a top and side door for adding wood.  A large pipe runs from the fire box to the grill allowing heat and smoke to reach the meat.  The grill has two sides, each with a door and a thermometer.  You can control how much heat and smoke reach each side with a sliding door at the top of the pipe.  Finally, the grill is mounted on a trailer so it can go where the party or cook-off is that day.

 

Josh cooked the briskets for about ten hours at a temperature between 225 and 250.  This and a few secrets he has results in a tender and moist brisket with a nice pink smoke ring as you can see below.  I plan to build a stone pit this fall but suspect it will be a while, if ever, before I can cook a brisket that is this delicious.

Carved and ready to eat

Birthday wishes with a nod to the past

Ava and I taking my birthday gift out for a spin

   

 Well, I think today (9/23/14) marked the beginning of fall for us.  The low this morning was 61 and the high today only 84.  If so, it's coming about 3-4 weeks early for south central Texas but we are glad to see it.  It's not been a hot summer by recent standards (only a hand full of days above 99) but its still nice to have some cool weather to enjoy.  Hope you enjoy the fall season wherever you are.  We should have some calves to show off in the next blog.