Happy Halloween!!

Look into my crystal ball....

May your Halloween be filled with spooky ghosts and goblins!

Our Horny Herd

Have you noticed a pattern with our cattle? There is something special about them.

Here's a hint....

That's our brand "Crazy M". Look at it. Now look at these...

You see it? Left horn down, right horn up. Arrows of our brand match.

The husband LOVES crooked horns. He believes they make the cattle look more "western". Or gives them character especially for rodeo.

Do you know how we do it?

Horn weights.

Once the heifer/bull gets long enough horns, we try to get the horn weights on them. The weight bolts around the horn and adds additional weight. So as the horn grows, the weight pulls it down.

The only problem we have is when the horn starts to turn, sometimes the weight falls off. You know how hard it is to find a horn weight in a pasture?! We've been lucky a few times and found them in feed troughs. But we are missin' some right now. The husband said he needs to train the dogs to find them.

One other fact about the Crazy M herd....they all have horns. We don't have a muley on the place. It's not allowed per the husband.

Pass the Pills Husband

It's always nice to come home to those who love you. But those who love you sometimes make a big mess for you to pick up. Hence, my arrival home today...

Yep, a dog bed was destroyed. Actually, I thought this day would've come a lot quicker. But they tricked me into believing they wouldn't tear it up. I should have known better.

So the clean up process was not easy. You ever try picking up fuzz with a oversized puppy thinkin' it was fun to grab the trash bag, stick his head in the bag and pull the already picked up stuffin' out. I needed a recording of me sayin' "Diesel, NO!, Let go of the bag Diesel!, If you tear this bag, I swear! Get your head out of there! Would you please let go of that! NO! NO! NO!" Yea, basically that, over and over and over for a good 30 minutes. I'm sure the neighbors just love me!

Oh My! I Think the Husband May Need a Sedative!

The day started really early this morning. The dogs were barking at something. I had gotten up in the wee hours and yelled at them from the bathroom window. But they would start back. I finally got out of bed to get ready for work and went to the back porch. Yelled again to no avail. Then the husband got up. Not good. He asked what was goin' on and I told him the dogs were upset about something out by the barn. He grabbed a flashlight and headed out.

I went into the bathroom and started gettin' ready. Then I heard him yellin'. Not good. He came back in the house. I asked what was the deal and he said (edited for PG rating) "It's another freakin' dog!" Uh oh. I decided it best to walk away at that time.

When I left for work, I couldn't tell what kind of dog it was. It was very social and wanted to play, running in circles. Body condition looked good. This dog belonged to someone. It chased me down the drive as I left.

Around 10am, I decided I better call and check on the husband. He didn't sound good when he answered. He said he let our dogs out and they were so excited to play with the new dog! He thought they would run it off. Wrong! Then he found a heifer with her head stuck in a wire panel. She'd been there awhile. He managed to free her after gettin' the bolt cutters involved. Then he decided he would scare the dog off by shootin' the rifle. Well, apparently the dog has never been shot at cause the husband shot three times into the ground and it just sat there staring at him. He finally gave up and went to work.

He accused me of putting up flyers saying to drop unwanted dogs off at our place. I assured him I didn't have anything to do with it. He just couldn't believe another dog showed up. But we both agreed this dog has to belong to someone just by the way it acted. Nothing like Lucky Dog. I told him that the word must be spreading that we have the coolest dogs and others want to come hang out. He said but they don't ever leave! I replied cause they find out that the owners are way cool too!

Then I reminded him that we were about to catch Mikey if this keeps up. He just laughed. Then said, if the dog's hungry this evening, feed it. Awww, welcome to my canine lovin' world hubby! I giggled and told him he was turnin' into a crazy dog man. He said only because he lives with the crazy dog lady. Whatever!

So I got home this evening expecting to deal with the new doggie but it was nowhere to be seen. I guess it went home or moved on. Maybe it did just want to hang out with my cool kids. Now the husband might be a little happier about having JUST five dogs.

When Good Dogs Go Bad

All I wanted to do was take a sweet picture with my puppy. That's it. Nothing more. Doesn't seem like too much to ask. Tell that to Diesel!

He was in attack mode!

Knocking me over wasn't enough....oh no.

See him goin' for the juglar!

I think he has me by the throat here!

I tried blockin' and givin' him an elbow...

But it didn't work. He tried cuttin' off my oxygen by takin' out my nose.

Um, hello....Husband? Pepper? Zena? Anyone out there to help a girl out?

Mister Nice Guy, trying to make it all better by kissin' my cheek. Not so fast mister!

Finally, I managed to wrangle him and get the picture. He's a 22 week old big goof ball. But I love him.

Really, We Do Have Cattle!

Seems like all I post about is dogs. You'd wouldn't think we even have cattle. But most times, there isn't much to post about. They are just out in the pasture, minding their own business. But Saturday morning, we had to take Stubby to get mouthed. His age had to be verified so we can enter him in competitions this coming year. I took my camera in hopes that I could show y'all the mouthing.

I was standing in front of the squeeze chute before he came thru. The guy running the chute controls said I might should move cause he'd miss some bulls already that morning. Luckily I listened cause he missed Stubby's head. Had to let him go and run him thru again. Then I was stuck behind about three guys when they got him caught the second time. The mouthin' process took all of 5 seconds. So I missed it, sorry. Plus Stubby was pretty well peeved by that time.

Today, we went over to check the lease cattle. Wanted to make sure the husband's patch work hadn't been washed away with all the rain. It still looked good. Then we watched the cattle for awhile.

This lil guy was teethin' on the truck bed.

Itty Bitty standin' there all innocent and sweet.

I noticed her feet were really long, which is very strange for a calf. But Itty Bitty has been odd from the git go! We called my rent-a-husband. He trims bulls and asked if he could trim Itty Bitty. He said he'd never trimmed a calf and never saw one that needed it before. Well we got one! So we're guessin' we're just gonna have to hold her down and let him nip the toes off. That should be interesting. Never gave a calf a mani and a pedi!

Then there's this dude. He is constantly givin' me the evil eye. Watches my every move. He's a BIG calf so he's gonna be a BIG bull. And I'm thinkin' he may be a tad mean. Not a good combination for me.

The brindle heifer. Many of y'all said you'd never seen a cow colored up like this so I thought I would throw a picture in of her. She's growin' and doin' well.

All the cattle are doin' well. The temps have been mild and the rain has been abundant so there seems to be plenty of grass for 'em. We plan to wean the calves in the next few weeks. That should be interesting but it always is when it's just me and the husband. To bad I don't have a photographer for that!

Lovin' Me Some Dr Pepper

Okay, maybe I should say lovin' my hubby's new workplace. Cause I can't stand Dr. Pepper. Shhh, don't tell his bosses! I can't choke the stuff down. Never have been. But I found out something, Dr Pepper manufactures TONS of stuff. Stuff I like!

The husband took me out into the warehouse a few weeks back. I had no idea that they owned Snapple, Deja Blue, A&W, Mott's, Welch's, and many more. They are also affiliated with Arizona brand drinks. Employees get discounted prices. Plus if there is something wrong with a product (the can wasn't pressurized right) then the employees get those for free.

While I was in the warehouse, I saw some Peach Green Tea Diet Snapple. The husband brought some home for me. They are really good!



The husband laughs at me cause whenever I drink one, I always end with "Ahhhhhh!" He also brought me a case of Deja Blue water.



And he gave me a cap!! I HEART caps. Have a bazillion of them. This is my new cap happy dance. Can I get a Woo Woo!

And that's not all! He also gave me a pair of Dr. P shorts. Sweet! It's like Christmas came early!

Now I wonder if I can talk Dr. P into going into the feed business. All I need is cattle/dog feed at a discounted price. Then the world would be perfect.

Rainy Day Blahs

Mojo and I are experiencing the same emotions I think. I'm a little peeved with all the rain!!! Will it ever stop? First we were in a drought, now we are floatin' away. I'm just tired of the mud. Tired of the clouds. Tired of bad hair days.

I think the dogs and cattle are done with it too. Diesel's being a monster this morning. Banging all the doors and windows of the house. Yes, he's that big! Barking at me. I know he's tired of the wet too.

They say it will end this afternoon and we will have a pretty weekend. I sure hope so. But there's a chance for more rain starting Monday! Well, that's something to look forward to!

Maybe I'm just pissy cause I miss my best friend. The husband's been out of town since Sunday. Only get to chat with him for a few minutes here and there. And I'm not a phone person. Hate talking on the phone so it's not the same. Luckily, he is to return tomorrow evening!!

Please Don't Judge Me

**Warning! If you are a mouse lover, you may want to skip this post.**

Pepper is a champion mouser. She's better than any cat I've ever had. No matter where a mouse might be, Pepper is gonna find it. And if she can't get to it, she's gonna bark until either the husband or I go help her get it.

This time Pepper was barking at the dogloo. She knew there was a mouse under it. I finally went out and lifted it up for her. Sure enough, a big mouse was under there. It stood no chance against Pepper.

Diesel is always intrigued with Pepper's kill. The thing with Pepper, she just wants to kill the varmit. That's it. Once she kills it, she's done. Well that's where Diesel comes in...

Diesel sees the dead mouse as the best toy EVER!

He's such a goof ball. But he loves throwing it around.

Jumpin' up to catch it.

Flippin' up behind him and doing the over the shoulder catch.

How 'bout the catch between the paws trick!

Or the OMG! It's a dead mouse flying towards me!

Or the Harry Potter, I can levitate a dead mouse, trick.

But all this play can really wear a pup out! He passed out in the grass.

He is just too funny to watch...even if it was a dead mouse he was playin' with. It doesn't take much to entertain us. But I can say no animals were tortured in the making of these pictures cause you can't torture a dead mouse, can ya? Right? Hello? Y'all still there?

The Pet Cam Details

Wow, y'all were really interested in the pet cam. I will give you all the details. Maybe Santa can bring some your way.

I bought it from ABC Distributing. Here is the direct link to the page. But if it doesn't work, just go to ABC Distributing and click on the pet section. Scroll down and you will find it. It costs $27.95.

Truthfully, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the camera. It is NOT water resistant. So I have to keep a close eye on the kids wearing it. It only holds a charge for about 5 hours. If you don't get the pictures off by that time, you lose them. After I put it on Diesel, the very first rattle out of the box, I thought it was done. I couldn't get it to download. It wouldn't do anything. I eventually held my head just right and it worked. Since then, I haven't had an issue with it downloading. But really, what do I expect for $28!

I thought it would be fun to play with and it was. If you order one, let me know when you post the pics!

Doggie Cam

I have a passion for photography. Y'all know that. So I thought I would allow my kids to share in my passion. I found a cheap dog camera that clips on the collar. Way cool huh! I initially tried it on Diesel. Not the best idea. He doesn't sit still long enough to get a clear picture. All blur.

Then this morning I tried Lucky Dog. He doesn't get in a hurry about anything. But I didn't take into account he still cowers.

So after I noticed that his chin was most likely gonna be in every picture, I took it off. Then Zena came up and sat next to me. Why didn't I think of Zena. She would be the perfect photographer.

Okay, we may have a tongue issue! Zena has a very distinctive tongue. Has the chunk out of it. Always been that way. Anyhow, that's our house. We were walking up the drive.

She caught Harley peein' on my truck's tire.

There goes Diesel runnin' amuck!

The husband reinforcing Death Wishes pen gate.

Diesel gettin' a drink out of the trough. Gladys in the background watchin' him.

The husband moving the hay hoop to another pasture with Diesel's help. All the cows were watchin' in the background.

I think she did a pretty darn good job! I'll have to try it again some day. But it's interesting to get a dog's eye view.

Friday Funny

Update on Harley Man

(picture has nothing to do with post. just wanted to add a little color)

I've had a few ask about how Harley is doing. He is much better. His cough has stopped and he's not wheezing as much as he was previously. He started eating his wet food yesterday. And is pretty much runnin' amuck!

Last night, I told the husband that Harley was gettin' back to normal. He said he should be doing back flips as much as his shots were! But truth be told, the husband would pay whatever needed to be paid for Harley. We've had him for 12 years and he really is our kid.

Now, I'm wondering if Harley's meds will make my throat stop hurting. (Okay, let's not mention the huge weight difference.) I would blame him for giving me tonsillitis but I don't have tonsils. I really think it's associated with my horrible allergies. It does this every year at this time. Just glad Harley's ok!

Thanks for all the well wishes!

Destruction of a Pasture

You might remember this picture from late August.

We were going through a drought and the pasture was sooo dry. But then, by late September, we got some rain and the pasture was lookin' like this! Yea us!



Look at that lovely coastal. It's just beautiful and the cattle were so excited!

Then the most evil lil critter came along. I noticed them one morning on my walk with the kids. All these little caterpillar lookin' things. I'd never seen anything like it before. The next day, the husband mentioned that the farmer across the road said we all had army worms. Okay, what are army worms?

Well, they strip your grass!! Within maybe two days, all of our coastal in the pastures, yard, drive, EVERYWHERE, looked like this!

Horrible! I couldn't believe it! They destroyed our beautiful coastal. We've been here for three years and never had em before. I did a little research and it says you have to spray your pastures to kill em. I talked to my dad and he said when he worked on a ranch in East Texas, they always sprayed for them. But I don't think we can spray while our cattle are out there.

Luckily, the freakin' worms didn't eat the native grass. So even though the coastal is useless, the native grass is doin' well. The cattle still have something to munch on plus round bales. I hope none of y'all have to deal with these varmits!