Dolittle's Domain

Texas Burning

Hell has moved to Texas. We have spent days watching the sky only to have our worst fears materialize before our eyes, smoke. We are on fire here with no end in sight. We have fire personnel from several states, the National Guard and borrowed equipment from anyone that will lend it and still these fires are not contained. We have had no appreciable rainfall since the month of April and everything is the driest we have ever seen it. Over 30,000 acres have burned north of Jefferson and we have a fire less than half a mile from our home. There are several more fires in northeast Texas, most of them uncontrolled and running wild. There is no rain in the forecast at all, so we are on our own.

Friends have already lost their homes and many more have been evacuated to shelters. People who have no experience fire fighting are out there with tractors or other farm equipment attempting to help stop this inferno. Why is northeast Texas burning so? Because most of the rest of the state has already burned.

The cost of drought

Disaster Texas style. That’s the only description I can give our daytime temperatures right now. Yesterday we hit 107, the actual temperature, under the carport. Under the rabbit pen roof it was 120 degrees. We have only our breeding rabbit stock this time of year and they are dropping dead no matter what we do. We have lost some of our best rabbits and today may wipe out most of the rest. The chickens aren’t doing any better. We water mist the critters often, all the while we’re doing that we have to remove those who haven’t survived. It’s just heartbreaking. I’ve frozen water in margarine dishes to put into the rabbit pens in an effort to keep them alive. It must help but it’s only a temporary fix. What makes this tough is there is no end in sight and it is supposed to be hotter today than it was yesterday and hotter yet tomorrow.

Update: We have slowed death’s march through the rabbits and chickens, but how damaged are the survivors? It will take weeks for them to recover if they can, and there Is no reason to believe we won’t lose more. It’s really sad when anything under 100 degrees begins to sound good to us. It’s been so long since we have had any rain lakes and bayous are dangerously low, but we’re not as dry as south and southwest Texas. Cattlemen there are selling off their cattle. There is no grass and hay can’t be found at a reasonable price. It has to be hauled from out of state and the added cost makes it just out of reach for most. We desperately need some relief.

Awesome sky

Sometimes the weather in Texas can be terrifying. Even after such an event we are sometimes treated to some beautiful eye candy in the sky. Such was this event. I wish I could have grabbed my good camera for this shot but to do so would have caused me to miss the opportunity. Still, it is an awesome shot.

Fat Cat

Chickens squawking. Rabbits hopping around their pens. Cows mooing for breakfast. Ahhh, life on a farm. It will take nearly all day to tend these hungry critters, so we enjoy a coffee break every now and then, and what is coffee without a donut to go with it? Lurking in the shadows is our donut monster, Smudge. No matter how we try to sneak a package of donuts past that cat, they will both show up about the same time. Mister fussy won’t eat any off the ground. We have to find a barrel or board, something to keep the poor spoiled cat from having to eat his treat right from the dirt. Strange, the other cats don’t have a problem with dirt, just Smudge.

Smudge always licks the sugar off the donut before he eats it proving the obvious, the cat has a sweet tooth. No wonder he’s twice the size of the other two cats, who by the way don’t like donuts. Smudge is just one of many “different” critters here that think themselves as special. I wonder who let them believe that?

Horrible Hot Summer

This has been a horrible summer. The heat has been beyond anything we’ve had to cope with before. Our critter losses are horrific.

Several chickens died. They just fell over despite having lots of fans around the pen to move the air. Hundred degree heat is still hundred degree whether it’s moving or not.

Also, we lost several rabbits, same scenario.

Then there is Molly. She suffered from severe COPD. The vet told us to thin her back down so her ribs would show but it got too hot too fast and we lost her.

My favorite cow, my pasture pet, also succumbed to the heat. She left behind a brand new calf who would never know his mother. He is doing well on a bottle, but I sure miss his momma.

It has yet to cool down much here in Texas. The days are getting shorter but that hasn’t cooled the days at all. It’s September and we are still hitting between 95 and 100 degrees everyday. It has been a horrible summer.

Feeding Babies

We have spent the last couple of weeks watching a pair of bluebirds feed their young in my bluebird house. One of my grandsons built the house for me a few years ago, and every year we have watched a pair, very likely the same pair, brood their young there. I tried taking photos of the babies in the birdhouse, but the sunshine created an overpowering shadow. I know what is in the photo but it’s unlikely anyone else would. By the time I could get to the birdhouse to try taking another picture in less harsh light the nest was empty, I had missed my chance. But to see the color of the male bird as he tended his young was awesome. Momma bird is pleasant on the eyes but daddy bluebird is breathtaking. Again, the shadow was harsh but maybe someday I will be in the right place at the right time to do him justice.

The super cool part of watching the birds is the fact they don’t pay a lot of attention to us. We can stand within 15 feet of the nest and after checking us out, both birds get back to their feeding duties.

Just look in the beak of this bluebird. I never knew they could catch and carry so many bugs at one time. Again, nature just blows me away.

Spring color splashes

Spring is finally here when the colors splach everywhere. This particular splash loved the clover so much getting a photo was no challenge. The hummingbirds are back and buzzing around the feeder. Momma and poppa bluebird have 5 hatchlings in the bluebird box. The dragonflies are flitting around by the hundreds and the toads are once again parked under the security light at night.

Take a deep breath, ahhhhhh…..spring!

How the Easter Bunny spends his off season…

This isn’t an Easter bunny, just a cute baby learning grass makes a good snack. He’s still making his home inside a nesting box, so he isn’t too keen on facing the world yet. All too soon for mom, he’ll be racing around the pen and trying to steal an in-between meal snack. (Baby rabbits flip onto their backs and wiggle under momma to nurse.) At four weeks old momma can hardly wait for her offspring to leave the nest, they are rather pesty and normally plentiful besides. When eight or more babies are calling you Mom, especially all at one time, things can get overwhelming.

Signs of Spring

Every spring when the indigo buntings go through here on their travels north we get a feast of color. They show up just after the masses of eastern bluebirds who travel the same route. These little splashes of blue are everywhere for several days, and then the ones that stay seem to dissolve into the surroundings to raise the next generation. Their initial arrival lets us know warm weather and the critters it brings are surely on their way. Warm up the cameras and charge the batteries, we’re on again!

Horse Rescue

Let me introduce you to Molly. We got her a few months ago from a horse rescue organization. This photo was taken the day she arrived at our place, slightly underweight but already heavier and healthier since her seizure by law enforcement. Her history is unknown. She’s an older girl, over 20 by a vets estimation, and appears to be highly trained. Molly has become more trusting of us as time passes. She now allows me to cuddle her face, a sure sign of acceptance.

People have lost their jobs or are underemployed. Some just walk away and leave their horses. Others turn them loose on roadways. Horses even appear in pastures. Right now almost every horse rescue organization in the country is overwhelmed. The overload is staggering. If you can help a horse, do an online search for your local rescue organizations. I know they will appreciate anything you can do to help. Molly would agree.