Saturday

After I finished feeding the cattle today, Jerry and I went to Cleburne to buy some feed. After eating a burger at Dairy Queen we noticed this tree near a branch of Buffalo Creek. Notice the stumps in the background just left of the standing tree. The trees have been cut down and every bit of bark has been eaten.







Jake stayed on the chain all day so I took him for a run on the leash beside the golf car late this afternoon. Black Dog was so jealous that he ran alongside Jake trying to attack him all the way. Of course he couldn't do much with that big collar he is wearing.






I chained Black Dog to the pool while Jake and I finished the exercise run.

Cattle Work and More

Early this morning I went to Auburn to see if the cattle were finding the water behind Jeff's house. I saw that Jake thought the cattle were encroaching on his territory. He was keeping them run away from the water. I came home for the trailer and loaded Jake into the trailer. He is really heavy but did not protest too much.

I needed the trailer today to move cattle from Great's to the cemetery pasture so I staked Jake on Black Dog's chain while I moved the cattle. I hauled 300 gallons of water to the cemetery pasture to fill the water trough there and gave them a bale of hay.

The cattle behind Jeff's house looked relaxed and were eating their hay without Jake to bother them.

Late this afternoon we drove by the north place and on to town for milk and bread.
We noticed smoke just east of Grandpa Hale's place and saw that several acres of grassland had burned. There was smoke still coming up from behind a metal barn and all the GV fire department equipment was on site. It appeared that there was some kind of building burning behind the barn but I couldn't tell what it was.





The sunset was obscured by smoke from fires burning near Ft. Worth and in Parker county.




Jerry has been having some pain again in her right leg and is using the walker to get around the house. It has not been nearly as severe as that last week.

Still Dry

When I had the cattle up to the barn this morning I realized that there were almost enough calves ready for market to make a load so I loaded them and headed to West. Because of the dry weather there was another big run at the market today and I had to wait in line for a while to get unloaded. So far the calf market price has held up well.

This afternoon I went to the north place to check on the pad site work. The fence around the area is almost complete and the dirt work is making good progress. I hope to have some pictures posted soon. (See link at right)

I called Mrs. Reynolds this afternoon and invited her to go to supper and domino night with us. At first she was reluctant and then said that she would go in her own car but I told her that we would like for her to ride with us so we could visit a little. She agreed to ride with us and I think she enjoyed the evening even though this was her first time to play Mexican Train. In case you didn't know her husband died about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

Another Varmint

Wednesday night when we came down the driveway I noticed that Black Dog was interacting with something. It turned out to be a possum. The collar that Black Dog was wearing really interfered with his ability to do much with the varmint but he was trying his best. At one time it looked as if the possum had him by the back leg or tail. They were going around in a circle with the possum seeming to be hanging on to some part of the dog.

I only had one bullet left after shooting the rattler but I made good use of it and the creature was done in with one shot.

Busy Day

Up at 6:15! After cereal I fed the cows that were penned for market today and met the Encana representative at 8. We went over plans for roadways, gates and cattleguards. Met and visited with the Encana Location Coordinator and the dirt contractor. Then the TXDOT representative came by to discuss driveway locations and state requirements.

I loaded some calves at the barn by Great's house then finished the load from the corral by Flossie's barn. There was a short line at the auction barn in Meridian but we were unloaded before noon. Then I drove to Hillsboro for lunch at Krispy where I had the hungry man special. I purchased a cattle watering float valve at Gebo's and filed the truck with diesel at Wal-mart.

When I got home Nina, Frances and Geneveive were visiting with Jerry. I loaded some fence panels and a cattle water trough which I hauled to the pasture behind Jeff's house. I got that set up and noticed that Jeff's pressure tank was water-logged so I came home for the air compressor and pumped up his water tank and connected the hoses to start filling the tub with water for the cattle.

Dumplin was wanting attention so we took a nap in the recliner.




Lynne, Andy and Jesse stopped by after the ball game to show her new cast.

Jerry is Better!

Jerry is much better today. She is walking almost normally but still has some soreness in that leg. She will be making a visit to the orthopedic surgeon that installed the hip. She says that she is glad that I didn't take pictures of her in the hospital like I have posted for Black Dog.

Black Dog Returns

Black Dog had regained his strength by the end of 2005 and was running and acting like his old self again. I was keeping him chained most of the time letting him loose to exercise several times each day. He had the shelter that I had built for the goat to sleep in at night.

Sunday morning New Year's Day when I went out to check on him the shelter was totally destroyed and Black Dog was so weak he could hardly stand. I noticed that he had lost a good bit of blood but was not bleeding now. For two days he did not eat and lay around all the time. He began eating a little of his food but did not regain his strength. I took him back to the vet on Jan. 6. The vet noticed that the stub hip was swollen and that there was a large blood clot inside the incision. After removing the stitches the vet started to take out the clot and decided that he should stay in the clinic for a while. I had to return to the hospital to be with Jerry on Friday and to bring her home on Saturday so I did not get back to check on the dog until Monday.

The vet said that after I left on Friday Black Dog started bleeding profusely so they had to do surgery immediately and give him a transfusion. He said that the femoral artery had ruptured. I guess the damage had been done on New Year's Eve during whatever it was that happened to him at that time. They were able to stop the bleeding and installed a drainage tube to keep the incision open.


He is now wearing a big collar that keeps him from turning his head to pull out the tube.


He looks really strange but has regained his strength and is again acting like the Black Dog that we knew before. He was even chasing the cat tonight as I did my nightly walking to the mailbox.











Now the cat has a better chance to get away as long as Black Dog is wearing the big collar.

Sunset



This was my view as I drove toward Grandview on Sunday Evening.