Caught in the Grip of Death

This post contains parts of a dead animal.  If that bothers you, I'm sorry.

 

The other day while checking things, we came across a dead deer.  But not one which had just died.  This one died from simply misjudging the height of a fence.  

 

While the mule deer was jumping the fence, her back leg hung up in the barbed wire.  She went over, thus entangling herself to the point that she was stuck for good.  We didn't find her until it was too late.  Looking at the ground below where she hung, we could tell that she had panicked; the grass was kicked up until only dirt was left.  Because she yanked around, a bunch of her hair was left hanging on the fence.

 

We guess that while she was in her panic some coyotes heard her and came to satisfy their hunger.  This is all that was left by the time we found her.

 

Sure, it can gross people out, make them think "how cruel!" but it's a fact of life.  No humans were out there at the time she got caught, so no one had any idea she was stuck.  We just found it interesting and I wanted to post it. 

 

Thanks for bearing with me.  : )

   

On the Move

Paradise's ears and Dad riding ahead.

This week's post is about moving our new heifers.

 

Recently we bought 40 new heifer calves.  On the 16th, we branded the girls by running them through the chute instead of using horses and ropes.  Then on the 19th, we moved them on horseback.

 

The heifers

 

The day was perfect with temps. in the 60's and 70's and no wind.  The two and some mile ride was great for cattle, horses, and people alike.  The heifers moved themselves and we only had to direct them, making the move easy.

 

(L to R) Little J. on Tres, Mom on Lucky, and Big J. on Bullseye.  

See--in the picture below--how the heifers are in a line?  Cattle follow trails called "cattle trails", but in this instance, these are pickup tracks that they're following. 

 

 

When we reached the destination pasture, the heifers were introduced to our other cattle.  Then came the time for the newbies to learn what a hot wire fence is.  One by one they'd begin sniffing or studying the thin wire.  All at once they'd jump back, and/or bellow, letting us know they'd been shocked.  We watched them for the longest time because it was funny.  Some did learn that the hot fence would shock them if they touched it, and still others didn't, which means we'll be riding again sometime soon.  : )

Checking Cattle

Our red hills.

We went out to check some cattle yesterday afternoon and I got a few pictures to share with you.  Firstly, we checked my goats.  The ornery things have been getting out lately, so we have to check them often.  But while there, we checked one of our horses and our newly purchased longhorn cows.    

(L to R) Bashful, Dopey, Happy

Do the names sound familiar?  If not, it's alright.  They're named after the Seven Dwarves.  A few years ago, Dad had bought three old longhorns to see how they handled.  They were named Snow White, Grumpy, and, though not a Seven Dwarf, the third was Droopy because of her drooping horn.  They were fun and ever since the last one was sold, we'd been wanting to buy some more.  It finally worked out. 

So five girls came to our ranch. 

When these new ones came, we had just enough to finish out the Seven Dwarves, and that's what we did.  We all like the names and think it is quite cute!
  

My dad with Baby the horse, all the longhorns, and my goat.

These new cows are very spunky unlike the previous three.  They are years younger and entertaining to watch, too.   

(L to R) Sneezy, Doc, Happy, Dopey, and Bashful

When we had finished that, we drove through some pastures and checked our other cows--the Corrientes.  They are also some of my favorite girls.  We gave them some more cake and salt and broke the tank ice for them.

 

Corriente Cow 

 The Corrientes are turned out with Angus bulls, so the calves, when they're born, won't be full Corriente. 

Angus Bull

 And to our great joy, we got to see an eagle soaring about our ranch.  Because I don't have a camera lens to zoom in closer, you'll have to look hard to see the bird.  : )



Latest Work of Art

Yesterday you would have found me scattered...in a sense that I was keeping busy with many things at once.  At one moment I was bent over a table skinning a little bird for a taxidermy project, the next I was checking my goats with Dad, and lastly I was "prettying" up a deer head.  Really, I was doing all of those projects (and more, I think) throughout the day. 

Yep, in my life you never know what I'll be doing. 

But now, today, I'll be showing you what I made out of the deer head.

So, I had found this plain skull out in the pasture years ago and claimed it--quite loudly--before anyone else had a chance to see it.  Our family considers finding shed antlers, horned cow skulls, deer heads, etc. a treasure and I sure didn't want to give up this head that day.  And thus I brought it home...never once thinking I'd be doing this to it so many years later.

Anyhow, I was looking on Pinterest not long ago and came across a deer head which someone had decorated with flowers and gold paint on the antlers, teeth, and nose.  I thought it look neat and pinned it to my taxidermy board.

But later I began processing an idea through my mind.  I could easily make a deer head similar to the one on Pinterest, and with five people collecting deer heads for many, many years, I wouldn't have a problem finding one to decorate.

~What I used~

Deer Skull

Mod Podge

Paint Brush

Magazine Paper

Mom found the Mod Podge for me, I pulled out this old skull which was just collecting dust, and set to work.

First of all I got some old magazines and found all of the floral/pretty things inside.  For example, I used a bunch of bed spreads/throws from a magazine.  Next I began chopping pieces of all shapes and sizes, and, to be fun, I cut out little pictures like a black cat, a piece of pop corn, a pig, and even a Beatle (Ringo Starr) which I "hid" on the skull.  

When I had enough paper pieces, I painted a little Mod Podge where I wanted to place the paper.  I continued that for a long time.  

By the time I finished that, it was done.  I did, however, add an extra layer of Mod Podge to keep everything in place.  Lastly, I wrote down some of the pictures I hid on it.  Now, not only is the skull very colorful, it's a kind of I Spy game.

The best part is letting other people try and find all of the hidden things.

Maybe, if I do another, I will use only camouflage paper.  Let me know what you think...leave a comment!  Thanks.  : )  

My Room

 

Good evening, blog readers! 

 

Here lately--the last couple of days--I've been cleaning my room.  Things have been kicked out, rearranged, and other stuff brought in.  I took out a book shelf and put in my roll top desk.  So now I have a wonderful writing spot.  I'm so happy about it!

 

 

I've still got a bunch to put away, but I'm getting closer to having a room that reflects my many interests.  I'm so thankful for my own room.   : ) 



Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year!  Thanks for sticking with me and reading my blog for yet another year.

 

These pictures were taken at my grandparents' house, and yes, we got some snow...after Christmas.  But no white Christmas in 2014.  

Enjoy and I'll see you next time.  : )