Bat Watching and More

Have you ever sat in a chair and watched a million bats fly out of their cave for their supper of bugs?  Or look at Saturn and see its ring?  Or shop at all the antique stores on main street?  Have you ever explored a cave?  It's all amazing. 

Dad had been looking on the computer a while back and saw something about Selman Bat Watch in Oklahoma, and was interested, so put our family name in the drawing to get a chance to watch 1 million bats fly from a cave.  As it turned out, we were picked out and got to take a trip to watch some bats.

We went to Woodward, Okla., on the 25th, got a hotel room, and ate supper at Carl's Jr.  Next, we drove out to Alabaster Caverns State Park and hooked up with the right people so that everyone in charge knew that we had made it.  We were shown to a meeting place where all 75ish people were to be to get more information about the bats. 

The tour guide told us some interesting facts, asked and answered questions, and soon divided the big group into three little parts.  (Each group then had its own leader.)  The group names were Moths, Bats, and Owls.  As they said, "do you see the pattern?"  That's right--the moths are eaten by the bats and the bats are eaten by the owls.  Of course, my family and I were in the moths group...

Our guide (white shirt) in the Moth group.

 

 

 

One of the other two groups.

All the Moths climbed into a school bus and were the first to the nature trail.  Thus, we got to hike on the trail, hear the stories, and experience it all first.  We crossed a creek, looked at plants, and heard still more about bats.  We stood somewhat near the cave opening, but weren't allowed to get too close.  They said a human would soon die after entering the cave because of the ammonia. 

When we finished the walk, we got some water to drink and took a seat on our chairs to watch the bats.  The bats had been coming out around eight o'clock, however, on this night they waited until nine.  So as dusk was settling down, the bats began to come out.  They came out as a ribbon or river form and kept coming.  And kept coming.  Wow.  They didn't fade away.  For about thirty minutes the adults came out of their cave to eat bugs.  I mean we hadn't even see the pups yet!

 


This picture shows a lot of bats. See the stream of bats in the bottom right corner?

 

 


As it grew dark, the end of the million or so bats showed itself and the guides rounded up the Moths, Bats, and Owls, and we all headed back to the State Park.

Because of the time of year we were down there, there was a "star party" near by.  If you've never heard of them, it's a spot where a bunch of telescopes are set up (Nice telescopes) and anyone can look through them for free.  There are also really smart people near by who tell you all sorts of information about the stars you are looking at.

We saw Saturn!  It was amazing.  The people in charge showed us major constellations and other stars, including one star that looked blue and another that looked gold.

26th
We slept in as late as our bodies would permit and soon checked out of the hotel before 11 o'clock. 

I enjoy going antique/junk shopping and successfully got my family to take me to a shop on Old Main Street in Woodward.  It turned out to provide three stores of my liking and we went to each one.  

At the first store, I liked almost everything I set my eyes on.  Yes, that happens all the time, and sadly I usually leave the store empty handed.  But this time, I had money and a mind set to buy at least one thing.  I bought a knife, fork, and spoon, all of which don't match; the knife has a heavy pinkish handle, the fork is a common silver fork with a tiny flower carved in it at the end, and the spoon is a baby spoon, but it matches the knife, so you know what happened.  And I mean they were only a dollar...

At the next one, I didn't find anything I really wanted to have.  I looked through some books, but didn't find any good ones.

When we went to the last store, I fell in love with it right away.  It was once a hardware store and just the building itself was gorgeous.  It went on and on!  Each room had a wonderful feel to it.  50's on Five was playing great music over the speakers and the man who owned the store was super nice.  

I found all sorts of things, some out of my price range, some too big to take home, but I did find a cute apron and outfit for Ambrosia, my mannequin.  I bartered with the man and got the Pendleton suit for a very nice sum of money...and by the way, it looks perfect on Ambrosia.

I figured I ought to show you Ambrosia in her new outfit.

After the perfect morning of shopping, we drove back to Alabaster Caverns and with our tickets got a tour down in the cave.  That was fun.  Our tour guide was very interesting and fun, the people with us were all great and friendly, and it was so cool down there!  (I mean temperature cool.)  We walked from a 100 degrees sunny place to a 56 degrees dark cave.  It felt wonderful! 

Cave opening

 

The path in the cave was made from concrete but over time spots have been covered with clay dirt and that mixed with water turns into a sticky, slippery mess.  Thankfully there were rails to hang on to.  And everyone was expected to catch any falling person as if they were long time friends.  (No one fell that badly, however.)
 

 

We saw two salamanders in the cave and a few animal tracks.  A stream ran through the cave and added a really neat sound to the flip-flops on smacking mud.  In one spot at the cave the lights went out on purpose for one minute.  It was really dark but also really neat to know how it felt to be in the blackness.

 

Look closely and you can see the salamander.

The tour ended too soon and we were all thrown back into the 100 degrees, so to speak, but thankfully we didn't have to walk back to the camp grounds, instead they drove a van back for us.

 

 This picture above makes it look like it was a tight fit in the cave, but it was not.  The lowest spot was one of the original trails, a person just had to bend over, and people don't have to take that trail.  The over all spots were nice and big.
  

 

 

 

I know, this is a blurry picture, but I wanted to show the cave and the people.

 

The exit of the cave.

 

Our tour guide (in front).  She was great.

 After the cave, we began the drive back home.  One of the many things that was good about this trip, we didn't have to drive hours and hours to get home.  We only had to drive about two hours to reach home!  So nice.  

This trip was a blast!  I enjoyed every part of it.  : )
 

My family.
(L to R) Mom, Me, Little J. Big J. and Dad

Dad, Big J. (standing in back) and Little J.

           

Wednesday Ride

Dad got us up around seven thirty yesterday morning and sent Big J. after the horses soon after we arose.  It was a cloudy day, temps in the high 60's to low 70's, and not much of a breeze.  In my eyes, it was a perfect day to do anything; I adore cloudy, drizzly days.

So, I milked my goat, Stacy, then saddled my horse, Paradise, and we loaded every horse and rider in the pickup and trailer to head out and move our heifers. 

It was a short drive and upon arriving, we three kids mounted our horses to begin the heifers in a north west direction.  Our horses did well, the heifers moved along smoothly, and we the riders were actually a tad chilly.  A few weeks of 90+ plus temps makes 70 cold.

Dad and Mom soon joined our "parade" of 58 heifers, one cow, one calf, three horses, and three riders.  We all continued moving the girls--I mean the cattle when I say girls--north for a mile or so and after going through 12 gates, Dad and I broke off from the herd and began the long, yet eventful ride back to the pickup so that we could pick up the other riders.

What I mean by an eventful to the pickup is Paradise thought she would be stubborn.  And that she was!  First of all, she went alright, not perfect, but she went.  After a little while, however, she began stopping and backing up whenever I kicked her to walk forward.  Any rider knows that is very frustrating.  She then tossed her head and yanked her head around to my right foot, something she does every time she's not wanting to do what I say. 

I patiently nudged her, talked to her, and even slapped her rump, still she ceased to go.  It seemed to be all or nothing for her.  A full trot or more, or a complete stop.  Either way, I wasn't wanting to let her get away with it.  

After a few times of stopping and waiting for me, Dad came up and helped 'nudge' her along.  He rode behind me, talking and pushing Paradise, and I kicked and helped her go where I wanted.  It went alright for a bit, then she began trotting in a zigzag manner.  She would go off the two track road and into the pasture or attempt to run my leg into the barbed wire fence on my left.  Oh, how nerve wracking!  Once, she even took a quick bolt for my right and tried getting out from under me.  I reined her in and stayed in my seat with all my might, then rode her in tight circles until she calmed down the slightest bit.

Dad took my rein then.  From there forward, we rode side by side at a fast trot or lope.  With Dad tightly holding my rein, I knew I couldn't go far if Paradise acted up.  She was stuck to him.  I was stuck to her, so I felt comfortable and not nervous. 

We were going at such a pace that I was merely sliding back and forth in my saddle, like a rocking horse.  But such fun it was!  As we ran, I could see a pile of tumbleweeds nearing and knew without a doubt a jump was coming.  Grabbing the saddle horn and gripping with my legs, Paradise jumped over the weeds and safely landed, with rider still intact.  She also jumped another time over some cactus.  I had seen them coming too, and was ready, but she jumped a little sideways, and fear of falling on her side entered my mind.  Thankfully, she's good on her feet and nothing happened.

We rode a little bit farther and Dad gave me the rein.  It was like nothing had happened.  Paradise went as good as ever and did anything I asked her.  Going my speed, to turning.  I told Dad that it's like we have to break the barrier between stubborn Paradise and great-mannered Paradise.  Why she acts up now and then, I don't know.  I do know, however, that I will ride her and hopefully turn her into the best horse.  I know she smart and I know she'll turn out great.  I just need to work with her.  And that I plan to do, one way or another.

Anyway, back to the move, Dad and I loaded into the pickup and drove to where Mom, Big J., and Little J. were moving the heifers.  I unloaded Paradise and rode a tiny bit to gather eight of the heifers and help push them to water.  (See, what did I tell you?  Paradise went perfectly after that running while being held by Dad.  I guess she needs to know who is really boss.) 

The heifers are happily in their new pasture for the time being and will soon be moved again.

On this fun ride my family took, we saw a rabbit or two, a pack rat or something, a red eyed turtle, two frogs (Yay!) one of which was really slimy and slipped out of my hand I don't know how many times, a blue herring, and bunch of grasshoppers.   

And that was our adventure for the day.   : )

July 4th

I hope you all had a very pleasant Forth of July this year.  My family and I had a great one.

I started working at a firework stand on June 27th and from then till the 4th I worked on and off.  It was hard work, and this being my first year to work at a stand, I had to learn a bunch of things, but I also learned to enjoy it, and I am glad I got this opportunity to broaden my horizons.  

After working on the Forth for a few hours, Mom came and picked up Big J. (who had also been working at the stand) and me and we headed home to get ready for a supper/get together at the neighbor's ranch which is a mile away from us.

With lawn chairs and angel eggs (deviled eggs) under our arms, we marched into the neighbor's shed and were greeted by hellos and even "You brought eggs!" replies.  It was quite surprising that the eggs went over so well; they were gone within a few minutes. 

We had gotten there later than planned, thus began eating calf fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and desserts right away.  Everything tasted wonderful, and they still hadn't gotten out the ice cream...homemade ice cream.  Yum!  So, more eating began.

Next, when everyone finished their meal, we all gathered around to talk and/or watch the fireworks which were put on by our fun loving neighbor and the kids.  As it slowly grew darker, we pulled out more fireworks and before too late we were watching a fine display of night time fireworks.  It's always fun to see how adults react to fireworks, and this year was no exception.  Some were trying to take pictures of the sparks, others oohed and awed, still others tried shooting each other with Roman candles.  Everyone was laughing and having a grand time together. 

Where we were located, we could see other fireworks on the horizon from surrounding towns, so it was like a three ring circus...which one do you watch?  When the twenty or so minutes of fireworks ended, some people quickly got a bite to eat and went home.  
Well, that was our Forth of July activities.  What did you do?  : )           

July 2nd

Well...blog posting has been spaced out a bit.  But here we go...I've got some Judy Garland music on and my pictures loaded.  Let's do this post! 

The 2nd of this month we went over to our grandma's house to help clean up some damage caused by high winds the night before.  My aunt and her son also came to help out and together we cleaned up the farm.

Also, Grandma had a very neat silo on her farm.  Apparently, she did have 80+ mile per hour wind (or a twister) that night, for the concrete silo tumbled down to the ground.  Sad it was; we thought that silo would be there for a hundred more years!  I mean it was solid.  So it goes, however.

 

 Grandma didn't just have a few limbs down...no, she had branches the size of small trees on the ground.  We called Dad and he came over to pull the "limbs" away with a pickup.

This dumpster was blown from the highline pole on the left to where it sits in the picture. 
 Pretty amazing.

We worked from around 11 to four that afternoon, and were treated with a great tasting watermelon provided by Grandma.  We were all very thankful that Grandma, her car, garage, and house were untouched by all the happenings, and we praise God for it.  : )