Saturday, March 15, 2014

Almost spring

Sage Creek Ranch is hopping right now.  It's spring.  Although it mostly doesn't look like it yet, it really is spring.

 The crocuses are blooming (although we got cold again after I posted this, so they probably don't look like this now.

 It's warm enough to be laying around in the sun.  Humphrey is eight years old now and while he still pulls the night shift at Sage Creek, the nap times are getting longer.


 Morty loves being outside at SCR when it's warm enough.  He stays in a cage outside because there're a lot of vultures and hawks, as well as bobcats (we've even recently spotted evidence that the lion is back) who would be happy to eat him.


 As part of our improvement program, Tim has laid down a gravel path through the park-like fields.  The gravel helps lessen the erosion problem.


 Since we've had just enough rain to not be on a "burn ban" right now, Tim has been burning off some of the huge piles of leaves.  We leave quite a few for composting, but we need some sun and air to get to the roots of the grass seed Tim's planted.


 The cacti waits for the warmth...

The view of the big stock tank/pond.  It's at an okay level given how little rain we've had.  

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Winter Day

While the photos make it look sunny and warm, it wasn't warm at all.  It was a lovely, chilly day.  Come to think of it, I can't think of any days that I don't care for at the ranch... cold, rainy, hot, humid, windy, cloudy, sunny, snowy, foggy -- all of them have a beauty and a peace.

It's at this time of year that we look back to see what yet needs to be attended to for our WildLife Certification.

These piles sit in a few places around the ranch.  I used to think these kinds of things were just plain unsightly - until I found out that there are deep and rich habitats for all kinds of little wildlife in them - they are piles of garbage, they are luxurious homes.  And of course, where there is small wildlife, there're the bigger creatures too.

While it's from a distance, this is the largest of the debris piles:


 This is a new pile that Tim created when he trimmed out all the Cedars under the beautiful Oak:


 Bobcat tracks.  Probably feasting on the numerous rabbits or little birds.  



To create the latest habitat, this is the tree Tim trimmed (you can see all the stumps!):

And, even though it was way too cold to get on his bathing suit, Humphrey had to go all the way in to get a drink.


And, even in the cold, there's still a spot of color to be found:



Happy New Year!


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