This summer was plagued with disaster. I spent a lot of time on my knees praying and not a lot of time taking care of the usual day to day business of maintaining the homestead. I let things go. The chicken coop was pieced and glued back together and just in general disrepair. The wild …
Tag Archives: homestead
A Rattlesnake
This young rattlesnake was in the path when i went to water the orchard one night and i saw it in the headlamp stream right as i raised my foot to step where it was. I then quietly stepped back instead of forwards as i realized i was about to put my foot on a …
Mexican/Texas Persimmons
The ants eat these things down to nothing but a hollow shell moments before peak ripeness. I began picking them when black with a green ring around the top and then leaving them on the counter face down to protect from flies until fully ripened. They have greasy sticky flesh under a paper thin skin. …
Answered Prayer
Immediately after learning the person i had prayed for ceaselessly was awake and conscious, it rained like i had never seen it rain here before. It was like everything that had been pent up was let go and the flood gates of nature were open. It rained for an entire day and night. it poured …
A Baby Cottontail
This little guy was smaller than he looks in the photos and endlessly curious about me. Thats how i knew immediately he was a baby. Unlike the adult cottontails, this youngster hasnt learned about predators or danger yet. The den is underneath the shed and when i exercise on my mat laid out on the …
Discovering Native Persimmon Trees
Since i moved onto the homestead 5 years ago there’s been a number of mystery trees that were bush sized with oak like leaves but kept their leaves even when the oaks dropped theirs. I’ve always wondered what these trees were but they were too young to produce anything so there were no clues for …
Cleaning the Water Filter
Every once in a while the water filter that i use to get the sulphur out of the well water begins growing algae and must be cleaned. This involves taking it apart, boiling some water, letting the water cool to the point where its still hot but not hot enough to melt the plastic or …
Getting to be that Time Again
It was getting to be that time again. The landscape was looking overgrown and a bit wild. I needed to go round and shave everything down again with the lawn mower. The lithium batteries were dead so i had to purchase more and wait for them to arrive, then recycle the old ones in the …
Rain
2023 was the first time any of us had seen the Guadalupe River dry. We had never known what color the rocks were at the bottom of the river. As it turns out, they were white limestone rocks. I hadnt anticipated that with all the red clay surrounding the river. No matter the frequency of …
Update on the Coyote Carcass
The buzzards are done with it. There’s been a couple heavy rains since it was killed so the fur and the hide got soggy and matted and now it just stinks to high heaven. The remaining skin shriveled and revealed an impressive set of pearly white teeth. Further Update: The carcass has had a little …