Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Rain, Wildflowers, Snakes, Tractor, & Food



The rain has been coming down continuously here.  We never thought it would stop.  Here are a few videos of some of the water we received from the past several days.  






We’ve pretty much decided to maintain 3 acres out of 20; meaning we will cut, weed whack and groom those 3 acres, the rest will remain ALA natural, with pathways throughout created by water, wildlife, and humans. Bulldog Man and I routinely walk the entire property at various times to make sure all is okay, check for anything unusual, and to make sure we don’t have any uninvited squatters.  Our plans are also to invest in a nice quality drone to help with the monitoring of our property.

I thought I would share with you some of the wildflowers I found while cutting the grass.













Since the rain has stopped, and the sun is out, I decided to cut the grass.  When cutting the grass on our dam, there are areas where a push mower is needed; like next to the water of our fish pond.  While cutting next to the pond, a Water Moccasin snake became aggressive and started to swim toward me, and then decided he/she was going to attempt to come at me on the shoreline of the dam.  Big mistake…..see if the snake would have continued on he/she would still be treading water.  However, since he/she decided to lunge toward me……Mama’s 9MM (Say hello to my little friend!!!), came un-holstered and he/she became fish bait.  That wasn’t my first encounter of snakes for the day.  I came in contact with 3 other snakes; a rattle snake, a green garden snake, and another water moccasin.  The one thing I totally can’t stand is snakes.  If they leave me alone, I will leave them alone.  If they get in my way or attempt to lunge at me, that’s it; I’m done with them.
Picture from  news.aces.edu



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Several weeks ago, I hung 4 humming bird feeders out on our front porch.  There have been 3 hummingbirds that’ve made it a point to hang around and enjoy the sweet nectar provided; along with a hundred or so bees off and on each day.  The birds don’t seem to mind the bees too much; they seem to be willing to share their food.  I’m not sure where these bees are coming from, whether they’re from a wild nest or a local hand raised hive.  I wish we were ready to raise bees; I would make an attempt to capture them.  Since we’re not ready, we’ll just leave them alone, and give them space to come and go as they please.  











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Tractor shopping has been pretty interesting.  We’ve narrowed our choice down to Kubota.  Now it’s just figuring out which one to buy, and when (timing is always in consideration).  Here’s a picture of Bulldog Man test driving one at the Kubota dealership.
  







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I came across a recipe for pineapple fried rice and decided to share it with you.  If you like pineapple and fried rice, you’ll love this recipe.  The recipe is from Damn Delicious, click here to find the recipe.   
Everyone in my house gives this recipe a 4 paw rating!!!  It’s Damned Delicious!!!


 

Plenty of things to talk about, but for now, I need to get back to work.  Catch y’all soon!










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19 comments

  1. You know Sis, the only good snake is a dead snake! I just don't want to be the one killing it though. Next time you make the rice how about you give me a 4 hour advance notice and I'll come over for dinner �� I can bring the Ark if needed.

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    1. Kim,

      A good snake is a dead one when they're bothering you. If they're just passing by, then leave them be.
      Oh I know you don't like killing snakes or anything else. Remember the rattle snake Bulldog Man killed and it's head turned and bit it's own body??

      I'll give you notice when I make the rice next time :-)

      Please bring the Ark when you come next time we will need it.
      Love
      Sandy

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  3. Do you have a canoe or kayak? Looks as though you might need one! We've been having enough rain to keep me from planting the garden as I want to, but nothing like you've had.

    Those bees on your hummingbird feeder sure look like domesticated honey bees to me. They typically have a flying range of several miles so they could be from someone who keeps bees somewhere in your extended neighborhood!

    I HATE snakes! They give me the willy-nillys and we don't even have poisonous ones around here.

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    1. Mama Pea,

      No we don't have a canoe or kayak. We're thinking about buying one for maintaining the pond.
      I thought the bees looked domesticated. There really isn't a neighbor close by. Will they travel more than 2 miles from their box?

      You don't have poisonous snakes there? Really? OMG.....I need to move to MN!!! If you would like some snakes let me know :PP
      (teasing)
      Hugs,
      Sandy

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  4. Lots of excitement!!! (and not all good). Rain good, too much bad. Wildflowers good, weeds bad. Snakes, um, snakes, bad. HA!!!

    You know we have sort of the same philosophy on our property. Leaving much of it as nature dictates, except for trails I cut with the mower and/or bush hog. Now we do have a pond site at the front that we will, someday, clear and have dug into a real pond but that's beyond our capabilities and currently finances, ha. But for the most part we'll do what we need to clear around the house and other special areas and then stay au naturel!

    Oh, we ordered a trail-cam, can't wait to hook it up and see what's creeping around. Thanks to you for inspiration!

    Oh I have to ask, did you make your rain barrels? Did I miss a post? You have the EXACT kind I want, the terra-cotta olive barrel, correct?

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    1. 1st Man,

      There's always excitement around here :-)
      The rain has been too much. Some wildflowers, the rest are weeds!! The heat is bringing out the snakes. This is just the beginning of the warm season, I'm worried what late summer will bring.

      Yes we do have the same philosophy about our property. We love to see the wildlife roam on our property. Having a pond on your property is the cats meow. When it's time for your pond consider putting fish in it. You can obtain fish usually free from the fish and game of your state. Our pond was stocked before we bought the place.

      Very good,I'm happy to hear you're going to put up a trail-cam. Will you be placing out any food for the wildlife? Or a salt lick?

      The rain barrels we have come from a ranch store called Atwoods. The cost of the barrels are $33.00 each, there made of plastic (not terra-cotta)with a removable lid. We wanted a solid camel color to hold water in.

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    2. I love that the rain barrels were already made up. I knew they were plastic, I meant the terra-cotta color we wanted those just because they will blend in to the surroundings better and black would get too hot. I found some here in Houston that are for sale the barrels are cheap $25 each and had olives in them before but they aren't set up as rain barrels yet. I'll have to do some reasearch.

      Not sure about food out for the wildlife, I don't really want to attract them yet when we're not there but I'm sure they are creeping around naturally, just want to see what we've got.

      Thanks for the info on the pond. We will definitely have one, we have a natural site that holds water when it rains, it just needs to be cleared and dug out deeper and all the other stuff involved (we'll pay for that to be done correctly, ha). Thanks for the info!!

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  5. Sweet Sandy - the wildflowers are beautiful and i love seeing pics of other people's properties! i love your pond but you can keep those snakes!!!! down at the ocean we have jellyfish and eels - most of the jellyfish don't have stingers and catching eels and eating them is deelish! down at the river we have trout (some for you, always!) and baby salmon that we are not allowed to fish for - they got fished out years ago! oh and guess who will love that pineapple rice? you guessed it - jambaloney! he loves pineapple anything so i will have to make that for him. we'll call it Sweet Sandy's special rice. and a kubota - woohoo!

    it is nice to get an update from you and i sure hope everything is going well for you guys! can you send your new address in an email - i have a little surprise for you!

    sending much love to all of you, as always! your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Kymber,

      We love our place and the pond. As for the snakes....I don't want them...LOL!!! I had my share of jelly fish from living out on the coast of Florida for years. You can have the eel, I'm not a fan.
      Glad to hear Jam will love the fried rice, and of course his new Kubota.

      I'll send you an e-mail with our address.

      Sending hugs and love to you both.
      Sandy

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  6. What a little bit of Paradise you have there - sans the snakes and floods... I could just imagine you packing with your push mower - you are something else! xoxoxo

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    1. Susan,

      Thank you dear friend, we love it.....without the snakes. Oh I pack my 9 mil every where I go. It's funny to watch me cut the side of the pond with the push mower, and one eye watching for snakes. Nothing like live entertainment....LOL
      Hugs,
      Sandy

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  7. Rain! Looks like what we got early this week. Aren't you glad you got your rain gutters up! It's good, though, to see what areas of your property flood and how it drains. Useful information when it comes to planning where to plant and put things.

    Excellent idea to choose a few acres to maintain and not worry about the rest for the time being. Three is actually a lot and I'm looking forward to seeing how productive you make it.

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    1. Leigh,

      We're very glad to have the rain gutters up. Having sitting water is a great indication on where you may want to plant your garden. We're planning on placing a french drain in the location where major water sits to direct the water into the pond.

      Productivity on the three acres will be slow this year. We've made a priority list, and tackling it slowly. We hope to have an area setup for planting next season.

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  8. I kill poisonous snakes. I've been bitten twice by Copperheads, and it can really mess you up. Also, I worry about them killing my dogs.

    We have had a lot of rain here, three straight days. We do need the rain but not all at once.

    I sure do like how your place looks.

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    1. Harry,

      I worry about poisonous snakes here because the nearest hospital is over 45 minutes away. We don't want to be bitten, and want to make sure our dogs don't get bit either. The water moccasin snakes have been very aggressive....which leads us to have to kill them.

      I agree, we need the rain but not all at once. Summer isn't here yet, I can only imagine how hot it will be.

      Thank you, we really love this place. Granted we have some work to do but who doesn't when they first move into a place. I plan on sharing more pictures as we get things done.

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  9. your property is so pretty. Cant blame you for keeping only 3 acres maintained, it gets to be overwhelming. We have a Mahindra tractor and love it. I can't imagine not having one now, it has paid for itself ten times over, and now that we added the post hole digger attachment it has been a god send.

    Much love to you guys and hope you are all drying out.

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    1. Jugm and Senior,

      Thank you sweet friends, we love this place. It does become overwhelming and at times you just have to let things go. You'll get them done when you have time.
      Glad to hear you love your Mahindra!!! You have to have a tractor when living on property, they really do come in handy and pay for themselves with all the work. We just love all the attachments you can buy and have a big list...LOL!!!

      We are drying out just in time for more rain.
      Sending hugs and love to y'all.
      Sandy and Bulldog Man

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  10. Yes, we kill any poisonous snakes around us too. Some let them slither away but all I can think is they are looking for a mate to make many more of themselves. We have the same kind in our neck(s) of the woods. We want to add a small - medium tractor to our menagerie as well, especially for planting trees & putting in fencing. Everything sounds as if it is coming right along. Looking forward to more updates.

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