Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Masks on the dogs would be good. Then the judge wont have to open her mouth and look inside. She is uber friendly for an Anatolian but who knows when that "Anatolian temperament" (aka growling at the judge who is prying open your jaws) might kick in. Verboten at dog shows!

Yes, just talked to Erick and we are hopeful that we might be able to finally get that litter registered. The issue has been in deliberation at Anatolian Society headquarters for 8 months! If not, we intended to spay her all along so will just do that. Having puppies is a royal pain with LGDs. You are down a guardian for 3 months, not to mention the time you have to board your bitch in the kennel while she is in season. If you kennel her on your own property, you are out 2 guardians as your male moons around her kennel instead of paying attention to his job! You can pen him up, and she will still work until she is in standing heat. At which time she will try every way she can to get into kennel with him!
I told Erick yesterday that Bubba seemed to have a low libido since he was nt interested in Angel even though she was beginning to be flirtatious with him. She had just come into heat and most male dogs would have been getting beat up by the bitch for bothering her. Erick did tell me that several of his males (including Bubba's sire) don't pay any attention to the bitches in season until the 3 days when they might be in standing heat. Then they are all business. That is both good and bad - good in that she will not get bred early and produce pups, bad in that the male's excitement usually alerts you to the beginning of her cycle. If Bubba is like his sire, he will continue working until those 3 days instead of having the normal horny teenage response to the bitch's cycle. That is good too.

Either way, Angel is safely at the boarding kennel with a bitch on either side of her and no off leash exercise time. Three weeks in the kennel. Last night I went looking for her dinner bowl to wash it. I even asked DS1 if he knew where she might have dragged it. He reminded me that DH had not fed her since she was already in the kennel! Oops!

 

[Ridgetop]

You realize of course it takes a reeeeely twisted sense of humor to fall out in the floor laughing at that.

I HAVE a reeeely twisted sense of humor!

DH JUST SAW A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR TYLER, TX, AND SHREVESPORT, LA! HE WANTS ME TO WARN EVERYONE IN THOSE AREAS. THAT MEANS YOU AND BJ, BAY!

Supposed to be flooding too. Sounds bad so all you guys take care!!!

 

[Baymule]

I HAVE a reeeely twisted sense of humor!

DH JUST SAW A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR TYLER, TX, AND SHREVESPORT, LA! HE WANTS ME TO WARN EVERYONE IN THOSE AREAS. THAT MEANS YOU AND BJ, BAY!

Supposed to be flooding too. Sounds bad so all you guys take care!!!

We will be ok. We are up high, so no flooding for us, just won't be able to go anywhere as the roads dip down to cross creeks in the rural areas. We won't need to go anywhere. LOL Rain 3-5" and winds up to 75 MPH. Very mild by hurricane standards. We are actually glad to have the rain. Thank you and your DH for caring about us! We love y'all!

 

[Mike CHS]

When I see the reports on these storms now I forget how aware I always stayed about the weather living down there. Since I quit watching any news programming, I only saw about these storms from looking at Acuweather.

 

[Baymule]

The news said highways going through east Texas are clogged with people escaping the storm. We have to go to town today, so that ought to be fun. But should be NOTHING like the evacuation of Hurricane Rita when hundreds of thousands of people fled and a 2 hour trip took 26 hours. Small towns were over run with people desperate to find shelter. They ran out of gas and there was none to be had. Our town of Livingston opened up schools and churches to shelter people, as did many towns around Houston. It was a mess. I said then, that we were going to move and I never wanted to be in the pathway of a million evacuating people again.

 

[Ridgetop]

This is usually our month to visit Texas so I guess that Covid had one good outcome - we aren't in our 5th wheel in a hurricane!
On the other hand, we really miss Texas.
I was talking to my good friend Erick in Leander outside Austin and mentioned the possibility of looking for property in OK. He was very much against it - I ked y. He said "Well, it just isn't Texas!" LOL Love Texas and my Texan friends!!! Erick is also waiting for us to move to Texas. I guess we can't disappoint our friends that are anxious to welcome us. It helps that we have the same political views and won't be one of the liberal move ins that are ruining the state. LOL

Well, DS1 set our Squirrelinator up in the flower bed near the little Rubbermaid sheds behind the trailer. There are tons of rats back there since it is right outside the barn. He hoped that the rats would be caught in the trap because there are some pretty large Super Rats he has seen back there. Unfortunately they are able to squeeze out of the Squirrelinator. We know this because he saw a couple inside eating the bait and after they had eaten everything they simply left! Our Ratinator arrives tomorrow though. We should be able to trap a lot of rats since they now think they can leave the trap anytime they want. Good tactics DS1! The pointed BBs arrive today. Yesterday DS1 set up the Squirrelinator again in the garden. Rika and Bubba were on the field with the sheep or sleeping for the night shift. Angel is in the kennel waiting out her season. He went out at 5pm which he thought would be early enough. he arrived just as the dogs noticed the trap. We brought the dogs inside before they became too excited and again tore apart the cage. Rika and Bubba enjoyed the luxury of AC while DS1 killed the 2 SGSs we had caught. Slowly, slowly, but we are moving along. Trap emptying time has been moved up to 4;30 pm. Next week we put the cage in the front garden.

DD2 and STBFSIL came over on his day off and we all played cards for a couple hours, It was fun. DD2 is still throwing up, but t 0 weeks is counting the days until she reaches 12-14 weeks when I assured her she would feel better. I hope I am right abut that - with DS1 I was sick for 5 months and ok for 2 months, then he started straightening his body into my stomach and kicking any food out! I was sick again for the last 2 months. Labor was horrible too It's a wonder I didn't put him up for adoption! A mother's love has no bounds. He's still in the will too!

DD2 and STBFSIL mentioned that they are not going to use the large metal base/glass top table we gave them yet. They will store it. DH popped out with "brig it back and we will store it here." I immediately reminded him that he has been demanding I clear out the Connexes so he can store hay. He looked a little sheepish a he remembered. He is too sweet and generous. I just have to remind him that we are emptying our storage spaces to prepare for THE BIG MOVE. Maybe I can suggest that they store it at DD1's pace. She won't notice since she has not unpacked all their boxes from their move last year! LOL

 

[Baymule]

Shhhhhh.........don't tell nobody, but we still have boxes from when we moved in 5 years ago..........

 

[Baymule]

Erick is right, it just ain't Texas. When y'all move here, we will have to get you both some really cool T-shirts that say it all..... I figure y'all would wear them proudly!

 

[Ridgetop]

Up to 9 ground squirrels now! One was huge, twice the size of the others - obviously genetically modified, or possibly just on steroids. A couple others were in the trap but were tiny babies and escaped through the bars. Maybe we will catch them with the Ratinator. Complete eradication of the species is now my goal!

We saw a young coyote on our road this morning. Maybe the coyotes have chased all the ground squirrels onto our property. Lots of rabbits too. Good year for coyotes and their pups with lots of prey.

Eat! Eat! Eat them up, coyotes!

Weather is starting to cool off. Temperature last night dropped to 70 degrees.

 

[Baymule]

Eat! Eat! Eat them up, coyotes!