Morning Critter Chores, Texas Heat, Art and Evening Critter Chores

We have been on Critter Duty since Friday afternoon.
Dean and Sherry did the morning chores before they left for Dallas yesterday.

We drove down to find a piece of some kind of pipe Louis Dean was needing and checked out where the goats were put. We drove because it is so hot! Dean put them where they could get both water and shade. You can see Thumper down under that tree he was nibbling on.

Can you see the other two?

It has been so dry! The big tank is the lowest we've ever seen it!

We sat in the meadow for a few minutes so I could take pics of the trees and study them.

I'm using them in my pastoral scene - by placing them in Mr.Jackson's pasture.

Feel the power!!

I brought my pedicure things since it isn't nearly as convenient to get one here as it is at home.

I filled it with water and set it in the sun. No need to heat it up!

I have painted some every day. It's always an adventure when you live in the country and you keep the doors open to the front room. Louis Dean has been working on plumbing this trip.

No clue as to his reasoning so I just go with it.

I think he takes into consideration what he feels comfortable with at the level of energy he has.

July in Texas usually means not much.

For some reason we were both low on humph Friday and went to bed right after we did the critter chores and had our showers. I was asleep before 9:30!

Unfortunately, I didn't wake up to see a text from my neighbor saying our backyard was flooding and water was coming into hers. A lot of water.

I saw the text at 4:30 this morning. Of course, I couldn't go back to sleep.

I sent her a text back knowing she wouldn't see it until later in the morning.

Then I sent one to Stephanie who lives on the other side of us.

I was hoping they had drained their swimming pool and that was where the water was coming from.

Then I sent a text to Sherry around 5:00 AM since she was in Irving at Ruth Ann's house. She had been to our place last night around 7:30 and all was well, but she hadn't gone outside in the back yard. Just a few minutes later, she sent a text saying she would check and apparently she got right our of bed and went straight over there. Louis Dean had left a hose running out by the sand box after he had watered some before we left Tuesday. It had been running all that time. Not full force, Sherry said. But enough to flood our yard and Olga's.

No need for us to water for awhile!

I was so relieved I went back to sleep by 6:30 and slept until 11:00!

The critters call and we answer!

We couldn't actually hear them from up here but we knew they were down there waiting!

I was in search of some eggs for breakfast and found two!

One chicken and one duck egg!

Maybe it's too hot for the hens to lay right now.

**Facebook**

Pretty much!!!

Louis Dean got way too hot so we came in and watched a movie while he cooled off.

I had never seen this one before but he had and he said he had forgotten how good it was!

My Santas are all under painted or 'based in' as I call it.

Hanging them on the wall is a safe way to dry them.

The red takes a long, long time to dry.

I put in a lot of extra branches and probably still don't have enough!

Then I put in the darks. Plus I worked on all the cattle.

That is really tedious! I'll add more bits and dabs to them later.

I hung it up over a painting I brought down that had been in the guest room.

My son, Benjamin, painted this when he was about 10-11 years old.

I still had a little time left so I started putting in the details on my Western Santa.

This part is a lot more fun as long as I don't get in a hurry.

The trick is to pay attention only to the area you are working on and not focus on the whole thing.

At least that's the way it works for me.

Step by step. Little by little.

Louis Dean has rested a good bit today and we waited until the sun was beginning to set before we went down to do the evening chores.

I didn't take treats down for the horses so I will be sure and give them some carrots in the morning.

The ducks and geese are the first ones to get in the pen.

Louis Dean brings in the goats while I took a shower.

Then I wait for the chickens to go in while he takes a soaking bath.

This critter likes to spend the night way up at the top of the duck pen.

She should be safe. I hope.

This girl stayed in with the ducks last night and tonight, too!

See the little wind chimes hanging there?

She would fly into them on her way down and startle all the ducks and geese. 

They would peck at her and she would fly back up - hitting the chimes once again - and they would fuss and fuss at her.

We are done for the night.

Louis Dean has been resting since we got back from critter chores while I have been working on this journal entry. We will go home tomorrow but we won't be running out of here like our hair's on fire.

I still have some housekeeping chores to do and Louis Dean has some things to put up.

I talked to Lillian today and told her we would see her in the afternoon. We will go straight to Fort Worth to see Mother and Lillian before we even go home. I told Lillian I would show her my photos from the ranch. She and her husband had a place on the lake near Palestine, Texas and she has such good memories of their time there.

**From Ruth Ann's Facebook page**

I'll close with this photo of Rufus that Ruth Ann shared on Facebook today.

I do love that dog.

We brought what we thought was a ham bone we had been saving for him from our freezer only to discover it was chicken or turkey to make broth with - no bones or meat - looks like skin mostly.

So I have been feeding him Louis Dean's lunch meat and the bones from the good meal Dean and Sherry made on Tuesday night.

Next time I will double check that it is, indeed, the ham bone we bring and I will double check that all the water faucets are turned off in the yard before we leave home.

**From Jessica's Facebook Page**

Now I am going out for one final sit under the stars.

Goodnight from Texas!