New additions to the ranch

Since Tank disappeared about a month ago (he ate his dinner one day and just kind of loped off the ranch - the barbed wire could not hold him in), Ginger has been very lonely. We looked around at local shelters for just the right companion and couldn't find what she needed. We thought younger dogs would be a better fit so we can train them early to stay near and not wander off. We saw these puppies advertised at the local Fina station and so we went out to the ranch where they lived. Both mother and father dogs were there, raised by a very nice family with kids. We decided to take both of them, much to the delight of the owners, who were glad they were together.

Since we brought them home a week ago, Ginger has totally adapted into the mother role. She plays with them, herds them around and tolerates a lot of "body blocks" from these two rambuntious little males. We named them Ranger and Recondo ("Recon"). They are every bit little guys, jumping off the ramp to the trailer, growling at the ball, chewing anything!, and after playing, curling up into Gingers warm fur and sleeping. We have a larger dog run and two "igloos" - Ginger in one and the two little guys in the other. And they are all outside all the time. This was an adjustment for m, ,raised with indoor dogs but there is almost no room in the trailer and eventually, in the house, we are trying to keep it dust and hair free for Skip's allergies.

Garden update: I bought a compost maker kit and put it together - it's much smaller than the cinder block areas we constructed first - but should be a little easier for me to maintain. I planted asparagus, three kinds of onions, cabbage, lettuce and lots of herbs. I also set out two "have-a-heart" traps for rabbits - they took out my fall planting entirely! We'll see what works. Meanwhile back at the trailer, I got up my courage and tried the pickles I put up last summer. Not bad! And chilled they are especially good.

I can't tell if any of our plantings (blackberries, peaches and pecans) have buds yet. We are so anxious to see if they lived through the plantings. We met a fella at the "trade days" last weekend who will come on the ranch and establish a bee hive for us. He maintains it by visiting every so often and harvesting the honey. He will leave us some honey periodically for a fee of $35/month. Seems steep to us so we may try on our own to have a couple of hives. There is a bee keeping supply business in Paris (19 miles away). I still have to learn how to prepare seed potatoes for planting. Apparently you cut the potato up into pieces, each containing an "eye" of the potato and that's what grows the root.

Update on the house: We met with the builder and finalized details. He is getting final bids and we should have a contract by this Friday. We had to move the house plot a little bit further northwest to take advantage of more level ground and less need for fill dirt. Although the square footage is small, the house is long across. The first item of business will be soil samples, since in Texas, we have problems with our "souls" (the proper pronunciation of soil). The foundation is the single most important step in the whole process. Otherwise, lots of foundation cracks down the road.

More later - we were give a rooster and a hen and have to pick them up today - pictures later :)