Summer days...

Whew! I think we may have actually made it through the hottest summer on record, yet, in Texas. The record heat and added drought made it really hard on the alpacas. I, for one, am so thankful that the heat is subsiding. My daughter and her classmate are working on a project for their art class. They took pictures all over the property and opened my eyes to things all around me every day that I tend to take for granted.

For instance, we have the most beautiful trees in our yard. When I drive into town, I don't find many trees like this. Areas are completely flattened, all trees removed, before neighborhoods are begun. So, most of the trees in town are rather small. We are blessed to have many, many big, large trees around our house.

I am so very blessed to have my alpacas. They have such a calming effect. This is a picture of Charlene Tilton. Oh how I love this alpaca. She is quiet and beautiful, with a determined spirit.

This is one of MANY large cracks on our property. When you have acreage, you don't water. It simply isn't cost effective. Due to the drought, we have cracks that look as if they go down 4 feet. Really... we could lose a chicken in these holes! Pray for rain!!!

Ah, manure. Yes, we have it every day, every where. I clean the stalls every evening, but leave the pastures to work sometimes once every month or two (depending on the heat!). Here is some wonderful compost just waiting to be used in those cracks! Tee hee!

Here is a wonderful picture of my rusty trailer. Yes, it really is that rusty, but I love it! Do you know of anyone who can strip down an old trailer and restore it? Cheap???

Ok, seriously. If you had an eye booger, I would tell you about it or I would help you remove it. My daughter and her friend just take a picture of it! This is Belle, our handicapped, Rocky Mountain horse. She was born on my birthday years ago. I simply love her. She is spoiled ROTTEN!

Here is a picture of one of the cedar trees in our pasture, along with some horse manure also waiting to be picked up sometime when the weather cools down a little. Actually, I don't pick up the manure in the pasture. I drag it with a harrow. It's much easier... :o)

T-posts still sitting in the pasture waiting to be put up. I have all kinds of ideas, I just need assistance implementing them... LOL.

Well, believe it or not, these tires are actually good! Good for training alpacas on obstacles, that is! No, they won't work on the horse trailer anymore, but they still can serve a purpose. When was the last time I used them for obstacle training, you ask? Uh.... I'm working on getting our FFA students out for that. My alpaca whisperer has been busy taking pictures of the property (see above pictures). Gotta work on that, too. There you have it. I'm not very good about keeping you up to date with all that's going on with the ranch. For that, I am sorry. I tend to volunteer for too much, thus, reducing the amount of time I have to work on my own stuff. Yes, I realize it is a problem. God is working on me. Sometimes, I'm just not a very good listener. :o( I am praying each of you are having a blessed week. Happy trails until we meet again...