Coyotes

The latest rain event brought us an average of 2.5’’— I say average because it depended on what part of the ranch you were on. It was a good soaker and we’ll be able to get another cutting off of the coastal field as a result. Predictions are still showing we are slowly coming out of the drought and may even have a wet fall, therefore I’m starting to build the herd back up. I’ve already brought 5 new heifers on from Fredericksburg, and will hold on to the heifers from our own cows as well. I think a total of 50 head is a good target. As long as too many people don’t switch to chicken, the market should remain high for awhile. The grasses here are looking really nice and are slowly filling back in. The Dogleg Lakes are still looking miserable though.

My deer guy will be getting us some female elk and female fallows soon. I'll be putting in our order for our starter White Tail herd soon-- the herd that we'll use to populate the Wilderness and Dry Tank pastures. We'll start with 10 Bred Does and Two Bucks. I’ve got a lead on a deer breeder in Hondo who has some really nice stock. He raises nothing but Texas Genetics and Breeds for Typical Framed Racks—and not those crazy antlers you see on some of the farms. I’ve hauled in the new fence material and the construction has started on improving the existing fences.

During the last two weeks of August, we constructed two sheds. One over the Water Storage Tank on the New Hill Top, and the other over the water storage tank down near pig blind. The Sheds are designed to catch rain which pours into the storage tanks which will provide some relief to the weak or shallow wells that normally supply them. The new solar pump in Dry Tank Pasture is working well.

I’m also in the process of converting that pen that surrounds that back well (near pig blind) into a large hog trap. We used the dozer to cut a trench all the way around it, and in the trench we layed old fencing which was then buried. The fencing was secured to the existing pen fence. This will provide an underground barrier so that the trapped hogs can’t dig out. Now, we just need to construct one-way trap doors into the pen, and a set a feeder in there. We should be able to trap large amounts of hogs in this and because there is a feeder, shade, and water trough, we don’t necessarily have to harvest them right away. So for those hunters who never can seem to shoot a hog, maybe we can make it possible now. : )

I’m worried about our Cypress Trees. We’ve been watering them as much as we can but I think it’s going to take more until the Lake Fills back up, so out of the barn I’ve pulled out that submersible water pump that the Landscape Guys were going to use in Africa to water the lawn. I think with Solar Panels, we can use this in the big lake to water the Cypress Trees on a daily basis.

Coyotes have killed two axis does at Red House. I set up a bunch of snare traps around there and have caught one Coyote so far. I also saw one on top of the hill in the middle of the day as well as one on Kyle Ranch road this week.

We're now moving into Hunting Trip 2014 mode.