Two Legged Prowler

We are pretty remote where we live in these hills.  Each house is on no less than 25 acres so it's not likely for the doorbell to ring, ever.  If it should, I would think it was my husband playing tricks on me.  Our house is enclosed by a fence and the three gates are locked at night.  We live far within the main ranch about 3 miles off the main highway.  Therefore we never hear vehicles or have unexpected visitors.  In order to get into the main ranch one must have the gate code and then travel several miles to come to a house.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel pretty safe, even though I am prepared just in case I need to defend myself.

I'm still trying to convince my husband that I was awakened by the sound of an Iphone ring a few nights back.  He is pretty certain I was dreaming.  I don't have an Iphone but the ring is very distinct.  I was deep in sleep when I heard the tinkling sound, twice, at which time one of my dogs tore out of his "cave" next to my bedroom patio door growling and barking with an intent to kill.  Whatever he was after, ran off into the dark.  I did not get up to investigate as I usually do but instead lay in bed listening.  Eventually I fell back into sleep.   I know I was not dreaming, however I cannot figure out how or why a person would be in my yard, close enough to the house for  me to distinctly hear that phone ring.  One would think that a prowler would have enough sense to turn his cell phone off before trespassing on private property in the middle of the night.   Obviously they did not expect a dog to appear out of  the stone work.

I can visualize a surprised burglar as his cell phone rang thinking, "oh shit" and then hearing a large dog charging after him.  It's kind of comical actually.  It;s bugging me though wondering how this person arrived at my house, why they were here in the middle of nowhere and why they hurdled over a gate into my yard. Did they walk across several other ranches and acres to arrive at our house?  I wouldn't think so considering it is rattlesnake, cactus infested, very uneven terrain with hills and valleys.  They certainly were not out for an evening stroll and became disoriented.  My mind can conjure up all kinds of scenarios/reasons.  We do have a lawsuit against us and the plaintiff absolutely hates us.  But could she be evil enough to hire someone to harm us?  It wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened.  Do I watch too much tv? Probably.  But I can hear my father talking to me from the great beyond and he is telling me to be very careful.

Was I dreaming?  I'm 95% certain I was not.  My gut tells me I was not.  My husband prefers to believe I was dreaming but I'm playing it safe with a loaded shotgun next to my bed.  At any rate, it makes for a good blog!

Dead Chickens, Chupacabra, Film Festivals and Art Strolls

My it's been a long time since I've posted a new blog.  I've taken up a new hobby, knitting and crocheting.  Most of my days and evenings are spent doing just that.  Life is slow here in the hills for two retirees but we do occasionally have guests or venture into a local town or city.

Our son and his girl friend have recently submitted a film in the Austin Film Festival.  It was a short documentary called TwiLife.  I wrote about it in my previous blog.  It has great potential and I do hope someone recognizes how good it is and gives these kids a break.

Back to the "ranch", I wrote in an earlier post that something had broken the neck of our rooster.  About a week later we awoke to find two of our now five chickens dead and partially eaten.  One's head was actually missing.  I don't know what those chickens were doing out of their roost in the middle of the night.  Maybe it was early morning just as the sun was rising.  Whatever they came down for led to their demise.  I keep saying I'm going to install wild life cameras around the property.  I think we would find it very interesting to see what the cameras capture.  I just can't figure out what could have reached through the little holes in the fence and eaten our chickens.  Could have been a raccoon but then I began researching "Chupacabra", which is Spanish for "goat sucker".  Apparently it doesn't just kill goats but also chickens and turkeys.  There have been reported sightings of this legendary animal in Puerto Rico, Mexico and the US according to Wikipedia, my favorite source of quick information.  This creature has also been spotted in the Philippians and Russia.  There are varying accounts of what it actually looks like but what I gather it is a four legged creature looking much like a  dog/coyote,fox.  Some say that perhaps it has some kind of disease that has caused it's hair to thin.   It's interesting to know that it has been sighted in Blanco county and other areas of Texas near us..  The body of one was actually retrieved and Texas A&M University scientists conducted test on it deciding it was some sort of dog coyote hybrid.  Again information taken from Wiki.  I suppose this is possible.  There are packs of wild dogs and coyotes roaming these hills and whose to say they don't breed with each other?  If I ever find out what is killing my chickens I will surely get a picture of it and post it on my blog.

This was Shadow's recent snake kill.  He hates them so much.  He lunges at them, picks them up in his mouth and shakes them till they fall apart.  I watched him kill two snakes this way in the fall.  Due to the drought we didn't get many snakes in the yard this summer.

Hardly anything bloomed this summer due to the drought.  We are having a bit of rain now and things are coming to life.  The loquat bloomed for the first time since I brought it from the city and sent it into shock  by planting it into limestone.  Below is a picture of all it's glorious blooms.  It is teaming with insects, some of which I haven't seen in a long time.

I saw very few monarchs this spring but I do believe this is one at the top of a Spanish Oak that has lost it's leaves already.

I recently participated in an Art Stroll in San Antonio where I displayed and sold many of my knitted and crocheted items.  It was a real learning experience for me.

This is the first year I think that we had only our youngest child who is in college, home for Thanksgiving.  What can I say, the kids grow up and move away and start their own families.  This is something I never thought of as I was chasing  my ruffled pantie daughter down the side walk and running between tball and baseball games trying not to miss my boys as they batted.  Life goes on and on and we have to move along with it.  It is what it is and like it or not we must accept it and find new interests.  At each stage in life I look back and have a sudden realization of how my own parents must have felt as I left home and started a life of my own.  I must have been feeling pretty defeated and remorseful as I cooked Thanksgiving dinner this year because I really bombed out in the kitchen.  The food was horrible.  My dinner rolls looked like I picked up rocks in the driveway and put them in a basket.  The turkey was dry, the green bean casserole was tasteless, the mashed potatoes were lumpy and like paste.  The apple pie saved my reputation as a cook.  I have never turned out such an awful meal, however I did give thanks for the food we partook of and the one child who came home.

So Thanksgiving behind us I am looking forward to Christmas and the coming year.  All but one offspring will be home for Christmas and I'm looking forward to the birth of my first grandchild in February.  Life moves on.