Ranch Ramblins

Remember this shaded picnic area from a previous post entitled The Catfish Pond ?  I was headed over to that spot the other day to do some maintenance work, when I was greeted by this gal ….

Apparently, Retta and I are not the only ones who like to frequent this cool, quiet spot.  The doe, whom I presume didn’t want to disturb my intended work schedule, loped off into the woods, leaving me to enjoy the peaceful setting as I went about my tasks.

Chores finished for the morning, I set off back to the house, when I noticed one of the buzzards that seems to have made it’s home in the trees near the catfish pond circling overhead.  Perhaps I was standing a little too still as I observed the bird gracefully tracing figure eights in the sky, because the vulture soon swooped down toward my position, landing only yards from my location.  Maybe a meal was at hand, he might have reckoned, only to have his hopes dashed as I snapped several photographs and quickly departed.

When one weighs the pros and cons of country life, encounters such as these certainly bubble up to the top of the list of positive factors.  Don’t you agree?

If you were to scan each of the posts that have appeared on this humble blog, you might notice something odd (O.K., I’ll admit it, this entire blog is a little odd, but that’s another story!).  What I’m getting at is this - in none of the posts will you find a NAME attached to our little home here in the Ozarks.  Because Retta and I have not settled on a name for this bit of heaven on Earth, you will find references within this Ranch Ramblins blog such as: the property, the land, the farm, the ranch, etc.  But no specific name is ever cited.

Perhaps it is time for this deplorable situation to change.  This farm/ranch/preserve/recreation area we call our home really should have a proper name that we can refer to in passing.  It would make the place seem, well, more rooted, more permanent, and somehow, more personal.

When we purchased this tract of land, we had the Abstract of Title brought up to date, and we were provided a copy for our records.  As a result, I can trace the ownership, as well as past mining leases back to the original land deeds created immediately following the Louisiana Purchase.  But those records say nothing about the names that past owners have dubbed this land.  I have, however, discovered the following bits of information.

When this property was developed into it’s present configuration in 1980, the owners (who had just retired from an agricultural advisory career in Latin America) dubbed it La Esperanza.  In Spanish, this translates (roughly) into The Hope, or The Aspiration.  I have gleaned this information from the following two sources -

First, long time readers may recall from a past post entitled Lay, Lady, Lay  that shortly after moving into this house, we discovered very touching farewell letters (pictured above) written by grandchildren of the aforementioned former owners of the property.  The envelope of one of the letters has La Esperanza written across the front.

The second (less subtle) clue was found after clearing out one of the landscape planters located along the side of the house.  I have used the “magic” of digital image manipulation to enhance the carved lettering found along the top of the planter, which clearly reads La Esperanza Farm, 1980-1996.

 In the years that intervened between 1996, when La Esperanza’s creators sold the farm, until early 2001, when we bought the property, it was owned by two other families in rapid succession.  One of those families must have re-dubbed La Esperanza to Happy Trails, as evidenced by the sign above, which we found hanging by the property entrance in 2001.

Two issues are involved here - the first being the appropriateness of re-christening a farm or ranch.  As you may know, at one point in the past, Retta and I lived aboard a boat named Lorelei (siren of the Rhine River).  After purchasing the vessel, we debated changing the name to one of our own choosing.  We opted to retain the name Lorelei.  Apart from the expense involved to repaint a new name across the transom, there is a substantial body of myth/lore/superstition surrounding the supposed “dire consequences” that would befall those who would dare re-christen a ship from it’s original name (however, to be fair, there is an authority who claims his special renaming ceremony  works like a charm).

While I’m not one who clings to superstitions, when one goes out onto the vast untamed sea in a relatively tiny 20 year old vessel, it’s best not to “tempt” fate.  We never ran aground, never sank, never capsized, and never foundered in five years of frequent cruising, so there just might be something to the “renaming” superstition.  In any event, I do not know whether the “renaming curse” also applies to farm and ranch names, but it is something we must consider, if only to be on the safe side.

Second, assuming that we were to decide to adopt our own name for this property, what would we call it?  La Esperanza, while a good name, seems so out of place in this part of the Ozarks, where the year 2000 census indicated a Hispanic population of 0.8 %  (8/10ths of 1 percent) of the county’s total population.  Retta and I would be two among only a handful of people in the entire county who would know what La Esperanza means. 

My first choice for a name for this property might be the following …

… because, with all the mowing, tractor work, sawing, toting, etc. to be done around here, there is  always some part of the body that experiences aches and pains.

Retta, on the other hand, who is more involved with gardening, poultry, and the other farm animals, came up with this whimsical name … 

Due to the shear volume of ticks and chiggers that call this farm home, this would also be a very appropriate name, were we to adopt it for our farm.

 On the other hand, either of the previous two suggestions might get others to dub us …

That would be no good now, would it?

Yesterday

There used to be a time, years ago, when I lived aboard a vessel and called places like the one seen in the photograph above my home.

In those days, I would dress up in a funny rubber suit and jump into the water …..

… armed with this Nikonos underwater camera.  Hopefully, I would happen upon some interesting subject,

such as this Spanish Shawl nudibranch, to take a photograph that might end up worthy of display.

Other times I might stalk creatures while on the ocean’s surface, and be fortunate enough to get a picture like the one of this elephant seal at San Miguel Island.

On those occasions when I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to tropical destinations, I would, with a little luck, be able to find subject matter such as that seen above.

Those of you who know me understand just how much the ocean, SCUBA diving, and underwater photography have meant to me over the years.  Alas, those days are past, as I have finally come to recognize.  So it is with bittersweet ambivalence that I have created the following listing on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330247395306&indexURL=0#ebayphotohosting

Today

I live in the place pictured above, hundreds of miles from the closest ocean.

Today, my photographic tool of choice is this camera ….

… with which I try to find interesting inland photographic opportunities, such as this rainbow …

or this beautiful moth.

It’s still good - just not the same.

The NWS forecast calls for thunderstorms in this area today, with strong chances for additional thunderstorm activity later in the week.  So it doesn’t look like we will see any activity on the hay production front for the next several days. 

Meanwhile, the timing of the abundant rain we have experienced this Spring seems to have suited the black walnut trees just fine.  The walnuts are nearing golf ball size, and unlike last year, our productive trees appear to be prolific this year.

Hmmm…. it just occurred to me that I neglected to post anything about last year’s black walnut harvest.  In fact, I had not even reported the results of the 2006 harvest.  Well, better late then never, so here goes.

You may recall that in 2006, our friend Jasper was Hoping to Top His Previous Record Harvest, which stood at about 400,000 walnuts.  He ended up having a great year, but fell just a little short of his previous record.

In 2007, outside of one or two consistently outstanding producers, most of our black walnut trees were barren.  Even with all the farms Jasper includes in his rounds, he could not even locate enough walnuts to make up one full truck load.  So 2007 was a bust, but from the looks of our trees, 2008 should be a very productive year.

When the time comes to bale the hay, I’ll post some photographs of this year’s harvest.

It’s June, so he’s up to his neck in fescue - that’s what!

Once again, the season for hay production is upon us.  As you can see from the photograph above, the fescue/clover fields are ready for baling.  The grass is tall and rich with nutrients, and weeds haven’t had much of a chance to develop within the fields. 

This part of the Ozarks has seen abundant rain this Spring (at least 10″ ABOVE average), and the temperature has remained relatively mild.  It has been ideal conditions for the tall fescue that dominates our region.

For the past several years I have taken pains to get several additional pastures groomed and readied for hay production, in addition to our regular hay fields.  They now appear to be ready for harvest.

We have a couple of reliable and ambitious neighbors who are motivated to do the cutting and baling.  The price of all cattle feed matter (hays, grains, protein supplements, etc.) has risen dramatically in recent months, so they would like to utilize as much of our grass as possible.

Thus, my hopes are high that all of these factors will combine to make this year a banner year for hay production on this property.

UNLESS ……..

The skies that looked like this at 12:40 PM

And then look like this at 1:15 PM

Turn into a downpour like this!  Then all bets are off…