bobcat

Discovery Amid Chaos

Standard

We took a few days off to recoup, catch up with some things at home, and to plan our next line of attack.  We even went to the Farmer’s Market to sell eggs.  Only had about 12 dozen, so they sold rather quickly, but we were able to get some nice fresh goodies.  Can’t wait til next year when I can grow all of my own!  But I digress…

We decided to start clearing out the weeds (some of which are so old they look like bushy trees).  An acre of weeds can sure be overwhelming, but thank goodness Jim knows how to work a bobcat!  This challenge is not just clearing out the weeds, but cleaning all the garbage and debris that gets uncovered as we start clearing.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Each section of brush started out looking like this.  Then, as the clearing began, we often found debris, like this:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Which meant we had to stop the bobcat and manually clear out everything so we could continue clearing out the weeds and overgrowth.  It is amazing how much “stuff” we’ve found!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

As we continued clearing we found some things I am absolutely thrilled about!  We found a patch of prickly pear cactus and some socorro.  They were all struggling and slowly getting chocked out, but in the far back corner of our property this find has me dancing happy!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe prickly pear cactus has little pears that grow on it that are soooo good to eat!  I gathered a basket of these little gems last year from patches all over Albuquerque.  A few we ate (they taste like a cross between pears and apples).  The remainder I made juice out of.  I thought about making jelly, but chose to make juice which I’ve used as fruit juice or to add to my sun tea.  I could go on and on about the nutritional value, but I’d rather discuss how tasty they are!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe socorro has a few medicinal qualities, but for me — its just so cool looking.  When we finish clearing out the property we plan on making this our cactus corner.  We have some yucca we will be transplanting here to add a little variety, but this will certainly remain our mini “desert paradise.”

We don’t stop working until it gets dark.  The setting sun is always so magical.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Night Time Adventure

Standard

Had a minor adventure the other night that still has my poor cat on edge!

I and my fuzzball normally are in bed and asleep about 9:30 every night, so the other night when Chamako began hissing and growling at 3 in the morning, my eyes more than popped open.  I sat up straight in bed and heard growling from the huge kitchen window, so I jumped out of bed.  Chamako ran to the middle of the kitchen and as seen in the moonlight, he puffed up three times his size.  I think his tail was as big around as my thigh!  And since when does a house cat’s fangs grow to twice its size?

Anyway, like any self-respecting, half-asleep bimbo, I didn’t turn on any lights, but ran to the window to try to see in the dark.  I could hear the screen ripping and a low growl coming from the other side, so in a panic, I forced the window shut and slammed across the critter’s paws (which it clearly did not appreciate).  I watched the animal jump away from the window and its shadow looked bigger than my cat but smaller than a dog.  It wasn’t til after the critter darted away did it occur to me that I should have turned on the lights.

Bobcat DamageThe next morning I found some huge rips in the screen (see the tape I’m temporarily using).  I’ve talked to a few folks in town about it.  Turns out there’s a bobcat in the area that’s munching on local dogs and chickens.  Guess it thought my baby kitty smelled like that night’s dinner!  Ah, the joys of living in the country….