Fermenbrewer - Rural Living

My g-g-grandfather’s brother John Slaughter as in Texas John Slaughter. I got roots ‘round these parts. Thanks to another Tumblr-er for the photo.

Close up of a gopher snake I found near the shed! Little longer than 5 feet. It caused me to pause just a minute! 4/29/19

Fenceline weaning the home herd... about 90 mamas. Calves 7 to 8 months old. Dry and running out of grass.

Come on Rain!

Neighbor's cow jumped the fence to come see us in South Texas!

Mistakes happen. This girl was bred a bit young and we kept an eye on her til she dropped a calf with no birthing problems. I'm proud of her. 3/5/19

Vaccinated 90+ calves and their mamas today in Frio County. This is our injections setup. Thanks goes to our dad for the old dishwasher basket. The Multimin is hanging on the other side of the chute. It was a perfect day cooler than 60 degrees. Mar. 2020

Well my day didn't turn out as expected so I went walking and found these in the pasture.

Colocynth aka Vine of Sodom or colloquially known as 'Pie Melons'. Vines scrambled up a round bale and there you have it! The seed must have hitched a ride hundred and thirty years ago in someone's watermelon seed. (Kind of like Tumbleweed seed from the Russian Steppe hitched a ride in wheat grain) Originating in North Africa it tolerates great heat and drought, like our part of Texas, and was used as medicine by the ancient Egyptians.. too much will kill you but a little, supposedly, can relieve pain. Farmers hate them, cows don't eat them and pigs despise them.

The Butcherbird strikes again! These hunter birds are fascinating to me. South Texas is a major flyway for a number of northern birds. Most Loggerhead Strike spend the summer in the far North nesting and growing strong for their Autumn voyage south to Texas. This bird is still here or already here. I've not seen it but here is the evidence. 8/9/19