The RunARound Ranch Report

For Weekend Reflections

2012-02-24T05:20:00.007-06:00

The black-bellied whistling ducks.

Linking to Weekend Reflections

How about a few more ranch gates?

2012-02-23T05:27:00.018-06:00

Order up a plain gate...

...with a cut-out on the side.

Or stay with your initial idea.

Or just go (not-so-free) wheeling it.

Linking to Friday's Fences

Tri-color pine

2012-02-22T05:36:00.007-06:00

I pass her (and others) on my way into town.

She is beautiful even as she fights for survival.

Her sibling did not make it.

I am hopeful she can fend off the effects of last year's drought and win her battle.

They're baAAck!!!

2012-02-21T05:49:00.035-06:00

The Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks have returned to Run*A*Round! Due to our very mild (non-existent) winter, they are two months earlier than normal!

I am thrilled to see them!

After all,

who can resist their bright coral bills,

and long pink legs,

beautiful grays and browns,

and, oh yeah, that FACE!!

And let's not forget, they love to roost in trees,

and sometimes stand like little, alert armies.

I love these ducks! And you might just be seeing a lot of them around this blog, again! I am happy!

Linking to World Bird Wednesday

Barnage

2012-02-20T05:36:00.021-06:00

My normal Monday blog gig - barns.

This one is a bit different than most in these parts. Still corrugated metal exterior, but two-story is rather rare, and that tiny window in the mow is odd.

And this one I've driven past for many years on the farm-to-market road to a neighboring town. The road cut right through a farmstead, it seems, as the barn sits on one side and the farmhouse sits on the other. I'd hate that!

Linking to Barn Charm

Serene Scenes for Sunday II

2012-02-19T05:20:00.026-06:00

Came across this gloriously twisted tree on a cattle acreage.

Had a bit of fun with it.

What a great subject...

Roll With It, Baby!

2012-02-18T05:26:00.018-06:00

"If I could just reach that one spot..."

Shake it off

Full-body snort

Now back to our previously scheduled program...

Linking to Camera Critters

Mallards Among Us

2012-02-17T05:52:00.000-06:00

A few pair of mallards have been hanging about Run*A*Round since the pond has come up again.

I love how sometimes the drakes look plastic with their ultra-sheen.

Yes, some of these shots were taken before the orange fencing was removed.

I am happy to see waterfowl returning and always happy for the reflections, too.

Linking to Weekend Reflections

WORD VERIFICATION WOES!

2012-02-16T20:00:00.002-06:00

Okay, Blogger users, Blogger has switched their word verification format. Instead of legible, repeatable letters, we are now faced with deciphering the 'Captcha' format of letters placed in sometimes indiscernible bubbles and shapes. IT IS MAKING US CRAZY!!!

And just what would be YOUR guess?!

I'm sorry, but I'm just going to be honest, here. If you use word verification on your blog, I will probably stop leaving comments. Not only is word verification very time-consuming, now it is downright frustrating! My eyes don't decode spy messages! And if I now have to try two or three times to repeat the gobbledygook that is being passed off as word verification, I'm just not going to bother!

Sorry if this offends any of you, but I've not used word verification for over a year and have had almost NO problems! If Blogger does one thing well, it is spam filtering. I don't allow Anonymous comments on my blog - you have to use an I.D. of some kind - and that has been more than sufficient.

If you are worried about spammers or inappropriate comments left on your site, then PLEASE switch to comment moderation! I'll be happy to continue to leave comments and let you moderate whether to publish them or not, but at least then you're doing the policing of your site and I'm not driven to madness by spy code garbage!

Just being 100% point blank, here. I follow between 300 and 400 blogs. I leave a TON of comments all over Blogland every day. I CANNOT CONTINUE TO DO SO IF I RUN INTO WORD VERIFICATION AT SO MANY SITES! I don't mean to be rude, but my time is better spent in other pursuits than decoding and typing nonsense. Let's face it, we all have limited time to give to blogging (and I already give too much!)

I don't want to stop leaving comments. We all love getting them on our posts! PLEASE remove word verification altogether or switch to comment moderation, if you feel you must have some stop-gap control. BUT I MAY NOT LET YOU KNOW I'VE STOPPED BY IF YOU HAVE WORD VERIFICATION ENABLED! If you're not certain whether you've got word verification on your blog, check your settings!!!

I have not switched to the new Blogger Interface (tested it, didn't like it, and switched back, at least for now). I hope it allows for easy switches to comment settings.# In the old Blogger Interface, settings can be modified through Settings - Comments.

* I use 'Registered Users' so that Anonymous comments cannot be posted.
* I suggest using a pop-up box or full-page format rather than 'embed below post' as that setting so often causes folks problems in trying to leave comments.
* I click NEVER for comment moderation, but you can select it if you wish.
* Click NO for show word verification on posts!
* I have my comments delivered to my email address so I can respond to commenters directly via email if they have email published (which I also highly recommend!) To link your email to your profile, go through Dashboard-Edit User Profile and click 'show email'. This will allow folks to respond to your comments and questions via email!

If any of you faithful Bloggers want to spread this message, feel free to copy and re-post any or all of my ranting or link back to this post. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND FOR MAKING WORD VERIFICATION NON-EXISTENT!!! Keep spreading the blogger love without spy code frustration!

# Note: I checked the new interface and could not find a place to say NO to word verification. If you're on the new Blogger Interface, click the 'cog' looking icon towards the upper right corner when you're in your blog settings screens. Select Old Blogger Interface, then follow the steps above to say NO. You can always switch back to the new interface again. Thanks!

Put a Fence in Front of It 10

2012-02-16T05:42:00.038-06:00

My favorite bull in the neighborhood, Paco, was up close to the fenceline one day a couple of weeks ago, so I pulled over to snap his photo. He seems a bit lean this winter - maybe, like so many other Texas ranchers this year, his owner has been scraping by on supplying hay to their herds.

He's still a handsome hunk o' beef, though!

I think his ladies agree.

Paco got tired of the paparazzi and started heading across the pasture.

His entire harem of cows and their calves took off running to follow him. I'm guessing that's every man's dream...

Linking to Friday's Fences

and

Rural Thursday

Drawing the Great Blue Heron

2012-02-15T05:20:00.255-06:00

Okay, for those of you interested in how I create my drawings (for the rest of you, just yawn and click 'next')...

Except for high school art classes (waving hello to my former art table workmate, Bon Bon from phantom kitty!), I am not schooled in the least. No training; no technique. Many years ago, I used to paint with watercolor, tempura, and then acrylics. These days, colored pencil (and sometimes magic marker) is my preferred medium. Art is just a hobby, and this is my method of going about it.

I cannot draw from my head. I need another drawing, painting or photograph to model after. Magazines, calendars, and bird I.D. guides have all supplied material in the past. Lately, I've been using photographs, both from bloggers and gleaned from the web. I usually print a couple of different sized enlargements for color and detail.

Photo credit: Brian King at heyBJK Outdoors

Then comes the plain pencil outline and basic interior features. I've found that if I don't put in enough aspects of the subject in this first step, as I add layers, I often lose those details under colored pencil, so I try to add enough definition to the basic 'bones'. And, yes, I've been known to 'cheat' and trace the outline shape to save time and frustration, because eraser is both my friend and foe. Too heavy on the pencil lines creates problems later; too light and I blow over details I wish I had later.

Mechanical pencil and eraser - leftover tools from my accountant days. Oh, and the paper I'm using to draw on? A former boss's stationery with the letterhead cut off. My pencil sharpener? A Mary Kay eyeliner sharpener from my long-gone makeup days. Yeah, I recycle...

After the drawing's skeleton is prepared, I always lay down the lightest colors first. Even white pencil gets laid in place to keep those areas from getting besmirched by other colors later on.

Yellow, peach and white - I'm about 40 minutes into the process here.

Next, I start in with some of the softer but deeper tones.

The beginning of blues and grays - about an hour into it here.

So after about an hour's work, I stopped for the night. One thing I've learned, if I push too hard or get tired, I'll mess up, so I work in spurts - sometimes only 15-20 minutes at a time. And if I'm not 'inspired', I keep the pencils down.

The next day, I continued working in blues, grays, silvers, blacks and whites. After another hour and a half, the GBH has started to take shape. Keeping feathers light and airy was my biggest challenge on this bird.

Add another half hour and begin to throw the browns and olives of the stump into the drawing...

About 3 hours in now.

I didn't draw at all the next day or two. Just didn't 'feel it' so left it alone. I have a tendency to go dark and heavy with my pencils, so I need to be in the right mood or the drawing will get too dark too quickly and some of the detail will be lost.

The third drawing day consisted of another hour and a half of work to finish out the stump, water and shadows. Again, I drew in phases, not all at once.

After pencil and eraser, 15 different colored pencils, about 4 1/2 hours of actual drawing time completed in fits and starts over about a 5 day span, and some matting and framing, the Great Blue Heron drawing is considered finished.

Each drawing is different. Some take more colors and more time; some take less. Magic markers yield brighter results but are trickier to control than colored pencils. This is just how one of my monthly creations took shape. If you want to see all of the drawings I've given away thus far, click the 'My Giveaways' tab under my header photo.

If you haven't entered this month's giveaway yet, please click here to enter if you're interested in winning this drawing. Thanks!

Weed Walkers

2012-02-14T05:42:00.037-06:00

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Mallards (more like weed waddlers, but we'll let that slide...)

Linking to World Bird Wednesday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because it's St. Valentine's Day, and because my post from last year has been getting a lot of attention from folks searching for Pepe le Pew, here's a link if you need a dose of heartship today...

Monday's Barnery

2012-02-13T05:33:00.020-06:00

Big spread on the hill.

And a not so big, but totally used place.

Linking to Barn Charm

whether there's any charm or not!

Serene Scenes for Sunday

2012-02-12T05:32:00.026-06:00

Goldfinches

Love this topsy-turvy twosome

Throwing in Thelma and BB just because I can.

So why not add Zim and Gem as well?

Alright, then - Baron and Louise, too.

Have a relaxing Sunday, everyone!

Shady Character

2012-02-11T05:41:00.003-06:00

Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2
and
Camera Critters

Gone! (At least for now!)

2012-02-10T05:26:00.095-06:00

Last week I decided it was time for the orange barricade fencing to come down from the pond's edge. We had had enough rains (thanks to the second wettest January on record for the Dallas-Ft. Worth area - hurray!) to bring the pond levels back up to a respectable level. At least for now, the horses would not be crossing through the dried out pond bed to come up into the yard.

The view from the evening before.

I donned my worst pair of sweats, old shirt, hoodie and aqua socks as I knew the fence was now about half submerged in water and about 6 feet in from the shore. I was up to my arse in cold swamp water for a couple of hours, snipping zip ties, pulling up 79 rebar stakes, and dragging 300 feet of orange netting out of tree limbs, algae and whatever else lurks below. Afterwards, I looked like this...

"Swamp thing, you make my heart sing!"

The corner of the yard looked like this...

And the pond looked like this...

Meh...

After a good hot shower with lots of soap and shampoo and a fresh set of non-algae-laden clothes, I went out to the barn that afternoon to feed and got my real reward.

The golden hour was beginning to work its magic.

I stood in wonder as I realized the beauty of this place had been restored.

That's my shadow on the left.

And, yes, there was enough water in the pond to get a new reflection shot of the house (since it had been re-sided and painted last fall).

I'm not foolish enough to believe the Texas drought is over, or that I won't need some sort of barricade again by summer to keep the horses on their side of the water. The pond is still about 2-3 feet lower than normal and about 5 feet from "full". Still, for now, I am enjoying a respite from orange mesh and just soaking in the natural beauty here, once again. And I am grateful...

The following morning.

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Gate Overkill?

2012-02-09T05:29:00.018-06:00

Not sure what these folks were going for, but sometimes a little more is a bit too much.

Let's see:
1. Wagon wheels
2. Cross / H / L ranch brand on top?
3. Ranch name (Luna, apparently)
4. Metal Cacti (saguaro and prickly pear)
5. Elk (elk with cacti?)
6. Cowboy and cowgirl on one side
7. Spurned cowgirl on the other?

Linking to Friday's Fences

February 2012 Giveaway!

2012-02-08T05:33:00.029-06:00

Time, once again, to give away another of my drawings. Since February is a short month (although one leap day longer this year), let's get to it!

I, again, asked a blogger friend if I could use their photograph as the inspiration for my bird drawing. When I saw Brian's post at heyBJK Outdoors of this Great Blue Heron, I immediately wanted to try to draw from it. He was kind enough to oblige. I knew the wispy, airy feathers could prove difficult for me, but I gave it a go. So, without further ado, here's my interpretation of Brian's 'S for Statuesque' GBH.

It is done in colored pencil, matted and framed to an 8x10 size. If you would like to win this month's giveaway, you must:

1. Be a public follower of this blog (use the Google Friend Connect button to sign up on the sidebar if you haven't already done so)
and
2. Leave a comment on this post saying you'd like to be entered, would like to win this heron, etc.

I will pick a winner from the proverbial hat before month's end!

Since a couple of you have expressed interest in my drawing process, I documented a few steps during this drawing's progression and will share those phases with you in a later post.

Thanks, Brian, for letting me use your beautiful photo. I hope I did it justice! And thanks to all of you for your support!

Golden-crowned Kinglet

2012-02-07T05:38:00.005-06:00

Such a heavy sounding name for such a tiny bird! I spied a slip of a bird flitting among one of our pines one day. Described as fidgety and acrobatic, the Kinglet certainly lives up to that reputation. With a body about as big as my thumb, he is an adorable little one!

Linking to World Bird Wednesday

A Quartet of Barns

2012-02-06T05:33:00.021-06:00

Rusted?

Wrecked

Rugged

Red

Linking to Barn Charm

Mr. Baron

2012-02-05T05:38:00.001-06:00

Big Dog on Campus

Baron - 3 yr. old Black Labrador - shelter adoptee

Bone chewer extraordinaire

Certified mama's boy.

Roadside herds

2012-02-04T05:24:00.001-06:00

On an outing. Driving along. Taking photos. Of cattle. Would that make this a cattle drive?! (ha ha...bad pun, I know...)

Gotta love Texas longhorns.

Oops! A bit of bovine elimination going on, here. But I liked the killdeer in the left corner of this shot. Besides, everybody poops, right?

Okay, so how about a few buffalo roaming among them?

Okay! Again with the elimination!

Thanks for blocking, buddy.

Linking to Camera Critters

Dome Home

2012-02-03T05:27:00.001-06:00

I saw this place on a recent drive. Of course, I'd love to see inside the place, just to compare how their rooms are arranged (as opposed to our 9-sided nonagon home).

Only after I parked the vehicle to take photos did I notice the rather large hole in the roof, right off one of the skylights.

Hated to see that. Otherwise it looks in pretty good shape!

Did she or didn't she?

2012-02-02T17:55:00.000-06:00

I don't know about where you live (or if you're basing your spring prediction on Punxsutawney Phil), but here at Run*A*Round, on this fine Groundhog's Day, Pig II not only saw her shadow...

...she got a freaking suntan!

She's such a diva!

Put a Fence in Front of It 9

2012-02-02T05:26:00.022-06:00

Time, once again, to put a fence in front of it. Always one of my favorite things to do.

These horses live just around the corner from Run*A*Round.

Love Mr. Tough Guy, here.

Mr. Tough Guy still watching my every move.

Um, perhaps I should have titled this post 'Put a Tree in Front of It!' Sheesh!

See ya later, Tough Guy!

Linking to Friday's Fences

and a new meme that debuts today, Rural Thursday

The Run*A*Round Ranch Report

For Weekend Reflections

How about a few more ranch gates?

Tri-color pine

They're baAAck!!!

Barnage

Serene Scenes for Sunday II

Roll With It, Baby!

Mallards Among Us

WORD VERIFICATION WOES!

Put a Fence in Front of It 10

Drawing the Great Blue Heron

Weed Walkers

Monday's Barnery

Serene Scenes for Sunday

Shady Character

Gone! (At least for now!)

Gate Overkill?

February 2012 Giveaway!

Golden-crowned Kinglet

A Quartet of Barns

Mr. Baron

Roadside herds

Dome Home

Did she or didn't she?

Put a Fence in Front of It 9

The RunARound Ranch Report