Fields of Clover

Clover is often associated with wealth, prosperity and good fortune.  This is especially true of a four-leaf clover which is considered to be rare.  Clover symbolizes that "all is right with the world."

Clover is an interesting perennial that grows lush with the coming of spring rains.  It fixes nitrogen in the soil which is then bio-available to grasses and forbs which need it for proper growth and health.  It is highly palatable to grazing animals and is an excellent source of protein which is needed for the growth and health of those animals.

It creates a soft carpet that is pleasurable to walk in barefooted.  People have been known to lie down in it due to the pleasant smells and softness of the natural blanket it provides.

City dwellers don't like clover growing in their manicured monoculture lawns that use tons of water and mine the soils of their nutrients.  On the other hand, those who raise grazing animals generally love it for the benefits it provides.  That attitude is just one of many that divides the thoughts of those who take comfort from the proximity of many people to those who are most comfortable with solitude.

Solitude typically is only comfortable for those who have accepted themselves as they are.  It is for those who are secure in their being rather always seeking solace in the company of others.  Solitude is a place of communion with God.

I like to see clover growing in the meadow.  It brings with it a sense of peace.

Below is a picture of White Clover (Trifolium repens) growing on our place.  It is one of the most widely cultivated clovers worldwide and is a highly desirable forage crop.  If in need, the plant can be consumed by humans as well.  It is high in proteins and is sometimes mixed into salads.  Boiling it for about 10 minutes makes it more easily digestible.  (No, I haven't tried it, but it is good to know should an emergency arise.)  White Clover is known to occasionally produce the four-leaf configuration.  I didn't see any in the photo below.

 Forecast

The other day I posted about using native plants in our flower beds around the house.  Texas Sage was the one in the photograph that accompanied the post.  It is known as the Barometer Plant and in South Texas it is known for predicting rain with its blooms.  Well, ours is blooming like crazy even though it has only been planted a short while (photo at bottom of post).

We certainly need the rain, but not as desperately as most of the rest of the state and the Southwestern U.S. in general.  Drought conditions continue and rainfall deficits have left many lakes far below their desired levels.  This condition doesn't bode well for the cities and small communities that depend on those lakes for water.

It also continues to pressure the cattle industry.  High beef prices in the grocery store are directly related to declining numbers of cattle and a growing population that demands high quality protein.  We will not see significant rebuilding of the national cow herd when severe drought limits the availability of suitable forage for grazing.

I am concerned that many people both within and outside the cattle industry will seek to blame the problem on something other than the weather.  Generally, it is the beef packers who are saddled with fault when it comes to beef prices.  It is simple economics surrounding supply and demand with production constraints affecting both sides of the equation.  Most don't see it that way and will call for government intervention.  Such intervention will be directed at the packers because they are everyone's favored whipping boy.  It should instead be directed at urban sprawl which is removing suitable grazing land at a pace faster than drought.  The politics don't work so instead of fixing the problem, government intervention will likely only make it worse.

Oil prices are another issue which is constraining not only to cattle production but to almost every industry.  The blame will fall squarely on the current administration and their actions in Iran which have temporarily caused supply disruptions.  This is one where political pressure again will dictate how and when we withdraw from that action rather than suffering the short-term pain in order to receive the long-term gain of curbing the radicalized regime which has long declared "Death to America."

There are many other issues that we currently face, and everyone has their opinion on how they will turn out.  We all have a "forecast" for the future, and it is based on our personal experience, education, and otherwise gained knowledge.  It's too bad that none of it is as reliable as our little Texas Sage, the Barometer Plant.

We had to cage the sage in order to protect it from rabbits as well as a dog that thinks the flower bed is his napping ground.  Pardon the rusty T-post -- I believe in endless recycling.

 Flight of the Bumblebee

There are over 250 species in the genus Bombus which we know as Bumblebees.  Charles Darwin called them the Humble Bee in his major work, "On the Origin of Species."  The name "Bombus" is from the Latin for "buzzing" or "booming."

In the Walt Disney film, "Fantasia", we hear the "Flight of the Bumblebee" which was an orchestral interlude composed around 1900 by Nickolai Rimsky-Korsakov for the opera, "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" in a representation of the turning of Prince Guidon into a bumblebee so he could visit his father, Tsar Saltan.

They are important pollinators and sometimes raised domestically for the pollination of tomatoes grown in greenhouses.  Unlike honeybees, bumblebees can sting repeatedly because their stinger is not barbed and can slide in and out of their victim without injuring themselves.  They are not usually aggressive however and rarely sting unless being tormented or disturbed.

Yesterday we had an unwanted visitor to our corner of Texas -- a skunk.  It was down by the pond, and I took steps to discourage it from exploring further for fear that our canine watchdog, who really only watches for an opportunity to be petted, spotted the small black-and-white critter and went to introduce himself.  Fortunately for all, that was accomplished and the discouraged visitor headed across the road and disappeared into the thickets of a nearby creek bottom.

I walked down to check and be certain that he was gone and in doing so noticed a couple of large thistles that had grown near the edge of our property and investigated.  There, in the top of the largest flower, at the top of the largest thistle, were two Bumblebees.  One was headfirst buried into the heart of the blossom while the other walked frustratedly around the rim of the flower seemingly awaiting his turn to partake of the nectar.  It was obviously a Kodak moment.

Now I must decide whether to allow the thistles to remain for a while or to remove them.  I think a compromise of a few days is in order.  It's good to see the bees thriving.

(For more information see "Bumblebee" at Wikipedia from which a portion of the above information was found.)

 Genius

This morning, Thomas Jefferson is on my mind.  He is probably my favorite President although he is certainly not without controversy.  I think what sets him apart to me is the breadth of his interests and his affinity to agriculture.  He was wealthy but always in debt, likely because his varied interests kept him from focusing on making money.  He was too busy exploring new ideas or building his library of which he had three different ones during his lifetime.  The first was lost to fire, the second he gave to the Library of Congress after it was destroyed by fire by the British and the third was those books collected subsequently.

He is an interesting individual of what I would describe as "broad genius."  Most of the time when we think of genius it is in regard to individuals who have a level of understanding which surpasses the norm, but often in a very narrow field (Stephen Hawking comes to mind).  They typically have the capacity to learn deeply outside their primary field of expertise but rarely do so.  That "focused genius" is what we recognize.

I believe a significant number of the Founding Fathers of our country had "broad genius."  The most prominent to come to mind is Benjamin Franklin.  Others would include Thomas Paine and James Madison.  Those were the types of genius rarely seen today in our world of specialization.

Perhaps Elon Musk would fit into that category and possibly our current President.  Whether you like them or hate them, they exhibit the characteristics of "broad genius" to me.  I don't wish to make this blog political and would appreciate that any comments avoid politics.  I am merely observing the behavior and accomplishments.

Back to Jefferson -- he was one of the most advanced agriculturalists of his time.  He constantly sought to improve his production practices and breadth of knowledge.  In some ways he may be at least partially the inspiration for my looking at the medicinal and other uses of the various plants growing on our small property.  Today I wish to point out the Dewberries which are just now pushing their way up through the debris of winter.  Dewberries are of the genus Rubus and are closely related to Blackberries.  There are many different varieties.  They typically grow low to the ground and send out long tendrils as they seek to spread across the landscape.  It is just now the beginning of their time to bloom in our part of the world.  Besides their uses in cobblers, jam and pies they are often eaten raw.  What is not widely known is that the leaves can be used to make an herbal tea (tisane).  It is claimed to aid in relaxation, sleep and immune health.  Many birds, mammals and insects love them.

Billionaire Candidates and Agricultural Ignorance

This is from a few years ago and is among my favorite images.  I find it interesting how the curiosity is strong on both sides of the fence.

Agriculture is something that is little appreciated by most people these days.  Social media has been completely crazy with how one of the current Presidential candidates gave a speech a few years ago to a group of highly educated, full-of-themselves individuals, in which he implied that it didn't take much intelligence to be in agriculture.  In fact, that speech (follow the link to see the article which includes the video) was given at about the same time the above image was taken.

The speech has been taken out of context in such a way that everyone in agriculture has gotten angry rather than thought about what was said.  Essentially, he indicated that civilization has evolved through time from what was, for most of history, an agrarian culture to an industrialized economy and now we are in the middle of a technology-based information economy.  He was correct, but his comments leave one wondering if he truly understands the amount of information and technology that are utilized in agriculture today.

Take that bunch of cows in the image above; they were from a registered herd of Angus that have been carefully selected for over 60 years to produce efficient, fertile, highly versatile animals that provide us with some of the highest quality meat in history.  Each animal is carefully measured in many ways, the data collected, collated and compared against their genetic scores which are developed from genomic testing.  They are rigorously selected based on stringent criteria so that only the best animals are allowed to produce breeding stock for future generations.

They are fed protein and mineral supplements that are carefully formulated to meet the nutritional requirements that the animals cannot attain from forage alone.  They are vaccinated to prevent disease.  They are cared for using scientifically-based methods that reduce the amount of stress to which they are subjected.  The forage they eat is also managed based on best scientifically proven practices.

That's just a small part of agriculture -- raising cattle on a ranch.  I won't even address what happens when they head up the production chain to eventual harvest and presentation in the meat case at your local supermarket.  Technology is everywhere.

When you look at farming it gets even crazier.  The tractors are guided by computers to precisely apply the correct amounts of seed, fertilizer, etc. based on satellite images.  The seeds which are planted are frequently the result of advanced breeding techniques -- including genetic manipulation to enhance disease, chemical and pest resistance.  We have more and better quality food than ever before in history -- thanks to the application of technology to agriculture -- and it costs virtually the same as it did 50+ years ago!

The candidate in question mentions the brainpower required to farm vs. work in a factory vs. create the technology which is so pervasive in society today.  I should introduce him to the rocket scientist I know who ranches in Arizona.  He truly is a rocket scientist -- used to work at NASA.  Or, maybe he should meet some of the scientists unraveling the genetic code which determines disease resistance.  Oh, wait, those are scientists.  Yep, I have worked with them most of my career.  They may be able to manipulate a gene, but most of them have no clue how their work impacts the real world.  They are isolated in their cocoon of technology of which they know much, but they don't know what to do with it much of the time.

I think, ultimately, that is the issue.  I call it intellectual snobbery.  It happens in every field of endeavor.  I've seen it in many, many scientific and engineering fields -- and I've seen it in agriculture.  It goes something like this: "If you don't have a PhD in blah, blah, blah, there is no way you can understand it.  You obviously don't have the intelligence to be able to comprehend it, or you would have a PhD in blah, blah, blah."  Sometimes it isn't just a PhD -- with Engineers it is simply a degree in Engineering -- and they have ranks.  I think Aerospace is at the top and Civil is at the bottom.  Each believes if you "aren't one of us, you ain't nothing."

Back to agriculture -- "If you try to learn how to ranch after a career in something else, you had better be prepared to fail."  "If you didn't grow up in it you will never be able to master it."  Those are incorrect too.

Getting back to the article:  I don't like the candidate mentioned in the article.  Period.  I think he would be worse for our country than most of the others.  Just look at the problems in his state and you should agree.  We shouldn't blast him for what was said, though.  Instead, we should realize that what he said is a symptom of something deeper.  The average person, or the self-proclaimed intellectual elite has no idea about what is involved in production agriculture.  Most of them don't even know what is necessary to get the food to their table.  Billionaire Presidential candidates probably have large staffs that take care of it for them anyway -- they don't even know their food comes from the grocery store -- let alone what it took to get it to the store.

If you don't like the candidate, talk about why you don't like the candidate; don't just blast him by taking his words out of context and failing to address the real issue -- ignorance.  Yep, brilliant people can be ignorant.  If you don't know about something, you are ignorant of that subject.  It doesn't mean you lack the gray matter to understand it given time and effort.  I wish all of the candidates would apply a little more of their gray matter to learning about food production.  Those in agriculture just don't add up to enough votes for it to make a difference to them -- at least in their mind.  We need to explain why it does matter.  Even billionaires won't live long without food.

Wishing for Spring

Yes, it's still winter here, but you can tell from the picture that my mind is on spring!  We had cold rains yesterday and it was a miserable day for anyone and anything that had to be out in it.  Those cold rains, though, are building soil moisture that will give the grass a nice boost when the weather finally warms.

I wasn't able to write a post yesterday due to an early meeting.  I prefer early meetings; it seems the mind is sharper early in the day.  That may just be an indicator that I'm a "morning person."  I'm not sure I buy into the whole "morning person/night person" concept, I think we can train ourselves to be either; it's just a matter of conditioning.

I think a short nap after lunch is ideal.  I learned that way back in about the 8th grade when I worked for a farmer that required a brief nap after lunch which I ate with the family.  We would adjourn to the living room where he would lay back in his recliner and I would stretch out on the floor for about a 30 minute nap before heading back out to the fields to work until dark.  It made a lot of sense on those long summer days when we started shortly after daylight and didn't finish up until almost dark.

I've known a number of successful people who take a nap after lunch almost every day.  One was a business partner who owned a number of profitable businesses.  If you needed to talk to him after lunch, you had to wait until after his nap was over because the "gatekeeper" wouldn't let him be disturbed during that time.  I think his approach must be a good one because there are few people I know any more productive.

I used to think I needed to work through lunch when I had too much to do to get done in a day.  I learned that I got more done taking a break.  I would sometimes take my lunch to the park and after eating would take a brief nap.  It always made the afternoon better.  I was more alert and more productive.  Our body needs that brief restorative period to remain sharp.

I guess it's the sight of those cows in the picture that has caused me to think about naps.  In my mind I can smell the green grass, hear the flies buzzing in the lazy summer heat and the sense of drowsiness that comes with it....

Subjects of the Crown

The old Spanish Missions often included a Presidio, or fort.  The image above is from inside one of the towers along the wall which surrounded the compound at Mission San Jose in San Antonio.  The round holes are gun ports.

Small groups of Spanish Priests and their acolytes would trek into the wilderness of the New World accompanied by soldiers.  The soldiers aided in the subjugation of the natives by protecting the clergy and helping to provision them until sufficient numbers of natives could be "tamed" to provide the labor to support the missions.  The stated purpose was to Christianize the natives, but the efforts were supported by the Crown because they wanted easy access to whatever riches might be discovered.  The mission efforts were backed by the government because they wanted to grow their power and areas of domination.

In all of South and Middle America, the Spaniards killed large numbers of the male natives and "married" the women.  The resulting mixed blood people were more easily controlled because of their familial ties -- even though they were second class citizens.  They became the peasantry of the New World.  There are still multiple terms used to describe the percentage of Spanish blood in people in Mexico.  Being fully Spaniard carries prestige not enjoyed by those of mixed blood.

In North America the story was somewhat different.  The small number of French who penetrated the continent sought to trade with the natives.  They were focused on furs and other trade goods rather than gold and mineral riches.  The French trappers often married into the tribes with which they traded.  The English, however, took a very different approach; they simply annihilated the competition.

There were exceptions, though, and those exceptions account for the large percentage of white-skinned population in the U.S. that contain native DNA.  Usually, ahead of the "official" spread of European-blooded population across the continent, there were brave souls who ventured into the wilderness without sanction of the authorities.  They were looking to escape the highly regimented control of the British Crown's colonial policies which placed lands in the hands of a few.  Those explorers were trappers and traders and just people looking to find a place to live in peace on a piece of land that was their own.  They were willing to fight for that privilege.

With the exception of a handful of government sponsored trips, it was only after those explorers had become established and their numbers sufficient to support a viable economy that the federal powers followed with military might.  The spread of "civilization" was through the efforts of individuals first, rather than a deliberate government-controlled plan; however, the wealth that was "discovered" or, built, from the wilderness attracted the powers-that-be and control was soon sought through military might.

To a large extent, it is the descendants of those explorers who populate the middle (flyover) part of the North American continent.  They are the ones who feed the world through their agricultural ingenuity and persistence against the elements.  They are also the ones who seem most to cherish their freedom to pursue the livelihood of their choice without government interference or, support.  They are the "thorns in the side" of those in power who want only a subservient population who will do their bidding without protest.

Thankful for Agriculture

On this fifth day of challenge I am thankful for agriculture.  It seemed appropriate that on this day that is often marked by feasts and the gathering of families and friends that my focus be on that which is the "hands and feet" of providing us with the food we eat.

The grain sorghum in the photo above might not seem like the appropriate photo to represent food, but this field southeast of Amarillo, Texas, to me represents perfection in the agricultural "arts" for lack of a better term.  We don't normally consume sorghum directly but, they do in many parts of the world -- especially in Africa.  In Niger, of which I have previously written, Millet is a primary crop; it is a very close relative to what you see in the photo.

Many parts of the country are still harvesting this years grain crops.  The wet spring delayed planting and in many areas the crops were late maturing.  There are some still harvesting corn with snow on the ground.  A blizzard is crossing the Plains today and those involved in raising livestock are out in it caring for the animals which will eventually end up as food on our plate.

Without agriculture it is likely that I wouldn't be sitting at this computer.  Agriculture allows us to differentiate our labor so that we don't spend the majority of every day out gathering fruits and nuts and hopefully shooting or, trapping wild game for our sustenance.  A single farmer in the United States feeds many, many people, freeing the rest of us to pursue other things such as developing technology.

It is thought that agriculture is the foundation of civilization.  Without it, we would be dispersed about the countryside in small groups that would be able to maintain a subsistence through the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.  Farming allowed us to concentrate in cities for mutual protection which led to systems of governance due to the close daily interactions with others. I suppose that particular "benefit" might be questionable in a lot of minds today due to the poor behavior by many of those who hold offices within those current governmental structures.

Wherever you might be on this day of thanksgiving, be thankful for those who produce the bounteous food which you consume.  Be mindful that there are many throughout the world who don't have enough to eat and consider ways you might help those less fortunate -- and don't just consider -- do.  The greatest sign of thankfulness is a willingness to share with those in need.

Happy Thanksgiving.

"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.  Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field." -- Exodus 23:16

The Chant Goes On

Buyers gather around the ring

To hear the auctioneer sing

"Look at these beauties!

Nice young Tiger-Stripe Heifers.

They'll make some dandy cows!

Let's start the bidding."

The chant begins to fill the air

And I look to see who's bidding there

As the Master with the silver tongue

Rolls up the bids I see nary one

With upraised hand

There in the attentive crowd.

Oh, wait, a finger by the nose,

The guy that's wearing farmer clothes,

I'm pretty sure he wants those girls

And over on the other side

I think he might be bidding too,

The one in the bright blue plaid.

He's got his card up by his chin

And taps it every now and then,

That's got to be the way he makes a bid.

Look, there in the back row

By the lady in the in the yellow cap,

I think he might be another one.

Pretty soon we hear, "Sold!"

And those heifers head out in the cold

As we find out that the buyer

Was "Kyle 3X-2"

So, they're headed out west

To wheat pasture for a few months.

"Look at this nice set of light steers!"

The caller chants to calm the fears

That this bunch might just be a wreck

When they get to their destination

Several hundred miles

From where they were born.

"Let's start the bidding...."

Romanticized Ungulates

The American Bison is an animal of folklore which borders on the mythological.  It once roamed over most of what is now the United States, but was almost exterminated in the late 1800's when Federal Policy determined it was the fastest way to gain control of militant tribes who dominated many areas of the continent.  At risk of being controversial here, I will state my position that the various wars fought for control of the North American continent were no different than other wars fought over land throughout history.

Some have argued that the American Bison should be reestablished on its original range -- or, at least a portion of it.  The primary area proposed includes the drier portions of the Great Plains which stretches from Montana to Texas.  Called the Buffalo Commons, the proposed 10 to 20 million acre reserve would allow the Bison to migrate freely as they once did.

The concept, first mentioned in a 1987 essay, has received much attention -- especially among "First Americans" (American Indians) and many that I will call "emotional ecologists."  I have to admit that it does have a certain romantic appeal.

The image above was taken in a feedlot in Kansas several years ago.  These animals were from a private herd established on the Smoky Hill River.  They were destined for a processing plant in Salina, Kansas, which specialized in "Buffalo" meat.  Many fans of American Bison tout the lean meat as being healthier than beef from cattle.  Both cattle and American Bison are in the same Family, Bovidae, and the same Sub-Family, Bovinae.  Because of this, they can be crossbred and virtually all of the American Bison found in the United States carry at least some Bos taurus genes.

I find it interesting and symptomatic of limited understanding by those who support the Buffalo Common concept that it would merely be replacing one type of Bovine with another.  After all, the area proposed by proponents is currently occupied by cattle ranches which supply nutritious beef to consumers.  Many more pounds of beef can be produced on the same amount of land in a shorter period of time with cattle than with bison.  Bison are inefficient in the feedlot and take much longer to reach a marketable condition.

Some would argue that Bison, through their grazing behavior, are better for the environment.  Many cattle herds are being managed in a similar manner through rotational grazing systems.  Methane production by the animals is named as one of the culprits of negative climate impact.  I don't really think it is an issue.  Estimates of the number of Bison that once roamed the continent vary greatly -- from about 10 million to over 60 million.  There are more cattle today than there were Bison, but there are also many more people consuming the meat.  Methane production by Bison was likely higher on a per head basis than in cattle today.  I think blaming climate change on grazing ungulates is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.  The greater culprit is burning of fossil fuels in our planes, trains and automobiles -- which would still be used by tourists to go see the roaming Bison on the Buffalo Commons.

Imagination and Scenic Places

Some places fuel the imagination; White Sands National Monument is one of them.  This image is one sent to me by my daughter from their recent trip to New Mexico.  It is a place I have never been, although I have been very close to it.

The monument is within the Tularosa Basin which is also contains Holloman Airforce Base and the U.S. Missile Test Range.  The basin was home to many ancient cultures before the entry of the Spaniards in the 1500's.  Few places have seen such a sweeping transition culminating in the testing of missile defense systems and nuclear weapons.

The white dunes are composed of gypsum which is widely mined and used for such things as fertilizer, plaster, sidewalk chalk and drywall.  It is a wonder the dunes are intact rather than a part of someone's living room!  Alabaster is a variety of gypsum and was used by sculptors in ancient civilizations for some of the most beautiful pieces ever created because of its whiteness.

I remember a a child taking trips to southwestern Oklahoma to visit my Dad's family.  Just outside of Duke, Oklahoma, is the American Gypsum plant.  The soil in that area is full of gypsum.

In many places across the southeastern part of the Texas Panhandle, in the Rolling Plains region, especially near the rivers which cross the area, are outcroppings of gypsum.  Sometimes it is in friable crystalline layers embedded within the red clay soil and in other places forms large crystals.  The Old English word for gypsum translated as "spear stone" because of these large crystals which resembled a spear tip.

As a fertilizer, gypsum is a source of sulfur and was once known as sulfate of lime.  In areas where the soil is deficient in sulfur and calcium it created almost miraculous results.

Gypsum can be a problem in the water -- especially in natural water sources where it is at concentrated levels.  It causes a brackish taste and potentially, diarrhea.   If concentrations are too high, livestock will seek other sources of water.

To me, the dunes inspire thoughts of alien landscapes.  Apparently Steven Spielberg thought the same thing because if you are a fan of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" you will recognize the landscape in part of the movie.  Click on the link to read about it.

Pistachios and Poison Ivy

My daughter knows of my interest in all things agriculture and sent to me this image of a Pistachio orchard in New Mexico which she took on a recent trip there.  Pistacia vera is the primary cultivar of Pistachio grown in the United States.  The tree is a native of Central Asia and Iran still accounts for over half of the world's production.  The U.S. is the second largest producer with about half what is produced by Iran.

Like a number of other fruit and nut trees, Pistachios are vulnerable to many diseases so, they are frequently grafted onto root stocks from species that are more resistant.  Oak and Mesquite are commonly used to provide the root stock for many of the Pistachio orchards in the U.S.  Since Pistachios do best in dry climates, drought tolerance is also a consideration.  In the image above, there appears to be an irrigation system.

Pistachios are members of the Anacardiaceae Family which also includes poison ivy, sumac, mango and cashew.  Plants of that Family produce an oily substance called urushiol which is an irritant.  I am very familiar with this particular irritant since I am currently recovering from a recent brush with poison ivy.  Apparently there is varying sensitivity among people to the urushiol and I seem to be among the more sensitive.  The concentration of urushiol on the leaf surface of the poison ivy is often highest in the fall.  Silly me, I figured spring was the time to most fear the plant.

Urushiol is an oleoresin that is absorbed very quickly by the skin.  The toxin is recognized by the dendridic cells (Langerhans cells) which then migrate to the lymph nodes where they present the template for the toxin to the T-lymphocytes (aka "killer" T-cells), stimulating them to travel to the site of contact and begin production of cytokines and cytotoxins that seek out and destroy the urushiol.  This reaction is what causes the blistering and eventual death of the skin cells at the point of contact.  The T-cells literally kill the infected cells to rid the body of the toxin.

I have never been a big fan of Pistachios.  Others in my family absolutely love them.  I wonder if the affinity/adversity to them is related to susceptibility to the effects of the urushiol?  Something to ponder on this fine Monday morning....

Common Sense and Natural Forces

There is more than one way to deal with a water gap.  We had a neighbor that recognized nature's way of removing them by utilizing natural materials to fill them.  You can see the remains of an ancient barbed wire fence in the photo and a nearly new post on the left, but the gap is blocked by tree limbs that will be washed away when the next flood comes.  When that occurred, he simply came back after the waters receded and replaced them with more limbs.

Most people approach a water gap as a way to pit themselves against nature.  The idea is to construct something that will withstand the forces of the water and bend it to their will.  They use bull wire panels that will swing upward as the waters rise, or perhaps even anchor them to the banks in a way that allows smaller debris to pass through while catching the larger pieces.  Eventually, they always wash out, or are otherwise destroyed in the floods.

Working with nature seems to be the best way.  It is something we should do in many areas.  Instead, it is man's way to attempt to tame it.  We build our buildings and streets, we change the landscape with heavy equipment and we suffer the consequences with flooding and devastation.

Many agricultural practices also take an approach that doesn't necessarily work with nature, but seeks to "overcome" natural forces through artificial means.  We do this with fertilizers and chemicals and plows that re-shape the land into our "image" of what is necessary to produce food.  Historically, such practices resulted in catastrophic loss through flooding, or drought-fueled wind storms.

Many today are taking more conservation-conscious approaches that disturb the soil less and utilize natural forces to manage the land.  In livestock production it is seen in rotational grazing systems based on native forage species -- sometimes in intensive rotational grazing that mimics the pattern of native ungulates such as American Bison.  In farming we are seeing a switch to less soil-disturbing methods such as low-till, or no-till cultivation.  We see the use of cover crops and more drought-tolerant species.

We are currently seeing another form of the devastating impacts of man's attempts to change the natural systems in the California wildfires.  Failure to allow periodic low-impact fires to clear brush and undergrowth has created a tremendous fuel load in those forests.  Crossing those brush-covered hills with electrical lines is a perfect setup for the fires which are raging there now.  Just like in the water gap shown in the image at the top of this post, nature will cross man's artificial boundaries at a whim.

They need to control the brush with goats, or controlled burns.  They need to bury their power transmission lines.  They need to stop building on erosive slopes.  They need to understand that nature will have her way in spite of the billions of dollars they spend attempting to prevent it.  Perhaps what is needed most is some common sense, like our neighbor used by stopping the water gap with limbs, but we are talking about California....

Working Grasses

Maintaining a strong stand of grasses is critical to sustainability.  Rotational grazing allows periods of rest that give the grasses time to deepen their roots and to produce seed.  This area of our pasture is primarily Dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum) which some folks see as an invasive species.  Our cattle love it.  You do have to be careful because of the potential of a smut infecting the grass which causes problems.

I, of course, chose one of the cleanest, best-looking areas of the pasture for this photograph.  It's too bad all of the pasture doesn't look like this!  The rains this year have been helpful as well.

This pasture has had no fertilizer and no herbicide or, pesticide application since we have owned the place.  The soil here is alluvial and is sometimes covered with silt-laden water that pushes out of the nearby creeks.  The silt is captured by the grasses and the water running off of the land is cleaner than the water that runs onto it!  I wish the folks upstream from me used better management techniques for their land, but then we wouldn't get the benefit of their soil migrating onto ours.

There is a tremendous amount of "carbon capture" in this grass which is then cycled through the cattle.  The Dallisgrass in this meadow will produce 3 to 4 tons of hay per acre each year while maintaining this type of stand, anchoring the soil and capturing all that carbon while it filters the water passing over it.  That's a lot of work!

The meadow also offers food for a number of wildlife species.  Early in the morning, or just before sunset, we often see deer grazing in the meadow.  Our game cameras capture them at all hours of the night as well.  Without the open meadows of healthy grasses, wildlife populations would be significantly diminished.  Deep in a dense forest there is often a lack of food sources for wildlife.  With the variety of both grasslands and forests, the number of food species increases dramatically.  The "edge" where the transition between forest and grassland occurs is crucial to wildlife and frequently where they will be found -- close to food, yet within easy distance to cover.

Now, if we just didn't have the feral hogs that roam the area and tear up the meadow....

Mud, Pottery and Food Production

Anybody for a facial?  This mud hole is a semi-permanent hog wallow on our place.  It is at a corner on our boundary which jogs around an adjacent creek.  This area has a clay soil on which the water will sit for long periods -- it doesn't percolate into the ground easily.  I suspect the Caddo Indians who once called this area home used this clay in their pottery.

The mud is now being used by hogs and other animals as a place to seek relief from parasites.  A good coating of the sticky mess is protection from biting flies which are a continual nuisance this time of year.  Fortunately, the nature of the soil is such that the damage to the land is limited to this small area, unlike where the hogs dig for grubs and roots in the pasture.

There are many different soils on our place; they range from alluvial deposits from the creeks to heavy clay which underlays the area.  Erosion from past farming practices has left only thin topsoil in a few places with the clay exposed in an area or, two.  Those practices were ended many, many years ago when cotton was no longer a viable economic crop for the farmers.  The land was left fallow or, allowed to go back to pasture and woodland which is the natural mix for this part of the state.

The clay soils interest me because of their use in pottery making.  The most common is a dark gray clay, however, there are also pockets of red and yellow.  The gray seems to be best for pottery based on a few shards that have been found, but I also have seen some pottery made from the red; it seems to have more sand mixed into it and has a grainier texture.

Because of the poor quality of soils in this area, it is difficult to have a high quality garden.  I have not attempted to garden since we have lived here, but would like to do so.  I was visiting with a friend the other day and we were standing at the end of his very large Fall garden which was pumpkins and black-eyed peas.  I bent down and grabbed a handful of soil and worked it in my hand.  It seemed almost ideal for raising crops.

I asked him about it and he said it has taken a lot of years to get it that way.  He has hauled in sand, peat and composted manure to get it to the consistency that it now has.  He uses a roto-tiller to work the soil and always turns the plant residue back into the soil.  His flock of chickens were working hard to remove any bugs they could find among the young plants as we visited.  He had planted some older varieties of peas and we talked some about heirloom plant species.

Once again, I have taken a wandering path in my post.  What I want to convey is that ranchers and farmers care about the land.  When working within a natural system there are many areas of knowledge that require attention.  Today, there are many who want to move away from traditional agriculture.  I have posted previously about skyscraper greenhouses clinging to the sides of a building and about the use of robotics and artificial intelligence.  Those things have a place, but I hope we never lose the general understanding of how to grow our food utilizing the resources within a natural system.

The Caddo Indians understood the land.  They raised crops, hunted wildlife and were able to find all they needed for survival as provided by nature.  They cooked their meals in pots made by their own hands from the soil that supported the wildlife and plants that went into it.  I fear much of that knowledge is disappearing in our technology-focused world. 

Cows, Cities, Water and Wildlife

We have a few cows that like to go swimming.  They don't stay in the water very long, but nearly every afternoon at about the same time they walk into the water and hang out for awhile.  This was taken yesterday as we were checking cattle, which we do every day.

When I saw this, my mind overlayed a scene from the movie "Apocalypse Now" when the guy rose up out of the swampy water.  It also made me think of the character John Clark of Tom Clancy novel fame when in "Rainbow Six" he goes into Vietnam on a rescue mission and spends a great deal of time in a similar situation of using the water as cover and then rising up out of it.  Of course, the most obvious mental comparison is to an alligator, or crocodile, sitting motionless in the water with just the top of their head showing as they lurk in hope of unwary prey.

Many people claim that black-hided cattle don't do well in a hot humid environment such as we have in our part of Texas.  You can tell from the photo that this lady is, ahem, well-insulated.  Yes, she takes a dip in the pond to cool off, but she seems to do quite well at maintaining a beyond respectable body weight.  In reality, only about 10% of our cows regularly enter a pond to cool off -- even on the hottest days.  I think that number would be similar for almost any breed of cattle in our climate.

We provide separate, clean drinking water for our cattle.  We have water tanks available that are plumbed to the rural water system so the cattle always have fresh, cool water available to drink.  We also have plenty of areas where there are shade trees deliberately left standing in the pasture in order to provide a place in which the animals can rest.

Those trees also provide roosting and nesting sites for birds.  The ponds provide a home for fish and turtles and a place for wildlife to find water during periods of drought when water is difficult to find.  A lot of people don't realize that many of the water resources for wildlife across the country are there because of cattle ranchers who build the ponds and other small reservoirs to provide water to their stock.  The added benefit is to the wildlife such as waterfowl who are often seen on those stock ponds.

Depending on the time of year, we often see ducks and geese migrating through.  The stock ponds make "safe stops" for those waterfowl -- sort of like a "bed and breakfast" with a meal and place to rest.

 The ponds also help to control erosion.  When there is heavy rain, they provide a "check" to the rushing waters that would eventually eat away the land and leave deep gullies and washes.  Instead, there are grassy waterways which filter the water which goes first into the pond and then as it becomes full, pass over a spillway and continue further down a grass-covered waterway to the next pond.  It prevents the full force of the waters from rushing into streams and rivers and helps to reduce the flooding by slowing runoff.

Flooding is becoming worse because we have so much development with housing and concrete and paved roads.  The water doesn't percolate into the soil, but instead runs off.  On ranch land the story is different as described above.  Not only is the speed of flow reduced, but the water is filtered by the grasses and therefore much cleaner when it enters the streams which often flow into large reservoirs which then are used to provide drinking water to the cities.

Yeah, I'm rambling a bit this morning.  It's a long way from "Apocalypse Now" to city water supplies -- or, maybe not.  I fear that the amount and availability of sufficient drinking water for exploding populations may be the largest single potentially apocalyptic situation we face.  We see flooding in the east and drought in the west.  People are blaming it on climate change yet, we hear lots of rhetoric and hand-wringing and little understanding or, action.  By action, I'm thinking in reference to how cities are growing and spreading and adding to the problems while the ranchers who do the things like controlling erosion and encouraging grasses to cover the ground, which by-the-way also have a cooling effect, are being blamed.  The thinking is absolutely upside down.  That's par for the course, though; it is the people who are exploiting the situation that push the messaging which inspires panic in order to profit from others -- much like "war profiteers" who did the same during the various conflicts that periodically occur around the globe.  I suppose, in a way, that completes the circle from a cow in a pond to "Apocalypse Now."  Well, sort of....

Sometimes We Need Help

Animals, just like humans, sometimes get sick.  This little guy is an orphan.  We don't know what happened to his mother, but one day she seemed perfectly healthy and the next day she was gone.  This young (about 6 week old) bull calf was "stealing" milk from the other cows that had calves at their side and had started eating grass.  We watched him closely for a few days and he seemed to be doing okay, but then on Monday of this week I spotted him off by himself and showing signs of respiratory distress.  I immediately got out of the pickup and herded him to the corrals on foot.  The fact that I could do so was an indicator that he didn't feel well.

We began to treat him for the respiratory problem and to hand feed him.  He was going downhill, so on Wednesday we took him to the Veterinarian.  She has access to more powerful tools than we do and by Wednesday evening he was feeling much better.  The photo is from late yesterday when he nearly knocked me down to get the bottle.  It was gratifying to see that he seemed to feel much better and signs of the respiratory issue were gone.

Unlike humans, animals are unable to ask for help when they are in distress.  In fact, animals such as cattle are naturally wary of giving any indication that they don't feel well because they are naturally prey animals.  It is the sick and distressed that are usually first to fall to predators.  I have observed sick cattle "put on an act" of feeling well and "pretending" to eat in order to appear healthy.  Sometimes it is very difficult to spot a health problem until the animal is extremely sick and difficult to heal.

As I have mentioned before in this blog, we feel a deep responsibility to the animals within our care.  We monitor them daily in order to make certain they have adequate food and water and that they are healthy.  Occasionally, something will happen to one of them that is inexplicable -- such as the loss of this calf's mother -- but, for the most part, we are able to catch any problems early and to deal with them expeditiously.  It is important that we have the tools to do so in order to prevent undue suffering.

The movement to ban the use of antibiotics in livestock production is one that threatens our ability to deal with issues, such as the respiratory problems this calf had, in a timely fashion.  The medicines with which he was treated will be completely metabolized and gone from his system within a matter of a few short weeks.  The labels include withdrawal times and dosages which we record and keep, along with other information about the event, in a file if an animal must be treated.  Hopefully, this calf will be able to go on and live out a normal, healthy life in which he will thrive until he fulfills his ultimate purpose of providing nutritious protein for human consumption.

As I think about it, I realize that the inability to ask for help sometimes applies to humans as well.  In us, it isn't so much that we are incapable, it is that our pride or, our personality make it extremely difficult.  We also are influenced by the way in which we were raised -- especially in rural America where independence and self-reliance are deeply rooted in the culture.  For some reason this morning, I feel it is important to say that it is okay to ask for help.  Don't be like the calf in the photo who would have died in his loneliness had I not observed his condition and intervened.  If you need help, ask for it.  Ask friends, neighbors, family, or one of the many organizations that are out there for help.  There are good people who will be there for you if they know you need it.

Just my thoughts this morning....

Living to the Next Paycheck

Today is sale day for this group of calves.  They will be sold in the NETBIO (Northeast Texas Beef Improvement) sale.  It is a special sale of pre-conditioned, weaned calves that are certified to have been properly vaccinated and taught to eat from a feed bunk and automatic water system.

I'm proud of this group.  We have been working for a number of years to get our genetics to where we wanted them.  This is a very uniform set that will hopefully do well in spite of a market that has been disappointing recently.

One of the things people outside of agriculture have difficulty grasping is that "harvest" only comes once or twice during the year.  To put it plainly, there is no income, only expenses, for the greatest part of the year.  Selling your crop has to pay all of the expenses required to produce it and provide an income above that to the farmer or, rancher.  It is just a "side gig" for us, so we aren't dependent upon it for our living expenses.

Most people can't imagine living on borrowed money for 11 months of the year and then hopefully, paying it back when you sell your crop.  It makes a person better at budgeting.

Right now, as we enter into the Fall Harvest season, keep the farmers and ranchers in mind.  For many, it has been a very difficult year with flooding, drought, severe storms that brought hail and high winds and it has been a year of "Tariff Wars" that have been highly disruptive of the markets.  Many of the farmers and ranchers won't be able to cover their expenses of producing a crop this year let alone covering their cost of living.

As you enjoy your abundant selection of foods at the grocery store, or in your favorite restaurant, think about the folks that produced it.   They're going through a hard time right now.

Rodent Control

Yesterday morning we loaded out a trailer with a small group of weaned calves that were headed to a special pre-conditioned cattle sale.  We went out fairly early and caught the calves then separated off one that we decided to keep.  I then hooked onto the stock trailer and backed up to our loadout.

Right beside the loadout is an area where we temporarily store empty protein tubs.  We stack them up but, sometimes the stacks fall, or are knocked over.  Some were blocking a swinging panel that we use to close any gaps with the trailer so animals can't escape.

My spouse was helping and used her foot to push a stack of tubs out of the way so she could maneuver that swinging panel.  As she did so she noticed a number of different kinds of spiders and, being a wildlife management major, proceeded to focus on them, observing that one had babies, etc.  Unknowingly, her foot was about 4 inches from this young cottonmouth which was quickly assuming a striking position.  I quietly said, "Watch out.  Step back."  Her response was, "I see them; that's what I'm looking at."  I repeated my warning and added, "There's a snake by your foot."  She said, "Oh, I thought you meant the spiders."

She then noticed the snake and stepped away.  I was thankful she had on cowboy boots with high tops and that the snake hadn't struck.  Otherwise, we would have been making a trip to the emergency room before taking calves to the sale.

Her next comment was, "I need my camera!"  So, she proceeded to the pickup to get her iPhone and take photos (from much too close in my opinion) and a video which she then posted to Facebook -- isn't that what you do with interesting photos and videos?  The almost universal response to her post was an expression of "fear of snakes" or, "the only good snake is a dead one."

We have a fairly benevolent policy toward snakes at our place.  Unless they are a direct threat, they get to go on about their business keeping the rodent population under control.  They don't normally pose a problem if you use a little common sense and basically leave them alone.

I'm not a big fan of snakes.  I have no desire to pick them up or, let them coil around my arm although I have done so.  I do recognize their place in the environment and realize they do a lot of good, so I generally just leave them alone.  Most of the time they will move off and try to avoid humans, but occasionally you will find one that is aggressive.  I've had them "charge" me and I've had them "corner" my kids.  It's a strong stimulus to action when a cottonmouth charges you.

I don't think I have ever seen any sign of mice in our feed room.  I suspect it's because we let the mouse-hunters go on about their merry business of keeping the rodent population under control.

Sometimes You Have to Dig for the Reason

It being Friday the 13th with a Full Moon, I thought it only appropriate that I use the photo of a 4-leaf clover in my post, however, I have committed to only use original photos and not something "borrowed" from the Internet and I didn't have one of a 4-leaf clover.  Instead, I will use this Brazos Rain-lily (Zephyranthes chlorosolen) as a substitute.  We had a number of them make their appearance in our pasture after the rain we had a couple of weeks ago.  They aren't large -- about 12" tall consisting of a single stem shooting up out of the ground with a flower approximately 2" in diameter.

To the extent possible, we try to identify the plants we find growing in our pastures.  Some plants are toxic to cattle and we especially watch out for them.  Such plants typically only appear sporadically such as after a drought or, in a particularly rainy stretch at a time of year when it doesn't normally rain as much.  Knowing the flora and fauna on the land within your care is important for that reason, but also for others.

There are numerous rare or, endangered species of plants and animals.  When you speak of such things, most ranchers cringe because of the bad experiences of some where their land was restricted in its use due to the presence of such items.  Various government agencies have a good deal of power to do such and so, most occurrences of threatened plants and animals go unreported due to fear, or to willful ignorance.  I fully sympathize with that.  No one wants how they utilize their land to be restricted due to the presence of some rare salamander, or minnow, or weed.

It is difficult, even for someone who is very much a conservationist at heart, to reconcile the preservation of every single species against the rights and needs of individuals.  I am a firm believer that "less government" is the best government.  Personal property rights are one of the most important foundations of our liberty; without them, there is no free enterprise and very little incentive to grow and create.

A willingness by many to restrict such rights is typically due to a jealousy of the "have nots" toward those who have been able to acquire substantial property.  Is the system rigged?  You bet it is.  Those who have accumulated property have considerably more power than those who haven't.  That is why there is a need for appropriate regulation of the rights of ownership that weigh the needs of the many against the "rights" of the individual.  It is why we have labor laws and regulations against certain monopolistic practices.

When it comes to things of a more esoteric nature -- such as rare plants and animals -- it is sometimes difficult to determine where the needs/rights of the individual end and public needs/rights begin.  I don't pretend to have deep specialized knowledge regarding such issues, but in general, I understand the concept that we need to maintain biodiversity.  Even the most well-trained scientists only understand the "surface" of the intricate workings of various ecosystems.  Each time a species goes extinct, there is the danger of a cascading effect that can cause widespread disruption.  There also is the potential commercial/social value that many plants and animals offer as food or, as sources of medicines and other potentially important compounds.  In summation, we don't know enough to know what we don't know, therefore the wise course is to preserve.

Fortunately for me, the Lily in the photo is not an endangered or, threatened species.  It does however, produce an alkaloid called lycorine, a fungicide, which protects the plant against Phymatotrichum root rot.  That characteristic alone could make it valuable given gene splicing technology such as CRISPR.  The genes from the Brazos rain-lily that cause it to produce the lycorine might could be spliced into the DNA of a cotton plant for instance, giving it the ability to resist root rot in times of too much rain.

Maybe there is a reason to protect those plants and animals after all....