The Bridge is Finished .... Yippeeeee!!!!

So I posted a day or two ago about my project to secure our bridge for horse traffic and by securing the bridge reclaim my round pen panels AND get the bridge back .... I am happy to say, last night I put the last plank in place, took down the barriers (round pen panels) and opened the newly secured and renovated bridge to traffic.  Thanks Dad for getting me started and helping cut the planks.  I must confess, that covering the bridge end to end and side to side on the bridge required more planks than we originally thought, which is okay - it is done, ready to be used and we are (as they say) open for business......Wooo hoooo!

Taaa daaaa - finished bridge, no barriers

Closer view of the finished bridge.  I like it!!

With the bridge finished - new planks in place and the barriers gone, one of the questions was, "how would the horses react?" Would they like it? Would they use it?  Would it freak them out?  Would they notice? 

In 2008 Mama and Miss regularly used the bridge - would they remember?  Would they remember that the bridge wasn't a big bad boogie man stretched across the creek?  Would they use the bridge again?  Would the new planks make a difference - would they be a deterrent?  Truth be told, it didn't really matter whether or not they used the bridge - bridge had a new solid floor and was going to stay that way, no matter what the horses thought.  Would they remember and would the change I made matter, was more something to be curious about .... This morning I got Miss' answer.

That is Miss, hanging out by the bridge. 

Shadow is up by the tree.

Miss heading on to the bridge.  So far so good.

 Ambling across the bridge - checking it out.

I knew it - new bridge floor is no problem for the girl.

Here is a question:  Why did Miss cross the bridge?  To see if there were any snacks growing in the new floor - as long as it had been closed off .... surely something good had been growing?!!

 All the way across ... no worries! That's my girl!!

Indeed - it seems the verdict is in, WE like the new floor on the bridge (or she doesn't care that there is a new floor on the bridge) - either way, it is all good!

Now all I have to do is convince the boys that the bridge is the way to go .....



Murphy and I saw 6 deer this morning

We'd slipped out for an early morning stroll .... Murphy is at the stage in his life where we stroll v. go for walks .... and as we came to the sand bank ridge overlooking the shooting range, boing sproing bounce - 6 deer (5 does and a buck) broke from the underbrush and headed across the pasture. 

It was one of those reality check moments for me - I could see them and knew for certain what I was seeing; yet other than the slight ruffle of leaves, which could have been the wind,  they didn't make a sound.

Unfortunately my boy missed them, he was too busy scooping up smells from the grass and reveling in the pure joy of being on a walk.  Murphy missing them is just as well, he was off leash and in his excitement of actually seeing deer, he would have gone straight over the edge of the sand bank and that would have been bad.

All in all a great start to the day - stroll with my boy, he's sniffed up enough new smells to get him into next week and is happy to have been on a stroll and I got to see 6 deer.  Yes indeed, a great start to the day!

Bridge

At the ranch, there is a mostly dry creek bed that runs east-west the length  of the property.  Corral and stock tanks are on the north side and house and Quonset hut/barn are on the south side.  There are a couple of dry weather no water crossings at different parts of the creek; however, the main crossing, which is convenient to house, barn, corral and is a 'flat crossing' of the creek is a bridge.  It is a good bridge .... and sturdy, I think I remember it is rated to hold 5,000 pounds or there abouts. 

The 'gotcha' for the horses is that it is a cattle guard style bridge, which means instead of a solid floor there are slats with space in between them as the floor which is what keeps the cattle off the bridge.  I don't think keeping cattle off the bridge was the initial purpose of this bridge at the ranch, cause the cattle could just cut through the creek, I think that was just the kind of bridge they had available and what they used. 

Anyway, with the horses - we weren't too comfortable having a bridge they could get their hooves through and get a leg stuck or worse, so the first year we covered the bridge with plywood.  With the plywood in place, Mama and Miss used the bridge rather than cut through the creek, so that was all good until the creek flooded in 2009.  Washed the plywood off the bridge and down the creek.  Put holes in some of the sheets of plywood.  Washed debris up on the bridge.  In summary - created a big ole honkin' mess.

High water in 2009 - bridge after the water receded (a.k.a. big ole honkin' mess).  You can see water off to the right.  To give you an idea of how high the water was/is - Creek bed runs about 4 feet below the bridge.

We patched the plywood covering back together best we could, while realizing that plywood covering was not the answer we needed for long term.  Worked fine in the short run; however, high water and/or extreme weather made crossing the bridge with plywood covering iffy at best.

To add to matters, my girl Miss got her nose into the mess .... what a girl!.  So here we have the bridge in place, the plywood safety covering washed away and my girl decides she needs to check things out.  I find her on the bridge on what remains of the plywood delicately sniffing through debris.  My heart immediately goes to my toes - this is not good - this has the potential to be really bad if she takes the wrong step.  I get Miss off the bridge, sink some T-posts and block both ends of the bridge.  I think, "that will work".  Yeah, NO.  Miss promptly finds her way around the end blockades and up over the sides.  I swear she was thinking that if I'd blocked the bridge off, there must be something really really good on the other side of the blockade and it was her duty to sniff it out and check it out.

I find Miss around the blockade and picking her way through the bridge and my patchwork security work.  I get her off the bridge and add panels to the sides of the bridge.  She is going to give me a heart attack. 

This is what the bridge looks like with end AND side barriers.

Now we've been without easy access to the bridge for a year and I'm kind of missing the convenience of driving over the creek v. driving through the creek.  We spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out how we could make the bridge horse-safe while at the same not not bankrupting our checkbook.

Finally .... a year and a half later a solution presents itself.  Our landlord had the deck replaced and of course, I scavenged all possible lumber from the original deck - no sense filling up the landfill with perfectly usable lumber and as I'm stacking the lumber in the barnyard, I got to wondering whether or not we could use that lumber to cover the slats in the bridge and create a solid horse-safe floor AND one that wouldn't be washed downstream ever time the creek ran high.

Yup - we can do this.  I think it will work. My Dad helped cut the floor boards to size.  I used the remaining plywood for a sub floor to give the planks some extra support.  The planks are cut short enough to slide into place and long enough that both ends tuck neatly under the support I-beams.

In this picture I have about one-quarter of the bridge re-done.  You can see the plywood for sub flooring, and the I-beams in the middle.  Same I-beams are the outside support, so the planks are long enough to have both ends secured and short enough to slide into place - no need for welding or bolting.

 Close up of the support beam and the cattle guard cross bars.

Starting to add plank flooring on both sides.

This is where I ended yesterday evening, with about 6 feet (over both sides of the bridge) left to go, I ran out of 'clean' wood.  Clean being the operative word, I have more planking; however, I need to pull nails and screws so that a) it fits together as well as possible and b) the planks create NO hazard to man, beast or vehicle.

This is what it will look like - planking isn't perfect; however, I think that use and weather will level out some of the warps in the planks.  It is, sturdy sound and fit for foot traffic, hoof traffic and tires.  I'm hoping / planning that it will be relatively easy to maintain and if/as required, replace planks.  Me - I'm glad to have it finished or, at least within sight of being finished; I think it is BEAUTIFUL and can't wait to pull down the barriers, let the horses explore AND ..... get the round pen set up and school (horse school) in session.  Woo hoooo!!!!

More Hawk ....

Looks like a young one - of course, I could be wrong as I'm not sure I could really tell the difference between a young hawk and a mature hawk.  This is one of the two we've had hanging around the creek near the house.  An amazing bird.  Beautiful bird and a regal presence. 

They usually hang out in the branches of the dead trees, I think to get a better view?  And maybe to have easier flight options?  That would be my logic if I were a hawk ..... on the other hand, everyone would know where I was cause they could see me more clearly, perched up in a tree with no leaves, so maybe that isn't the best option.  Guess I wouldn't make a very good hawk - can't figure out where is best to perch to find dinner.....not to mention, I'm not a big fan of rodents or snakes for dinner. 

A couple of days ago, one of the hawks abandoned the dead tree and tucked itself very neatly into the branches of one of the live cottonwoods.  Camera was able to capture his focused attention to the activity below him. 

 Hmmm. One leg up, keeping balance - "What is that directly below me rather on my left?  Anthing I'd like for a snack ....?"

Both feet on the branch, maybe I can get a better angle - "Wonder if whatever is making the grass move a bit off the horizon and on my right is something yummy ?" 

Watching this guy (or gal) so intently observe the activity in the creek below his (or her) perch in the cottonwood made me start to have some concerns about the safety of my kitts.  I checked into Super Soakers (high'ish powered and long'ish range water guns) and couldn't find one that would shoot more 25' away which isn't enough.  Looking at these pictures, this guy  looks pretty close - actually he was not, I used the digital zoom to get within photo opportunity range.  Where he was sitting in the tree was probably 50' or 60' off the ground and easily 75 or 100 feet away from where I was standing.

Seems as if he's decided there aren't any viable snack possibilities wandering around, so he is going to take a break from 'shopping', and just 'sit there and look pretty' ...... !

Miss

Ooooh laaaaa - the girl is growing up!

She is amazing. 

She astounds me.

She's got her Mama's mustang mane and mustang wisdom

She is smart and fearless and patient, understanding and adoring and ..... has the cutest ears

She is Miss.

Lucky for me she also has a sense of humor .....

 More Miss than me in this picture.

  That's my girl !!

And she has a silly cute nose ....!!!

First time for this .....

Gaia and Maggie and Murphy TOGETHER on the couch ..... I never would have thought I'd see the three of them together on the same piece of furniture.  Maggie was always the shy one - we've had company spend the night with us and never even see her - To think of her up on the couch with the dogs ... good gracious - Maggie? NEVER.  Until now.

Ever since Zeke left for The Bridge, Maggie has been 'adjusting', for lack of a better word, to being the only cat in the house.  We weren't sure what to expect, Maggie and Zeke and been together for 12 and a half years.  It seems any fears we had about her being the only cat were completely unfounded - she has stepped into the role of Queen quite easily, getting up on the couch with me and then last night getting up on the couch with Murphy and Gaia.  Of course with the three of them spread out like it is their couch (believe me - I know it is THEIR couch) .... I'm back to sitting in my chair.  And that is very okay.  On the rare occasions I get a spot on the couch, Maggie is right there with me. Now and again she adds her opinion to the conversation and she purrs - just happy to be there I guess.  I swear has an alarm clock in her tummy - a minute late with evening treats and her alarm goes off and off and off - until treats are delivered.  Oh yes, she takes delivery, she prefers delivery.  She still sleeps every night on her pillow above my head - she likes to keep an eye out the window and I like hearing her purr.  No question, Maggie has picked up the 'cats rule the roost' ball from where Zeke left it and she is off and running with it.  Go Maggie ......

Aren't they just as cute as can be ....??!!!

Deer and Bovine and a Hawk ..... oh my!

Deer

Around our house, shouting "dear" doesn't usually mean ... "dear" as in "dear - where are you?" or "dear - I need you to do something" .... it usually means DEER are out in the pasture.

Sunday morning looked out to see these fellows cutting through the field along the rim of the bank above the creek .... I love it when the deer come to visit!

Posing nicely, bit of a profile to show off his antlers

Full face view - a chance to admire his wonderful "little" nose and the symmetry of his features

Heading down the road around the ridge - amazing how he blends in so perfectly with the grass

Meets up with his buddy and now there are two .... almost like magic - I never saw the second guy until 'poof' he was there.

And there they go down the creek ridge road and around the corner - if I didn't already know there were two of them, I would surely think I was seeing things or my camera had special feature capabilities and I should have read the manual sooner .... they've pretty much got the entire field and yet they are single file. 

According to pictures and description at http://www.desertusa.com  and near as I can tell, I think this is a Black Tailed deer which is one of two subspecies of the Mule Deer, which is kind of cool.

According to information on the desertusa.com web page, "Mule Deer have large ears that move constantly and independently, from whence they get their name, "Mule" or "Burro Deer." They do not run as other deer, but have a peculiar and distinctive bounding leap (stotting) over distances up to 8 yards, with all 4 feet coming down together. In this fashion, they can reach a speed of 45 m.p.h. for short periods".  No question they are quick - when you see them if you make even the slightest movement they are gone!  45 mph ... yikes!  I've seen them do the stotting thing, I called it sproinging, I didn't know there was a formal name for their forward movement and because it looks like they are bouncing and springing and boinging all at the same time .... like they have pogo sticks or springs in their knees. And able to go as far as 8 yards, better known as 24 feet - that is crazy cool.

Bovines

Bovines in the pasture above the corral have been a hoot lately.  I looked up one night last week and out of the blue they started running across the horizon.  

 

The calves looked like they were having too much fun, kicking up their heels and racing their Moms across the pasture.

Then Sunday night, two of the herd went to the top of the hill and planted their hooves - as if they knew the the contrast of their black coats and the blue sky was absolutely stunning.  Or, maybe there was a bit of a breeze at the top of the hill and with that, fewer bugs -- when it is all said and done, it doesn't really matter why they were there - they do look stunning and I just like the picture.

Seriously, they could have been discussing the weather or trying to figure out where the best grass is ... I thought they made a nice contrast with the sky and are kind of cute in an ordinary and average solid bovine ranch kind of way.

 

Hawk

One of at least four we have living on or near the ranch.  Lately he's been perched on one of the dead trees near the house.  I'm all good with him being here as long as he leaves the kitts alone ...!!! 
 

His coloring is amazing - I don't remember ever seeing a hawk this close and in such detail. 
Usually I see them in flight so all I see is their underside.
 

No question - a beautiful bird.



Surprise Visitor at the Ranch

We were on the deck, just as the sun was starting to set and without warning .... we were dive bombed by this little tiny creature with wings beating a mile a minute - so fast you couldn't see it's wings. Hummingbird we thought at first; however, it was teeny tiny. Maybe a baby hummingbird? It was buzzing in and out and around us and darting to drink nectar from the flowers. We thought hummingbird. We thought ... way COOL! And a baby to boot, how cool is that?!! I'll tell you how cool, "wicked cool".

Of course, I ran for the camera to see if we could get a picture of our visitor. It was a little dicey with it being dusk and all, we finally figured out to turn the flash on ... here are pictures of our little "fly by" visitor.

When it got too dark for pictures we looked at the photos on the 'big screen' and saw that is was in fact NOT a hummingbird.  After a little online research, we determined (pictures and supporting narrative) it was a White Lined Sphinx Moth (close relative to the Hummingbird Moth). Not exactly the same as having a hummingbird buzzing around, nonetheless ... pretty cool.

Right there in the middle of the picture, taking a sip from the red flower closest to the bottom of the picture.

Side view: you can see the color in their wings and how tiny it is.

Aside from how teeny tiny it is, you can tell by the two pair of wings that it isn't a hummingbird.  If you look closely, you can see he/she has their tongue (proboscis) the flower.

Another shot, shows off their beautiful coloring.

Toadly Bufo Woodhousiii ....

We were lucky to have one Bufo Woodhousii living under the deck ... having two, it is a jackpot of toads!!!

Rather cute ... don't you think?

Fits in well with the flowers

Look at that smile!

Nice caboose too ....!!

Must know there is a camera in the neighborhood, sitting up straight, holding tummy tucked to present the trimmest profile possible while being one with the flowers.

Breathe....Relax, at home safe in the garden.