Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)
As a native Texan married to a 30-year transplanted Texan we can attest that our part of Texas does have four distinct seasons. They’re just not evenly divided throughout the year. Often our indian summers can stretch well into late October. By the calendar today was the fourth day of Autumn, but the first cool day for the season. The forecasted high is 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 C) and the low 61 (16.1 C). So this morning of our first September at Wildabout Ranch IS crisp and we hope provides the perfect opportunity to taunt Summer adiue!
This is the time of year for fall festivals, lazy weekend afternoons with gridiron match ups, and thinking about long sleeves, sweaters and the holidays. But then it hits us … now is also the time to start preparing the farm for colder, rougher weather. Or is it too late? The trees are still green, the earth is still hard and parched from the summer heat and the ponds bear the scars of a long dryspell. Everything that surrounds us suggests winter’s sting is still a distant stranger. But if we’re not careful that deception could find us ill-prepared for our first January at Wildabout Ranch.
The new chickens and goats are the first concerns that come to mind. The coop and barn provide covered, enclosed shelter and protection. But after a careful recent inspection we found there are things we must still do to each, some of which we had put off because of the summer heat. Now we must make those changes our priority. Fortunately we are not just now getting started. Earlier this month we completed a small project that now will get enough power to the coop to have a couple of heat lamps if the weather really gets bad. The goat barn already had power. But there is still much to do. Seams, joints and openings that allowed for air flow in shelters must now be inspected for sealing and closure. Ground that was grassy or hard must now be prepared to handle moisture, ice, or snow for both the animals and their caretakers. We’ve discussed adding stepping stones and gravel paths to areas that would help provide for stable footing in bad weather.
During the summer months we only kept enough hay, straw, food and other daily maintenance goods for our flock and herd to get us through a few weeks. So our storage areas to date have been small and fairly open. As we consider cooler and harsher weather we must make sure we have the places we need to keep these goods dry and accessible. The 4×8 piece of plywood that shields the hay box now won’t work when winds get stronger and the ground stays moist longer.
There is an abundance of green leafy trees at Wildabout Ranch which the goats need and enjoy. Goat are tree and brush browsers, unlike cattle and horses which are grass grazers. Our girls’ favorites (so far) are Post Oak, Honey Locust, and Elm. These are deciduous and will begin losing leaves as the weather cools. Less green leaves means the need for winter storage of leafy grasses like alfalfa and more hay for nibbling and bedding. We need a larger dry storage area that will hold sixteen bales of hay and compressed alfalfa to get us to spring.
With this fourth post we broke away from two patterns we noticed in the first three posts. First, We had been posting every three days but with hectic schedules and much to do at work and on the farm we could not keep that pace. We will try to post at least once a week. Second, the first three posts had five paragraphs each. This one closes with six even though there was no particular reason the others had only five. With that said, we close this post having shared a glimpse of our excitement about enjoying autumn in Texas and outlining that we know there is still a lot for us to do before we can feel anything close to being prepared for our first winter at Wildabout Ranch. Maybe saying goodbye to summer is really about us leaving a season to continue our adventure into the next.
Wildabout Ranch 