Ross Fire 3

 Day 6 of the Ross Fire

We checked on Little Frog Ranch and the cows this morning and found some pleasant surprises.   Yesterday people had dropped off some hay into the pastures, and even left a bag of cattle cubes by the gate!

Moon and Mimi have hay on the other side of their cow shed in a small section of unscorched land, but since it is not visible from the road we wondered if people were worried about them being abandoned. So we moved some hay around to the other side and put a note on the gate they are being taken care of, and also thanking people for the donations.  We will need to get a lot more hay brought in this week, and will continue to provide extra hay for the next few months.  They will eat a large round bale of coastal hay each week without much else to graze on.   Typically we don't need to supplement much until the winter months, but with so little left for grazing, it is important that we monitor the hay levels.  

There is a lot more hay on the other side as well.  They really love the cattle cubes though!

Mimi

Moon

 

We walked around a bit looking at the fire damage. 

Firefighter boot print

The smoke smell still lingers, and the ground has a strange crunch sound when you walk on it.  We could really use some rain to refresh the land.  The Ross Fire is still only at 31% containment.  Still we are thankful for the hard work of so many battling this fire, and for those who saw the cows and stopped to make sure they had food.  

Ross Fire 2

Today is Day 5 of the Ross Fire in Texas, affecting 89,127 acres at 31% containment.  We have been using Watchduty.org to get updated information on the fire.  Here is an updated fire map as of today, including Little Frog Ranch.

Little Frog Ranch is 11.4 acres, and we estimate that about 11.2 were burned.

It is a very small fraction of the total fire to date. 

We are still very thankful that our buildings, cows, and tractor were spared.  We will keep a closer eye on the cows to make sure they have adequate hay since they can no longer graze anywhere they want. There is a small patch of land near their cowshed where they have access to hay and water.  We had been wanting to plant a field of coastal hay, so this is something we will plan for in the future as we reset things at Little Frog Ranch. 

Moon

We are so grateful for all of the firefighters still out there every day battling the Ross Fire!  

Link to Ross Fire Part 1

Ross Fire

This has been a wild and worrisome time at Little Frog Ranch!  The Ross Fire started in Palo Pinto County and spread north into Jack County.  As of today, it has covered 83,000 acres and is only at 12% containment.  We watched every update we could find online overnight, hoping it would miss Little Frog Ranch.  Our wonderful neighbor contacted us during the night to let us know that the fire was spreading and the forestry service was there working, as evacuations were being made.

Ross Fire Map from Watch Duty.com

Overview of Little Frog Ranch before and after the fire came through from Google Maps

The road to LFR was closed during the night, so Chris was able to go this morning.

It was still smoldering in the back.

The tractor was spared!

My favorite tree was spared!  

And most importantly, the cows were spared.

We have some cleanup and work to do, but for now we are just grateful.  

Link to Ross Fire Part 2

Ranch Update

Things at Little Frog Ranch moved slowly but surely this year.  There is always plenty to do there! The wellhouse (aka The Shanty) blew away. It was always meant to be temporary until we could build a stronger, more insulated structure for the well equipment.  So, that is one project that is being worked on.  The new and improved wellhouse is almost complete, just needs the siding added.  

We recently had hay delivered to make sure that Moon and Mimi have enough food for the winter.  We also bought our first Round Hay Bale Feeder for the cows. They love to play in the hay, which leaves a huge mess, so hopefully this will help them save some for food and not just fun.

We supplement the hay with cattle cubes and the cows love it!  They will come running to eat!

Also, after a long absence, we are finally seeing frogs on the property again!

Still Mooing Along

 Little Frog Ranch is still moving (or mooing) along!  The cows are growing nicely.  Things remain nice and cozy out there for Mimi and Moon.  Here are some pictures from this week:

Moon lost her ear tag somewhere in the field.

The Nosy Neighbor Cows are checking things out behind them.

Time to move some hay out for the winter.

Moon sure loved playing in the hay!

Baby Cows

We welcomed two new additions to Little Frog Ranch! Two six-month-old Hereford cows.  (technically, Hereford and Angus mix)

Mooving to their new home! Chris got to help with the deworming and ear tagging before they were loaded up into the trailer. 

They need to stay in the corral for 7-10 days so they get comfortable with their new home and learn where their food and water are located.

Aside from grass, they eat hay and supplemental feed.

Next door neighbors wanted to meet their new friends across the fence.

The pond has filled in nicely!

December 2021

Little Frog Ranch update

This view never gets old!

Unfortunately, the pond is in sad shape right now.  Although it will fill up on its own with the spring rains, we need to run a pipe or hose from the water well so it can stay full year round for the animals.  We're not sure if the previous owner intentionally put the plastic chair in the middle of the pond or if it blew in years ago.  But since it's usually covered with water, it gives us an indication of how deep the pond can be.  We will remove the chair...someday...

We walked through the dry pond area to see if there was anything interesting usually covered by water, and came across this animal bone about a foot long.  We haven't discovered all of the wildlife around here yet, but this is probably from a deer.  We have seen deer and coyotes in the wildlife cameras in the past.  

No trip to Little Frog Ranch is complete without a picture of my favorite tree and cactus!