Moving into the 21st Century

Wexford is continually updating it's technology on the ranch.  Solar powered feeders, cameras, gates, and water pumps save time and use the power of the sun to operate.  Though initially expensive, these investments pay for themselves very quickly.  Solar power is just another step into Ranching in the 21st Century.

A Few Pigs

George reigns over the day's success.

Feral hogs have been a nuisance in South Texas since the 1960s.  Russian Boars were introduced in the state for hunting in the 1940s and quickly bred with domestic pigs to create feral hogs.  They range quite a bit in size and appearance, ranging from something that looks like it escaped from the barnyard to razorbacks and tusks that look like they're in a Russian forest.  They are a serious problem in Texas and caused over $400 million in damages in 2010.  

Fortunately, feral pigs are delicious.  Controlling the population is a lot easier when you know they will be good on the pit.  I even made bacon last year, though the lean meat is not a great candidate for the fatty breakfast favorite.

Roped off a horse--he's still got it.

Brush Work at Wexford

Brush work is integral to wildlife management in South Texas.  The wildlife is acclimated to a coastal prairie.  Unfortunately, the prairie has to be maintained by humans, but it allows the wildlife to prosper. 

The helicopter pilots used to say that when flying over the Duke Ranch, you couldn’t see any lights or variations of the land when flying at night because it was completely prairie. 

Wexford Ranches has worked with The Nature Conservancy, the Goliad County Wildlife Co-op, and other organizations to maintain the coastal prairie habitat.  Wexford Ranches was honored as a Lone Star Land Steward for their efforts earlier this year.

Exploring in West Texas

Water carved limestone canyon.

For the past week I've been at the Lado, hiking and riding around, seeing what there is to see.  It's amazing that in what, at a distance, seems like such a desolate landscape, is really full of life and lots of hidden treasures.  On Thursday, we hiked up an intermittent stream bed which was full of water carved limestone, sandstone, and metamorphic rock.  There were junipers over a hundred years old, caves, cactus, flowers, and quiet.

That's some determination.

Near the top of the creek bed.

More water carved stream bed.

One of the huge junipers in the canyon.

Trying to catch a little slack

 

Here’s another reminder of how bad the drought was (and still is for a lot of Texans).  This rabbit was trying to catch a little shade—under the gate.  It’s a hard knock life sometimes in Texas.

Shipping Cattle

This is a little late, but I guess it's better late than never!  Last month Wexford shipped cattle for the highest prices on record.  It was especially great/disgusting because the cattle were full of green grass from recent rains.  Keep your fingers crossed that the rain keeps coming and the cattle prices keep going up.

You can check out the current cattle prices in Texas here.

Mule Deer at the Lado

It's one of my favorite times of the year--it's almost time to head down to the Lado!  The next few weeks will probably be pretty West Texas focused as I get ready for my fall pilgrimage down to the ranch.  There's nothing better than the desert, mountains, and blue sky to clear your mind and your lungs.

These photos were taken of mule deer watering at the guzzlers on the ranch.  The Lado has gotten some rain this year and there are plenty of animals out and about.

Cleaning the Water Troughs

Neil's wondering why his kids aren't older...

At Wexford, a lot of the water for cattle is found in water troughs fed by underground wells that are pumped by windmills. 

One summer when I was in high school, my friend and golf partner, Amy, and I worked on the ranch--our job was to clean all the water troughs.  It was convenient for our golf schedule, but not necessarily a great job.  It was hot, dirty, slimy, and wet, and my dad and Amy's stepdad still talk about it more than a decade later.  Since there's no cheap manual labor (kids) on the ranch any more, Neil, the Straw Boss, was responsible for cleaning the water trough in the West Pasture recently.  I'm sure he was wishing that his kids were old enough to send out to do that, but I guess the next time the troughs will need to be cleaned the Heard children will be the prime age.

Cleaning over a decade of muck out of the trough.

You know the drought is serious when...

 

... Water Mocasins are drinking bottled water.  

This photo was staged last year, but really isn't that funny.  Both the ranches in South and West Texas have received quite a bit of rain in 2012, but there are plenty of people in between who need water desperately.

Teal at the Duck Pond

Wexford Ranches posted about a new duck pond on the ranch a couple of months ago.  This past weekend, a Norther brought a ton of Teal into the pond.

It's time to go hunting!

Chile Pequins!

If there's anything that's distinctive about food in South Texas (there's a lot!), it's chile pequins.  Most people say it chilli patine, but it doesn't matter as long as it's on the table.  These bursts of flavor and heat are about the size of a pencil eraser and are great fresh, dried, or preserved in oil.

The drought wreaked havoc on these native plants, but since it's started raining again, they are starting to come back.  Gloria de la Garza lives on the ranch; her family has worked for Wexford for generations and lived in the Coastal Bend since Texas was part of Mexico.  She has been collecting the chiles and they'll be planted on the ranch as well as eaten in something delicious.  Gloria found the bottle of chile pequins recently.  Her father Alejandro de la Garza, or Elek to all of us, bottled these chiles before he died in 2004. 

Seeds Gloria collected from Chile Pequins that have been growing for generations.

I keep a stash of chile pequins in Idaho picked by Gloria that I save for when I'm cooking Texas food, though I've started putting it in my Italian food too--delish!  Gloria taught my sister and I how to make hot sauce in mocajetes with chile pequins and I roll out tortillas (and everything else) with part of a broom handle that her father, Elek, used to roll out his tortillas with.  I'm proud to have grown up with a strong food culture, and replanting the chile pequins on the ranch is keeping that culture strong. 

I tried to grow some in my yard in Idaho, but they just couldn't take the cold.  You can purchase a number of varieties of chile pequin seeds from Native Seeds Search.

San Antonio Rainwater

Water backing up the creek bed.

In Texas, especially in the Hill Country and West Texas, when it rains there are often flash floods.  I saw a wall of water come down the Frio one time which was terrifying and have heard a number of stories of being caught in the wall of water.  Last week, San Antonio received up to six inches of rain in places so the ranch was expecting the water to hit the ranch at some point.  Minohuila Creek is a tributary of the San Antonio River, which runs through the ranch.  Kai happened to catch the water backing up Minohuila Creek and took some great photos and video.

2012 Bighorn Sheep Hunt

Last week, the Lado harvested their second Class IV Desert Bighorn Sheep.  There was a hunt in February with no success so when the sheep were seen again, Kai and the hunter headed out west to track him down.  A mere 17 hours after arriving on the ranch, a very happy hunter had his photo taken with a trophy of a lifetime. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife conducted an aerial survey on the ranch the week before the hunt and the Lado will know soon if they will receive a tag for the 2012-2013 hunting season.

Kai 'humpin' it down the mountain.

A very heavy skull.

Wet Weather Produces More Fruit

Acorns hidden in some lush leaves.

As you know, over half of the country is in drought status.  Fortunately, in South Texas, 2012 has brought a lot of rain and the flora and fauna are looking a lot better than they have in the past few years.

My grandpa and great uncle say that the drought is as bad as in the 1950s, which was the most severe drought period in South Texas history.  I recently read that my great-grandfather had to cut down pecan trees to feed his hungry cattle in Victoria County.  My dad added that when he was cutting trees down, one fell on and killed his prize bull--making the drought situation much worse.

Growing pecans--they'll be great in a few months.

It's nice to see lots of fruit on the trees--pecans, acorns, and grapes.  On a normal year, it would be well past grape season, but the temperate summer and lots of rain have postponed the prolific crop.

Mustang grapes aren't good for eating, but make great jelly.

I can already taste the pecan pie and grape jelly on warm pan bread on my next visit to Texas.  Maybe I can even build an acorn house on the school playground--I loved that.

Beauty Berry

Working Cattle

Cryin' for Daylight

Ready for a long day.

With all of the projects going on at Wexford, it's hard to remember that it really is a working ranch.  Last week was the summer working and fat cattle were shipped for the first time in a few years--this year's rain made that possible.  Recent rains and high cattle prices are a great combination. 

Castrating calves still happens the old fashioned way.

The view from the top.

Pushing cattle in the pens.

In the old days, all of the cowboys worked and lived on the ranch full-time, but now are hired seasonally to work cattle.  Helicopters are rented and the vet palpates with a sonogram machine.  All of the photos posted were taken from an iPhone. 

Palpating in the 21st Century.

Wexford is definitely in the 21st Century, but nods to the past are still visible like a post-lunch nap.

Gatorade bottle for a pillow?  I guess it's better than the truck bed.

A blast from the past found in the pens.

Hunter Safety at Wexford

Hitting the books--a little A/C is never a bad thing in the summer.

Thomas getting his Hunter Education card.

Round two of Cowboy Camp at Wexford was last week.  The boys spent some time inside and completed their Hunter Education Course, which is required for anyone over the age of 17 or to hunt alone under the age of 17.  To take a break from hitting the books, the Goliad Fire Chief and an EMT came out to the ranch to simulate some hunting accident scenarios.  Everyone should be prepared for the upcoming hunting season.

I remember how excited I saw to take Hunter Education when I was 12, the minimum age to take the course (a long time ago). 

Swimming in South Texas

The ducks, that is, will be swimming away in the new duck pond on the ranch.  It has rained over five inches in the past 24 hours, filling up the new duck pond.  Hopefully it will continue to rain in South Texas and the Hill Country, helping the severe drought conditions.

Class IV Sheep

Last week at the Lado, a Class IV Desert Bighorn Sheep was seen watering.  Through conservation projects on the ranch, the number of sheep has increased and the ranch was given a permit in 2010 and 2011.  Trail cameras near the guzzlers like this one  allow us to see a number of sheep, whether they be lambs or Class IV rams when they come to water.

Mountain Lion Tracking on the Lado

That paw could do some real damage.

Last week, a mountain lion was caught in a snare on the Lado.  Texas Parks and Wildlife tranquilized the lion and added a GPS tracking collar to follow the 130-pound lion's movement throughout the area. 

The sedated lion.

Putting the muzzle on--pretty key for the night's work.

A lion in the Davis Mountains has been followed and is only eating Aoudad, an African invasive sheep.

The snared lion.

Notice the size of the lion compared to the biologists!

It will be really exciting to follow the lion throughout the ranch and West Texas.

A gorgeous cat ready to roll.