The Baylor Golden Wave Marching Band

Our last child has left the nest. 

I think she's loving college life. Best of all, she has a fantastic roommate!

And there you have it.

An 1,800 pound angry female

Today about mid-morning I got up from my desk and headed to the employee lounge (kitchen) to get a cup of coffee. As I rounded the corner I glanced out to see what the horses were up to, and noticed Jade running full-tilt down the fence line toward the house. Just on the other side of the fence was this longhorn, running full-tilt down our driveway. Don't be misled by the running of the bulls in Spain. Those cloven-hoof beasts are slow compared to an angry longhorn at full stride. I ran out the front door just as this cow ran straight through the gate and into the back pasture. I yelled to Taylor to go out the back and plug in the fence charger while I ran to the back pasture gate to close the hot wires. 

So, suddenly we had a very large, very upset longhorn who was obviously lactating, standing just a few yards away from us, with nothing more than a 16 gauge electrified wire between us. What a thrilling start to the day.

I grabbed one of the horse tanks and brought it back to her, then filled it up with water since it was in the low 90's already. After that, I hopped in the truck and proceeded to try and find the owner. The only field where I've seen longhorn's was empty, and the entire fence line was intact, so no luck there. I then called my buddy Raymond who has lived in the area for close to 50 years, and knows just about every rancher who still runs cattle. He had me describe the brand markings, then said he'd be back in touch shortly. And sure enough, he tracked down the owner who lives in a town west of us. He had just pulled this girl's calf off yesterday to start the weening process, and she hadn't been too happy about that. The rancher figured she was out looking for her baby.

Notice that thin wire at the bottom of the photo. That's all that stands between us. 

At this point, I was no longer feeling the need for a cup of coffee.

A longhorn is an impressive creature.

After she settled down, she took a keen interest in the chickens, who I hadn't let out of the coop yet. They had no interest in being anywhere near this weird looking animal.

Being the idiot that I am, I decided I needed a few photos for the blog, so I carefully made my way into the back pasture. Once she spotted me, she started toward me at a trot. With nowhere to go, I jumped into the round pen as she lowered her head and started scratching her hooves. She made a few lame attempts to hook me with her horns, but decided I wasn't worth the effort.

After she lost interest, I made a quick exit and got back to the house. The owner showed up a few hours later with a cattle trailer, and he and I loaded her up.

Never a dull moment around here.

And there you have it!

Baylor Bears Golden Wave Marching Band

Taylor and I were in Waco, Texas Monday and Tuesday for her Baylor University orientation and to set-up her class schedule for the fall. We covered a lot of ground in 2 days. She also brought her clarinet with her, and we stopped in for a quick audition with the band director. She thought she might like to see if she could get into the Golden Wave Band.

When the director heard that she was first chair wind symphony at Marcus, he got very excited. She played for about 5 minutes, then was immediately sent down the hall to be fitted for her new uniform. While she was doing that, the director came back to see me. He was very excited. He said that he'd just met with the other department director and told him "I just heard a great clarinet player audition." He said the director keep working on his computer, never looking up. He then said, "And she was first chair wind symphony at Marcus." He said the director immediately stopped what he was doing and spun around in his chair and was suddenly as excited as he was. Marcus' reputation is well known in Texas and around the country. Neither could believe their good fortunate, and are both very happy to have her as their newest member.

And there you have it!

Meet our new house guests

This one is named Tink. She tips the scales at around 1.5 lbs.

This one is named Wendy. She's a robust 2 lbs.

And if you can believe it, they're both 6 weeks old. 

You can see the obvious Chihuahua blood line.

And there you have it.

Arachnophobia

Look who greeted us at the front door this afternoon.

And there you have it!

Love him or hate him, he speaks for the sane people in society

click below

The Second Amendment

Final Spring Concert

Taylor played in her final concert of her high school career last week. It's a longstanding tradition that the final song is Stars and Stripes Forever, and for the last few bars of the song, all the graduating seniors come to the front of the stage and finish the song.

Taylor is sitting in the first chair to the conductors left. Click on the "Stars and Stripes Forever" link below, and you'll be able to see the video of the final performance.

Stars and Stripes Forever

I have a few more photos and videos to share with you, and I'll post those in the next several days. Check back later this week.


And there you have it!

Graduation photos

This past Sunday we did something we've been putting off far too long due to scheduling conflicts, weather, and the seemingly endless quest for a dress that met with Taylor's approval. It is done. Praise God. Allahu Akbar!

Jen served as driver/stylist/art director/wardrobe assistant, and I pushed the little silver button on my new camera as we spent the morning strolling through a local park. The preliminary results are below. Be kind people, I'm still learning how to use the camera. This is just a sampling, mind you, since with digital cameras it's easy to just NOT know when to quit. Like 220+ photos worth of not knowing when to quit. So, now it's time to make the final selection(s), do a little color adjustment and retouching. Friends of the HornHaus will be receiving her graduation announcement in the near future (don't hold your breath if it goes anything like the dress selection process).

And there you have it!

A Busy Week

Here's a quick look back at the past week.

Taylor was the recipient of a Magnificent Marauder award this past week. Each grading period every teacher is allowed to select one student who they feel is exemplary. The students are recognized during an evening ceremony, are given a certificate, and on the back of the certificate the teacher writes up why they selected the particular student. Taylor's award was in her anatomy class, and the teacher really had some nice things to say. She's won a few of these this past year, so at this point, we get more satisfaction from the award than her.

She didn't even want to hang around for the reception. 

I made her pose for a photo, just because I can.

Marlo enjoying a nice quiet Mother's Day.

Schooner wondering when it will be time to eat again.

Taylor was out riding her horse, Chance, in the back pasture earlier this week. 

He's an American Saddlebred, and was a gift to her from a woman down the street. 

He's a great horse, well trained, with good manners.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

And there you have it!

Checking the Hive

 It's been 2 weeks since we hived the package of bees. This morning Taylor and I went out to inspect the hive and refill the hive-top feeder. The queen was there doing her thing, and there was evidence of brood, pollen and honey cells. Not as much brood as I'd hoped, but it's only been 2 weeks.

 Taylor sporting Grandma Joan's well traveled bee veil.

A look down into the hive. The ladies were busy and didn't seem too agitated.

The frames had plenty of drawn comb. 

About 3 frames were all they've managed to get to so far.

Popping the lid off the hive-top feeder.

  1 gallon of water to 4 pounds sugar.

 Closing it back up.

And there you have it.

Spring Show

The Mrs. made a quick trip up to Norman last week for Alissa's Spring Show with Sooner Dance Company. I had fully intended to join her, but had some health issues which precluded my attendance. As a result of my absence, the Mrs. provided me with what you see below. All reports were that it was a big hit, although attendance was a little low since somebody made the mistake of scheduling the show mid-week.

And there you have it.