Taco Soup, Hay, Calves, & Bella Jo

Bella Jo is such a sweet dog. She's trying so hard to do everything right! I'm not worried about her taking off; she's thinkin' this ranch life is the life for her!

I start out the day with feeding the horses of course, so we head to the barn on leash. Then after determining where Tat the cat is and Bella gets told "no" when she wants to go aggressively toward Tat, I let her off leash. BTW, Tat is always on top of the hay stack in the barn and knows to keep his distance. Bella is definitely getting the idea that Tat is off limits!

Then I load up the wheelbarrow with hay and we go out behind the round pen. Colt's the only horse at that point. I lay out the piles of hay while Bella stands by the round pen watching intently. Then I let Whiskey and Brego out of their pasture to come eat.

Bella's finding her comfort zone. She sticks with me

but keeps her distance from the horses.

She's figured out that fences are her friend and

knows how to get around the barn to keep

me in her sight, but away from the horses.

On Sunday, we helped Rusty and Sam at the TI Ranch

run their calves through for their last shots.

Bella sat on the flat bed and watched.

She got a little excited when some of the calves

were banging around in the chute and she started

barking at them. I told her "no bark" and that was

the end. She sat and watched intently.

My Man ran the chute this time.

After the calves were done, Bella got to smell her

first cow manure...she loved that!

I walked Bella on leash along the inside of the calf pen and she got to see the calves moving away from her as we walked along. She needs better leash control still because she pulls back when she panics. It'll take time, but it feels like she's making improvement already.

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On the hay front...I really like this photo:

The two rows of 1st cutting are all gone!

You can see where the bales had been sitting

since last July...empty is good!

And this is the last semi truck load of 2nd cutting!

So, it's all gone too! All that's left is 28 bales

of 3rd cutting...it's sold, they just have to haul it.

WhooooooHoooooooo!

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It's that time of year when soup, stew and chili are on our dinner plates quite often. This is an easy recipe for Taco Soup that you can make either on the stove top or in a crock pot.

Simple Taco Soup

2 pounds ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 - 1/2 cups water

1 can (15 oz) mild chili beans in sauce

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed & drained

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes & green chilies, undrained

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies (optional)

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Directions:

Brown beef; drain. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Transfer meat mixture to large soup pot or crock pot. Stir in remaining ingredients. If using the stove top: simmer until heated through and flavors are blended, stirring occasionally (I like to let it simmer for a couple of hours). For the crock pot: Heat on high for 4 hours.

Yield: 6-8 servings (about 2 quarts)

Serve with cheese, sour cream, chips, and avocado. Corn bread is wonderful too!

BTW...I don't put in the small can of chilies...that makes it way to hot for us.

Enjoy!