Filling up the extra hour

As much as I whine about time changes, I am loving the extra hour of daylight this week. 

There's time after my work day is done to walk Smooch and hang out with the herd. 

Not that they would notice since they're too busy eating the trees because the grass isn't growing yet, 

but that's a good thing (the tree eating) and the subject of another post.

Anyway, as I've been hanging out with the herd this week, waiting for them to raise their heads and smile for the camera, 

I've also been contemplating the condition of the pasture. It stinks. Multiple years of drought have taken their toll.

The good thing is that some of the cholla cactus have dried up and gone dormant. 

I take that back. This is not a good thing. This is an excellent thing. 

One swift kick can uproot a dormant cholla, rendering it obsolete, never to regenerate 

and suck what little water there is out of the ground, say nothing of attaching itself to the velvety noses of my herd.

So I've been multi-tasking during my extra hour of daylight each day this week, spending time with Lucy and the boys 

while kicking down every dormant cholla I walk past. The soil conditions are such that if my toe meets the sweet spot, 

the cholla flies up out of the ground. I learned early on that sneakers are not the best choice of footwear for this endeavor, 

since dormant cholla may have an occasional sole-penetrating needle. Nonetheless, I've not been deterred.

Kicking the crap out of a cholla cactus is one of life's greatest pleasures. 

Most of you will have to take my word on that, but trust me. It's like popping bubble wrap, only better. 

Having Hank accompany me while I pursue this new hobby makes it all the better.

Hank: This is not the behavior of a normal person.

Me: I'm well aware of that, but it is only with your best interests in mind

that I am out here in the first place...

...because while I'm spending time with you and kicking down cactus and taking pictures for the blog,
I am also on the lookout for locoweed. Is this or isn't it? Time will tell.