Art Auction

The final Benita marker is finished.  If anyone is interested, I am auctioning off the test cast to go towards Ben's monthly feed bill.  The marker is 4 1/8" x 6" x 1/4" thick and weighs 1 pound 3 ounces.  Bidding starts at $75.00.  Make me an offer...  95,102 80,0,B

A week of casting...

From the video description: Had a bit of trouble getting a cast I was happy with. Five pours over five days. It is difficult to see in the videos but I was losing detail in some of the letters in the first 4 castings. Mostly it was an issue of not enough pressure to give me the detail I was looking for in the letters. The final pour worked because I had a good runner and gates, just the right amount of metal, and I screwed the mold halves together so the pressure couldn't push them apart. Did a finishing, acid etch, and patina test on one of the duds - and it looks very promising. 92,98,78,0,B

Fifth time's a charm...

Finally got a cast I'm happy with.  Just as well that I had some duds.  I will be using the flawed ones to test final finishing methods.  Video of all 5 castings tomorrow.  89,95,76,0,B  

Forth dud...

So...so...close.  The problem with this one was I didn't account for the extra metal I poured by adding extra weight on top and the additional pressure actually separated the two halves of the mold a little causing the flashing around the edges from metal seeping out, which in turn caused some loss of detail again (and some fire).  Pour number five tomorrow - with extra weight to keep the mold tightly pressed together.  (Note:  The casting looks silver because this is right after the pour before quenching it.  It magically turns gold once it is dipped in water to cool.)   88,97,74,0,B 

2 duds...

I've cast the Benita marker twice now and both are close, but not quite enough detail in all the lettering to suit me.  So I am going to try a third casting tomorrow.  88,97,79,0,B

Ready for a test casting...

 

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a grave project...

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Grave

Went to check Benita's final resting place yesterday.  Rocks I placed on her grave look to be undisturbed after all this time.  Hard to believe she died 9 years ago.  Working on a proper bronze marker for the spot.  96,88,72,0,B

Treasure I found while cleaning up.

Benita vs The Bird Nest

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the old girl

Feeling a bit nostalgic today.  My friend Jim Boatman posted some old pics today on Benita's Facebook page.  I would have to say that the most unique experience I have had since moving here was befriending an old longhorn cow that had lived wild for 20 years.  79,86,62, .14",C

The Benita Stamp

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Added Value

The wind kicked in around 4AM this morning...been gusty all day.  Found a way to pass the time out of the elements.  Been looking for a metal stamp of a longhorn to add to my ingots, but the only thing close is actually more of a buffalo (you call those horns?).  Decided to spend the day in the graphic design department here at TFL.  Downloaded a trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 and tweaked a picture of Benita to extract a sample to submit for an estimate for a custom metal stamp from http://www.infinitystamps.com/     54,59,52,0,W,.2

Thursday

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Thanksgiving 2012

I am thankful for the chance to have crossed paths with an old longhorn.  Dick Cain recently found this picture of her.  Benita with her first calf when she was only 2 1/2 yrs old - Fall of 1990 in Brenham, TX.  That year I was living in Manhattan and was just starting a set and prop building business in a loft in Brooklyn.  64,77,48, .16",B,0 

selfish ambition

I learned last week at church that Jesus spoke to Dick Cain's daughter Sheila.  Years before I had even met Sheila, she was instructed to tell her father to give Benita to me.  She had heard about me from her father and had been following the blog and knew of how I had cared for the old cow through my own compassion.  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to give aid to these beasts. These longhorns certainly appreciate compassion and affection.  The fundamental nature in all living things in God's creation is to seek pleasure and avoid pain.  When I found Benita, she was sickly and had just lost her calf.  My ambition was only to help the old girl and give her a few good last years.  Now I know that she was a gift from God to me...as is Ben.
Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 62,80,38,0,B,0

University of Texas School of Public Health

Great group out to visit this morning.  Bunch of masters and phd candidates.  Mandar, Aleisha, David, Ed, Jeff, Avi, Darwish... and Benita (in her first public appearance since her remains were found).  Gonna have to keep in touch with these brainiacs since I think they will have a lot to offer for the future.

Re-strung the fence lines since the grading.  I have a peculiar knack for the perpendicular so was able to square of the area first try.  Marked all the spots for the auger man.  Need 17 holes drilled - 3 each for 3 corners and 8 for the forth corner including the new pole barn.  Plan as of today is a fenced area of 314' x 166' with a 12' x 36' mansion for Ben and hay storage.  82,92,61,0,C,0

closure...

Dick Cain rode up today...he came across Benita's remains while driving some cattle - told me where to find her.  The skull and horns are in excellent condition thanks to mother nature.  The poor ol' girl died just a quarter mile east of TFL on the edge of some heavy mesquite...only about 20 ft. south of the trail I first followed when I went looking for her.  Marked the spot and brought the bones back home.  Was glad she was found - didn't feel sad till I watched the last video I shot of her.  It was an honor to have her trust.  She was always good with visitors - and she met a lot over her brief time at TFL.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0SyTzOXffs  90,99,64,0,B,0

The Kids from NY

Had a great visit from my new NY friends Wayne, Jason, Nadine, and Natasha.  They brought a very pleasant beer for me to sample.

Packed up 75 tshirt orders to ship out this week...thanks for supporting TFL!

Plants are doing their plant thing in the greenhouse.  83,91,46,0,B

Just found this vid today from a fellow John Wells on Facebook.  It I wasn't me, I wouldn't mind being him - he's talented, young and has hair.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NWv2g1BTF0

on demand...

Good longhorn fight at TFL this morning. 
On and off day digging up misting info.  I have this pump  http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_357081_357081
that someone gave me a couple of years ago to experiment with....can get hose and misting nozzles in Alpine.  The goal is to come up with an intermittent system that will make an acceptable difference in the courtyard using only 10 gallons per day.

Figured out why Carl has been spending most of the day inside the woo room - there is a mirror in there.  He spends a lot of time just standing in front of it.  A cactus rescue from last year has some nice new pads sprouting out. 

Had a call late this afternoon about a possible Benita sighting.  The same person told me this over a month ago and I found a good lookalike then.  Took another drive up to Taurus Mesa and sure enough - it was the same Benita-not.  Has to be one of her daughters though.  As long as I was there, I chatted her up and gave her a nice range feed snack.  77,90,56,0,C

still no sign...

Did a little more work on the greenhouse then checked another trail - still no sign.

Thanks for all the nice messages about Benita.  It was a very fortunate life event to have the experience of bonding with her the way I did.  Just like my good ol' dog Goldie ( who I adopted when she was 11 ) Benita was a retiree that I took on to provide a good quality of life in the final years.  I feel really good about that. 

This is the last photo I took of Benita...licking Mao who gave birth to Minimoo just days later.
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