Bahama Black Dog Ranch

12/26/2025

January might feel quiet in the garden, but it is the perfect time to start cool season vegetables indoors 🌱

Starting seeds early gives plants a strong head start before spring arrives. Crops like onions, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, and celery grow slowly and benefit from extra indoor time under lights. Strong seedlings mean earlier harvests and better yields once they move outside 🌞

If you garden in cooler zones, this simple step can make a big difference in how productive your season becomes.

12/22/2025

🗺 Did you know that the USDA plant hardiness zones were updated in 2023? Much of central is now in the 8a zone, one level warmer than the previous zone designation of 7b.

To see your zone, plug in your zip code on the USDA site ➡ planthardiness.ars.usda.gov

🌱 The plant hardiness map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, displayed as 10-degree F zones and 5-degree F half zones.

🌱 Hardiness zone information is a good place to begin understanding climate impact on your local landscape, but don't forget that wind, soil type and moisture, humidity and sunlight can affect the survival of your plants.

🌱 Also consider that plant hardiness is determined in the landscape and not in containers above ground.

Read more about and how to select the right plants for your landscape in this article by Extension Agent Minda Daughtry, N.C. Cooperative Extension, Jackson County Center ➡ swain.ces.ncsu.edu/2023/12/your-plant-hardiness-zone-the-usda-map-has-changed

📸 credit: USDA (planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/system/files/NC150_HS.png)

12/09/2025

FROM THE HORSE’S PERSPECTIVE:
Sight — How Horses Really See the World

Slick always notices changes in his environment.
Every. Single. One.

Especially when we come around the corner of the garage.

If there’s anything different... a rake leaning at a slightly new angle, a bucket set two feet to the right, a shadow that wasn’t there yesterday, he sees it instantly. Long before I ever do.

Moments like that remind me just how differently horses take in the world with their eyes.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

⭐ 1. Horses use two separate “cameras” most of the time

Each eye takes in its own picture. That gives them a panoramic view — amazing for detecting the slightest change in their surroundings, which is exactly what keeps them alive as prey animals.

But detail?
That takes a little more time and focus.

So when Slick looks at something from the left eye… and then the right eye… he’s not being dramatic.
He’s collecting two versions of the story.

⭐ 2. Depth perception only works when the head is LOW

This is one of the biggest things I see at obstacle clinics.

People want to lift their horse’s head at a bridge, at a ditch, at a tarp… but when a horse’s head is high, they lose their depth perception. They can’t judge distance, height, width, or how to place their feet.

When they lower their head, their eyes align, and suddenly the world makes sense.

They drop their head to:

examine the obstacle

judge depth

plan their foot placement

understand what’s in front of them

Lowering the head isn’t evasion.
It’s how they see well enough to feel safe.

⭐ 3. Horses have blind spots

Directly in front of the nose

Directly behind the tail

And a narrow zone when the head is high

This explains so much...

why they hesitate at something under their feet

why they shift sideways to “find” an object visually

why a sudden touch on the rump can surprise them

They aren’t ignoring us, they’re trying to locate a missing part of the picture.

⭐ 4. Horses see movement before detail

Their eyes evolved to notice ANY change first:
a shift in contrast, the flick of a leaf, a new angle of light.

That tiny change at the corner of the garage?
Slick sees it before my brain even registers that something is different.

Movement = information.
Detail comes later.

⭐ 5. Light, shadow, and contrast matter enormously

Walking from bright sun into a barn aisle is like us walking into a dark movie theater — except it takes horses much longer to adjust.

Full visual adaptation can take 20–45 minutes depending on conditions.

No wonder they pause at doorways, shadows, and sudden lighting changes.
Their eyes are working through a complete adjustment process that we barely think about.

⭐ My favorite part of understanding horse sight....

When we understand how horses SEE, their behavior stops feeling mysterious.

A raised head means they’re scanning.
A lowered head means they’re focusing.
A pause means they’re gathering information.
A hesitation means they’re trying to make sense of the picture.

They’re navigating the world with the eyes they’ve been given —
and they do it exceptionally well.

Another beautiful reminder of just how incredible these animals truly are. 💛🐴

Photo credit Foxglove Photography

12/02/2025

FROM THE HORSE’S PERSPECTIVE:
Hearing What We Can’t

I was cleaning stalls tonight while the boys were munching hay. It was windy, dark, just typical November noise. And suddenly Slick froze, lifted his head, and locked onto the field.

I didn’t hear a thing.

But he did.

I shined my light out there… and sure enough, three deer were walking on the other side of the fence.

Here’s the thing most people don’t realize:

👉 Horses hear things we will never pick up.
👉 They hear higher frequencies, farther away, and through wind and background noise.
👉 Each ear moves like a little radar dish, giving them a 360° scan of their world.

And their brain filters all that sound straight through the survival system before we even register there’s something to pay attention to.

They’re doing exactly what a prey animal’s brain is designed to do:
detect change long before danger ever arrives.

Slick knew those deer were there long before I ever did.

And moments like that always remind me just how intriguing and exceptional horses really are. 💛🐴

08/30/2025

HUMMINGBIRD HELP: Our Ruby-throated hummingbirds are heading back south on their annual fall migration. Please consider keeping the hummingbird feeders out and stocked with hummingbird nectar now through at least late October. One part white sugar and four parts water works! The most common and heaviest concentration of the Ruby-throated humming bird is zipping southward with the arrival of yet another cold front across the eastern United States.

The tiny hummingbird is incredible and can flap their wings up to 80 times per second with a heartbeat of over 1,260 per minute! That burns a lot of energy and requires calories and frequent feedings during peak migration into September. Hummingbirds can feed every 10-15 minutes and can consume up to 3 times their body weight in daily food as they migrate southward during the day.

If you've seen them hungry and at your feeders in great numbers recently, this is why! Keep them fed and spread the word. Safe travels as this migrations takes the next several weeks, see you again in the Spring!

03/28/2025

THIS IS NOT GOOD.
You know I am a beekeeper and there is great reason for concern.
Honeybee deaths have hit record highs in the US, with the unprecedented loss of colonies pushing many beekeepers close to ruin as scientists scramble to identify the main cause of the huge declines. Commercial beekeepers have reported losing more than 60% of their colonies, on average, over the winter, according to an ongoing Project Apis survey that covers more than two-thirds of America’s managed bees.
The loss of bees, both captive and wild, in the US is already starting to limit the supply of some food crops and is reducing the yield of honey.
There are likely many factors causing the decline.
What can you do?
We’ll if you are up to it try beekeeping.
It is an awesome hobby and I’ll help you.
Also, plant bee friendly plants.
Some that are particularly alluring to bees include: Lavender, Sunflowers, Clover, Wildflowers, Borage, Rosemary, Coneflowers, Monarda (bee balm), Blueberries, Black-eyed Susans.
Let your lawn grow with clover a couple months out of the summer.
And DO NOT use nasty chemical pesticides harmful to bees.
There are safer alternatives.
Do your part.
PROTECTING BEES BENEFITS US ALL.

03/18/2025