Windsong Ranch

06/19/2026

This is so much better than using pesticides.

Danish Farmers Spread Joy 🧑‍🌾
The colorful flower strips along Danish fields are much more than just a beautiful sight. They serve as tiny oases for beneficial insects that help farmers protect their crops from pests in a completely natural way.
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Ladybugs are among the most well-known helpers. Both the adult beetles and their larvae feed on aphids, which can damage crops by sucking sap from the plants. A single ladybug can eat massive amounts of aphids every day, while its larvae are even more voracious.
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But ladybugs are far from alone. The flower strips also attract hoverflies, lacewings, parasitic wasps, and other beneficial insects. What they all have in common is that they are natural enemies of many agricultural pests, helping to keep their populations in check.
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This method is called conservation biological control. Instead of fighting pests directly, farmers create ideal habitats for the insects that do the work for free. The flowers provide nectar and pollen, which give these beneficial insects energy, extend their lifespan, and boost their reproduction. By the time the pests show up in the field, their natural predators are already standing by.
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Studies show that fields with flower strips often host far more beneficial insects than fields without them. This means that nature’s own defense mechanisms are given a better chance to keep pests under control.
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At the same time, these flower strips benefit biodiversity. They create food and habitats for bees, butterflies, and many other insects, which in turn become food for birds and other wildlife. In this way, they contribute to a more diverse and resilient landscape.
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Researchers are continuously working to identify the flower species that have the greatest impact on different crops and regions of the country. The goal is to design flower strip mixes that attract the most effective insects, thereby providing farmers with the best possible natural protection for their crops.
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Therefore, what looks to many like just a pretty strip of flowers along a field is actually a living defense system where nature helps nature.

06/12/2026

During early Spring breeding season and late Spring/early Summer birthing season, skunks have been active around our place and across much of Texas for the last few months. We're grateful that none of our dogs have gotten a direct spray so far this year, but we have friends whose dogs were not so lucky. I don't think anyone likes dealing with the spray from a skunk, and we do worry about skunks being a vector for rabies. And yet in spite of all that, we recognize that skunks have an important role to play in the ecosystem. Read more from the Smithsonian!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cfy5ghoKV/

If you live in the continental United States, chances are you’re never far from a striped skunk. 🦨

Sure, they can be stinky, but striped skunks play an important role across most environments as medium-sized omnivores. They'll eat most things: rodents, insects, fruits, roots and even carrion, making them an essential part of the food web.

Keep your distance and these striking animals can make for great neighbors. Get too close and you might find yourself with a smelly souvenir; scientists consider a skunk's spray to be one of the most effective chemical defenses in the animal kingdom. Luckily, skunks will give you plenty of warning signs before they spray.

Visit https://s.si.edu/4vHpQuT to learn more about striped skunks, whom author Ernest Thompson Seton once called "the proper emblem of America."

Photo: Clyde Nishimura, Smithsonian

05/19/2026

This is an important reminder from our friends at 17 Acre Woods. Balloons can be hazardous to the health of livestock/farm animals, pets/domestic animals, and wildlife alike. There's just nothing good that comes from releasing balloons into the atmosphere. If it makes you feel good momentarily, watching it fly away and thinking you're doing something to honor the memory of a loved one who has died, please just STOP and think of the animals who are still alive, and who don't deserve to die because they're attracted to the balloon. Surely you can find a less harmful way to honor the memory of your loved one. Be sure to click through to see the comments on the original post to see a screenshot from another rancher, showing the loss they suffered because of a balloon.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EMuUk6PWG/

Public Service Announcement: A polite reminder to refrain from releasing balloons into the air. We discovered one in the pasture near the sheep this morning, and our animals' curiosity may lead them to ingest it, which can be fatal.

04/25/2026

Our friends Molly and Chris have some beautiful lambs available!

04/25/2026

There are a few feral hogs in the fallow pasture adjacent to us on the west. We never had to worry about them breaching our perimeter fence because we have LGDs in most pastures, and they are a serious deterrent. When we bought this property, we put up 5' tall "no climb" woven wire fencing on T-posts because we knew from experience this would be a good option with our Nigerian Dwarf goats and LGDs. But when we added longhorns, they proved to be harder on the fence than we could ever have imagined. They lean on it, reaching toward grass/weeds on the other side, because of course, they think the grass is greener on the other side. 🙄 After a few years of this, some of the T-posts were leaning at something like a 60-70 degree angle -- just enough to create a gap at the bottom, where the fence no longer touches the ground.

We have one small pasture that we only rotate goats and LGDs in occasionally, just enough to keep the pasture cropped. We had put our longhorn bull in this pasture for a while, and he damaged the fence enough that we had to take it out of rotation, because goats and LGDs alike could fit under the fence. Before we could get a contractor out here to take care of the fence, the feral hogs realized there were no longer any LGDs in this pasture, and they came under the fence. I've only ever seen three feral hogs at a time in the neighboring pasture, but they rooted up the soil and made it look like there had been a dozen or more hogs tearing things up. We bit the bullet and spent the money to put up pipe fencing with both top and bottom rails, with no-climb attached to it. It was expensive, but it was the only way to keep the longhorns from doing further damage. Well -- maybe it wasn't he only way? Some people have had luck with multi-strand hot wire, but for us, pipe seemed like the best option.

Considering how much damage was done by just a few feral hogs, I can't even begin to imagine how awful it would be to have as many as you can see in this photo. There may be more feral hogs in the adjacent pasture than I've ever seen, so I'm grateful that the combination of good fencing and working LGDs in the pasture keeps the hogs away from our place.

In East Texas, a sounder of feral hogs dismantled a multi-million dollar residential golf course in under 48 hours. The destruction looked like a "fleet of rogue rototillers," as the hogs used their powerful snouts to flip thousands of square feet of expensive Bermuda sod to reach grubs beneath.

The damage went beyond the surface; the hogs targeted subterranean irrigation lines, crushing PVC pipes and snapping sprinkler heads, which caused massive flooding. By excavating under the pavement, they also caused newly paved golf cart paths to crack and collapse. Total repairs for the single weekend were estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Texas A&M AgriLife experts cite this as a prime example of why feral hogs are North America's most destructive invasive species. Beyond property damage, their rooting causes silt runoff that clogs community filtration systems. This case, documented by the Texas Department of Agriculture, highlights the relentless physical power of an animal that costs the U.S. billions in annual infrastructure damage.

04/16/2026

This is an amazing video!

https://youtu.be/W88Sact1kws?si=vWo86MR4AFgKkuDj

There are apparently no more wild wolves in Texas, so we haven't had to deal with them as predators, nor have we had to deal with problems that are a natural result of the loss of wolves. HOWEVER, we HAVE had to deal with problems that come from the "loss" of one of our area's most common predators -- coyotes. The coyotes aren't really LOST -- they just have moved away from our place.

Our 16.5 acres is surrounded by hundreds of acres, most of which is unimproved. We do have a neighbor to the north -- one home and barns on I think about 50 acres. But the adjacent properties to our south and west are each more than 100 acres of open fields. There were a LOT of coyotes here when we first bought this place, but as we have added more dogs to our place, the coyotes have learned to steer clear.

Our entire perimeter is fenced with 5' tall dog-secure fencing, so we don't generally have to worry about our dogs escaping or about coyotes breaching the fence to come after our livestock. But because we have more dogs per acre than probably any property for miles around, the coyotes seem to think that our area is too dangerous, and as far as we can tell, they no longer make their homes in the empty fields around us. But the small wildlife is still there, and they are FLOURISHING.

Without coyotes to reduce their numbers, rabbits, squirrels, field mice, and rats proliferate. Too many of the rodents have come through our fences and made their way into our barns, garage, and other outbuildings. Squirrels have blown out the transformer on the power pole in front of our house on multiple occasions -- twice on a single day last summer, and three times in one week last fall. We have spent thousands of dollars to repair rodent damage to our vehicles, golf cart, and tractor.

It's ironic that by keeping our livestock safe, we have created this other problem. But please understand, this is not a problem most ranchers face. Most ranchers don't have dozens of dogs patrolling their property. Our situation is different, so we would never discourage anyone from adopting an LGD to protect their stock. But in our case, it's pretty clear that not having predators around to feast on the rodents has really changed the natural balance.

Our barn cats can't keep up, so we adopted two Jack Russell Terriers to help. And we are using live traps to try to catch and remove as many rodents as possible. I really wish the dadgum coyotes were smart enough to realize that they could still make their home in the fields around us, but just need to stay outside of our perimeter fence. Or rat snakes -- where are the rat-eating snakes that should be feasting on these rodents? I would LOVE to have some rat snakes in the fields beyond our fence lines -- better for them to stay beyond the reach of our dogs, but goodness they could eat well!

Oh well. Enjoy this video and understand how much difference a single species can make in our environment. We really need to learn to live in peace with as many creatures as we can.

Embark on a journey to Yellowstone, where a few wolves did not just roam, but rewrote the rules of an entire ecosystem. Discover how these majestic predators...

04/14/2026

04/04/2026

Opossums are beneficial! They eat ticks and crickets and small rodents and other critters that we don’t want. In 12+ years here, we’ve only ever seen one opossum. They probably steer clear because of the number of dogs here. But I would welcome them to make themselves at home in the areas where our dogs don’t live.

Can you believe those toes?!?!?

Meet Virginia opossum 26-1098. This precious little baby was orphaned when mom was killed by a dog. Luckily, someone got it to the Oklahoma State College of Veterinary Medicine who held onto it until we could arrange for one of WildCareOklahoma's AMAZING volunteers to transport it to our facility in Noble for care.

During baby season, please keep your eyes on dogs and cats - dogs on leashes and cats indoors. Dog and cat attacks are reasons two and four for wildlife needing help from WildCareOklahoma. While dogs and cats are beloved family members, they are disastrous for wildlife both at the individual level and population level.

Luckily, this Virginia opossum was found by a caring Okahoman who got the help it needed!

Photo credit: Andrea Velez, CWR,

04/03/2026

There's good advice in this post for anyone who might be battling raccoons or squirrels in your attic!

When we lived at Ten Mile Farm, our chicken coop was really close to the back perimeter fence, and was not accessible to our livestock guardian dogs. Thankfully, we had electricity in the barn, so we ran an extension cord into the chicken coop to power a small radio. I tried a few different stations, but settled on a sports talk station for the best results in keeping predators away. I've never been a big sports fan, so during those years, Tim was always surprised when I would tell him about some interesting sports story I had heard. I stayed pretty well informed thanks to "Hen House Radio," and the constant talk was a good deterrent for raccoons. Now, at Windsong Ranch, we don't have electricity in our chicken coop, but thankfully, our dogs do a good job of keeping predators away.