Last week brought some lovely temps to work outside in and we maximized our time, that's for sure!
Stringing the first line...
Beginning brace (entrance to the orchard)...
Cross fence...
And there it is!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Fencing
Welp, after all the buildup, we managed to take down approximately 3200' (NOT EVEN HALF) of 4 strand smooth twisted wire and in its place strung 5 strand high tensile to create 2 usable pastures and an orchard!
Last week brought some lovely temps to work outside in and we maximized our time, that's for sure!
Stringing the first line...
Beginning brace (entrance to the orchard)...
Cross fence...
And there it is!
Last week brought some lovely temps to work outside in and we maximized our time, that's for sure!
Stringing the first line...
Beginning brace (entrance to the orchard)...
Cross fence...
And there it is!
Crappy Bottle Babies
Why are we bottle feeding? It's a long story...but not really. Fleur was a bottle baby herself. Why do people bottle raise? Disease prevention, etc. I won't go any further than that. Because Fleur was a bottle baby, she's clueless when it comes to feeding her own. She's a good baby sitter, that's about all, so I took all 3 of her kids.
Then comes Freedoe's three and I figured I'd be selling 2 of Fleur's and that would mean there was a bottle baby all alone, so que "Chee Doe". So, we have 4 bottle babies and I hate every one of them. I don't hate the goats, I hate the act. 4 bottles a day, milking required, bottle cleaning, crappy bottle babies who love you for nothing more than the bottles you bring. They are cute and cuddly from afar. I am raising them with the herd so at least they are eating hay like normal kids their age and can learn how to be a goat and not a pet dog but the jumping and the nipping and the whining, GOD!
If nothing else, it's a good experience- one I'll not soon repeat- and it'll look good in Rachel's 4-H folder.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Gunpowder and Lead Continued...
I have just a second to jot down why King wasn't at the fence when the coyote episode lead to Jeremiah being outside in his underwear holding a loaded shotgun in freezing temps the other morning.
The day before when Jeremiah was leaving for work we saw King up near the road. This time of year without leaves on the trees, we can see much of the road. Jeremiah said the dog was up near the road and of course I freaked out and sternly told him to come to which he obliged but somewhat unhappily.
I've come to learn that LGD's have a mind of their own, or at least this one does. Not that most animals don't but I've been told LGD's can be somewhat stubborn and take a firmer hand but that's part of why they are so smart, at least with King. He's obedient, though somewhat unhappily at times. Butters was just an idiot. Not that we didn't love him and not that he wasn't a kind idiot, we tried and tried to get him to stop running, in the end, that was just Butters. But aside from that and back to my story, I called King back and Jeremiah said he had a bloody paw. By the looks of things, I figured he was eating on something.
Sure enough, no sooner than I put him in the garage to deal with the morning, Jeremiah called from the road in the car to say a deer had been hit and was laying in the ditch. That's not uncommon at all. Uncommon thus far to have one hit in the front yard, but dead animals are a pretty common site along the road.
At any rate, I knew if I put him back in the goat pen he'd just get back out so what's a girl to do but drag the dead deer carcass to him? So, that's what I did and he was happy. If you'll remember right, King needed a new home, which is how he came to us, because at his last owners he was visiting the meat locker in town. I had gotten him a bone a couple of days before but why would a bone be good enough when he had a whole damn deer at his disposal?
That was the night of the "Gunpowder and Lead" episode. I drug the deer into an "open" pen so that he could chew on it without the goats getting to it. It wasn't that I thought they'd gnaw on it, I just didn't want them to see their fellow kind lying dead and disemboweled. Sorry, maybe that's too much information.
I know what some of you are thinking, you're letting the same dog who is eating on a deer live amongst your goats??? Well, yes, yes I am. What can I say? Obviously he knows the difference and it's not like he went out and killed the deer. He was just getting some good eats.
And some of you may also be thinking, "OH LORD, SHE DRUG A DEAD DEER TO THE BACK FOR HER DOG TO CHEW ON??" Yes, I did that too. What else was I supposed to do? I wasn't about to bury it. It's good meat, our dog wanted it, and it's not like I killed it! So, why be wasteful!? Perhaps I'll need to flip the "Trashy People Live Here" sign back because we were doing so good for so long. What, with me hanging laundry to dry on an actual clothes line instead of our cattle panel back yard fence-never mind that it's sunk into the loamy soil so far that the jeans drag on the ground and the fact my boys still pee in the yard and now we had a whole dead deer I pilfered off the road and drug into the back yard for dog food!
Now that that's out of the way- I had shut the gate partially enough to the (renamed "dead deer") pen so the goats probably wouldn't spend the time trying to squeeze though but the dog could. It ended up that he got locked into that pen and so the morning of the coyote sighting the poor guy was locked up and best I can figure he knew where his carcass was, he couldn't get out so why bother barking? I don't know if that's true. I do know he coudn't get out. I know I didn't hear him and I know that's why he didn't come when I called. Maybe he thought he was in trouble and should mind his P's and Q's. I can't say for sure. Hell, maybe he was way out back, I don't know. What I do know is he was locked in that pen when Jeremiah and I went out once we were dressed.
What I can say is that yes, he's naughty for getting out to get the deer, but we can't stop that. Seriously, we really can't. Even if we put up a block wall around the whole entire property, he'd get out. It scares me that he goes up to the road but I can only hope that he has enough good sense, and he seems to, to stay the hell off of it. If not, what else can we do? Chain him? What good is he then and what kind of life is that? So, in the end King will do what he wants. He knows where he lives, he's not a jumpety dog who runs everywhere he goes and so we hope for the best. It's not as if he spends every night out...he's just curious and while he has gotten out of the pen, it's normally because we're on the other side and he just wants to be with someone other than goats who have disdain for him and babies that like to jump on him. Do you blame him?
Anyway, I can say without a shadow of a doubt he's a good protector. We've had coyotes here every night/morning and he's sent them on their way. Jeremiah has gone out a number of mornings to do some population control only for them to be gone by the time he was dressed and ready to go because of King. A couple days ago the dang deer smelled so bad Jeremiah and I drug it out of the pen to the back 40, hauled the trailer out there and have plans to do a steak out. I think the trailer has kind of thwarted our efforts because I haven't heard coyotes in a few mornings until this morning when I got Jeremiah up again at about 4:30 AM to go out with the gun but King had chased them off, literally. He got out of the pen and chased them somewhere out back. They were close this morning again too. By the sound of it, probably out back by the deer carcass so not as near as the back yard like the other day but still, they don't need to be here. They can go eat someone elses cats...or goats.
All of this sounds like we're on high alert with these darn coyotes. To be honest, since getting King I haven't felt at all afraid for the goats...well, except the one morning when I was woken from a sound sleep and can't hear my dog! He's there and he does his job well..except when he's not and he isn't...you know? I know I can count on King...except when I can't :o)...unlike all the other stupid dogs in the neighborhood, to alert me when something's there because he only barks when something is. Or at least I assume. While the other dogs are yapping away, he's gone quiet. He knows. And while I don't have a problem initiating some population control on the coyote population, I also don't feel we have to either because the goats are safe. So, at least for today, the coyotes will live another day.
Yesterday morning around about 7:45 while I was in the milk room he started in barking and running to the east fence, I looked out and saw 4 deer jumping across the pasture to the north. So pretty much, he hates coyotes and deer. He knows the difference too between domestic dog and coyote...it's uncanny.
So, that's that. We're back to being trashy, our dog does well when he's not locked up with a carcass and being outside in your underwear before it's light out and freezing makes for a good story.
The end.
The day before when Jeremiah was leaving for work we saw King up near the road. This time of year without leaves on the trees, we can see much of the road. Jeremiah said the dog was up near the road and of course I freaked out and sternly told him to come to which he obliged but somewhat unhappily.
I've come to learn that LGD's have a mind of their own, or at least this one does. Not that most animals don't but I've been told LGD's can be somewhat stubborn and take a firmer hand but that's part of why they are so smart, at least with King. He's obedient, though somewhat unhappily at times. Butters was just an idiot. Not that we didn't love him and not that he wasn't a kind idiot, we tried and tried to get him to stop running, in the end, that was just Butters. But aside from that and back to my story, I called King back and Jeremiah said he had a bloody paw. By the looks of things, I figured he was eating on something.
Sure enough, no sooner than I put him in the garage to deal with the morning, Jeremiah called from the road in the car to say a deer had been hit and was laying in the ditch. That's not uncommon at all. Uncommon thus far to have one hit in the front yard, but dead animals are a pretty common site along the road.
At any rate, I knew if I put him back in the goat pen he'd just get back out so what's a girl to do but drag the dead deer carcass to him? So, that's what I did and he was happy. If you'll remember right, King needed a new home, which is how he came to us, because at his last owners he was visiting the meat locker in town. I had gotten him a bone a couple of days before but why would a bone be good enough when he had a whole damn deer at his disposal?
That was the night of the "Gunpowder and Lead" episode. I drug the deer into an "open" pen so that he could chew on it without the goats getting to it. It wasn't that I thought they'd gnaw on it, I just didn't want them to see their fellow kind lying dead and disemboweled. Sorry, maybe that's too much information.
I know what some of you are thinking, you're letting the same dog who is eating on a deer live amongst your goats??? Well, yes, yes I am. What can I say? Obviously he knows the difference and it's not like he went out and killed the deer. He was just getting some good eats.
And some of you may also be thinking, "OH LORD, SHE DRUG A DEAD DEER TO THE BACK FOR HER DOG TO CHEW ON??" Yes, I did that too. What else was I supposed to do? I wasn't about to bury it. It's good meat, our dog wanted it, and it's not like I killed it! So, why be wasteful!? Perhaps I'll need to flip the "Trashy People Live Here" sign back because we were doing so good for so long. What, with me hanging laundry to dry on an actual clothes line instead of our cattle panel back yard fence-never mind that it's sunk into the loamy soil so far that the jeans drag on the ground and the fact my boys still pee in the yard and now we had a whole dead deer I pilfered off the road and drug into the back yard for dog food!
Now that that's out of the way- I had shut the gate partially enough to the (renamed "dead deer") pen so the goats probably wouldn't spend the time trying to squeeze though but the dog could. It ended up that he got locked into that pen and so the morning of the coyote sighting the poor guy was locked up and best I can figure he knew where his carcass was, he couldn't get out so why bother barking? I don't know if that's true. I do know he coudn't get out. I know I didn't hear him and I know that's why he didn't come when I called. Maybe he thought he was in trouble and should mind his P's and Q's. I can't say for sure. Hell, maybe he was way out back, I don't know. What I do know is he was locked in that pen when Jeremiah and I went out once we were dressed.
What I can say is that yes, he's naughty for getting out to get the deer, but we can't stop that. Seriously, we really can't. Even if we put up a block wall around the whole entire property, he'd get out. It scares me that he goes up to the road but I can only hope that he has enough good sense, and he seems to, to stay the hell off of it. If not, what else can we do? Chain him? What good is he then and what kind of life is that? So, in the end King will do what he wants. He knows where he lives, he's not a jumpety dog who runs everywhere he goes and so we hope for the best. It's not as if he spends every night out...he's just curious and while he has gotten out of the pen, it's normally because we're on the other side and he just wants to be with someone other than goats who have disdain for him and babies that like to jump on him. Do you blame him?
Anyway, I can say without a shadow of a doubt he's a good protector. We've had coyotes here every night/morning and he's sent them on their way. Jeremiah has gone out a number of mornings to do some population control only for them to be gone by the time he was dressed and ready to go because of King. A couple days ago the dang deer smelled so bad Jeremiah and I drug it out of the pen to the back 40, hauled the trailer out there and have plans to do a steak out. I think the trailer has kind of thwarted our efforts because I haven't heard coyotes in a few mornings until this morning when I got Jeremiah up again at about 4:30 AM to go out with the gun but King had chased them off, literally. He got out of the pen and chased them somewhere out back. They were close this morning again too. By the sound of it, probably out back by the deer carcass so not as near as the back yard like the other day but still, they don't need to be here. They can go eat someone elses cats...or goats.
All of this sounds like we're on high alert with these darn coyotes. To be honest, since getting King I haven't felt at all afraid for the goats...well, except the one morning when I was woken from a sound sleep and can't hear my dog! He's there and he does his job well..except when he's not and he isn't...you know? I know I can count on King...except when I can't :o)...unlike all the other stupid dogs in the neighborhood, to alert me when something's there because he only barks when something is. Or at least I assume. While the other dogs are yapping away, he's gone quiet. He knows. And while I don't have a problem initiating some population control on the coyote population, I also don't feel we have to either because the goats are safe. So, at least for today, the coyotes will live another day.
Yesterday morning around about 7:45 while I was in the milk room he started in barking and running to the east fence, I looked out and saw 4 deer jumping across the pasture to the north. So pretty much, he hates coyotes and deer. He knows the difference too between domestic dog and coyote...it's uncanny.
So, that's that. We're back to being trashy, our dog does well when he's not locked up with a carcass and being outside in your underwear before it's light out and freezing makes for a good story.
The end.
Monday, March 21, 2011
I need beer
It's Spring Break. Friday afternoon we spent the afternoon and evening fence supply shopping. In true fashion, we've been to town twice now and will have to make a few other trips yet.
We've decided to play it safe and do about a 520' pasture on the east side of the property instead of going hog wild and trying the whole thing. To be honest, taking down the fencing proved to be more work than I imagined but yesterday, in the lovely 70 degree sun, we were able to remove approximately 1,000 feet of 4 strand twisted wire. Our neighbor came over to remove and cut back some trees on his side and he used his tractor to remove quite a few rotten posts and incorrectly place (for our application) t posts.
Because we don't have an auger and because we don't want to dig post holes by hand, we're going with a t post and "Wedge loc" application. Our neighbor is skeptical but I've done about as much research as a person can do on the Wedge Loc system and it all seems sound. The only cynical information is from people who haven't used it themselves and the positives are from people who have used it. We've put up double "H" brace corner braces in about 15 minutes including getting the posts pounded in, try doing that with wood. While the whole system, quite honestly, is actually more expensive than traditional wood, the ease of use far outweighs the cost.
I've got some photos of a completed brace I'll show you later on.
We wanted to get to stringing today but odd jobs took a bunch of time. Tomorrow AM we'll get started stringing the fence line and providing nothing else comes up, I should have a completed pasture by noon. The neighbor's skeptical about that too. High tensile is not typical so explaining its ease of application is a bit difficult but once it's up, I'll win 'em over.
The grass is greening up here. We had rain on Saturday but it's been in the 80's yesterday and today...too hot in fact but I'll take it over negatives and snow.
About the title... Kansas is a dry state on Sundays. We learned the hard way that if you run out of beer on Saturday night, you had better make it to the liquor store/grocery store before midnight if you're going to need beer on Sunday (or have a really generous neighbor). While we didn't run out of beer on Saturday and while we're not huge beer drinkers, when a person wants a beer, they're sure nice to have around! We were at Walmart a few weeks ago on a Sunday. We drug a 12 pack up to the front to be asked/told by the cashier, "You know I can't sell you this right?". Jeremiah's response was, "Yeah, we knew that but we just like dragging beer through the whole store!". He didn't really say it out loud. Anyway, so yeah, no liquor on Sundays.
Course, Sunday is when we started on the fence and I cannot tell you how many times Jeremiah wished he had a beer! I felt like hitting him with a rock...or a t post. Finally, he conned the neighbor into getting us a couple nice cold ones from his fridge. He was happy to oblige and personally I felt like Andy Dufresne and his prison buddies in Shawshank Redemption out there drinking ice cold beer after a hard day's work.
We've decided to play it safe and do about a 520' pasture on the east side of the property instead of going hog wild and trying the whole thing. To be honest, taking down the fencing proved to be more work than I imagined but yesterday, in the lovely 70 degree sun, we were able to remove approximately 1,000 feet of 4 strand twisted wire. Our neighbor came over to remove and cut back some trees on his side and he used his tractor to remove quite a few rotten posts and incorrectly place (for our application) t posts.
Because we don't have an auger and because we don't want to dig post holes by hand, we're going with a t post and "Wedge loc" application. Our neighbor is skeptical but I've done about as much research as a person can do on the Wedge Loc system and it all seems sound. The only cynical information is from people who haven't used it themselves and the positives are from people who have used it. We've put up double "H" brace corner braces in about 15 minutes including getting the posts pounded in, try doing that with wood. While the whole system, quite honestly, is actually more expensive than traditional wood, the ease of use far outweighs the cost.
I've got some photos of a completed brace I'll show you later on.
We wanted to get to stringing today but odd jobs took a bunch of time. Tomorrow AM we'll get started stringing the fence line and providing nothing else comes up, I should have a completed pasture by noon. The neighbor's skeptical about that too. High tensile is not typical so explaining its ease of application is a bit difficult but once it's up, I'll win 'em over.
The grass is greening up here. We had rain on Saturday but it's been in the 80's yesterday and today...too hot in fact but I'll take it over negatives and snow.
About the title... Kansas is a dry state on Sundays. We learned the hard way that if you run out of beer on Saturday night, you had better make it to the liquor store/grocery store before midnight if you're going to need beer on Sunday (or have a really generous neighbor). While we didn't run out of beer on Saturday and while we're not huge beer drinkers, when a person wants a beer, they're sure nice to have around! We were at Walmart a few weeks ago on a Sunday. We drug a 12 pack up to the front to be asked/told by the cashier, "You know I can't sell you this right?". Jeremiah's response was, "Yeah, we knew that but we just like dragging beer through the whole store!". He didn't really say it out loud. Anyway, so yeah, no liquor on Sundays.
Course, Sunday is when we started on the fence and I cannot tell you how many times Jeremiah wished he had a beer! I felt like hitting him with a rock...or a t post. Finally, he conned the neighbor into getting us a couple nice cold ones from his fridge. He was happy to oblige and personally I felt like Andy Dufresne and his prison buddies in Shawshank Redemption out there drinking ice cold beer after a hard day's work.
 |
| He really does love them!!! |
 |
| The first brace goes in! |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Meet the Saturday Triplets
Had another set of triplets born to Freedoe on Saturday- one little doe and 2 buck kids.
Meet Chee Doe...
& B7 and B8
Meet Chee Doe...
& B7 and B8
Gunpowder and Lead
Here's some humor for you. Imagine this if you will -or you may not actually want to-. I was coming out of REM sleep around 5 AM this morning dreaming about something, though I couldn't tell you what. I hear dogs barking -which isn't at all unusual- and the distinct yip yip yip howl from a coyote, and it is CLOSE!
Thoughts about why I can't hear King barking along with saving the babies and everything else run through my head as I fumble down the hallway, and into the garage to put my barn shoes on. I nearly fall off the landing of the stairs, but managed to get down those somehow without killing myself to turn on the back yard flood light and I saw coyote(s) eyes at the goat yard fence. Where King is I don't know. I call for him, he doesn't answer, doesn't come. It's not like him at all. "Did he run after some?" What's going on?" I think. I run back inside, still partly asleep mind you, disoriented, adrenaline pumping and I scream for Jeremiah to, "Get the gun. Coyotes are in the back yard."
Poor man, I don't think I was done with my sentence before he was up, shot gun shells laying on the bed, throwing them one by one into the gun...good soldier! Here he comes down the hall and hangs a right to the living room instead of b-lining it to the garage door and I'm thinking, "go out the back!". He grabs his can of tobacco and says, "If I am going to kill me some coyotes, I need tobacco". "Really? Seriously?", I think and roll my eyes and shake my head.
The rest of the story isn't important. It ends up that all the goats and babies are safe, King the dog is still there and the coyote(s) run off. The hysterical part in all of this is, it's in the low 30's! There my husband is, at 5 AM, loaded shotgun in hand, standing on the back patio squinting through the darkness, startled awake by his wife's screaming, tobacco in his mouth, in the dark, IN NOTHING BUT HIS UNDERWEAR! Yes my friends, if this scenario fits you, YOU might be a redneck!
Dear sweet man, who couldn't love someone who does that fer ya??? To top it all off, he was ready to walk out to the barn like that before I told him to hold on while I got him some clothes.
Thoughts about why I can't hear King barking along with saving the babies and everything else run through my head as I fumble down the hallway, and into the garage to put my barn shoes on. I nearly fall off the landing of the stairs, but managed to get down those somehow without killing myself to turn on the back yard flood light and I saw coyote(s) eyes at the goat yard fence. Where King is I don't know. I call for him, he doesn't answer, doesn't come. It's not like him at all. "Did he run after some?" What's going on?" I think. I run back inside, still partly asleep mind you, disoriented, adrenaline pumping and I scream for Jeremiah to, "Get the gun. Coyotes are in the back yard."
Poor man, I don't think I was done with my sentence before he was up, shot gun shells laying on the bed, throwing them one by one into the gun...good soldier! Here he comes down the hall and hangs a right to the living room instead of b-lining it to the garage door and I'm thinking, "go out the back!". He grabs his can of tobacco and says, "If I am going to kill me some coyotes, I need tobacco". "Really? Seriously?", I think and roll my eyes and shake my head.
The rest of the story isn't important. It ends up that all the goats and babies are safe, King the dog is still there and the coyote(s) run off. The hysterical part in all of this is, it's in the low 30's! There my husband is, at 5 AM, loaded shotgun in hand, standing on the back patio squinting through the darkness, startled awake by his wife's screaming, tobacco in his mouth, in the dark, IN NOTHING BUT HIS UNDERWEAR! Yes my friends, if this scenario fits you, YOU might be a redneck!
Dear sweet man, who couldn't love someone who does that fer ya??? To top it all off, he was ready to walk out to the barn like that before I told him to hold on while I got him some clothes.
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