Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

@Mini Horses
I have rain coming -- partly from that crappy ETA (or whoever!) Was hoping it would stay in your area! Ooooops...just not my area.
I need some rain - so I forgive you for wishing it on us, lol!

Well musical chairs used to be fun! Maybe the animals just don't know the rules of play.

HA! Got one more pig moved today. That's what she gets for liking belly rubs so much, lol. She'd lay down and I'd rub her tummy....then I'd stop and move about 6 feet closer to the pen. She'd come and lay at my feet again and I'd rub a minute and move again. Before she knew it she was in the new pen without ever knowing how it happened, lol!!

Moved and wormed the pygmy doe. Need to copper bolus...always something.

Bossman (the Kinder) is having too much fun chasing his girls all around the pasture - silly fella!

Oh...I grabbed one of the milkers that I tossed out in the pasture yesterday, tied her to a fence and milked her. Can't quite decide if I really, really want to stop milking. I won't get much more out of her but I could stretch it out for another 8 weeks or so.

 

[Mini Horses]

I dried my girls and regret not keeping one going. but things just kept getting in the way, so to speak, so...better for them. I have a couple gal frozen. Don't know when first kids arrive....early Mar for those I bred. Couple others may have slipped a quickie so, watching Jan/Feb.

 

[baymule]

This afternoon I plopped down in the garden and pulled nut grass. I got a thick mat of the stuff. Chickens, Sheba, Sentry and Trip for helpers. Trip stands in front of me, his ribs in my face and tries to lay in my lap. Basically I'm a dog sandwich. He hangs out on both ends and he is happy, I am smushed. I try to reach under, over him to pull nut grass and I laugh a lot. Sentry adored me, getting as close up against me as he could, his head on my leg. Sometimes up against my back, sometimes between my knees, hampering my efforts to pull nut grass. Trip would wander off, Sentry-never. For Sentry, I am the Center of the Universe. I invented food, air and water.

Sheba is wise to me. I bring food, give love and hugs and she is appreciative of that. She loves me and I love her. She was not impressed with pulling nut grass and flopped down in the shade of the tomatoes. I thought it a good time spent on chicken training-they could ignore the chickens while I didn't really watch them.....haha. Sheba started trailing the chickens and was getting intensely interested in them. I warned her with a low SHEBAAAA. She looked at me, looked at the chickens, her mind was trying to decide if the fun of chasing chickens was worth the paper feed sack beating she would get...... I could almost see her sigh and give up on the chickens. LOL

I got a wagon load of nut grass, enjoyed the dogs and it was a nice afternoon

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Basically I'm a dog sandwich.

Being the middle of a dog sandwich can't be a bad thing, lol! (unless you're trying to get something done) I don't know what it is about a people being on the ground that makes the dogs want to be all over you. I guess it's because you're down on their level.

Belle is funny around the chickens. Ever now and then she'll give 'em that sideways glance that she hopes I don't notice. Then she'll nonchalantly sidle over in their direction...then she'll look back at me...then she'll kinda sort take a couple steps in their direction... then I give her that Bellllllleeeeee yell and she kinda sinks down a few inches and acts like she was never even thinking about a chicken in the first place and why are you yelling at me when I wasn't doing anything wrong! You're so unfair!

 

[flowerbug]

Being the middle of a dog sandwich can't be a bad thing, lol! (unless you're trying to get something done) I don't know what it is about a people being on the ground that makes the dogs want to be all over you. I guess it's because you're down on their level.
...

puppy pile!

 

[flowerbug]

@baymule when pulling nutgrass are you going after the roots too? this late in the season there are likely roots with nuts on them, so you pretty much have to get after those or the nut grass will be back. so in effect, while weeding you are helping the problem, but if you want it to be more effective you have to do some rooting around.

more effective for pulling without rooting around would be in the early spring, but also as often as possible, but then you have to keep at it consistently and as the season wears on it gets very hard to keep up with such things.

i took out a patch this past summer that had been trying to take over part of a garden and had been gradually expanding because i kept topping it off but not being consistent enough with keeping after it. i sat there for a while and dug up the entire area and then went through the dirt by hand getting all the roots. since then i've had a few sprouts try to come back in that location, but instead of just taking the tops off i also dug around and found all the related pieces of roots that caused the sprouts. it has not returned this fall but next spring i expect to see a few sprouts from seeds or bits of root still hiding out, but that should be the last of it if i can manage to get all those parts out.

alas, eliminating it around here in the entire yard is nearly impossible because people kill off the cattails in the ditches using herbicides and the nutgrass comes in and takes over any chance it gets.

 

[baymule]

If you gently pull one, you get the root and nut, then the next one and the next. They are a mat of tangled roots, grass and nuts.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I am really enjoying the cooler weather and getting a few things done around here finally. Today the goats got their copper. I think I got everybody except the three doelings who weren't interested and one doe who was ummm busy... busy with the buck. Now - the buck stopped long enough to get his copper...guy had his priorities right, lol. He did his business, walked over to me got his copper, and went back to business. His little gal wasn't having any of it. I'll get her and the other three little ones in a couple days. I don't actually bolus - I mix the copper with pumpkin puree right outta the can and they will literally eat it off of a spoon. Pumpkin is the magic ingredient!

Moved some hay to the pen that I've got some sows in just in case they want to make a nest and have a baby or three. They're so fat it's hard to tell - but I'm pretty sure a couple of 'em are considering motherhood in a very serious way.

Then I moved the dregs of an old round bale that is breaking down really well up to the front so I can use it for mulch in the raised beds.

Haven't done a lick of housework, but I might go in the kitchen and put together some semblance of a meal.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Forgot to mention that Beau met the electric fence today - up close and personal....he was NOT impressed!

 

[flowerbug]

*makes popcorn wants to hear story*