Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Thanks GG! Three weeks later, a course of antibiotics and I'm better - still coughing and draining but not really so sick anymore.

It's been raining here for more than 24 hours - and earlier when I said I was exaggerating about putting floaties on the chickens - I'm thinking that might need to happen. The water has come up under their shed and it is sooo wet, nasty and gross. I've literally had to put dog kennels in there up on bricks so they have a dry place to hunker down. It's about as nasty as it's ever been out there now and it's soooo depressing.

There WILL be a big project coming up in the spring/summer. I've decided that I'm not gonna put up with this anymore. The drainage problems have gotten worse the last few years and it just makes things miserable for critters and me. Stay tuned...

 

[Denim Deb]

We've been getting so much rain here that the farm just doesn't have a chance to dry out completely. My field is better than most because of the work I've done, but other areas are nothing but mud. When I finally get my own place, I want soil more like what I have at home. It has more sand than clay, so it drains fairly quickly.

 

[goatgurl]

FEM, you need some of my good old garlic save to rub on your chest and face..yes face it so helps with your sinus congestion. take a cup of olive or coconut oil, slice 4 or 5 cloves of garlic into it and let it simmer on a really low heat for a while, pour it into a jar that is air tight and rub it on. i usually do it at night and then put a tea shirt on over it. really works.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I just might! I've been outside a lot for the last couple days and, weird as it is, I feel better breathing the damp air.

Got a few things done today for my poor waterlogged critters. I bedded several of the chicken pens as thick as I could with a couple bales of last years hay. So far, it's keeping them above the mud. I can't even begin to explain just how nasty and disgusting it is right now...

Our clay soil just does NOT drain. And, to make it worse, (which we did) the trees that we've planted suck up the groundwater during dry times and have created low spots around where they are planted. That has added immensely to the problem. So, we either have shade and mud or we have no shade and mud, lol.

Spring break - if it's dry - I'll be ordering several loads of clay fill that will be shoveled under the shed. It'll be a big job because everything will have to come out of there and the fill will have to be brought in and packed down. Every gate area will have the muddy muck shoveled out and will be lined with the woven fabric material that we used under the driveway - and then have some sort of aggregate/gravel/limestone added on top. Haven't decided what material I will use yet. I'll be talking to some landscape contractors and make my decision from there. Even thinking about a dry creek bed or swale leading across the barnyard to divert some of the water.

Decades ago I went to a breeders place and he had the coolest set up ever. He had done an entire area in front of his barn with interlocking pavers. It looked so nice, and was wonderfully functional. He cleaned it up with a leaf blower, lol! I have reached that age where I need to make things easier or maybe not have so many things to deal with....

Already talked to DH about it and he's in total agreement. I could go the rest of my life and be happy to NEVER put on a pair of mud boots!

Came up with a quick down and dirty hay feeder today out of necessity. They have totally decimated the round bale I put out a couple weeks ago and with all the rain the critters were stuck in the barn. Soooo, yesterday I threw a pallet down in the middle of the barn and just laid out a bale on top of it. (I've got a couple small hay racks in there, but not enough space for 18 goats and 3 horses to eat comfortably together) This morning I went out and of course the bale and been mostly wasted and strewn everywhere. It was serving as bedding instead of nutrition - UGH! I looked around and locked eyes on a set of portable pens that I had in back of the barn. They're about 4' x 4' and made out of hog panel....so now they're sitting on the pallet with hay stacked up inside. The goats can reach through and the horses can reach over. So far it's working beautifully!

Grrrrr - why do these things upload sideways?????

 

[Denim Deb]

Don't know why they do, but now you know why I don't feed RBs. I know Licorice. She'd waste a ton of it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Definitely agree that there is a certain amount of "waste" with a round bale - but this one was mostly just devoured, lol!

I don't stress too much about the amount that does get "wasted" because it will go in the garden....and I don't mind it laying out there for a couple months first. It'll soak up lots of good stuff that the critters deposit on it, start breaking down and it'll be worth it's weight in gold. And, when we are out of town, it is invaluable to my peace of mind knowing that they have something to eat while we're gone.

Didn't do too much today except shop - and I really didn't want to do that. But, DH needed a new suit and the SALES today were unreal! We got him the new suit, along with 4 dress shirts and 4 new ties for less than $300 dollars. The suit was 40% off, the shirts 30% off, the ties were buy 1 get one free AND by using the store credit card it was another 15% off the total. Thankfully, this was a stand-alone store and we stayed far, far away from the mall. Only stood in line to check out for about 10 minutes and we were OUTTA there!

After that we had a late lunch at a nice seafood place...yummy oysters on the half shell for an appetizer. We really enjoyed it and came away totally satisfied. I didn't even cook dinner tonight cuz I'm still stuffed!

Got a dozen eggs today! Woo hoo - the girls are producing again! Guess they've had nothing better to do than lay - cuz it's too wet and nasty to go out and forage.

Gonna cook up a couple days worth of meals for my parents tomorrow and deliver 'em on Tuesday. It makes their lives a little easier and makes me feel like I'm at least contributing to their well being. I'll make a big ol' pot of stew to take along with a couple pans of lasagna for the freezer. They are always so appreciative.

 

[Denim Deb]

When I went to HL the other day, I was amazed at the difference in the traffic between there and where I was on Tuesday. I had to take the same road, just in the opposite direction. There was no back up onto the road of people trying to get off. And, there was barely any traffic.

 

[goatgurl]

like the hay feeder, it's sort of like what i use. it saves a lot of hay.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Thanks, GG. It was just a matter of "use whatcha got" instead of buying something or needing to build something else. It's really turning out to be pretty handy!

Had to go to town this morning and stock up on feed and a couple of last minute gift cards. Granted I went early, but didn't have to fight a crowd anywhere! I'm sure that won't be the case later today....geeze.

I have a HUGE pot of stew stewing on the stove along with a pot of meat sauce that'll go into several pans of lasagna that I'll take to my folks house tomorrow. I'll be making some cornbread to go with the stew and some lemon bars for dessert. That'll keep em stocked up for quite awhile. The lasagna will be frozen tonight, and I'll suggest that any stew left over after lunch tomorrow can be easily frozen as well. I'm going to try to make this a monthly ritual of bringing them some freezer meals that are easy for them to deal with.

Need to get back to the kitchen for the marathon cook-a-thon.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Question for all you folks - Deb and Britesea? What is this green stuff? There is a little clover and a little chickweed in the pic- but what is the other stuff? I'm thinking I've seen this stuff before and that somebody said it was edible....but I dunno! It has a flower spike with little yellow flowers on it...

Sorry - it's sideways again....