Meriruka's Tales - need advice on squash

[MorelCabin]

Awww! I want some of those!! They are soooo cute...and later will be milk! Goat babies are loads of fun, we had one named Daisy a few years back, she was just like a dog, followed the kids everywhere! Can't wait to move back to the country!

 

[hwillm1977]

Anybody have a good name for the little boy?

Since you have Pandora, I like Zeus... sticking with the mythology theme


They are ADORABLE!

 

[meriruka]

Wow! It's been a while! Didn't realize how busy I would be.
Latest project: make the barn look pretty with a minimum of cash.
Before:

After:

Window & screen dor scavanged, trim from leftover wood. Cost was for the paint. Wagon wheel $3.00 at auction then paint.

It's not going to win any awards, but it's less of an eyesore!

 

[Blackbird]

Hi Meriruka.

Wow, the barn looks great! Did you install the window yourself? May I ask what you used to cut the metal? I need to fix a crooked animal door on one of the sheds and I'm having a bit of trouble.

How are the goats doing?

 

[lupinfarm]

Merle, you need Aviation snips to cut the metal. Get long straight ones and they're awesome. We use them to cut the goat feet lol as well as metal projects.

 

[valmom]

Looks very nice (my favorite color!).

 

[meriruka]

Blackbird,
I had a friend cut a hole for me with a sawsall. The window fit nicely in between two beams, so I just had to nail it in. Unfortunately, the beams aren't straight, so the window is a bit crooked on the outside, but I can live with that.

What I couldn't live with was the goats. I really tried. They would scream whenever I was not in their line of vision and they would climb all over me and knock me down whenever I was with them.
I guess I had this vision that they would get their bottle then go frolick in the field. After they knocked me off a ladder and doused me with 1/2 gallon of roof paint, I sold them to a neighbor. They are happy and more importantly, elsewhere. I will stick to poultry from now on. Especially since I have a job now & it's even harder to keep up with everything.

Here's Jerry (super Dad) with his daughters. He herds them around and protects them. The adult hens are constantly pecking at the little ones, surprising that they are such lousy moms.
Jerry has been broody for a week. He's managed to smash 6 eggs under him. I have to keep washing his yolk covered belly. I can't imagine why he's doing this. Anybody ever had a broody tom?

 

[Wifezilla]

Awwww! Jerry is adorable!

 

[murphysranch]

Your fixed up barn looks great!

 

[meriruka]

Well, it's been a while....I just keep working on projects and trying to keep up with everything and it feels like I'm not getting anywhere. For the last month I've been covering what's left in the garden with old sheets at night. I have a huge pile of green tomatoes, a row of butternut squash & a row of spaghetti squash left. Quite frankly, I just want to disk it all up and be done with it, but I can't waste all that squash. The butternuts are not quite tan and the spaghetti squash are not quite yellow. You can see in the pic the level of ripeness. Does anyone know if I can pick them at this point and will they ripen off the vine or if, should I leave them on the vine, will they actually get ripe or is it too cold now?
The temps in daytime are in the low 60's in daytime & upper 30's at night.