Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Bruce]

Actually we have that as well. It is the thing that somewhat saves us during dry spells. Enough moisture squeezed out of the air overnight to help keep the grass from dying (too much). Doesn't fill the pond though. It looked like this in August a few years ago (he says while hijacking LS's thread yet again)


That, I think, is when the grasses/rushes/whatever got started in the area on the left.

 

[Latestarter]

I remember that pond pic from an ancient post Bruce, and my thought then was that it's past time that thing was "dredged"... I mean being X-Navy and all, it needs to be deep enough for boat dockage At least get rid of all the quicksand/goop/sludge that's built up over the actual hard clay bottom. Might even make it deep/clean enough to swim in Pretty sure the fish will thank you as well.

Yeah, we have really heavy dew here in the morning... all that humidity from the day before condenses out overnight. When the grass is high, there's no way I can mow it before noon (where there's direct sun to dry it) or late afternoon when in the shade. No surprise, come 9:00, it's right back to being humid again. I milk Dot right about 8am every morning and by the time I'm done (like15, maybe 20 minutes), I have beads of sweat running down me. And really, it's NOT strenuous work... I mean kneeling on one knee and squeezing a teat repeatedly while holding the collection bowl in the other hand. Doesn't get much more strenuous than that!

After milking, I have to stand food bowl guard duty (another real strenuous, sweat building activity)... I place all three on the ground in a triangle, then stand basically in the middle so I can keep each pair to their respective bowl. If I don't do that, then Bang goes from bowl to bowl head butting and running the others and it turns in to a "ring around the rosy" kinda thing with goats running through and tipping over feed bowls and the like. So much easier to be the bully in the pen and keep them all in line. Bang and April get one bowl (with the most grain, and of course first), Dot and CC get a bowl with about 1/2 that amount (& second to be fed), and then CB & CM get their own bowl with about 1/3 or 1/4 the amount. They eat the slowest, so if any of the adults run out of the "good stuff" in their bowl, they want to move over to someone else's to see if they have any "good stuff" left in theirs. So I redirect them back to their own bowl until they finish all of that food. Once I'm sure the kids have had enough to eat, I carry the milk up to the house to start filtering and leave them to fend for themselves. After filtering I'm back down there to bottle feed CC. Then to make sure I've got a good sweat going, if I'm in the mood, I'll go get the chain saw and cut them some tree limbs.

The post isn't all that expensive in the grand scheme of things... I think it cost me like $17 or $18 bucks. I just hate to spend money on something and then watch it "float away" when I can relatively easily (well, with a little effort) recover the item and put it to use. Even after I'm done with the initial fence, there are many more posts and much more fencing that needs to be done. I'm not as limber as I once was, but I'm pretty sure I can get over/through/under the barbed wire and I'll connect a ratchet strap to it and then drag it out with the truck or lawn tractor.

I've been here for 9 months now and I've never been on the other side of that back fence. I have almost 10 acres of woods back there that I own and I've never been back there. If not soon, then some time this fall after the leaves are down (& bugs are gone, snakes in hibernation), I want to get back there and drive T-posts at the corners of the property, before the surveyors tape markers are lost/gone due to weather and sun light. There are supposed to be iron pins, but they'll be pretty difficult to locate without the tape markers. I'd also like to clear a "fire lane" around the inside border so eventually I can fence it and maintain the fencing.

 

[Bruce]

I mean being X-Navy and all, it needs to be deep enough for boat dockage

Given the size of the pond, even a canoe would be a joke!! I was surprised there were any fish left alive after the pond got that low. Doesn't seem to be a big deep hole where there is water in that picture, at least not so far as I can tell looking at it with the sun "just right". Therefore I also don't know how the fish and frogs (and the snapping turtle) manage to survive the winters. Obviously it isn't real deep even when full so it must freeze all the way down to the bottom. I would like to dredge it but I don't have the equipment. And I don't know where the ledge that you can see closest to the camera in that picture MAY stop. Could be I can't get more than a foot or so of muck. OR maybe I could get a good deep area, no way to know without digging. I tried some when it was dry, heavy lifting I tell you. I didn't get far.

I agree I would not want to "lose" that post. I also don't think I would want to try to cross, in any fashion, barb wire. Since you've not been behind the fence, I think it is time to put a gate in it. And a good place to put it would be RIGHT in front of where that post is on the other side Barring that, any reason to NOT wait until fall to go get it when, at least, the nasties won't be around?

 

[Latestarter]

Biggest potential issue would be prolonged heavy rain... that's what put the posts in the stream to begin with We got over 6 inches in the span of a day and the stream went a good 2-3 feet over the bank, which caught up all the prepositioned posts and floated them away. None are within flood reach now unless it's time for an ark. I do want to put a gate back there but need to reconnoiter the other side of the fence line and the stream to see where would be the best place to put a bridge across. That's where I'll line the gate up with. Worse come to worse, I could cut the barbed wire fencing close to that spot and just drop it. No animals back there to escape and there are rolls of BW around here that I can always patch it later if the need arises.

Earlier I wanted to report a dog "injury" and kinda got sidetracked. If you recall I had that steak last night and gave that nice bone to Mel when he went out for the night. Well, this morning when I got up and went to let him in, he was standing at the bottom of the deck stairs (strange), covered in mud, all over his chest, front paws/legs, and muzzle, and he was drooling and there was drool all over the deck and stairs. When he saw me he bolted to the back door wanting in but there was no way I was letting all that mess into the house so I went out with him expecting to clean him up before he could come in. He was chewing/biting on what I assumed was the bone and I could hear his teeth hitting it each time he closed his mouth. I tried to take it from him and found it wedged across his upper jaw, jammed between the teeth on either side.

That explained the drooling and the muddy mess as he was trying to dislodge it. I got him to let me access his mouth and I couldn't budge it. His continuous chomping had wedged that bone in tight. So I made him stay and went inside and got a pair of water pump pliers. When I came back out I told him what I needed to do and asked him to be calm for me. He sat right still (good dog!) and let me open his mouth and grab that bone with the pliers. A good strong downward pull and I popped it right out. Man was he relieved (so was I!). So then I called him down on to the walk and he actually stood still and let me hose all that mud off him (good dog!). When he thought he was clean enough, he made a break for the back deck. I dried him off best I could and he was mighty happy to come inside. I've checked his upper jaw, teeth and gums and there's no damage, blood or bruising. Silly dog! I think animals intentionally try to worry their owners to see how much we care for them.

So I went out at lunch time, ~noon, as I needed to refill the gas jugs and wanted to pay my water bill. I stopped at the Chinese buffet for lunch while out. Got back home ~2:30 and did the CC bottle feed and bucket of cereal snacks for the others (they are sooo spoiled). After feeding I decided to take a mowing break today. It is just stifling hot out there. I think it says it's up around 97 degrees. There's no real breeze and I just am not up to sweating off 5 pounds today. Back to it tomorrow.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Aww poor Mel! Hate it when that happens.

Wanted to pop on and just say that almost all our lamancha yearlings get precocious udders. She could also be a little more filled out, a lot of yearlings get on the chubby side because they aren't working yet.
Our meat goats have also gotten precocious udders too.

@Mini Horses in regards to your question, I will try to answer in another thread when I can. But we do the cElisa

 

[Bruce]

Sure is great that he is Mel(low) Super glad it was only stuck and not being forced into his cheeks or palate!

I think you deserved a mowing break, especially if it isn't going to rain tomorrow. No need to kill yourself. Our temps are nearly 20°lower than yours though with 80% humidity it is mighty uncomfortable anyway. I can only guess how bad it must be for you.

 

[Mike CHS]

I sometime think dogs think if they can get it in their mouth they can swallow it. Glad you got it out.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sure glad it all worked out with Mel.....and "Rome wasn't built in a day".....so, don't think ya have to cut it all in a day....it is better to whittle at it 2-3hrs for a couple of days in this heat for sure. I'm down to 180lbs....so, I understand the sweat factor too.....tonite when I came in from the strenuous task of tending to the ducks....my clothes were drenched and went straight to the washer. The good thing about being 180 is I get to wake up the "Eating Monster" that has been sleeping for a while.....

 

[Baymule]

I find it hard to believe that you own another 10 acres across the creek that you have never set foot on. You and @Bruce act like crawling through a barbed wire fence is a big deal. That is just a part of country living. Haha, I'm wearing a pair of jeans right now that has "bob wahr" holes in them. Go crawl through the fence, cross the creek, and go poke around on your land.

I would definitely retrieve the post from the creek. You can drag it back to dry land with your lawn mower.

Glad that you were able to pry the bone from Mel's mouth. That had to be a scary moment. He is such a big sweetie, he trusted you to make everything alright.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm with Bay on this one, lol. Push one wire down, push the other wire up and squeeze through. Easy Peasy! Us Texas gals grew up doing that. If ya don't think ya'll fit - then lay a saddle blanket across the top one and grab a tool box, or a saddle, or a chunk of wood and step over.

I'd rescue the fence post too...hate paying for something I don't get to use.