Ragdollcatlady's Just a Little Patch of Weeds Farm journal

[ragdollcatlady]

DS1 is the one that had his very first real job ever in an Alaska salmon cannery. While he wouldn't be excited to do exactly that job again, he would be the most likely to come with me. I mentioned it and told him I would love for him to come and see about finding his life path, or at least a little journey along the way, while he was there. He could keep me company while I got situated and got a new start on mine. He said he would definitely consider it.

He just posted a pic online tonight about his crows, all sitting along a fence.... apparently there were about 15 of them waiting for him by one of the least popular feeding posts! His caption was "this what you get when you tell a farm kid he cant have pets!!!"

 

[Bruce]

Would love to see that picture!

Guess you need to tell Alaska the goat house needs a studio apartment added on

 

[ragdollcatlady]

The pic he posted only had about 5 on the fence, but it said the others were waiting above on the power lines.

Soooo my refrigerator is on deaths door. This would make the third appliance this year.... Do appliance deaths come in 3s like people deaths??? If so, then I should definitely be safe for awhile. I came home to a 'burnt plastic smell' but couldn't pinpoint the spot, just a generic, somewhere in the kitchen type of deal. So I unplugged all the small appliances and checked all the outlets. The next day, the freezer portion of the fridge was failing, milk was slushy, still frozen, but clearly defrosting. Moved all the critical stuff to a real freezer. Ice cubes were defrosted by that evening, fridge still felt cold though. Today a thermometer is showing the fridge is creeping up to 50 so I will be fridge shopping tomorrow.

6 Nigerian wethers went home today.

StinkerBelle, the best Nigerian on my farm also went home and Pearl went with her ….. but that softened the blow to my heart, just a little bit. Two of my best and favorite girls, buuuuut they went to a breeder friend that bought Madeline from me last year so I know they are going to a great place that will love and treat them well. Aaaaannnnnndddd we talked so long that she ran out of gas , Ladybug (the cat) was hiding in her van (probably for about half an hour cause she was toasty warm when we finally saw her!!! ), and I forgot the gas can on the porch the first attempt at a gas run! aaaaaaannnnnnddddd a young black dappled boer doe may or may not have have showed up as a trade for the above mentioned girls I am pleading the fifth on this one … you know the 'don't have to say things that will incriminate myself stuff'!!! …. but if you were mathing like I was…. that still means 8 goats went home, one showed up... I am still down by 7 at the end of the day!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

So my friend just messaged me... her kids also had car trouble while we were adventuring, her hubs went to rescue the kids and his truck wouldn't start!

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry for the losses, happy to hear of the gain(s). New appliances are nice but pricey. Seems your life revolves around vehicular/mechanical issues... Sounds like some of that rubbed off on your friend? Always something, right?

 

[Bruce]

Today a thermometer is showing the fridge is creeping up to 50 so I will be fridge shopping tomorrow.

And it isn't something simple like the coils need to be cleaned or the fan?

Aaaaannnnnndddd we talked so long that she ran out of gas

Um, gas is pretty expensive in CA. Surprised people idle their vehicles even a few minutes.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Update on the fridge stuff.... I bought a new one, and she is so purty! I opted for the one with the fridge/freezer conversion option, since I already have 2 real freezers. Basically, you push a button and it just does fridge temps instead of freezing. Buuut…. y'all know me right???? and I cant get along with mechanical things even for a few minutes right????

So I did this.....

Leave it to me to jack things up in less than 24 hours!!! I don't usually drink sodas so I still had half a case of flavored sparkling waters and I decided to put them in the new fridge top. I was really going to check the settings and read the manual ( I am a chronic manual reader normally) but I was in a hurry to get back to work since someone has to pay for this expensive new machine and I forgot to recheck the settings.... apparently it was still on freezing Oye me!

So Mr Alaska.... Please read the above and proceed at your own risk .... Consider yourself warned! Its a good thing I'm cute right?

 

[ragdollcatlady]

So this is a personal thing...

I want to share, just because it was an odd position to be in and I am not really sure of my position or 'responsibilities' as a (non?) family member? I had a few thoughts that might help anyone else finding themselves in a similar position and being unsure of the best response.

While I was dealing with my 'no good very bad day' with regards to my fridge, I had a distressed call from my ex. His family just got word that their matriarch is entering hospice. For those who don't know, that means that Drs. have determined there is no more they can ethically do to preserve health or prolong life and so she is being given 'end of life' care. Meaning drugs or other things to ease pain and enhance comfort and service to assist the person and their family when the time comes to actually say goodbye. I am not personally close to this person or those in that family and my ex, himself, has been giving me headaches as of late. But I have enough compassion to realize how much pain he and his family are in and I made sure to contact all of my kids to be sure they really understand the situation. He had contacted them already, but I wanted to be sure they really understand what is going on and that they feel free to ask me any questions they might have or to ask for help or a ride... whatever they need. As I thought about my position, I don't know what, if anything, an exwife that was never really included in the 'family', should or could do. I decided that sending flowers would be the most that would be expected, it is a pretty typical, socially accepted practice and could convey good wishes without any further commitment. I am 3 hours away, so I hit the internet and was perusing the beautiful selection on my chosen site. I wanted to convey condolence of course, I am sorry their family is in pain and losing someone that means a lot to them, but I didn't really want anything somber, they have enough of that already. I thought perhaps something seasonal, orange and yellow arrangements were pretty, and cheerful. But then I saw the "puppy" flowers, and I forgot just for a minute, the reason I was looking in the first place. I was distracted and I actually smiled. They use carnations and a little plastic nose and eyes to give the impression of a puppy face in the middle of your flower arrangement. I decided to send those. There are 3 young kids that live with her and I figured that if the kids were distracted and delighted, just as I was, even for only a minute, that would be worth it. Then the decision of what to write and how to sign the card. I decided to wish all of them 'peace love and comfort'. It isn't appropriate to put "get well" but how to say anything more meaningful, given the situation, was eluding me. I originally wanted to generically sign the family last name I share with my kids and add my daughter and her husbands last name, but I thought they might not recognize the names. So I put all the first names, including my ex, just to express compassion towards him as well. I cost me nothing but a little bit of humility to include his name. I am just not sure of my own position in this whole equation, I feel more outside than in... but I hoped to err on the side of humanity rather than not.

I don't want kudos or anything, I haven't done anything extraordinary, I just wanted to share my thoughts and perhaps if anyone else finds themselves in a similar position, you might be inspired. The situation of hospice is difficult alone. I have the added awkwardness of being an ex but wanting to support my own kids and.... I don't know, just show compassion for my ex and his family. Its just a different kind of place to find myself.

I did have an extraordinary family growing up. My grandparents were divorced, but ALL the family got together at my grandmas house for birthdays and holidays. I didn't realize until I was in my teens, just how unusual we were, or what a great example my grandparents (and my mom) were. My mother accepted our step siblings from the other side of the family, just because they belonged to 'us'. My fathers stepson, used to spend the nights at my mothers house with the boys, just because they were siblings. My mom is the best!

I hope to continue the legacy of love I grew up with despite all the hard times. I hope this small act of sending flowers and including the hurting hearts around me, brings just a little cheer and distraction for those that really need a tiny little break from the sadness right now. And I hope that anyone reading this, that finds themselves in similar situations in the future, will be inspired to be just a little more humble in compassion for the hurting, even those that have hurt us in the past.

Peace

 

[Carla D]

So a couple folks online were knocking me for offering for sale, a 9 month old boer doe as exposed. She would kid at 13 months at the earliest, which isn't my preference, but isn't unheard of or even particularly unusual in these parts, especially for meat goats. One was also unhappy with me for breeding her back to her sire. It was either take a chance on her being bred a tad bit early, or call the butcher. While goat is delicious and my freezer happens to currently be quite deficient, I am certain that Cherry Bomb would prefer this option, had I asked for her preference. And her sire is pretty impressive, so I am hoping for some really nice kids out of them and hopefully a bunch of those dapples too. As it turns out, she sold today, to be picked up in a couple months. A young FFA kid was wanting a doe for her breeding project and is really wanting her bred. I will not guarantee her bred, but offered to keep her in the breeding pen until mid December and of course take note of any breeding behavior I happen to notice. I had already attempted to contact ABGA and left a message asking if I could register her as her dam was commercial, but her sire is 99 percent. That would make her just under the 50 percent, but only by 0.5 percent. They did call me back and left a message, but did not answer my question. Just said that if I still had questions to call them back. They work the same hours I do and have the same lunch break! So I just filled out the paper and sent it in. Either they will register her or they wont. But if they do, then this young lady will have a better deal in the increased value of both the doe and her (doe) kids as they would also be registerable. I had inquiries about her before but they all wanted registered.... so I figured I would try it and if she was able to be, then I would increase her price and if she still didn't sell as exposed, Id keep her until she kids then sell them all.... I hope they allow it for this young ladies sake.

I had a real scare this morning, I was in the backyard cleaning up doggie doo, when my front yard bantam chocolate orpingtons (fat, round, adorable little chickens) started panicking. My first thought was that someone was here, but they don't panic over people, so I started to the front, when the neighbors aggressive dog came straight at me through the gate..... (Where's the poop your pants emoji when you need it?????) …. I am genuinely afraid of this animal, he bites his owners and tries to bite me when we are talking over the fence. He had his hackles up and was coming square at me. I bluffed and charged at him as fast as I could, praying he would back up as I only had a small leaf rake, nothing that I could count on in an actual fight. I believe he only backed off as he was in a new situation, because he is as aggressive as they come, but he did head back down the drive, barking at me, headed home. I didn't hear the neighbor yelling for him, so I figured she must not have known he was out, but I refused to even bring their mail by because I am afraid of him, so I had to think a minute. I was afraid to take the time to go inside for the phone, in case he came back or went after a person, so I grabbed a heavier, solid rake and walked over. I stopped a the end of her drive and yelled for the neighbor to get her dog. She knew something was wrong, called him back (he kind of listened) and after she put him in the yard, I told her what had happened. She hadn't seen him slip away or back. She thought he was just running there in her front yard with her other dogs. I think this animal is far more of a liability than he is worth.... just my 2 cents. I am afraid that if they keep him and the husband falls, needing emergency help, this dog will severely injure any emergency responders if they are even able to get inside to help in the first place. I would not be able to get in to help if they were unable to put him up in a crate first.

So that was my day.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t up your alley. But have you considered a pellet gun or a baseball bat. Put a hurting on it a couple of times and that dog may start to respect property lines and people that aren’t in HIS yard. Both are a bit inconvenient to be carrying around for a few days, possibly illegal as heck depending on where you live, and likely tick your neighbor off to the nth degree. But that might get them to be a bit more proactive about doggie schooling or letting him out on a tether only. You are right! He is quite dangerous and a huge liability.

Getting a new fridge, doesn’t get much better in life than that. Good luck on your move. It must have really tough parting with the animals you did. It does sound like they went to really great homes. That’s a great outcome.

 

[Latestarter]

You are a better person than I.