Ragdollcatlady's Just a Little Patch of Weeds Farm journal

ragdollcatlady

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Ummmm…. I think I just launched a chicken into orbit....

So you see what happened was....

Last year, I was spending a lot of time on my porch after work, dinner, drinks, hanging with friends, just chillin. So I bought new chair cushions and potted a few plants to spruce up the joint. I managed to keep the lantana, geraniums, butterfly bushes and boysenberries alive all winter... maybe just barely, but hey, they are still alive. I lost the fuchsias, but I love those so I will have to get more. Any ways... where was I???... Oh yeah. So Agent Starling, Clarice (Starlings daughter and my favorite little mutt hen, also the same crazy one that hatched 18 babies, but can barely even cover a dozen because she is a miniature, the same size as a silkie)… and her 2 daughters, all range free in the front yard, catching up with the silkie flock that have a little open pen in the corner of the house. These 4 would hop the fences, do their chickeny things and run around. They always stressed out my visitors. I would inevitably hear worried friends telling me about a chicken that was loose and running like the devil was hot on their trail even though there was noone even close enough to be concerned about... Yeah they do that. It isn't actually like a prison here, I am kind of a hippie so I let them homeschool and do their own kind of educational /non-learning/free range thing/ not really feral but you know.... whatever... I mean they are chickens, soooooo….. anyways, so I kept these flowers alive, and then these darned birds started to scratch the dirt out of the pots. But I really enjoyed my little hens free ranging... so I invested in river rocks.... Yes. I paid money. For rocks. and I put cardboard rounds under the rocks, around all of the plants… and my problem was solved, no more digging out all of my soil... that I paid for. Yes I am fully aware that I own a lot of dirt already, but if you remember, my puppy brought it all in onto my kitchen floor, so there is no more dirt outside for planting. Man, this story is taking forever, could i please just get to the point? Where was I? OK! So, today, someone took the liberty of eating ALL of the geranium leaves!!! Those little turd nuggets! I have a suspect list of 4 fowl looking ladies that I strongly believe were in on this crime together. So I came to the conclusion, that at least for now, the ladies guild needed to be sent to the workhouse in the backyard to do some serious time and earn their keep while contemplating their crimes. I waited until dark to collect them. I was easily able to locate them in the tree, and with the help of my bouncer (200 lb 6 foot tall human kid), we were able to secure 3 of them. The last one is black. We missed seeing her on the first sweep, but upon closer inspection , realized that she was in fact using the black sky as a background to disguise her fluffy pantaloons. I gently pulled the branch down, slowly.... Kid reached up, almost able to reach her, when BAM! she launched into the air right over the house!!! I think she must have hit the eject button, cause boy, did she soar!! Ummmmm but here is the thing, so there is a crazy storm going on, we had thunder and rain, and now it is windy, like wizard of oz kind of windy... and she is a miniature little black fluffy thing..... sooo I hope she decides to sleep in the grapefruit tree on the other side of the house and we will see her tomorrow... Ill let y'all know how that goes.
 

ragdollcatlady

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Karma made a new friend!

The last time I took her to TSC I realized I had been slacking about getting her out in public, she nervously barked at a lady that wanted to say hi to her. I respect if Karma doesn't want to greet somebody, but her nervousness concerned me. Last week she had a bit of vomiting so, bloodwork and radiographs, all normal of course.... so I took her to work for a weigh in, 68.9 lbs today. Then on the way home we stopped at PetSmart for a quick spin around people. She was walking around the store carrying her newly chosen toy, when we came face to face with a golden. He was super happy to see her and after some serious leash straining to say hi, Karma playbowed, it was on. They playbowed again and again to each other, bouncing around each other. Karma wasn't totally sure but he was. To be sure, he is 2 so a bit more experienced with friends. We talked for about half hour and ended up exchanging numbers, hoping to have a playdate soon for the kids. They are roughly the same size so it would be great if they get along and like to play together!
 

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Sorry Ive been gone... busy and stressed.

Coworkers are being terrible, clients are being rude. Squirrels are tearing up my fencing, Heat is making me cranky. You know. Just life.

I was on my way to pick up my baby goat this morning, then to visit grandma and wish her a happy birthday, then head home again, short trip. Grandma was excited to see the baby and get to finally meet Karma. But I didn't make it. Instead I had an impromptu date with a tow truck guy, a 2 hour date to be exact, and then Dusty got dropped off at her new Drs for another checkup. I swear she is a hypochondriac! There goes a thousand bucks for fees and the tow. Ill know the rest of the damage come Monday. I am so grateful the mechanic was nice enough to meet me at the shop to accept the truck since they are closed on weekends.

But... I am grateful. My truck is still technically in one piece Just overheated and gages out, something with the cooling system.... and we made it home safe.
 

ragdollcatlady

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Thanks!

I took Karma with me to give her a little more exposure, more experiences, see as many different people as we can, all things considered. I didn't intend for her to meet a tow guy or to ride alone in the Durango on the flatbed while I was in the tow truck, but he wasn't even supposed to let us ride with him at all. The dispatcher notified me that passengers were no longer supposed to ride in the cab with tow truck drivers so I had called my BFF to drive the 2 hours to come pick us up (she is afraid of driving out of town and is afraid of dogs, so you know she really loves me!) but when he got there, our driver felt bad for us and said I could ride in the cab if Karma could ride in the Durango. I felt bad for my baby dog since she was nervous and it was weird, but at least she was in a familiar place. I put the windows all down a few inches to be sure she wouldnt get too hot but so she couldn't fit her big head out. Then she was a little nervous about the mechanic... and she had to ride on my lap in his tiny truck cab to get home. She survived and I hope she will still trust me to make good decisions and be ok if we have any similar situations to deal with.
 

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No I didn't have triple A. I do now... I haven't needed a tow in a bit. Since I am in charge of my own vehicle maintenance and upkeep, I have way less issues... I know it seems like I still have her in the shop fairly often, (she is 20 years old) but I have the ability to stop what I am doing and fix things right away rather than be forced to keep driving once I have determined something is wrong, or having to wait until someone else feels like it is time to fix the issue. I used to need several tows a year. Now, I also consider the 'upsell'... if they are suggesting things I really do need, I will have it done at the same time or get her back to them to fix before I have issues with things the mechanics are identifying and letting me know about. I had her maintenance done a month or so ago, just before my last trip. I think that this issue might have been going on for a bit, but wasn't sure. Guess it will get fixed now.

In other news, I was kind of tired after the adventures yesterday so I only did one thing, but that thing turned out really nice. I painted and attached my new headboard! Yeah! I haven't had one for 13 years. This one was $75 at a consignment shop. Brown with a dark colored cast iron metal insert. I debated painting the iron black, but I am trying out this way to see how I like it first. I think the 'unfinished' color on the iron makes it look a little bit older. I happened to have primer and 3 cans of creme colored paint left over from other projects. I love how it turned out. And if I get tired of the creme, I can always swithch it up to black.

painted headboard.jpg


bed made.jpg
 
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