AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[framing fowl]

Hope the SAR open house is informative for you. My Dad was in the Sheriff's Posse for a good number of years. Several times they ended up going after lost hunters on horseback. He had a really great time with it.

Sounds like you're feeling better after your surgery! All those plants sound like a great deal. I always tease my boss when she asks me what I did for the weekend that I'm coming back to work to relax!

 

[AL]

I could have kicked myself Saturday. I got so wrapped up helping my dad finalize the lift that I was running late to my friend's house. I had planned to stop at the SAR building on the way but I FORGOT!!! ugh!! I will still get with them to get information. I have always dreamed of doing SAR (even as a little kid).

I am doing great after surgery... in fact sometimes I wonder what he actually did in there, because I have had no problems. I do , however, still have problems with my back from back in March when I pulled something carrying dear sweet old Buford down the steps. I guess I am going to have to break down and get it checked.

The trees etc are still in my wheelbarrow in the backyard where the horse can't get them. I had it all planned out where I was going to put everything, and then my parents reminded me that when they pass away that acre goes to my sister and I get the land with the house. My sister "swears" she wouldn't sell the land, but her hubby is a greedy, selfish man and I know that he will sell it at some outrageous price that I can't afford --- and my fruit trees would go with it! (there are already several - 2 pear, a peach, 3 pecan, 3 blueberry ). Of course, if she were to ever sell that acre I would have to move anyway... besides having a broken heart I would have just less than 2acres and couldn't have livestock.


So now I have to go down to the other lot and map it out. I also have to plan on the shed for the horse trailer, room for pulling the trailer in / out of the shed.

I was thinking of getting a couple of cattle panels to run the muscadine vines on.

Do you think a lemon tree and a satsuma tree would cross-pollinate? I know in S. Florida they plant a bunch of varieties together, but I don't know if those 2 in particular can go together? If they'd be ok, I could put the lemon tree in the front... otherwise I guess it can go outside my old bedroom window. The new blueberry bush will go behind the horse trailer shed, gotta buy at least 1 more or try transplanting my others. I have no idea where I will put the plums... I guess along the front fence so I can rope them off from the horses when we turn them out in the yard.

 

[Farmfresh]

I am doing great after surgery... in fact sometimes I wonder what he actually did in there, because I have had no problems.

What a BLESSING! I am so glad that you are doing well.

 

[AL]

Thanks!!!
I am already planning for Spring... canoeing, hiking, gardening, horseback riding, expanding my chicken yards (shhh) . I might try to get up to Tennessee to visit a friend in the winter time... then get her to take me to find snow lol

Already had a rat-killing today. When I was out feeding the chickens and rabbits, I sent Rio into the horsetrailer / shed to entertain himself... and he did! He found a big , fat shiny rat that had been livign happily on my spilled feed and bags of sunflower and grass seeds!! He died happy and full.

It rained a little last night so my fruit trees are still looking ok in their buckets. Looks like it will be Thursday at the earliest before I can even start working on them, mostly on Saturday.
Tomorrow I am going to visit Buddy at the trainer. I have no idea when she is going to let him come home... I made sure she understood our payment agreement was for 30 days and she assured me that there was no extra charge, she just didnt' feel like she has him where he should be at 30 days.

I can't wait until mid-October. I have a few days off work and I am taking Buddy and Rio to the State Forest to go camping for 3 nights. I won't be able to ride Buddy yet, but there is a huge charity trail ride going on for the place that rescued him and I fostered / adopted him from. I think the activity and chaos will be good for him (he probably won't care at all, nothing seems to faze him). There is also an obstacle course with a trainer (a "spook" course) and if it can be done in hand instead of saddle I may put him through it. Mostly I just want to sit outside my tent by the creek and maybe it will be cool enough for a fire (and maybe there won't be a fire ban )... hanging out with RIo and not being around a push of people wanting something from me.

Good times right there.

 

[AL]

I totally forgot about poor Pat, my bullied hen. Pat is an uber-sweet Buff Brahma. I think she has a respiratory or heart problem because she wheezes sometimes. Several months ago I had to separate her from the main flock because Poppy and one of the RIRs were flogging her mercilessly. They would grab the feathers on top of her head and shake like a dog. She has white feathers there now, where it scarred.
Pat has lived the high life since then - first and best treats, more access to the backyard, etc. Then I put the incubator chicks in with her and she thought I had lost my mind. She kept them in line until the 3 roos reached puberty and got a little randy with her, more than she could fight off. So now Pat's pen is the backyard. She has a 2x4 roost under the overhang of the rabbit hutch, a waterbowl (big enough to stand in on a hot day) under the solid floor of part of the rabbit hutch and she nests behind a panel of privacy fence boards. In the mornings when I open the backdoor she reminds me of a plantation lady running flatout, holding up her petticoats. I like my chickens, I adore Pat.

Last night there was some big thunder and lightning, so I wanted to make sure the dang roosters were in a shelter - they roost on the board separating the 2 chicken yards. Well when I pushed them off, they flew onto the roof of the chicken house and started towards the edge that would dump them in Mr. Old Neighbor's field. Of course it started drizzling rain, I cut my hand on the gate, and by the time I made it on Mr ONs side of the fence to scare them back to mine, they had already gotten back on the board to roost. So then I went back around to the main pen and managed to catch them both and haul them , one in each arm, back to their shelter.

This morning I just happened to look out the back window. I hardly ever do that until I am ready to go outside, but today I did.
I had forgotten to close the gate to the main flock!! Poppy and 2 of the red hens were flogging and shaking poor Pat ... she was just laying stretched out under the rabbit hutch. When I went running out and grabbed my rooster stick, Poppy headed for the house but the hens kept on. Poor Pat had her eyes closed just laying there taking it. I knocked one hen off with my stick and one with my barefoot... that one went back for more so I grabbed a handful of tail and back feathers and threw her across the yard.
I scooped up sweet Pat and cuddled her close while Rio and I herded the main flock back into the pen and locked the gate.


Once her heart stopped pounding quite so much, I set Pat down and went and fixed her a little bowl of yogurt - and fed it to her right outside the fence of the main flock! Take that, bullies


eta pic
I can't believe the only pic I have of Pat is so old... I'll have to get a new one. That is, of course, Crazy Agnes behind her and this is pre-bully time

 

[snapshot]

Pat is beautiful! Glad she gets special care!

 

[AL]

Pat is a darling.

I got up early this morning and drove about 40 miles to visit Buddy at the trainer. I sent him for 30 days of training - back on August 15~~

The trainer says he is smart and works hard to try to learn stuff, but he just can't seem to grasp lunging to the right. She wants to keep him until he has more of his foundation stuff down - no extra charge so I said to help herself. She showed me that he will now stand for grooming (even his tail - which used to warrant a double barrelled kick), fly spray, picking up his hooves. He leads politely - a couple feet behind with his head low and chewing / licking in submissiveness. He stops when the leader does instead of bowling them over. She lunged him and he actually did well both directions. She was pleased.
She said yesterday she saddled him and got on board. He was very tired, so he was very quiet. She does some equine chiropractic stuff and aligned his neck because not only will he not lunge to the right, he doesn't like to flex to the right either. She said she saw some improvement after that.

It was cute... as she was leading him he couldn't take his eyes off of me. I told her I didn't know if he was hoping I would "rescue" him or if he was afraid I might be learning to expect the same behavior
She had me lead him some and he was polite. Even though she led him past the goat pen he had to show me it was scary. There is a Navy helicopter training facility *RIGHT THERE* - they land in the field next to the barn, fly low, etc. They were all over when she was leading Buddy, but he had to tell me we were under attack from the air. I think he was disappointed I knew how to react.

So I came home withOUT the Badster. I hope to go visit again and let her give me some more tips and tricks. The youngest horse I ever owned was Skye - I got her when she was 6 and she is now 29! It has been many many moons since I have been in the horse circles, so I have as much to learn as Buddy - if not more.

Planted the lemon tree. Baby steps. lol


edited because I came home without Buddy, not with him

 

[sekinkead]

I haven't been on here as much lately but wanted to say congrats on the surgery and that you are doing so well.

I hope Buddy learns a lot and is better for you when you bring him home. Oh and I love Pat, she is a beauty!

 

[AL]

Thanks!!

Buddy seems to be learning well, he just sometimes can't control the 2yr old inside lol. At the charity trail ride I am going to in October (even though I can't ride him yet) I will be walking Buddy in hand through a training obstacle course. I'm excited! I think he will do well.
Rio will be going with me, he is a big, playful goofball - but, as mentioned in OFGs thread, he can be "the business". This morning I let Bo, the BR/EE roo out of his cage to see if he was ready to be nice with the other 2 roos. He charged them flogging first thing... Rio went after him when he started an attack on the other roo and Bo decided maybe he'd wait. I snatched him up and put him back in his cage. Decisions to be made there.

Talking about good dogs: my Rio is one of the best. Goofball with kids, easy with other animals (though a little tense around other dogs), kissy with the horses, ignores the chickens (if they behave).... but he has defended me a couple of times in his 3 short years, against people, roosters and possums. He is still too goofy to know that the point of me directing "go over there, step up, stay" is for him to help me round up chickens, but he does it faithfully and without question. He is a rat killer extraordinaire (Rags thinks rats are for wimps, he gets the possums and brings them to me ) but doesn't go near my rabbits. Good dog.

Tomorrow is all scheduled up and I will be busy / exhausted by the evening time. But Saturday I am going to, at the very least, plant my 2 plum trees and my new blueberry bush. My nephew (T13) is coming to help me set up a raised bed for my transplants of lettuce, cabbage, etc. - I have the timbers, a ton of cardboard and newspapers, a good bit of compost and a couple bags of good potting soil.
Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to go buy at least one cattle panel for my muscadine vines so I can let him help me get that set up as well.

 

[AL]

Whew I'm tired! Today was the first day since surgery where I have worked hard most of the day in the yard. I had imagined reading somewhere it was supposed to be cool today - but it was in the upper 80s with an index in the mid-90s. My 13yr old nephew came over and helped me dig holes for 3 fruit trees (2 plum and a blueberry). My 16yr old nephew came over and we all took a lunch break and then played with my new "Wii Fit". Actually, the boys played - but I'll get my turn!

The boys left and I carried 6 of my (10) 8ft timbers from my front yard around to the garden (about 120ft one way). I laid out newspapers to cover the ground, under the timbers to start a raised bed. I used about 60lbs of potting soil and then started moving my compost pile over. After I completely loaded the wheelbarrow with black gold, I couldn't get it to even wiggle. Now, I've lost some strength and stamina since surgery but seriously? I checked around and found that the tire was completely flat. As in, totally absolutely no rolling. So then I shoveled compost from the wheelbarrow to 5gal buckets. I carried the first one around the fence, the next 3 I set over the fence and then the wheelbarrow was light enough I could make it go.

I still need to move some more compost and transplant the plants. I want to clean out from under the rabbit cages and put that in the compost mix, but I am hot and tired and the clouds are making it get dark a little earlier. I think this is pretty good for today. Rio is wiped out as well - with his knee surgery and then my surgery he has been a house dog for most of the summer. He walked every step with me, and then we did some squirrel hunting (without a gun, my neighbors would have me under the jail). Rio has a great snuffling sniffer! He sniffed out the squirrel and then Rags was hanging from a pecan limb where he jumped up after a squirrel and grabbed the branch instead. Comedians.

In the midst of this I played musical chicken pens. I put Pat in the big pen after letting the big flock out to range around the yard. This afternoon I put the big flock back and let Pat in the yard - she went straight to her private laying suite so I let the 2 red roos out in the yard and Bo the BR roo into their pen. Then the 2 red roos went into the kennel, Bo in the yard (then back to the roo pen). Pat was glad to see everybody get back in the right places so she could not worry about them attacking her.

It was very good to start trying to get back into the swing of things! next on the agenda - move the other timbers and stack them to finish the "frame" of the raised bed, move some more compost (wheelbarrow tire!!) and get my plants composted. I also need to get at least 1 cattle panel and set it up so I can plant my muscadine vines on it. When it gets cold I'll transplant at least one of my blueberry bushes and / or buy another one to go at the far end of the yard.
oh I also bought 2 well-started tomato plants and I am going to transplant them to big pots. See what happens *shrug*