Boyd - Day in the life of a hillbilly stuck in Michigan..

[Boyd]

How do you keep the dang deer out of your garden? I have to run an electric fence if we want to see anything but hoof prints! Nice garden!

Its my first year here, and I know we have tons of deer because I literally had one walk up on me on bow season, and it's twin walk up to me as it was looking for its lost sibling not 400 yards from the house. Nice venison for the freezer... but what to do.....

Actually I have a rather large dog I planned to put on the edge of the garden, then come fall I plan to hunt the edge of it. I am more worried about the turkeys, raccoons and stuff.

 

[miss_thenorth]

How much land do you have? It seems your neighbours are very close--there would not be any hunting allowed around here with neighbours that close, but then again, you are a bow hunter

 

[Boyd]

How much land do you have? It seems your neighbours are very close--there would not be any hunting allowed around here with neighbours that close, but then again, you are a bow hunter

We have 5 acres all to ourselves, then there is a railroad easement behind us, then a chunk of landlocked land that is owned by another set of neighbors who use it during hunting season only.. So...... 5 of it fenced with field and barbed wire (much of it down due to falling trees and neglect) and I need a major brush hog or forestry mulcher to reclaim a lot of area...

PS, I'm not supposed to shoot within 300 feet of a house or road.. But... Always know where your backstop is, and if the neighbors around me are all doing it.. They can't complain if I "just have to" protect my garden hehehehe

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

About Fruit.... This year we've also planted raspberry bushes, and 11 blueberry bushes. I know that's going to be gads of fruit but..........

Along the fencerow in the overgrown areas are these trees.. and I thought they looked like apple trees, and my neighbor conformed they were crab apples

Anybody eat them? I remember doing it as a kid and my parents telling me I'd get a tummy ache, but don't remember getting it. Loved the sweet tart taste. Wonder if I still will?

Thinking what kind of pies they'd make?

Crab Apples? Jam, jelly, pies and sauce. Yummy
Good for the pantry, gifts and money making!

 

[Boyd]

Today I had every intention of being productive, promise you I did!!! My wife and I woke up around 6ish, she had me watch lil munky while she used restroom and started getting kiddos around for school. Me and munky discussed things like bip, bop, bot goo goo, gaga, dadadadada and oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

as you can guess, munky is in the middle...... So after I de-stinked his diaper and kept him from ripping my ears off as I laid in bed, my wife came back in and took him so she could feed him breakfast.

Now I usually go to bed around 12:30-3am ish depending on work, I figured on going back to bed for an hour or two and I'd be good......



Yeah.........

Next thing I know my cell phone is going off and my dad is calling me from my back yard to see if I'm home. He's over to help me move rabbit hutches around, and get some outdoors stuff done that I can't do by myself.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh........ My butt was in bed out cold till almost noon....

As it was, we got 8 or 9 hutches moved, and after I went to work he teamed up with my 2 older kids to move even more.. Sorta feeling tired here.. I will add pics tommorow of the new rabbit yard, as we moved them closer to the house!

Hasta Manana

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds like you started the day off just right.

 

[Boyd]

we will see whats left of the garden, yard etc in the morning. Got home from work and the storm drain at the end of our property is clogged and we are having a rainstorm of the century. 5" of water in the driveway, the garden is flooded... Luckily the house sits up on a hill a little bit

Nothing like the floods along the mississippi, but for Michigan, this is a lot of water!

Hopefully most of my garden survives. With the ditch flooded, the water crested and followed path of least resistance........ about 6'x100' towards the back of the garden

Oh well, I can always replant.

 

[Boyd]

When I'm not playing in the dirt, I'm playing with my organic composting machines/meat group...

We moved 90% of the hutches to the side yard closer to the house because the first small field behind our house is flooding... Here's what we've done so far...

The ones we haven't put in the area are at the head of the trail (we ran out of steam)

She's due soon lol

 

[Wannabefree]

How many hutches do you HAVE?!?!?! Lord have mercy that's a lot of bunny mouths to feed!!! Are they all full? what do you do with the babies when you seperate from momma, or do you leave them till slaughter time? Sheesh...almost looks like chickens would be easier

 

[Boyd]

How many hutches do you HAVE?!?!?! Lord have mercy that's a lot of bunny mouths to feed!!! Are they all full? what do you do with the babies when you seperate from momma, or do you leave them till slaughter time? Sheesh...almost looks like chickens would be easier

33ish? and wire and fence stakes for grazing/colony pens when things dry out a bit lol.... Yeah, we go through 30$/week of feed but that is breeders and the friars, we've planted a bunch of stuff to feed all the weaned babies this year and when we've run out of rootstock we'll process all of them

All hutches are full, some are grow out cages (as we don't breed much during the coldest parts of the year) but will have to go into a rather large grow out area with wire and fencing and electric wire, bird netting etc.... Planning on processing approx 900 friars this summer if breeding schedule goes as planned!