Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

frustratedearthmother

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I need to take some! They are just so darn cute - but this heat is gettin' 'em down! They perk up when the sun starts going down though.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Grrrrr... I'd post pics of the cuties if I wasn't having internet 'issues.' Problems come and go, but most of the last few days we have barely been able to get online, and when we do it moves much s...l...o...w...e...r than molasses. We called our provider and they tell us we must have a virus because everything on their end is perfect....yada yada yada. We've run scan after scan and there's no problem showing up on our end either....ugh!


So, I've been ruminating for months on a new shelter for my critters. I've checked into having a barn built to the tune of about 20k, or building another hoop house or two. We don't get horrible weather here so it doesn't need to be fancy.... BUT... I've been tossing around the idea of a carport type shelter. We went and looked at 'em today and was pleasantly surprised! My first concern was how 'storm proof' are they? With a $150 dollar upgrade they can give 120mph rating. Not bad... The place we were at said all of theirs that were tied down properly weathered the storm just fine.

So, it's 18 x 30 with 10 x 18 being enclosed storage area. That still leaves 20 x 18 for critters and since most of my critters are mini it'll be just fine. We're having several other upgrades, like adding two more solid walls so it'll actually be three solid sides and open to the front. We're still discussing the placement of doors and windows and things,, but we should come in right around 4k! It'll take about 30 days after the order before they build it, but it'll be here before winter sets in, for sure.

Babies are all doing well. I turned out the little boy that I banded the other day. About 4 more months of grass feeding and he'll be freezer filler. Sounds a little harsh - but it's oh so tasty!

WAtching the Texans in a pre-season game against Miami..... Go TEXANS!!!
 

frustratedearthmother

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Grrrrr... I'd post pics of the cuties if I wasn't having internet 'issues.' Problems come and go, but most of the last few days we have barely been able to get online, and when we do it moves much s...l...o...w...e...r than molasses. We called our provider and they tell us we must have a virus because everything on their end is perfect....yada yada yada. We've run scan after scan and there's no problem showing up on our end either....ugh!


So, I've been ruminating for months on a new shelter for my critters. I've checked into having a barn built to the tune of about 20k, or building another hoop house or two. We don't get horrible weather here so it doesn't need to be fancy.... BUT... I've been tossing around the idea of a carport type shelter. We went and looked at 'em today and was pleasantly surprised! My first concern was how 'storm proof' are they? With a $150 dollar upgrade they can give 120mph rating. Not bad... The place we were at said all of theirs that were tied down properly weathered the storm just fine.

So, it's 18 x 30 with 10 x 18 being enclosed storage area. That still leaves 20 x 18 for critters and since most of my critters are mini it'll be just fine. We're having several other upgrades, like adding two more solid walls so it'll actually be three solid sides and open to the front. We're still discussing the placement of doors and windows and things,, but we should come in right around 4k! It'll take about 30 days after the order before they build it, but it'll be here before winter sets in, for sure.

Babies are all doing well. I turned the little boy that I banded out to pasture the other day. About 4 more months of grass feeding and he'll be freezer filler. Sounds a little harsh - but it's oh so tasty!

Watching the Texans in a pre-season game against Miami..... Go TEXANS!!!
 

frustratedearthmother

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Yippie! I ordered my barn/building today! In about 30 days, hopefully less, I'll have it. My mind is spinning with all the possibilities and set-ups that I can do with the space. That's the good stuff!

The bad stuff is that one of my Westies isn't eating today... He's old and has an array of problems, but he's always happy and outgoing and friendly. He chomped down on his dinner last night, and even now with no appetite he's his happy go lucky self.

I need to do a flea treatment on him, but last time he had a reaction to it for about 12 hours. He ended up chewing himself raw right after I applied the medication. Tonight I cringed when I re-applied but "just in case" he reacts to it - I gave him a benadryl. He at least ate a tiny piece of cream cheese with his pill in it - that's a good sign. He always has a good appetite, so hopefully by tomorrow he'll be back to himself. The fleas are crazy bad right now after a slow start this spring. I admit I wasn't as vigilent as I should have been and they were due to be re-treated at least two weeks ago.... I'm ashamed of myself... :(
 

so lucky

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Well, it's not like you had nothing else to do. It's so easy to forget to do preventative stuff.
I read up on non-toxic flea control a while back, and I remember this one article saying that a combination of heat and DE works very well. Just heat the flea-infested room, well dusted with DE and leave for a while. Not that easy if your whole house is infested, though. I can't remember the website, but it's probably findable if you type in heat treatment for flea control, or some such.
Years ago I used the spot-on treatment for cats on our 2 cats. One of them had a reaction; foaming at the mouth and acting drunk for a couple hours. I didn't do that again. :(
 

pinkfox

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im battling fleas myself right now so i seriously feel for you.
i got a bad infestation about 2 years ago, DE did NOTHING except amage my vacume cleaner for the next month or so every time i cleaned LOL!
i LOVE de...but not for "in house" aplications (or for serious infestations)

this year is bad for the dang thigns between the slow start for spring and the moist but milder temperatures than normal for summer...
 

frustratedearthmother

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He's goood! I treated his fleas last night and he's so much better already. He's still itchy - but Benadryl helps.

Thankfully we don't have fleas in the house. I need to treat their area of the yard and their house. They mostly live in an 8 x 8 bldg of their very own. They've got a doggie door and their run extends on both sides of the house and even underneath. However, when the weather is really bad or excessively hot I bring them in to the breezeway, the room between the garage and the house, which is air-conditioned. They are in there tonight soaking up the cooler air and the extra attention, lol!

I wonder if DE in their yard would help?
 
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