Bruce's Journal

[CntryBoy777]

Btw....how big a pc of black walnut ya want?....this tree is coming down probably in about a month or so.... roughly about 10-12" in diameter at base...and 20' tall.

 

[Bruce]

Will it fit in a standard mailer??

You could make some awesome "natural shape" cutting boards or serving "platters" if you had some Pentacryl. Expensive stuff though. You have to get a slice in the Pentacryl pretty much as soon as it is cut if you don't want it to crack.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Never heard of the stuff....and figured shipping UPS during cold temps would keep it long enough to get there in 3days...but, maybe it is my 'Ignorance' that thinks that way.........thought ya might like about 2' of it....

 

[Bruce]

DD1 & I made decent progress on the fence today. I have to figure out how to get an insulator for the low hot wire on a couple of outside corners that are cattle panels. No post at the corner to connect anything to. But at this point there will likely be snow often enough that it will ground out anyway and I'll probably have to leave the knife switch open so not a big rush to make sure it is just right.

We ran all the wire except the piece of low hot from the strike post side of the gate in the east line around the corner (one of the problem corners!) to the little barn. I still have to rip out the chicken wire covered old fence so we can't get to it easily and neither can the animals. None of the wire is tight yet but tight enough on the north line (5 hots, 1 ground) that I didn't replace the piece of fencing from the strike post in the west line to the SW corner post in the old fence when we had to get through it to get wire to the new post. They figured that out while we were working on the section south of that gate and went down for a look. Thus, other than the narrow section between the new and old North fences (and there isn't anything of interest other than SQUISHY ground with some standing water), they have been everywhere in the new 1 acre area.

Tomorrow I need to run underground gate bypass wire in PVC pipe and make the vertical parts with "round-over" tops (to keep water out), install those, tighten the wires, connect the bypass wires to the "in-line" wires and connect to the charger. I've decided to run overhead from the north end of the barn where the charger will be to the hinge side post on the gate to start the run. There is NO WAY I'll be able to bury pipe or anything else to bypass that gate. I have to run over the alpacas' "private door" to get to the short bit of fence from there to the NE corner then west to the strike post so I'm going to do that as a separate "spur" rather than starting there and dealing with getting the wire past the gate, not with all the burried rock. This is the section I'm talking about, older picture as you can see - no fence!

 

[Bruce]

Never heard of the stuff....and figured shipping UPS during cold temps would keep it long enough to get there in 3 days...but, maybe it is my 'Ignorance' that thinks that way.........thought ya might like about 2' of it....

I would love 2' of it! Have to find out how much that would cost. And this time of year UPS is so backlogged it won't likely be just 3 days. It will check some on the ends but won't crack right off unless you start slicing it up. In fact, the "rule of thumb" (before kiln drying) was 1 year per inch of diameter. A relative of mine designed the "Old Ship Church" in Hingham, MA but his sons had to build it because he died before the wood was dry. This was in the later 1600's. He also designed and built the first Meeting House in Boston some years before.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Guess wood is in your 'Blood' then.......that's really Interesting and something to be proud of for Sure....never 'Dug' into my family 'History'....too scared what I might find....

 

[Bruce]

In case anyone was wondering why I was knocking myself out building this fence, pretending to be like REAL farmers who go out in nasty weather to work on stuff:

• The chickens can be kept in with minimal fencing if high enough.
• The alpacas see the weasley 3'-4' fence and say "it's the Great Wall of China!" and don't even think about crossing it even though they could jump it pretty easily

But a Great Pyrenees might see that same fence from the outside and not even think they had crossed a barrier.



Here we have Teddy, Laddie, Merlin and DD1. Until today Merlin belonged to @purplequeenvt who found herself needing to reduce her quantity of GPs. I am both very sad for that and grateful to her and @Southern by choice for the opportunity to give Merlin a new home not all that far from where he was born 16 months ago and where he was raised as a working sheep guardian and in the presence of chickens. Both of those things were important to me because I really don't want to sacrifice some quantity of my chickens teaching a LGD puppy to leave them alone. At this point I felt I would be better off with a "gently used " dog than a pup.

His first day here was both eventful and uneventful. Yes, he drooled a bit on the way home (a sign of anxiety with him according to PQV). We walked him from the car

to the gate (as best one could describe the mess that is between the big barn and a fence projecting from the little barn). Laddie was more brave (as I've found to usually be the case) and came to the gate. He and Merlin sniffed each other a bit then Laddie went back to Teddy.

Next, time to meet the chickens. Given they don't like snow, they were in the barn alley (picture from late October). The alpacas' area is behind the gate, the chickens have the rest. Their coop is on the right about midway down the alley.


They came running, hoping for treats. Saw Merlin and freaked, running and flapping to the gate. Merlin did not react to the commotion AT ALL. Then the alpacas came in from the other side, possibly also hoping for a treat. Scared the bejeezus out of the chickens and most of them ran back toward us. Some made it into the coop, some past us. I think one actually hit Merlin on her way by. He did not react AT ALL. I wasn't sure if he could get in the auto chicken door. He fixed that by sticking his head and shoulders in. I closed it and opened the smaller glass door, figured he couldn't get in that one.

I gave him 2 cups of food, then a third and fourth. Not surprising given he has been eating about 7 cups a day (*). Then we went for a walk (that means we went where he wanted, I just held the leash), first stop was the pond. Yummy pond water, he drank a fair bit though he pretty much skipped the water in his bowl in the barn.

Next stop, the alpaca latrine. He gave it a very thorough investigation. Then we followed the alpacas' trail into the north end of the barn, his nose to the ground the whole way. Then around the pond and out into the southern sections of the newly fenced area. The alpacas were under the solar arrays and gave him a wary look but he didn't try to take us too close to them.

I released him and came in for lunch. After lunch the alpacas were still by the array and I found Merlin in their area of the barn. He came out the north end where I had gone to work on more fence stuff, then came with me to the gate in the west line where I needed to feed the top hotwire gate bypass. He hung out a bit then went to lay down.

He is EXTREMELY respectful of the alpacas' "personal space". He would lay down 20' or 30' from them, when they moved some distance so did he. The only time he frightened the boys was when they headed back toward the barn and he followed with a bit more speed since they were some distance ahead. They (especially Teddy) got nervous and started moving faster so he did as well to keep the gap. Made them more nervous, they sped up a bit, so did he. They weren't running, just walking fast. Then for whatever reason they slowed and so did he.

I went to do something in the workshop (north end of the barn but up in the original part where the alpacas and Merlin can't get to). After a bit I heard a lot of chicken ruckus so I went down. Turns out Merlin can fit through the small chicken door too. He was inside. Mind you he wasn't harassing the girls up on their roost, just sniffing around, learning about his new home. So I need to do something so the girls can come out (if they dare) but he can't get in. Of course I screamed at him for being in there. OK, actually I just opened the people door, told (requested?) him to come out and gave him another 2 cups of food and some scratches.

Back to the gate, he and the alpacas came out as well. Wife came home from work and found us. Merlin got more loving. Around 3:30 I went to lock the chickens in. They were all still in the coop "hiding" up on the roosts so I put their scratch on the coop floor instead of out in the run. Merlin was at the gate on the alpacas' side. The boys came in for their pellets and that is such a big draw that they were willing to stand right behind Merlin. The feed bins are on the gate. I put their pellets in, they were not quite sure how to get past Merlin but Laddie made a move and got to a feeder. Merlin figured this was a great time to get better acquainted with his new charges and started sniffing Laddies' butt. He wasn't so sure about that but PELLETS!!! By the time I came back out of the "feed room" Laddie and Teddy were both eating. I worked outside more until it was too dark to see (ie 4:45), said goodnight to all three boys.

Merlin and the neighbor's (about 500' away) dog that barks WAY too much had a "discussion" around 6 and Merlin barked a bit maybe 1/2 hour later. Other than that he has been quiet.

DD1 sent a picture of Merlin out with the alpacas to DD2 (off at college in Wisconsin, coming home for a month Monday night). The response back was "We have a dog???". I hadn't been talking about the plan to get Merlin a lot (which is why it hasn't been here until now) because sometimes the best laid plans ....

* Wife had asked how much is costs to feed a dog this size. The answer for us, based on the 7 cups a day of Wholesomes Sport Mix from TSC (what he has been eating) is "about $1 a day less than the canned food we feed the 3 house cats. This doesn't include the cost of their dry food or treats.

 

[NH homesteader]

Congrats!

Now I get why you were fencing in the snow!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sounds like a really Good acquisition for ya and the Boys....he looks like a really good dog....and a good decision all around.....sure Hope things continue to work out, for Sure!!

 

[Southern by choice]

Sounds great!
I wouldn't worry at all about him getting in with the chickens. The chickens will get accustomed to him and go on about the life of chickens. Also it is good he has access so if there is a predator that does get in he can take care of it. Possum, coon, mink can get in small spaces... Our Eliza sleeps in the coop with the chickens and the door is always open to the outside field.

He should fully adjust at 7-10 days.