Baymule’s Journal

[Mini Horses]

That will save you soooo much time!! Not to mention the briar punctures.. Maybe som bush hogging and ready for you to use. That's a win in my book!

 

[fuzzi]

I have some bodacious thistles. I hate them. Mowing does no good, they just come back. Last year I cut the blooms and seed heads off, bagged and threw away. This year I’m digging them up and spraying the roots.
I’m using a formula,

1 gallon white vinegar
1 1/2 cups salt
2 tablespoons Dawn dishwashing liquid

We’ll see how it works.

So now, what do I do with the awful things?

I only did a small part of the field yesterday, there’s plenty more out there.

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This guy teaches that thistles grow where the ground is compacted:

 

[Alaskan]

This guy teaches that thistles grow where the ground is compacted:

So... just toss 12 thousand giant earthworms in there, and... ground hogs!

Easy fix!

@Baymule would love ground hogs and gophers! oh! Armadillos also dig nice holes!!!

 

[Mini Horses]

I'd suggest just plain ole piggies!

 

[Ridgetop]

Came home and told DS1 about it and we can build one with the pallets, then use our corral shelter tops as roofs. Maybe even just make it 3 sided. Easy 8 x 12 or 12 x 16 shelters using one or two corral shelter tops. Much more space inside than when we just lean the up against the fences. I will start saving more pallets.

I also thought of what to do with the feed sacks. DS1 said that for a chute we should really have solid sides since the sheep wull jove easier in it. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I could attach the feed sacks to pieces of lath top and bottom, then drill holes in the lath and attach them to the portable 5' panels with wire or hay ropes. Instant siding for the panels! And since I would not staple the feed sacks to any side pieces, I could just roll them up to store when we take the chute apart. Hope it will work.

 

[Baymule]

On compaction, I have feral hogs in the back field because the fence is down. They have rooted so bad that the ground is torn into mounds, valleys, lumps and bumps. On the rest of the place, I have fire ant mounds that raise over a foot high. Ants tunnel into the soil and loosen it up, so there’s that. I have crawfish mounds. They also tunnel into the soil, crawfish mounds aren’t as bad as feral hog damage, but they sure make their lumps, bumps, mounds, and tear up hay equipment. My land was part of a 3 generation cattle ranch and never had much input. I have bodacious weeds, 2 types of nightshade, pigweed was bad, but sheep have all but obliterated it. I battle the nightshade, pulling it up. Goat weed tries to take over. Various other weeds have a party here. The soil is a mix of sand and clay, a loam. When wet, it’s soft, when dry, baked by summer sun, it’s like concrete. The grass is good, currently over grazed. Lambs will be leaving and that will help. My long term project is to get back field fence rows cleaned up and new fence put up. Long term, because other things keep getting in my way. After enclosing the whole place, I’ll start cross fencing. Lots of work to do, and I love what I’m doing. Pastures will be planted in more forbs and rotated. I’m working on it, just wish I could make it happen faster.

 

[Baymule]

No chicken slaughter this week! I’ve been inundated by chickens! Done with the free show culls, fed out to 6 1/2 pounds to 7 1/2 pounds and one 8 pounder! Lots of meat! I have lots of the back pieces and trimmings that I want to can for the dogs. My stove has a microwave over it with 13” of clearance. Pressure canner won’t even begin to fit under it. A friend said he’d loan me one of his outdoor propane burners and brought me one, brand new still in the box! I’ve got to take the empty propane bottle from the gas grill, get it filled, put together the propane burner, rig up some kind of wind break and commit to 90 boring minutes of staring at a pressure canner, outside. I want to make broth and can it, then stuff those chicken backs in quart jars and can for the dogs.

 

[Ridgetop]

Lots of work but worthwhile. It is easy to see why farm women years ago welcomed food in cans! When I hear people (mainly young city people) talking about going "off grid" I have to chuckle. I like electricity (hence my generator), dishwashers clothes washer and dryer, and other labor saving appliances. The more time I save, the busier I find myself so going "off grid" is a never going to be an option for me! LOL

Years ago when remodeling the kitchen at the CA house, we had to get our water from the outside hose, cook on a propane burner, and do dishes in the bathtub! It took 2 months to finish the kitchen and have inside water again. That was enough "off grid" for me! I like camping, but cooking outside and carrying water is no longer a "fun" back-to-the-basics experience for me. There is a reason farm women couldn't hold a job outside the house back in the day. Between the housework, cooking everything from scratch, doing the garden, canning, butchering, and taking care of the milk cow and chickens, raising children and often home schooling them, there were not enough hours in the day to get everything done.

By the way I did raise a large garden, can everything, make everything from scratch, etc. when the kids were small. I also ran a licensed home daycare at the same time, and had a small business making and sellig jams. jellies, and pickles. DH raised and sold rabbits. Been there, done that.

Men spent their entire time ploughing, planting, harvesting, chopping wood, hunting, slaughtering, repairing and buiding shelters, etc. all with just basic hand tools. No wonder women that lost their husbands and men that lost wives married again so quickly.

I guess I got a little off track here, but I do love my electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and appliances. And my power tools.

 

[Alaskan]

I guess I got a little off track here, but I do love my electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and appliances. And my power tools.

Yes!!!

I love the electric!