Devonviolet Acres

[Baymule]

I break out terribly from the stuff. My horses will eat it sometimes. The sheep sometimes eat it too.

That snake was released, as in tossed over the fence. I am pretty sure it was the same one a neighbor shot a few days later.

 

[Bruce]

That stuff is everywhere here and poison ivy is always a companion to it....the goats don't really eat on it until in the Fall, just before it starts to change colors....then they eat all they can reach....there are some plants they only eat at certain times and certain stages of growth. They will do sumac the same way and don't eat golden rod until it is blooming....

I wonder if they know when the toxin levels are low or non existent. It isn't like they eat it as a last resort or starve.

I think you are right, @CntryBoy777, about Virginia creeper and poison ivy being companion plants, as around here they are always growing together.

Curious that they are both irritants. I'd heard that the antidote to an irritant usually grows near it. Like burdock and stinging nettle. Crush the burdock leaves and rub on the area hit by stinging nettle. I wonder what antidote exists for VC and PI.

 

[Mini Horses]

Living in VA we have that stuff around. But have not seen any PI near. Goats nibble but prefer the honeysuckle. I generally gut it off at the base, eventually it removes itself from that site.

 

[greybeard]

That stuff is everywhere here and poison ivy is always a companion to it

Used to be here as well. No more.
Plenty of it (both) on my sister's and brother's place but I got rid of all mine a few years ago.

 

[Mini Horses]

Thanks Devonviolet, for the recipe. Copied it and will try it. My book has 2 for mascarpone...one with culture & 86 degree. Another with tartaric acid & 185 degree.

There is also one for "goat's milk cheddar" that is 98 degree using rennet & mesophilic starter. Aging is 1 to 3 months. I plan to try that one.....as well as the Monterey jack, similar temps & additives, different process. Sounds like I have a busy summer but, will eventually get them going. It will still be another 4-6 weeks for weaning, then milk for the house will increase.

You may have concerns with some of the additives in cheeses, I realize. But, the temps are good. LOL

 

[Devonviolet]

You may have concerns with some of the additives in cheeses, I realize. But, the temps are good. LOL

I don't have a problem with rennet and cultures. So, as long as I can keep the temps down, I'm good with the milk.

 

[Devonviolet]

Things are changing around here. . . For the better!

We have really been wanting to get our dogs and goats out in the back pasture.

Back in March, Tractor supply had a 15% OFF everything sale. DH and I went and bought 20 cow panels, so we could start putting up fencing out back, without killing ourselves.
I know some of y'all have put in H-posts & stretched wire. But, given our age and pain issues, we had to get realistic and decided the cattle panel fencing was more do-able for us at this time. And, we don't have a lot of money to be paying someone else to do it.

We have the wire, T-posts & plan to cut down cedar trees to use for H-posts. Eventually, we plan to go out & as we are able, we will dig one post hole at a time, and work our way back down the property line.

Last week, we started putting up cattle panels up, starting at the back corner of the goat shed, which is about six feet inside the property line. We used six going back, for 96 feet, 4 across, for 64 feet and 4 back to the southwest corner of the chicken run.

It was a big job, which DH did mostly by himself, since I had projects in the house, that I had to do. I went out a couple times, to give him water & check on the progress. At lunch time he looked really tired, so I took him in the house with me, And made him lunch. Then, I suggested he take a nap, and he took me up on that. Two hours later. He was refreshed and went back out.

At about 5:15 I took water out, to check on progress. He had one more panel to attach & a T-post to pound, and wire to attach fencing to the T-posts. So I helped him carry the last panel & pound the T-post.

Once that was done, we went into the goat yard, to detach the temporary woven wire fencing, to allow the goats & dogs access to the pasture. Violet was the 1st one onto the pasture.

It made us feel really good! Once Deo figured out how to find the opening, they both kept running the perimeter!

It took a few minutes, but once we got Rosemary and Angelica onto the pasture, it was obvious they loved it!

Next we took Falina & the twins out. We've been letting them browse every morning & evening after mealtime. So, for the 3 of them, was nothing out of the ordinary.

Tomorrow is definitely going to be going to be a much lighter day. However we have another project that needs doing before the weekend.

 

[Bruce]

 

[farmerjan]

The panels are the greatest thing for making quick, temporary fenced in areas. Especially for goats and sheep and smaller calves. The bigger cows will reach over them if they don't have anything to eat and they can get bent by big animals. But another thing, They are TEMP.... so can be taken down and moved to another spot and can be removed if you have to move because they are not Permanently attached. We have used them at places we rent so that we can take them with us. You can easily configure them to match an area and there is not near as much work if you have very short or weird shaped areas to fence. Congrats on getting the goats out and in making less work by not having to mow that area too.

 

[Devonviolet]

But another thing, They are TEMP.... so can be taken down and moved to another spot and can be removed if you have to move because they are not Permanently attached.

Not sure what I was thinking when I posted these photos. They show where I mowed, down the property line, to keep it clear enough, that we can gradually put in fence posts and get the property line fenced. . . . Sometime in the next century!