Devonviolet Acres

[Devonviolet]

Can you take some slips from the wild plant and start a couple plants in your garden? They are really pretty.

Yes, I agree. It is a beautiful plant! We actually did take a few roots, and I plan to put them in our yard, and maybe even along our county road. While I was cutting stems, DH pulled a few roots, which came up easily. They reproduce by seed or by sending out rhizomes, the plant is about 8 feet in diameter. So, taking a few roots won’t hurt it.

 

[Baymule]

That is a beautiful plant. What a find!

 

[Ridgetop]

I think with the heat you are having in Texas, I would go back and get a few more rooted sections and plant them in pots temporarily. When the heat slackens the end of summer transplant them in the yard where you want them.

 

[Devonviolet]

I think with the heat you are having in Texas, I would go back and get a few more rooted sections and plant them in pots temporarily. When the heat slackens the end of summer transplant them in the yard where you want them.

I already thought of that. However, my porch is already full of plants in pots. We are waiting until we do the burn pile, so plants don’t get too hot (from the heat of the burn pile) and die. We also have to cut down a couple of cedar trees before we can plant where I want to put them, because cedar trees suck water out of the dirt and kill plants around them. We have a comfrey plant that is about 8 feet away from a cedar tree. Ever since we planted it, it has wilted, in spite of being watered profusely.

 

[Devonviolet]

I’ve been cutting slips off the sweet potatoes that I planted in a box of dirt on the front porch and putting them in water. They all have roots on them, so it’s time to plant them. So, this morning I used the push mower with the bagger, and cut the weeds as close to the ground as I could. Then I roto-tilled three double rows (two passes), in the garden on the west side of the house so I can plant them. DH got the forked weeding tool and started pulling the bigger weeds out. We have never had bahaia in our yard, but for some reason this year, we have quite a few big patches of it. He was mainly pulling those out of the dirt. Both batteries had died on the push mower, so while DH was digging weeds out of the dirt, I decided to fire up the Bad Boy and mowed the rest of the lawn, which had gotten quite long. In the past, I had always used the Husqvarna mower to mow that part of the lawn. I must say, it is much easier and a lot more fun mowing it with the Bad Boy!!!


When I was finished mowing, we went out back to feed the animals. While I was there, I checked Sonata’s ligaments. She is due next Monday and her udder is getting huge! Her ligaments are still there… So it looks like she will be right on time.

Our temperatures have been climbing lately, So we got up at 5:30 this morning, so we could get out bright and early to get some work done outside. We came in at about 10:15. I checked the heat index and it was 99°! We are definitely finished for the day! So I came in, took a shower, and now I’m sitting in my chair with my feet up.

 

[Mini Horses]

90 here....just came in for lunch and cool off

Don't overheat the work will still be there tomorrow.

 

[Ridgetop]

Your myotonic goats are small right? What is the live weight and dress out weight on them? Hanging weight.

 

[Devonviolet]

Your myotonic goats are small right? What is the live weight and dress out weight on them? Hanging weight.

Yes, these goats are on the small side. Nowhere near as big as my LaMancha’s and Nubian. Sorry, I can’t tell you what their weights are, because it has been a while since I weighed any of them. It has been several years since I had a wether butchered, so I can’t remember what their dress out weight is.

 

[Baymule]

Yes, get outside early to get things done, then hibernate all afternoon! Great work getting the mowing done and tilling the garden. Then time for AC, cold drink and feet up!!

 

[Devonviolet]

I just came in from cutting down a cedar tree. The branches were hanging over a big old burn pile that the tree service made when they cut my two huge oak trees down back in May. We wanted that tree gone anyway, because cedar trees tend to suck the water out of the ground around them.

After DH and I stood back and surveyed the lean of the tree, I started cutting it with my 12 inch battery operated Stihl chainsaw. I know! Y’all are gonna say I’m crazy to cut a big tree down with a 12 inch chainsaw. My big chainsaws are too hard to start, so we just use the 12 inch battery saw when we can.

A couple years ago when I was cutting some trees down in the backyard, I figured out that if I make my first horizontal cut (halfway in) and then cut in the sides (about 1/4 of the way) even with that cut, I can then cut my wedge out and go to the back of the tree to cut to the middle. It works like a charm! This morning, I got the back cut about a third of the way in and started hearing cracking noises, so I took off running. Then it was time for celebration! That big ole cedar tree landed EXACTLY where I wanted it! Not bad for a 72 year old RN turned farm girl 8-1/2 years ago!

Initially, I was going to cut as low as I could to the ground, so I could use the tree as a post somewhere. But because the tree had a Slight curve at the bottom, we decided to start the cut Further up. That turned out to be a wise choice, because it turned out the tree was “rotten to the core”!


If you look closely on the lower left corner, you can see what looks like an orange wedge. I learned about How do I say that cutting a smaller wedge before I cut the bigger wedge From the egg tree guy that cut or two big oak trees down. That prevents the tree from sitting down on its self and refusing to go over. It works like a charm!

Once the tree was on the ground, I went to work cutting off branches. While I cut branches, DH Dragged them to a pile off to the side of the burn pile. We will add those after the pile burns down some. After cutting branches, about 6 feet up the log, I had to Stop cutting for a while because I was getting a spasm in my lower back. I tried to push through it bad it just kept getting worse, so I finally had to quit.





After getting some water and sitting in the shade for a few minutes, I was able to pick up the chainsaw, start cutting branches off again and finished cutting all the branches off the log. It turned out. We should be able to get at least a 10 foot post off the log. So it won’t be a total loss.